Page 2 of The Two Last Moments

Nina does her best to sit up, while Jess, the night nurse, adjusts the tilt of the hospital-style bed. It’s an odd contrast to the more familiar decor in her room, a new presence I’m still getting used to.

“This evening, we have filet mignon in a red wine sauce with truffle mashed potatoes.” With a flourish, I point at the plate, which actually holds white rice and diced chicken breast. One of the few meals Nina can keep down the last few days.

I set the tray over my grandmother’s lap, ignoring the scents of ointment and antiseptic. Then I pull up the stool that I keep by the bed.

Nina gives me a tired smile and picks up the fork in her shaky grip. “You tired of this yet? ’Cause I sure am. If I were you, I’d be back on shift tomorrow.”

“Nope. This is where I want to be. I think the better question is, are you tired of me yet?”

Her sardonic expression turns serious. “You think that’s possible?”

“I’m just checking,” I say lightly.

Nina’s never been a traditional grandma. She’s an adventurous badass with wild stories of traveling the world in her younger days. Yet through all the ebbs and flows of my life, Nina has been my constant.

She and my grandpa were sipping margaritas on a beach in Panama when the news came: my parents were selling my dad’s company for big bucks and moving to London—withoutme, their inconvenient seventh-grade son. Mom and Dad would’ve shipped me off to an impersonal boarding school, away from my friends and everything I knew.

So Nina and Grandpa stepped up. They moved back to West Oaks, our seaside town about seventy-five miles west of Los Angeles, to raise me. That was over twenty years ago. Since then, Nina has pushed me to seek out my own adventures. And I have. I joined the Army after college. When I returned to West Oaks, I became a firefighter, a job that didn’t leave me with a ton of time to see her. But never once did Nina guilt trip me, even when I deserved it.

When Nina got her diagnosis, everything changed once again for the both of us. Ovarian cancer has metastasized to her bones. Her prognosis is bad enough that she’s decided she doesn’t want further treatment.Fuck, that news laid me right out on my ass. Shook up my whole world.

It was my turn to step up forher.

I took a leave of absence from work. Moved in. It’s not a question of Nina having adequate care. We’ve got nurses trained in hospice care at the house every single day. My father’s money covers that. We’re lucky, because plenty of family caregivers have little to no backup given the expense. But who better to stand by Nina through this than a grandson who loves her?

Nowis when she needs me. Theonlything that would make me go back to work tomorrow is if Nina didn’t want me here.

She sighs, pushing chicken with her fork. “I hope you’ll go out and do something fun for yourself tonight?”

“I was in the garage earlier during your nap. That was plenty fun.”

“I don’t mean working on that car all alone. When’s the last time you saw Matteo?”

He’s my closest friend, a fellow WOFD firefighter. “Matteo’s busy these days. Angela’s six months along now. They’re in full baby-prep mode.”

Nina’s smile brightens. “No wonder he’s occupied. I’m not one to lecture you about settling down, but you should have the kind of love your grandfather and I had. It takes the sting out of life. I’d…like to see that.”

I brush a stray hair away from her face and swallow the lump in my throat. “I know. But I’m not in a hurry for things to change.” I’ve got all the change that I can handle at the moment.

“I’m just thinking if you had a girlfriend to distract you, you wouldn’t be bugging me so much.”

“Is that right? Am I ‘cramping your style’?” I add air quotes. “Did I say that right? I wouldn’t want to use your old-timey slang wrong,Grandma.”

“Oh, now you’ve done it. Go find something to occupy yourself,Junior.”

“Oof. That’s a low blow.” I stand up, tucking the stool into its place against the wall. “I actually do have exciting plans. I’m going for a run.” My second one of the day, actually. But I need it. Seeing Nina in that bed…damn, it gets heavy.

I push out an exhale.

Her eyes tell me she understands. And she feels the exact same thing. “Then get out there,” she says. “Maybe you’ll find somebody else to bother instead of me.”

I give her a kiss on the cheek, check in with the night nurse on my way out, and hit the pavement.

I take my usual lap around the neighborhood. It’s quiet tonight. Hardly anybody out. The air is cool, with a hint of marine humidity.

The houses around here are sprawling, each positioned on a generous plot of land. We’re not in the West Oaks Hills, which is the wealthiest part of town, but this is still a nicer neighborhood than Nina could ever have afforded on her own. My dad bought the house for her when she retired. Of course, being my father, he didn’t ask for her input. Just presented the key and the deed like a king bestowing a gift. And my grandmother accepted that gift gratefully, because unlike me, she’s not one to complain about a windfall.

I’m probably not giving my dad enough credit. If I had to guess what kind of house Nina would love most, regardless of cost, it would be that one. Rustic style. Plenty of guestrooms, where she hosted exchange students before her illness. Big leafy trees and tall palms, manicured flower beds. Score one for Dad.

---