Page 66 of Embracing the Consequences

“Nine. My birthday is in three months. I’ll be ten.” He smiled.

“Almost double digits—that’s a big deal.”

“I know. I keep telling my mom I should get a phone,” Luke said, shifting on the bed. He winced slightly, and Marcos frowned.

“A phone is a big deal.” Marcos nodded. He vaguely heard Maya and Stone arguing in hushed tones behind him, but he didn’t give a damn. “Maybe we can work on your mom together.” He winked at his son. “How else am I going to be able to talk to my son?”

Luke beamed and nodded enthusiastically. When he winced again due to his own enthusiasm, he sighed.

“How’d you hurt yourself?” Marcos asked, trying to keep his voice light.

“I fell off the monkey bars,” Luke answered, not meeting Marcos’s eyes.

Marcos smirked at the blatant lie. “Fell, huh?”

“I might have jumped,” Luke admitted. “Tommy Bradshaw dared me, and Jinny Thomas was watching, so I couldn’t punk out.”

Marcos didn’t even try to hide the impressed laugh that escaped him. He vaguely wondered if he should put on some kind of parental air but decided against it. He wasn’t this kid’s dad regardless of the fact that he was probably his father. Hewould work on a friendship with the kid before anything else. “Nah, dude. You couldn’t punk out,” Marcos agreed.

Luke smiled brightly and shook his head.

“So what’d they say? Is it busted?” Marcos finally asked.

Luke nodded. “Yep. Broke my wrist. Doc said I don’t need surgery, though. They’re just backed up and need to get me upstairs to have a cast put on.”

Marcos nodded thoughtfully. “My sister broke her wrist not too long ago,” Marcos told him. “She had a bright pink cast. What color cast you gonna get?”

Luke’s eyes widened. “I can pick the color?”

“Sure can.” Marcos nodded.

He heard footsteps behind him before he heard someone new speak up. “Alright little dude,” a man said. “Are we ready to get a cast on and get out of here?”

Marcos looked over his shoulder to see a bright-eyed older man dressed in scrubs and a white coat. Just past the doctor were Maya and Stone. Stone sported his usual inscrutable expression while Maya looked anxious, and her eyes were red rimmed like she’d been crying.

Marcos felt a pang of sympathy in his heart for her but chose to ignore it. She hadn’t told him about his son for ten years. He was allowed to be upset.

Luke looked at the doctor, and for the first time Marcos saw the kid look scared. Maya moved past Marcos and reached for Luke’s right hand. “We sure are, aren’t we Luke?” She gave him a smile.

The kid surveyed his mother’s face, seeing the pain there. Luke squeezed her hand and looked at the doctor. “Let’s do this.”

“That’s what I like to hear. Why don’t we push your bed up there and your parents can follow me. We’ll head up to orthopedics on the second floor,” the doctor said.

No one bothered to correct him.

Marcos let Maya go ahead of him while he hung back a moment in the hallway next to Stone. “And?” he asked his brother when Maya and Luke were out of earshot.

“Long story, brother,” Stone grumbled and shook his head.

Marcos nodded slowly, watching Maya follow the doctor down the hall. Luke peeked around the doctor’s shoulder, looking for Marcos to catch up. “I’m gonna stay with them for awhile. You head back up to Dagger, let me know when you hear anything.”

Stone sighed and nodded. He turned and held his hand out. Marcos grabbed it and pulled Stone into a bro hug. Stone slapped him on the back before he squeezed his shoulder. “Be careful, brother.” He nodded once.

Marcos patted Stone on the back before turning to look for Luke and Maya. She had stopped a couple feet behind Luke’s bed, waiting.

Marcos followed after them, making the choice to follow his son and see where this would take him.

“Hey, lilManita.” Marcos smiled as he walked into the hospital room. “Ready to bust out of here?”

---