Page 93 of Feuds and Interludes
Pops’s smile fell, and he patted my hand.“I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
“What? Why? What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know if it’s good for her, bein’ with a broken old man like me. She really panicked, son. She said…” He bowed his head and took a deep breath. “She said she couldn’t stand it if she lost me like she lost John.”
“Pops, man.” Vera Jean was a tough lady, true, but like Boone said, she’d experienced a lot of loss in her life. It had only been two years since John passed. I understood what Pops was saying, buthewas my concern. “I think it’s her decision whether or not she wants to be with you. You’re not broken. Maybe scratched and dented, but you’ve got a lot of miles left in you.”
“I appreciate you saying that, I just dunno what’s the right thing to do.”
“How about?—”
“Hello, Mr. Duncan, I’m Dr. Abad, the cardiovascular specialist on call.”
“I’m Shane Butler, his grandson,” I said, shaking the doctor’s hand.
“Wonderful, I saw you’re his medical designee. I wanted to let you know, Mr. Duncan, that everything looks great. Your tests all came back normal, so whatever you’ve been doing to keep your heart healthy since your last surgery, keep it up. I would only caution you that if you use Viagra in the future, be careful that your blood pressure doesn’t drop too low. It’s likely that the light-headedness you experienced was due to a drop in blood pressure, especially if you’d?—”
“Thank you, Doctor. I’ll follow up with my cardiologist about the, eh, future use of the medication.”
My fucking jaw was on the floor. On one hand, go Pops. On the other? I did not need to know what he and the very classy Vera Jean Collins had been up to that required certain pharmaceuticals.
“Wonderful. We’ll get your release paperwork together in just a bit. I’m glad this was just a precautionary visit. Have a lovely day.”
The woman had her lips pressed together as she walked out the door, and I was grateful for her professionalism. As soon as she shut the door, I turned on Pops with raised eyebrow.
“Now, Shane?—”
“Let’s get you dressed, old man. We can talk about how much I don’t want to know when your ass isn’t hanging out of a hospital gown.”
“Very well,” he said. “Do you think… D’ye mind not mentioning this to Boone?”
“There’s no way in hell I’m talking to him about what you two were up to, andhesure as hell won’t want to hear it from you either.”
Pops nodded and shook his head. “It’s good to know I haven’t lost it,” he said, and then he cracked up as he got a load of my look of disbelief. “I’m just takin’ the piss.”
“Keep it up, old man, and you’ll be dealing with Mom.”
He patted my shoulder. “She loves you, son. Just give her time.”
It had been fifteen years, though. I’d given up hope that we’d ever see eye to eye.
Pops got dressed, I texted Boone we’d be out soon and to please order a Lyft, the nurse brought in his papers, and they pushed him out to the waiting room, where we found Boone and Vera Jean and our bags in a corner. She’d dozed off against hisshoulder, and he gently nudged her awake. When she saw Pops, she stood shakily and walked over to him, uncertainty on her face.
Pops took her hand, brought it up to his lips and kissed it. “I’m fine, love. And you did the right thing.”
She let out a very un-Vera-Jean-like sob, bent over and wrapped her arms around him in his wheelchair, which the nurse had insisted on.
Boone gave me a sad smile. “Our Lyft will be here in two minutes.”
“Thank you,” I whispered, so grateful to see him. So thankful I hadn’t had to do this by myself. I couldn’t wait to get him home?—
Shit.Reality cascaded over me like an ice-cold shower, waking me up to my current situation. The festival performance was over. That meant my time playing house with Boone was as well. We’d agreed he’d stay with me until after the festival, but now, he was most likely going to be taking off with his band, and I’d be home stewing. I had to take care of my grandfather and deal with my mother. I had to figure out what I was going to do with the rest of my life.
My mom’s criticisms throughout the years echoed in my mind. I’d thought I had it all figured out, and my band quit on me. I’d stepped up for Pops, but when he’d needed me, I hadn’t been there. How the hell was I supposed to be there for Boone, for Pops, and deal with the fact that I was nursing some wounded pride of my own? Boone needed to focus on Stellar, on the next step of his career, and any talk of Butler Collins was only going to take his focus away from where it needed to be.
With a heavy heart, I followed our seventy-agers out the front doors of the ER with a tired Boone by my side but feeling miles away.
“We’ll get them settled at their house, and then?—”
