Page 58 of Too Little Too Soon
“Well, that’s good.”
And strange. Although, to be fair, neither of her parents had ever had a health scare before, so there was no precedent.
Travis held her hand all the way through the parking lot, while they stopped at the information desk to ask how to get to her mother’s room, as they stood in the elevator and walked down the hall, and even as they entered her mother’s hospital room.
Mother looked good. She was sitting up in her bed, wearing makeup, her own silk robe hiding whatever gown the hospital had her in. She was definitely paler and maybe more gaunt than usual, but other than that, Ava wouldn’t have believed she’d had a heart attack two days ago if the woman wasn’t lying in a hospital bed with an IV taped to the back of one hand.
“…was mild,” Mother was saying as they walked in. “Your father overreacted.”
The fact that he reacted at all spoke volumes. For Ava’s entire life, all the man ever did was work and more work. He hadn’t attended sporting events or spring concerts or award ceremonies when the girls had been in school; he’d always been too busy to leave the office.
And yet, Ava had always liked him best. Because if he wasn’t there, he couldn’t criticize every single little thing, like their mother did.
Maria noticed her first. “Ava,” she said, sounding relieved as she hurried over to pull her closer to the bed.
Mother regarded her for a few moments without speaking. Her gaze swung Travis’s way. There was no reaction, other than a quick shift of her eyes to Oz and back to Travis.
Ava cleared her throat. “Mother, I’d like you to meet Travis. He is…”
Travis offered his hand for a shake, his sleeve pulling back so that a glimpse of one of his tattoos could be seen on his wrist. “Ava’s boyfriend.”
Mother’s eyes flared when they snagged on the bit of ink she could see, but she slowly lifted her hand and shook. “You’re dating someone too?” she asked Ava.
“I am.”
Mother’s gaze drifted to the window. “Is Holly coming as well?”
“She is,” Ava confirmed. “She should be here in a few hours.”
“With her new husband, I suppose.”
“Yes.”
Mother pursed her lips but didn’t say anything more.
Wow.
Maria pasted on a bright smile. “Father went to the cafeteria to get something to drink. He should be back in a few minutes.”
The four of them stood at the foot of the bed, all fidgeting uncomfortably, while Mother stared at the muted show on the television. Ava glanced at Travis, who gave her a tight smile and squeezed her hand.
About seventeen hours later—or so it felt like—Father walked into the room, a cardboard coffee cup in his hand. “Elaine, I stopped at the nurse’s station, and they said—”
His words dried up when he realized there were four other people in the room with his wife.
“Oh,” he said, clearing his throat. “Hello there.” Like he was on autopilot, he stepped forward, arm extended for a handshake.
“That’s the man Ava is dating,” Mother said with a nod in Travis’s direction.
Dad shook his hand and introduced himself.
“And that is the one Maria is dating.” Mother nodded at Oz. The two men shook hands.
Dad said hello but did not hug either of his daughters.
“Where is Holly?” he asked, looking around like he expected her to materialize out of thin air.
“On her way,” Maria said.
