Page 90 of When the Stars Fall
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The elevator openedand I stepped out of it and right into my mother’s open arms. She was a world class hugger and she held on tight, not letting me go until she was good and ready. Her lavender scent was warm and comforting, a reminder that as much as life changed, some things remained the same.
When she finally released me, she held me at arm’s length, her bright blue eyes studying my face before she gifted me with a brilliant smile. Other than a few more lines around her eyes and deeper laugh lines etched around her mouth, she looked the same. Her honey brown hair was cut in a chin-length bob, her skin suntanned from working in the garden.
She patted my cheek. “Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes.”
“I look that good, huh?”
“You look wonderful. I’m so happy you’re here. I’ll finally have all my kids under one roof again.” At least someone was excited by that prospect. “It’s been too long since we sat down to a family dinner.”
Her words weren’t meant to make me feel guilty, but I still felt it.
“You just missed Jesse. He went to the airport to pick up Gideon.”
I saw Jesse a few months ago when he was in Peoria for a motocross race but I hadn’t seen Gideon in a few years. Our lives were so drastically different that I couldn’t relate. Gideon had a closetful of suits that cost more than everything I owned. According to Jesse, he lived in a ‘sick’ apartment in Manhattan and summered in the Hamptons.
“Now that you’re here, you might be able to get some answers.” My mom linked her arm in mine as we walked down the corridor to my father’s room. He’d been moved out of the ICU and into a private room. On the way there, she greeted one of the nurses by name and gave an orderly a bright smile.
“I didn’t come here looking for answers. I’m here to visit Dad and to help out in any way I can.”
“I know.” She patted my arm. “But since you haven’t even let me so much as mention their names, there’s a lot you don’t know.”
I huffed out a laugh. “I know everything I need to know.”
My mom sighed. “Still so stubborn.”
No comment. I wasn’t about to debate the rights and wrongs of this fucked-up situation. Not when we were standing outside my father’s hospital room.
“He’ll be so happy to see you. They’ve taken him off the ventilator. He’s grouchy, complaining about being stuck in a hospital, but the doctor says he’s doing great.” She smiled, her relief evident. “I’m going to get coffee. Give you two some time alone.” She patted my arm again before she walked away, her stride brisk, her trim figure disappearing around the next corner.
Pushing down on the metal door handle, I entered my dad’s room. His eyes opened and he looked over at the doorway as I moved closer to his bed.
My dad and I weren’t huggers. The most we’d ever done was the one-armed hug with a back thump. Not sure that was a good idea today. Not when he had an IV in his arm and had just had his chest cut open.
“Hey old man. You’ll do anything for a bit of attention.”
He huffed out a laugh that made him wince and I immediately regretted my joke.
I grabbed a chair and moved it to the other side of his bed, taking a seat so I was facing the door. Still couldn’t turn my back to it.
“Who you calling an old man?” His voice was hoarse and scratchy like it hurt him to talk. “I can still whoop your ass.”
“Don’t doubt that for a minute.”
“So this is what it takes to get you home. I have to be knockin’ on death’s door.”
“You’re not even close to death’s door,” I scoffed. “You look like you’re ready to dance a jig.”
His lips tugged into a smile. My dad had a few more grays peppered through his dark hair and he was paler than normal but he still had a powerful build and he hadn’t changed much since the last time I saw him a year ago. But I couldn’t remember my father ever having so much as a cold or taking a sick day, so seeing him in a hospital gown, at the mercy of others to look after him, was disconcerting.
“How are you feeling?”
“Like I wanna get the hell out of here.” He ripped out the oxygen from his nose, the stubborn bastard.
“Yeah. Hospitals are no fun.” My eyes darted to the machine monitoring his heart, the blips and beeps reassuring me that it was still beating strong and steady. “You’ll be out of here soon.”
“They’re threatening to keep me in here for two weeks.”
