Page 85 of Jace 4Ever
“Ohhh.” The sound wasn’t a surprise, but somewhere between relief and expectation.
The shower took longer than expected.
My cell had a missed call from my brother Móeiðr. Which was strange, since he didn’t usually call during the week. There was a message, too, so I quickly played it back on speaker.
“Nils, it’s me. Please call me back.”
“What did he say?” Jace toweled off his hair.
“I have to call him.” I didn’t like the tone in his voice. I hit the call button on the screen and waited for the ring and for Móeiðr to answer.
“Hae hae,” he said.
“It’s me.”
“Nils. You have to come home. Dad had a heart attack.”
“Oh, shit.” I stared at Jace, like he had understood my brother’s rapid-fire Icelandic. My whole world froze, and I couldn’t think. I couldn’t form words. “I’ll uh... Um...”
Jace leaned in. “Hi, who is this?”
“This is Móeiðr, Nils’ brother. Who is this?”
“I’m Jace, his boyfriend. I didn’t catch what you said? What’s wrong?”
“Our father has had a heart attack,” he said.
Jace’s eyes snapped to me. “All...all right. I’ll get him there. As soon as possible.”
“Thank you. Nils, be careful but be quick.”
Móeiðr hung up before I could answer. And worse, I just kept staring at Jace.
“It was cancer, not...he shouldn’t have...I mean, he’s in good health. There was chemo and radiation, but he’s been doing so well...”
“Nils.” Jace’s hand landed on my shoulder. “Go. Pack us a bag.”
I nodded numbly and went to do just that.
