Page 28 of Forever Christmas
“Don’t hit any buttons,” he says. “It was the devil getting the volume right.”
She unravels the coil and hands the remote back to him. “There,” she says. “How are you feeling?”
“How do you think I’m feeling? I’m all wired up and they’regoing to crack my chest open tomorrow.” He lifts his arms with their tubes and cuffs and IV. “Big waste of time and money. I am fine.” His eyes meet mine. “I could walk right the hell out of here.”
“I’m sure the doctors know what they’re talking about,” Corabelle says. “You weren’t feeling so great when you collapsed in the garage.”
“Ate too much chili, that’s all,” Dad says. “Everybody’s makinga big deal out of it.”
Corabelle steps back to me. I haven’t gotten much past the door.
Dad smirks at us. “You going to say something, son, or just stand there like a damn gargoyle?”
I can’t think of a thing to say. Corabelle has already asked how he feels. He’s already denounced his need for surgery. I think we’re done here.
My weight shifts to step back, but Corabelle holds fast to my arm.
“He came to see you, that’s enough,” Corabelle says.
“Not sure why if he’s not even going to say a blessed ‘Hi, how are you.’”
My teeth clench, but I manage to get out, “Hi, Dad, how are you?”
“You got my genes, bud, so you better live clean or you’ll end up just like your old man,” he says.
“I doubt that,” I say.
“Now we’re talking,” he fires back. “You came to get a couple more potshotsat the old geezer before he pops off?”
Corabelle takes that moment to let go of my arm and back up. What is she doing, leaving me already? I’m tempted to follow her, but I say, “Sounds like you could use them.”
Dad laughs. “You definitely have a mouth on you now, boy. Get over here so I can see you. They took my damn glasses.”
I spot them on a table on the other side of the room and head forit. When I turn around to hand them to Dad, Corabelle is gone.
Great.
“Here,” I say, passing them to him.
He takes them and shoves them on his face. “About time. Now I can actually see the crappy-ass shows.” He squints even with them on, peering at the screen. “Damn thing is no bigger than the sixteen-inch I bought your mother when we got married.”
“Hospital has all the wrong priorities,”I say.
This gets another laugh. “You got funnier too,” he says. He watches the show for a moment, then it goes to commercial. “Bah,” he says and flips it off. “Sucked anyway.”
He tosses the remote on the bed. “I heard you married that girl.”
“I did.”
“Must really have a number on her, if she took you back after what you did.”
He didn’t know the half of it. “Meant to be, I guess.” I don’treally want to talk about Corabelle. That’s the fast track to my fist in the jaw of a heart patient.
“She’s a good kid.”
Huh. I’ve never heard those words or anything like them come out of his mouth before.
“June seems like she’s doing all right,” I say.
