Page 29 of Dominate
“Rocky is out cold,” Hayden states as he joins all of us at the table. “She’s knackered after today.”
Dad smiles proudly from his seat at the head of the table opposite me. “You kids were the same way. Get you a little fresh air and exercise and you’d sleep like the dead.”
I frown at his remark as Vi begins passing dishes around the table. Dinner is delicious as it always is when Vi cooks. She chatters on and on about the plans for the wedding that’s to take place on the beach in two days. Hayden’s family is due to arrive tomorrow afternoon. It’s only Hayden’s parents, his sister, Daphney, and his brother, Theo, with his wife, Leslie, and their toddler, Marisa, whom Hayden is very close to.
Vi seems perfectly at ease with everything for someone who, not very long ago, was terrified of taking Hayden’s name. I haven’t been able to ask her if she’s sticking with Harris or taking the Clarke family name yet. I don’t really want to disrupt too much because she seems to be in a great mood. My hope is she already has it figured out.
There hasn’t been any talk about the wake that’s to happen tomorrow morning at ten o’clock according to the itinerary. It feels like an elephant in the room that everyone is ignoring. Similar to how we all acted as kids when Dad was being, well, Dad.
“I think Vi needs a hen do tomorrow night,” Belle proclaims from her spot in the middle of the table between Tanner and Poppy.
Tanner replies, “If Vi gets a hen do, then Hayden gets a stag night.” He waggles his brows at Camden seated across from him.
Belle swerves her dark eyes to Indie. “Tequila Sunrise night, don’t you think, Indie?”
“What are you guys talking about down there?” Vi chirps, too far away to hear the conversation.
“A hen party. Just the girls. Sloan, you have to come as well. We’ll teach you all about Tequila Sunrise nights,” Belle states confidently.
Sloan shifts in her seat. “That is like a bachelorette party?” Sloan asks and the girls nod back enthusiastically. “Sure, I’d love to go. I’ve never really been to one.”
“Never?” Belle asks disbelievingly.
Sloan shakes her head. “No. I mean, I got married so young right before I had my daughter, Sophia, so there wasn’t really a chance for me to go to one.”
“That’s what babysitters are for,” Belle retorts.
Sloan looks down at her plate, a tightness to her posture that wasn’t there a second ago. “Sophia was a particularly difficult baby, so I never used a sitter.”
Hayden is the one to speak up next. “Did she have colic? My niece, Marisa, had colic horribly. I was living with my brother and sister-in-law at the time, so I was there for all of it. Really bloody hard, but we found tricks that helped.”
Sloan’s cheeks flush and she sets her fork and knife down on the table. “It wasn’t colic.”
“Reflux?” Indie asks, her voice taking on a medical tone with just one word.
Sloan inhales deeply and looks over at me nervously. “Um…no.”
“What was it then?” Belle pries, ignoring the cues that Sloan doesn’t want to discuss the problem. “Was she a bad sleeper? Or perhaps gastrointestinal issues?”
Sloan anxiously chews her lip, and I frown back at her just as she replies, “Sophia was diagnosed with a type of brain cancer when she was six months old.”
The entire table goes completely quiet, everyone’s forks frozen midair as the weight of Sloan’s words sink in fully.
Sloan winces and looks away from my hard stare. She splays her hands out on top of the table, a trembling in them that is visible only to me. “She’s healthy now. Cancer-free by the time she was three years old. She’s almost eight now, so her five-year milestone is coming up, which is a very big deal.”
“What kind of cancer was it?” Indie asks and Belle leans in with sharp eyes, laser focused on Sloan.
Sloan begins discussing the particulars of Sophia’s diagnosis and how they didn’t know her issues as a newborn were symptoms of a much greater problem. When she tells us about the first seizure Sophia had in her crib at only six months old, my hands begin to tingle around the napkin I’m gripping like a vise.
Part of me is frustrated that I’m finding this information out for the first time along with my entire family. I thought Sloan and I had moved past the secrets and the boundaries. Granted, I know that I haven’t officially met Sophia in any formal capacity. Sloan has to be wary of introducing her daughter to the men in her life, so I understand that. But I’m aware of Sophia’s existence now, andthisis a huge part of Sloan’s life that is significant enough to share. The fact that she didn’t tell me makes me wonder how much has actually changed between us.
But the bigger, more mature part of my mind knows that it’s very typical for the Harris family to flush out personal details of one’s life before a person is ready to share them. Even my brothers’ wives seem to be hardwired with that “no secrets” rule of thumb when it comes to people they are curious about. They were like that with me when I first told them about Sloan, and right now they are hitting her with a Harris Mental Shakedown that no one can protect themselves from.
“Sophia spent her infancy and toddler years in and out of hospitals and doctor appointments. I didn’t work because I was taking care of her and advocating for her health. I always said I got a medical degree from Google, which I know doctors hate.” She laughs a nervous laugh as everyone at the table listens intently. “But we’ve been good for a long time now. Honestly, all that knowledge I used to have feels like it’s from another lifetime.”
Vi shakes her head. “That had to be so difficult, Sloan. I’m so sorry you endured that pain. I can’t imagine Rocky being that sick. It would kill me. Completely kill me.” Vi’s voice cracks at the end, and Hayden grabs her hand tightly in his.
Sloan nods sympathetically. “I know it sounds bad and impossible—and believe me, it was—but you don’t know your own strength until you’re forced to use it. I’m sure any of you in my position would have been just as strong. Now, Sophia is healthy, and girlie, and silly, and begging me to let her play soccer. It’s a big battle between us right now because I’m still so protective over her health.”
