Chapter 24
Twenty-Four
“With our love, we could save the world.”
—George Harrison
Lexi barely made it through dinner with her family before she said she needed to go to bed. “I’m so sorry,” she said to Max, looking tearful. “I don’t know why I’m so tired lately.”
“It’s fine,” he said, forcing a smile for her. “I’ll be up after a bit.”
“Don’t fight over Jeopardy! in front of Max,” she told her parents and grandparents.
“We’ll try to behave,” Jim said.
After she went upstairs, Max looked to the others for answers. “What’s going on with her?”
“We aren’t sure,” Angie said, brow furrowed in worry. “Her recent checkup was perfect, but she’s been asleep more than she’s been awake lately.”
“So you’re worried, too?”
“We are,” Larry said. “She’d been doing so well. We’re chalking it up to the move and hoping she’ll feel better once that’s behind her.”
“You’ll make sure she doesn’t overdo it on the road, right?” Angie asked Max.
“She won’t have to do anything but enjoy the ride.”
“We’ll give you all our numbers just in case,” Angie said.
Max wanted to ask in case of what, but he was afraid of what they might say. His stomach was in knots as he killed time before bed, watching TV with Lexi’s family. “I’m going to check in with my son and then head to bed,” Max said. “We’re hoping for an early start tomorrow.”
“We’ll see you in the morning,” Angie said.
He went into the front living room to call Lucas’s house.
“Hey, how’s it going in Texas?” Lucas asked when he answered the phone.
“Okay. I guess. Lexi is really run down. I’m hoping she’s okay.”
“Moving is a drag, even when you’re not recovering from a serious illness. I’m sure she’ll bounce back in a few days.”
“I really hope so. It’s concerning. She went to bed at seven.”
“Hmm, that is odd, especially when you guys hadn’t seen each other in weeks.”
“Yeah. Are the kids still up?”
“They are. Here’s Caden.”
“Hey, Dad.”
“Hi, bud. How’s it going there?”
“Good. We had spaghetti for dinner with really good meatballs that Aunt Dani made from scratch and brownies for dessert.”
“Sounds good.”
“It was! Tomorrow, we’re going to ski, but Uncle Lucas said not to worry because we’re not leaving the bunny slope.”
“I’ll try not to worry.”
“How long do I have to stay there? I feel fine, and I’ve learned my lesson about looking before I turn.”
“For a little while.”
“It’s so boring.”
“It’s better than not skiing at all, isn’t it?”
“I guess. When will you be home?”
“Aiming for New Year’s Eve.”
“Cool. Call me tomorrow?”
“I will. Love you, pal.”
“Love you, too.”
Lucas took the phone from him and told the kids to go brush their teeth and to use toothpaste. “Did Mom have to tell us to use toothpaste?”
“She probably had to tell you.”
“Ha. Very funny. Are you okay with us going skiing?”
“Of course.”
“Okay. Just making sure.”
“Go and have a good time, and if you want to let him off the bunny slope, I’m fine with that.”
“I’ll see how it goes.”
“Thanks again for having Caden this week.”
“We love having him. He and Savvy have the best time together, and he’s sweet with Sierra and Sawyer, too.”
“He loves hanging with you guys.”
“Safe travels tomorrow.”
“Thanks. I’ll check in tomorrow night.”
“Sounds good.”
“See you.”
Max was awake at seven the next morning, but Lexi was still sound asleep. He tried kissing her, but she never moved. “Hey, Lex,” he whispered, giving her shoulder a gentle shake.
She moaned.
“We need to get moving. We wanted to get an early start today.”
The only thing left in her room was the mattress she was leaving behind. She’d bought a new one that would be delivered when she arrived in Vermont.
“Lex.”
Her eyes opened and then closed again. “Tired.”
“How can you be tired when you slept for twelve hours?”
Her shoulder lifted in a shrug.
“You can sleep in the truck.”
“’Kay.”
“Lexi.” Their nineteen-hundred-mile drive would take twenty-nine hours, and Max was eager to get going.
“I’m awake.” She forced herself to rally, to get up and shower and get dressed while he took several of her bags downstairs. Then he took a quick shower, packed his bag and grabbed her last bag on the way out.
He found Lexi in the kitchen, sipping coffee with her parents and grandparents, and noted the deep, dark circles under her eyes and the unusual pallor. As soon as they got to Vermont, he would insist she see a doctor, because something wasn’t right.
Her family waved them off a short time later, promising to see them in Vermont in a month or two. Their house was on the market, and they’d begun packing up to move.
Lexi had nodded off shortly after they drove away from her house, which put Max’s nerves further on edge.
Driving the rental truck was easy enough, but the ride was hardly luxurious. He felt every bump in the road, but Lexi never stirred.
She was still asleep when he stopped in Louisiana for gas and later when he stopped in Mississippi to use the bathroom and get something to eat.
When he returned to the truck with chicken tenders and fries, he tried to nudge her awake.
“Lexi, wake up. You’re scaring me.”
“Mmm,” she said without opening her eyes. “Sorry.”
“I got some food.”
“Smells good.”
“Have a few bites.”
She seemed to force herself to wake up and to eat a few bites. “I have no idea why I’m so wiped out. It’s weird.”
“Was it like this when you were sick?”
“Sometimes, but mostly after I had chemo. Haven’t had that in more than eighteen months now. Doesn’t make sense.”
“Do you want to use the restroom while we’re stopped?”
“Sure.” She released the clasp on her seat belt and started to get out of the truck, stopping suddenly. “Whoa. Head rush.”
“Wait for me. I’ll help you down.” Max went around the truck and opened the passenger door to give her a hand.
The second her feet hit the pavement, she fainted.
What the hell?
In a panic, Max dropped to the ground to cradle her head. “Lexi!”
“Is she okay?” someone asked from behind him.
“I don’t know,” Max said. “She fainted.”
“Do you want me to call the rescue?”
Max was so afraid of what was happening to her that he could barely croak out a “yes” to tell the other man to go ahead and call.
Something was wrong, and the thought of what it might be had him gripped with fear.
Lexi came to and couldn’t figure out where she was. Her eyes darted around and landed on Max, sitting across from her.
The scream of a siren jolted her out of the fog.
“What happened?”
“You passed out.”
“I did?”
He nodded, looking as tense as she’d ever seen him.
“My stomach…”
“What about it?”
“I feel like I’m going to be sick.”
An EMT held a bag for her to vomit into.
For the first time since exhaustion had overtaken her, she was truly afraid of what was happening. She hadn’t felt this bad in a long time. Not since…
No, don’t go there. It’s not that. You just had a perfect checkup a few weeks ago.
Though she could tell herself not to panic, her heart beat fast and hard, and her stomach ached. What the hell was going on?
They arrived at the hospital and were taken to a treatment room in the ER.
A nurse named Beverly came in, rolling a computer on a stand. “What’s going on, darlin’?” she asked in a thick Southern accent.
“I’m not sure. Apparently, I fainted at the rest stop.”
“She’s also been sleeping a lot. Like twelve hours at a time, and that’s not enough.”
“I should mention that I had a stem cell transplant for leukemia nineteen months ago. I was in remission as recently as three weeks ago.”
At the mention of the word leukemia, the nurse’s expression became much more serious. “Let’s figure out what’s up and get you on your way.”
They took tons of blood and sent it off to be checked.
“I put a rush on it,” the kind nurse said. “It could be a virus or so many other things, such as anemia.”
“That would be better than the dreaded L word.”
She patted Lexi’s shoulder. “Try not to worry.”
“That’s easier said than done,” Lexi said to Max after the nurse left the room.
“Sure is.”
Lexi held out a hand to him.
He took hold of her hand and sat on the edge of the hospital bed.
“Sorry to do this to you,” she said.
“Don’t be sorry. I just want to hear that you’re okay.”
“Can you grab that pink thing over there?” Lexi said, pointing. “Hurry.”
He handed her the plastic bowl a second before she threw up.
She’d never eat a chicken nugget again.
Max held her hair back and then rinsed out the bowl.
“Chicken nuggets on an empty stomach wasn’t the best idea I ever had.”
“Probably not.”
She took the clean bowl from him. “Thank you, and I really am sorry. You didn’t sign on for this.”
He took a wipe out of a package on the counter and gently cleaned around her mouth and then handed her a cup of ice water with a straw. “I signed on for all of it, so quit that right now. You got me?”
“I got you,” she said with a weak smile.
He returned to perch on the edge of her bed and held her hand.
“And you’re not getting rid of me, so don’t go there.
” He kissed the back of her hand for emphasis.
“Whatever comes next, I’m here for it. Good, bad, ugly.
Whatever. I’ve spent my entire adult life with a hole in my heart where you used to be, and I don’t want to be without you ever again.
So no more talk of what I signed on for, okay? ”
Lexi blinked back tears. “I’m so lucky to have found you twice in a lifetime.”
“We’re both lucky, and it’s only going to get better from here. I promise.”
By the time Beverly returned, Lexi’s nerves were all but shot. Despite the recent positive news from her medical team and Max’s reassurances, she was scared senseless of a relapse that would ruin everything right when her life was finally moving in a direction she’d longed for during her illness.
“It’s not leukemia,” the nurse said, smiling. “But you are pregnant.”
Lexi’s mouth fell open in total shock. Pregnant. She hadn’t considered that for a second after being told the odds of conceiving were low after chemo. “What?”