Chapter 24
Chapter Twenty-Four
London
Damien booked us a room at Casa Del Mar in Santa Monica, right on the beach.
The sun was about to set, so we walked along the shoreline, hand in hand, and let the water waves wash over our feet.
I was enjoying every second of this day I could and appreciating the beauty of it because if, by chance, Dr. Finn decided to do the surgery, it might be the last time I’d see the sun set over the ocean water.
As we were walking, Damien’s phone rang.
“Hello. Hi, Dr. Finn. We’re staying at Casa Del Mar in Santa Monica. Yes, of course. Just text me your address.” He ended the call.
“What did he say?” I asked.
“He asked if we could come to his house. He was going to meet us somewhere, but he’s only about ten minutes away.”
“Did he say why?”
“No. I guess we’ll find out when we get there. We should head to our room and go change.”
I detected a nervousness in his voice, and I knew he was worried that Dr. Finn would do the surgery or he wouldn’t.
“Are you okay, baby?” He gently squeezed my hand as we drove to Dr. Finn’s house.
“I’m fine, Damien. I’ve been through this before, multiple times. How are you?”
“I have a good feeling that he’s going to give us good news. If he weren’t going to do the surgery, he wouldn’t have asked us to come to his house tonight.”
“Maybe,” I spoke as I looked out the window.
We pulled up to Dr. Finn’s house, and Damien rang the doorbell. When the door opened, an adorable little girl with wavy long blonde hair answered.
“Hello, there,” Damien spoke.
“Hi.” I smiled as I bent down.
“Hi. I’m Ava. Are you the lady with a brain tumor?” she asked.
“I am.” I grinned.
“Come in.”
“London, Damien, thanks for coming over,” Jamieson spoke. “I see you met my daughter, Ava.”
“She’s adorable, Dr. Finn.”
“Hey, guys.” Grace smiled as she approached us. “Come in and take a seat in the living room. Can I get you anything to drink?”
“I’m good,” I spoke.
“Damien, you look like you could use a drink. Scotch or bourbon?”
“Bourbon. Thanks, Dr. Finn.”
Damien and I sat on the couch while Grace and Ava sat across from us. Dr. Finn handed Damien his drink.
“London,” Dr. Finn spoke. “I firmly believe that I can remove your tumor.”
The knot in my stomach intensified as I gave him a nervous smile.
“But it’s not going to be easy, and as I said earlier, the risks are very high.”
“Dr. Finn, how are you agreeing to do this when all the other doctors said it was impossible?” I asked.
“I don’t believe in the impossible, London. If there’s a will, there’s a way. That’s why I’ve won more awards than all the other doctors.” He smirked. “Actually, my daughter, Ava, helped me out with this.”
“What?” Damien asked as he looked at Ava.
“My daddy is going to cut away the part of the tumor while she’s sitting up. That was my suggestion.”
“I’m sorry, but how old are you?” Damien smiled at her.
“I’m seven, and I’m a genius. I’m smarter than my parents, and I’m going to be a brilliant neurosurgeon like my daddy.”
“It’s true. She is smarter than Grace and me. Her IQ is off the charts. I’ve taught her about neuro and tumors since she could talk.”
“My goodness. Thank you, Ava.” I smiled at her. “You are definitely going to make a brilliant neurosurgeon one day.”
“She’s obsessed with brain tumors, thanks to him.” Grace rolled her eyes.
“I can do the surgery the day after tomorrow if that’s what you truly want. This is a decision that shouldn’t be made lightly, London.”
“Will you be able to remove the entire tumor?” I asked.
“Yes. I believe I can. I wouldn’t be doing it if I didn’t think I could.”
“London, why don’t you come with me to the kitchen, and I’ll make us some tea.” Grace smiled.
“Can I help, Mommy?” “Of course, you can, sweetie.”
Damien
“Another drink?” Dr. Finn asked.
“That would be great. Listen, Dr. Finn, do you honestly think London should go ahead with the surgery?”
“Let me ask you the same thing.” He handed me my drink. “Do you think she should go through with it?”
“If there’s a chance I can be with her for the rest of my life, yes. I love her. I’ve never loved anyone before and never realized how empty my life was until I met her. I run my own company, I’m rich and successful, and I thought I had it all. It turned out I had nothing.”
“I can totally relate to that.”
“Don’t laugh at me when I tell you this, but I’ve only known her for a month.”
“Hey,” he put his hand up, “I barely knew Grace, and we ended up married after one drunken night in Vegas.”
“Really?” I cocked my head at him.
“Really. You know, Damien. You know who your soulmate is regardless of the little time you’ve known them.”
“I’m begging you with my heart and soul not to let anything happen to her,” I spoke. “I need that woman in my life.”
“I’m going to do everything I can to ensure nothing happens to her.
You have my word. But, I can’t guarantee that she’ll come out of all this a hundred percent.
So, you need to prepare yourself for the aftermath of the surgery.
Everyone is different, Damien, and the only thing I can do is remove the tumor and hope for the best.”
London and Grace walked back into the room, and Grace was holding a little boy in her arms.
“You have two kids?” I asked.
“This is Aiden. He’s two years old.”
“Is he going to be a neurosurgeon as well?” I smirked at Dr. Finn.
“I’m not sure. I told Grace he could do trauma if she wanted him to. But I have this vision of my children being a brilliant brother and sister team.”
I glanced over at Grace, and she rolled her eyes. I couldn’t help but let out a chuckle.
“I’m going to go ahead with the surgery, Dr. Finn,” London spoke.
“Okay, London. Come to the hospital tomorrow evening after six. We’ll admit you, and I’ll schedule your surgery for five a.m. the next morning.”
A sickness settled inside me as I grabbed her hand and climbed into the car. She was silent on the way back to the hotel, and I didn’t want to force her to talk, so I waited until we got back to say something.
“It’s a beautiful night. Let’s go down to the beach for a while.”
“I’m really tired, Damien.”
I walked over to where she stood and placed my hand on her cheek.
“We’ll bring a blanket, lie on the sand, listen to the ocean, and look up at the stars.” I smiled.
The corners of her mouth slightly curved upwards as she nodded her head. I grabbed a neatly folded blanket that sat on a chair and swooped London up in my arms.
“What are you doing?” She laughed.
“I’m carrying you down to the beach, so you don’t have to walk.” I kissed her lips.
“Damien, people will look at us like we’re weird.”
“No, baby. People will look at us and say, wow, look at how in love he is with her.”