Chapter 29
CHAPTER
TWENTY-NINE
Jory
Everything hurts.
“Dr. Michaels, please call Extension 2244. Dr. Michaels, Extension 2244.”
I shift my weight, groaning as my right hip throbs from sitting in the car for eight hours. I got speared by an opponent a few years ago—his head drove straight into my bone—and it’s never been quite right since.
My elbows rest on my knees, a paper cup halfway filled with nasty-ass coffee between my hands.
The growing acidity in my stomach, either from the coffee or worrying about Gus and Markie, feels like a hole burning through the lining.
I grimace, rubbing my eyes with the back of one hand.
I’d give almost anything to be in bed right now.
I take out my phone and reread Markie’s text.
I didn’t get it until we got here, and I truly hope she didn’t wait on me to respond.
I’ve warred with whether to just respond to it now at this ungodly hour and hope it doesn’t wake her up, or whether to wait until a more respectable hour and just call her.
Neither seem right.
Nothing about this godforsaken day seems right.
“Dr. Michaels, please call Extension 2244. Dr. Michaels, Extension 2244.”
If I knew how to call the extension, I’d do it and pretend to be Dr. Michaels just to stop the announcement every five minutes.
I look up as the doors to the waiting room open and spot Gus. He waves to some of Deidre’s family members on the other side of the room but makes a beeline my way.
My boy.
“Hey,” I say, wrapping my arm around him as he sits beside me. His big, green eyes are filled with emotion. He’s been crying, evident by the tear stains on his cheeks. “How are you doing?”
He shrugs. “I’m sad.”
“I know, bud. I’m so sad that you’re going through losing someone again. As you said to Markie, it sucks.”
“The nurses came in needing to do a few things, so they asked me if I’d step out,” he says. “I was ready for a break anyway. It’s a lot in there.”
“You know that you don’t have to sit in there. You can tap out at any point. Just blame it on me, if you need a scapegoat.”
He sighs, as if he’s been holding that lungful of air all night. “At least I got to tell Papa that I love him, right? That matters.”
“That matters.” I pat his leg. “But, even if you didn’t make it here to tell him, you know that he knew that.”
“You think?”
“Well, let me ask you this,” I say. “Do you know that Papa Ernie loves you?”
He nods. “Yeah. He told me every time I talked to him.”
“Exactly. So, don’t you think he knows that you love him, too? He’s probably smarter than you. I mean, I’ve seen videos of you on Brandon’s skateboard.”
I bump his shoulder with mine, earning a lazy smile in return.
The exhaustion that the last nine or so hours has taken on him is written on his face. It tears at my heart as he falls back into his seat. He yawns, leaning his head on me. I contemplate taking him to a hotel but would like to talk to Deidre first.
“Have you talked to Markie?” Gus asks, his voice quiet.
I shake my head. “No, but it’s the middle of the night, my guy, and I don’t want to wake her up.”
“But she didn’t call you while I was asleep in the car?”
“She had stuff to do. I’ll talk to her later this morning.”
“What is she doing about the tournament?” he asks. “That was really important to her.”
Just twist the knife in my heart a little more, why don’t you?
I sigh. “I don’t know. I’m not sure what she’ll do.”
He sits up, his little shoulders slumped forward. “You should be there with her.”
“Nah, I should be here with you.”
He chuckles sleepily. “Dad, I have put a lot of work into your relationship. Please don’t screw it up.”
I laugh, catching the sound before it gets too loud.
“What time’s your first game meant to be?” he asks.
“Two thirty, I think.”
“If you leave now, could you make it?”
“Gus …” I groan, moving around in my seat again. “I’m here with you. Let’s get through this and then worry about the rest, okay?”
He turns, pulling one leg up so he’s facing me. His mouth twists and he looks at me like the roles are reversed—like he’s the adult and I’m the child.
If I wasn’t so tired, I’d find it amusing. If we were home, I’d tell him that he better tread carefully because I know that little smirk. But neither are true.
“You’re a good dad,” he says. “I appreciate you for bringing me here tonight, but I’m here with Mom. You should be with Markie.”
I hang my head again.
“Mom has dated a few guys since my first dad died. And she’s never found another guy who made our house feel like it did when he was here.
” He scoots closer. “But your house feels like that with Markie there, Dad. And she makes you happy. And, for some reason, you make her happy. It’s probably because you have me and I’m so charming, but it works in your favor. ”
I chuckle, lifting my gaze to his. How is he so wise and amusing at three in the morning?
“You gotta go back,” he says, imploring me. “I know the drive sucks, but you can’t let her down. Remember all that stuff you said about promises you make to the people you love?”
I sigh. “Yeah, I remember. But we were talking about when you get married.”
“Does that make you love someone more?”
Touché.
The door opens again. This time, it’s Deidre. She smiles at me, then at Gus, and wraps her cardigan tightly around her chest as she approaches us.
I stand, pulling her into a quick hug. “Deidre, I’m so sorry.”
She tries to speak, but all that comes out is a choked sob.
“How is Papa?” Gus asks her.
She forces a swallow as she pulls away. “He’s resting, baby. I had to come out to go to the restroom, so I thought I’d check on you.” She ruffles his hair. “Are you hungry or anything?”
He shakes his head.
“Aunt Wendy’s going back to her house in a few minutes to try to get some sleep before your cousins wake up in a few hours,” she says.
“If you want to go there and rest, she’d love to take you.
” She looks up at me. “There’s a room there for you, too.
Or you can go to Dad’s and stay there. I can give you a key. ”
“That’s nice of you, Deidre, thanks. But I’ll just hit up a hotel.”
Gus turns to face me. “No, Dad. Go home.”
Deidre flinches. “Gus. Don’t talk to him that way.”
“What are you going to do here, Dad?” Gus asks, ignoring his mother.
“I’m going to be here for you.”
“I’m bad at math,” he says. “But let’s balance this equation.”
Chuckling, I hold out my hands. “How do you know how to balance an equation?”
“Markie. Don’t change the subject.” He lifts a brow. “I’m here but I have Mom, and Aunt Wendy, and a million other people that I don’t know. I’ll be fine. But on the other end of this equation is Markie, and she’s all alone.” He leans forward. “Balance the equation, Dad.”
Deidre flinches. “I feel like I’ve missed a lot.”
“Tell him to go home,” Gus tells her. “Kick him out of here. He has responsibilities to his girlfriend.”
“Girlfriend?” Deidre grins. “I didn’t know you had a girlfriend.”
“Yeah, well …”
“Her name is Markie,” Gus says. “And she’d make an excellent stepmom, which is why I hooked them up in the first place.”
Deidre lifts a brow. “Well, okay then.” Her eyes hold a glimmer of the sparkle I remember from college. “Looks like you need to go back to Sugar Creek.”
I stare at her because I don’t know what to do and I don’t want to make the wrong fucking decision. Again.
“I’ll make this easy for you. Do you love her?” Deidre asks, her gaze searching mine.
My heart swells as I think of Markie and how much I wish she was here. I wish I told her at Lolly’s that I want her to go to Nevada with me. That I want to figure out a way to make things work because she’s … it. She’s my girl. She’s my more.
“Yeah,” I say, nodding. “I do. I love her.”
“Then our son is right and you need to go. That drive is going to be awful, but such is the adventure when you’re in love.
” She wraps her arm around Gus’s shoulders.
“He can rest at my sister’s. I have lots of family here to entertain him.
And once this is all over, maybe I can bring him back to you or meet you halfway or something.
That is, if you want to finish the summer out there, Gus. ”
He nods. “For sure, I do.”
Excitement begins to stir inside me. “You’re sure?” I ask my son. “I’ll stay. I’m happy to stay.”
“If you stay, I’ll be stressed out. So, please go. You can still make it for the tournament, right?”
I take out my phone and check the time. “Maybe,” I say. “Barely. If I can get enough coffee and not hit traffic.”
Gus gives me a hug. Then I give Deidre a tight squeeze.
“Call me if you need anything,” I whisper in her ear. “I’m a phone call away.”
She pulls back and smiles. “Go get our son’s stepmom. That’s the best thing you can do for all of us right now.”
I kiss the top of Gus’s head. “I love you, buddy. More than you’ll ever know.”
“Yeah. I know, Dad.” He grins. “I love you, too.”
I wind my way out of the hospital with adrenaline flooding my veins, hitting a full sprint as soon as I’m in the parking lot.
Time waits for no man, and with this second chance, I refuse to be another notch of disappointment on Markie’s conscience.