40. Chapter 40
Caitlin
I grip Adam’s hand tighter as we walk through the halls of the hospital.
His fingers are cold against mine, and I can feel the tension radiating from him in waves.
We’ve been traveling for hours after a rushed packing job and a frantic drive to Portland for the first available flight.
We got a rental car at the airport in Des Moines, and now we are here.
I scan the waiting room and spot them immediately: Lauren and Jake huddled together on a vinyl couch, Hailey scrolling through her phone in the corner, and Paula pacing near the nurses’ station, her heels clicking an impatient rhythm against the linoleum floor.
“They’re over there,” I whisper to Adam, giving his hand another squeeze.
He nods, his jaw set in a hard line. He looks exhausted, his eyes red-rimmed and face gray. The beard he’s been growing makes him look older, wilder somehow. I wonder if his family will even recognize him.
Lauren spots us first. She’s on her feet in an instant, her face lighting up with relief as she hurries toward us. She looks about as exhausted as Adam does; her clothes are rumpled, like she’s slept in them.
“Adam,” she breathes, throwing her arms around her brother. “Thank God you made it.”
He releases my hand to return her hug, holding her tight against his chest. “How is he?” His voice is rough from lack of sleep and worry.
“In surgery now,” she says, pulling back to look at him. “It’s been touch and go.”
Jake approaches more slowly, giving them their moment before stepping forward to shake Adam’s hand, then pulling him into a brief, firm hug. “Good to see you, man,” he says quietly.
“You too,” Adam replies.
Jake turns to me next, surprising me with a warm hug. “Thanks for coming, Caitlin,” he says. “It means a lot to have you here.”
“Of course,” I say, touched by his sincerity. “I wouldn’t be anywhere else.”
Lauren hugs me next, and I can feel her trembling slightly. “I’m so glad you’re here,” she whispers in my ear. “He needs you.”
Over Lauren’s shoulder, I can see Paula has stopped pacing. She stands frozen, staring at us like she’s seen a ghost. Or two ghosts, rather. Hailey has finally looked up from her phone, her expression a mixture of surprise and something that might be contempt.
Adam deliberately ignores them both, keeping his focus on Lauren. “When did they take him in? What are they doing exactly?”
Before Lauren can answer, Hailey’s voice cuts across the waiting room, sharp and clear. “Wow, Adam. And here I thought we’d finally got rid of her.” She looks me up and down with exaggerated distaste. “What’s that saying about bad pennies?”
I feel Adam tense beside me, ready to leap to my defense, but I place a gentle hand on his arm.
I can handle Hailey Kelley. “And I see you’re as charming as ever, Hailey,” I reply, my voice sweet enough to cause cavities.
“That phone still surgically attached to your hand? You might want to have that looked at while we’re here. ”
Hailey’s eyes narrow, but before she can respond, Adam cuts in. “Don’t start, Hailey. Not today.”
“Me? Start something?” She has the audacity to look offended. “I’m just surprised to see her here, that’s all. Last any of us knew, you two were kaput.”
“Clearly, you were wrong,” I say, moving closer to Adam’s side.
Paula finally unfreezes, her high heels clicking across the linoleum as she approaches. Her hair is perfectly styled as always, not a strand out of place despite the hospital vigil. Her makeup is flawless, her clothes expensive and immaculate. Even in a crisis, Paula Kelley maintains appearances.
“Adam,” she says, arms outstretched for a hug. “You came home.”
Adam takes a deliberate step back, keeping me at his side. Paula’s arms hang awkwardly in the air for a moment before she drops them, her smile faltering.
“Hello, Mother,” he says, his voice devoid of warmth.
Paula’s gaze shifts to me, and her expression sours like she’s just bitten into a lemon. “Caitlin,” she says, my name sounding like a curse on her lips. “What a… surprise. You and Adam broke up.”
I slip my arm around Adam’s waist, feeling the rigid tension in his muscles. “We’re working things out,” I say, meeting her gaze steadily.
I feel Adam stiffen in surprise and send him a reassuring smile, leaning closer into his side.
“How… nice.” She manages to make those two words sound like the opposite of nice. “Though I’m still not sure why you’re here. This is a family matter.”
“That’s exactly why she’s here,” Adam says, his voice suddenly hard. “Because she is family to me.”
Paula’s perfectly penciled eyebrows shoot up. “Don’t be ridiculous, Adam. She’s not family. She’s just some girl you dated—”
“Leave Caitlin alone.” Adam’s voice cuts through his mother’s like a knife. “She’s here because I asked her to be here. She’s here because, unlike you, she actually cares about my well-being.”
Paula gasps like she’s been slapped. “I’m your mother!”
“Yes, you are,” Adam agrees, his voice dangerously calm. “And you were a terrible one.”
The waiting room goes absolutely silent. Lauren’s eyes widen, Jake shifts uncomfortably, and Hailey’s phone slips from her fingers, clattering on the floor. Paula looks like someone just pulled the floor out from under her.
“Adam Kelley,” she finally manages, her voice trembling with either shock or rage, probably both. “How dare you speak to me that way?”
“I dare because it’s true,” Adam says, still in that frighteningly steady voice.
Paula’s mouth opens and closes like a fish out of water.
She looks around the waiting room as if searching for allies, but finds none.
Lauren is staring at her shoes, Jake is suddenly very interested in a poster about the importance of handwashing on the wall, and Hailey is pretending to be absorbed in her phone again.
“What are you even doing here anyway?” Adam asks, his voice hard. “Dad’s divorcing you, isn’t he?”
Paula’s face flushes an alarming shade of red. “He was… coming to his senses,” she says stiffly. “We were working things out.”
“No, you weren’t,” Lauren interjects quietly. “She’s been making the divorce proceedings difficult,” she explains to Adam. “Making impossible demands, refusing to sign anything, delaying meetings with lawyers.”
“Lauren!” Paula snaps, whirling on her daughter. “That is private family business!”
“Sit down and be quiet, Mother,” Adam says, his voice so commanding that Paula actually takes a step back. “Nobody here is interested in listening to your bullshit.”
Paula looks like she might explode, but instead, she snaps her mouth shut and stalks back to her chair, sitting rigidly down with the expression of someone who has just been mortally offended.
Lauren touches Adam’s arm gently. “Dad went into surgery about an hour ago,” she says, bringing us back to the reason we’re all here. “They’re trying to repair damage from the heart attack and place some stents. The doctor said it could take several hours.”
Adam nods, some of the anger draining from his face, replaced by worry. “How bad was it? The heart attack?”
“Bad,” Lauren says simply. “The only saving grace is he was out getting coffee and not alone at home. The employees were able to call 911 immediately.”
We all move to sit down, the confrontation giving way to the grim reality of waiting.
Lauren and Jake return to their spot on the vinyl couch.
Adam and I take seats across from them, while Paula and Hailey remain on the far side of the waiting room, as if an invisible line has been drawn down the middle.
The minutes tick by with excruciating slowness. Adam’s leg bounces with nervous energy beside mine. I place my hand on his knee, and he covers it with his own, shooting me a grateful look. Across the room, Paula keeps glaring at us, her eyes like laser beams boring into the side of Adam’s head.
“You know,” she finally says, her voice cutting through the silence, “I always knew you’d be a disappointment, Adam. Even as a child, you were so… willful. Always thinking about yourself instead of others.”
I feel Adam tense beside me, and I squeeze his knee, silently urging him not to engage. But to my surprise, he just shrugs.
“Okay,” he says simply.
“Okay?” Paula repeats, clearly thrown by his response. “That’s all you have to say?”
“Yes, that’s all I have to say. Your opinion doesn’t matter to me anymore.”
Lauren lets out a choked sound that might be laughter. “Mom, have you lost your mind? Dad is in surgery fighting for his life, and you’re trying to pick a fight?” She shakes her head in disbelief. “What is wrong with you?”
Paula ignores Lauren, her focus locked on Adam. “Just look at you,” she says, waving a hand dismissively. “You haven’t shaved in months. Your hair is too long. You look like a vagrant.”
Adam smiles, and there’s something almost predatory about it. “I’m thinking of getting a tattoo, too,” he says conversationally. “Maybe a full sleeve. What do you think? Dragons? Skulls? Caitlin’s name over my heart?”
Paula’s face drains of color. “Don’t you dare,” she hisses. “No one will hire you looking like that. What are you thinking?”
“Actually,” Adam says, his smile widening, “Caitlin’s uncle had no problem hiring me.”
Paula blinks, momentarily derailed. “What do you mean? Hired you to do what?”
“I’m a server at the restaurant Caitlin’s family owns,” Adam says, and I can hear the pride in his voice.
Paula stares at him like he’s just announced he’s going to join the circus. “A server?” she repeats, her voice faint. “At a restaurant?” She looks at me accusingly, as if I’ve somehow corrupted her son. “You gave up running our family’s business to be a server?”
“Yes,” Adam tells her with a serene smile.
Paula’s mouth works silently, no sound coming out. She looks like she’s been struck dumb, shock written across every line of her face. For the first time since I’ve known her, Paula Kelley has nothing to say.
The silence that follows is almost peaceful. Adam relaxes slightly beside me, as if standing up to his mother has lifted some invisible weight from his shoulders. Lauren gives him a small, approving nod. Even Jake looks impressed.
A doctor in blue scrubs pushes through the double doors, and we all tense, the family drama momentarily forgotten. “Kelley family?” he calls, looking around the waiting room.
We all stand up, even Paula and Hailey, moving toward him as a unit despite our differences. In this moment, we’re just people waiting to hear if someone we love is going to live or die. Adam grips my hand so tightly it almost hurts, but I don’t pull away.
The doctor looks around at our anxious faces. “The surgery went well,” he says, and I feel the collective exhale of relief. “Mr. Kelley is in recovery now. We were able to clear the blockages and place three stents. The next 24 to 48 hours will be critical, but I’m cautiously optimistic.”
“When can we see him?” Lauren asks, her voice steady despite the tears shining in her eyes.
“He’ll be in recovery for another hour or so, then we’ll move him to the ICU. Once he’s settled, you can see him briefly, just a couple of people at a time, family only, just for a few minutes.”
Paula immediately steps forward. “I’m his wife,” she announces, as if staking a claim.
“Ex-wife,” Lauren corrects firmly. “Or soon to be, anyway. I have medical power of attorney, Mom.” She pulls a folded document from her purse. “Dad updated his paperwork last month.”
Paula looks like she’s been slapped. The doctor glances between them, clearly sensing the tension but professional enough not to comment on it. “I’ll have a nurse come get you when he’s ready for visitors,” he says, before retreating back through the double doors.
We stand there in the aftermath of his news, relief mingling with the lingering tension. Adam’s hand is still locked in mine, his grip finally loosening slightly.
“He’s going to be okay,” I whisper to him, and he nods, swallowing hard. Then, in a move that takes me by surprise, he pulls me into his arms and buries his face against my hair.
“Thank you for being here,” he whispers. “I couldn’t have faced this without you.”
I lean my head against his shoulder, watching as Paula stalks back to her seat, clearly fuming over Lauren’s revelation. The battle lines have been drawn, and for the first time, Paula Kelley is on the losing side.
“There’s nowhere else I’d rather be,” I tell Adam truthfully. And despite the grim setting, despite the family drama still simmering around us, I mean it with every fiber of my being.