Chapter 9
M eredith turned automatically to the sound of Griffin’s voice. She immediately hated the fact that she was so glad to see him, she wanted to launch into his arms and have him hold her as he had last night.
And despite how horrible things were between them earlier, she still wanted him to hold her.
He took a step forward and placed his hands on her shoulders. No matter how she tried to keep them back, the tears came. “What’s happened? Why did you quit your job?”
“It doesn’t matter. But… ”
“What happened? It’s me. Just talk to me.”
“I don’t have time to talk. I need to go to County Hospital.”
His expression immediately changed to panic. “The hospital? Are you okay?”
She leaned into him, and he took her into his arms. “No. I mean, yes. But I have to see David. I need to make sure he is okay.”
“I’ll take you.”
“I have my car here.”
“You aren’t in any condition to drive. You’re too upset. The least I can do is drive you.”
Within a half hour, they were walking up to David’s mother’s hospital room.
“Maybe I shouldn’t go in there,” Griffin said. “David and his mother don’t know me.”
But I do, she thought. And I need you in case this is bad.
“You didn’t have to come with me at all. Thank you for offering to drive, but you didn’t have to come. ”
“You’re upset. I don’t want to leave you.”
If that had always been true, things in their lives would look a lot different.
“I shouldn’t have sprung things on you like that,” he said regretfully. “In my head, it was supposed to go differently.”
“That conversation is for another time,” she said, looking at the hospital room number and recognizing David’s voice as he joked with his mother.
“It’s up to you. I’ll only be a little while. I just want to make sure he is okay.”
Griffin brushed his fingers against her cheek. “I’ll wait out here.”
She nodded and then knocked on the door. As she slowly walked into the room, she caught David sitting in a chair behind the drape in the second bed. His eyes lit up quickly and then shut down. He went from being the strong boy for his mother, laughing and joking, to the scared little boy afraid to lose her. Meredith’s heart squeezed so tightly she couldn’t breathe .
“Darcy said I could find you here,” she said. “I hope I’m not intruding.”
She glanced at David’s mother in the bed. The woman didn’t look sick, but that meant nothing. Her hair was starting to see the effects of chemo. Soon people would be talking about shaving her head and wigs or rocking it bald. Something told Meredith immediately it would be the latter.
The woman smiled. “Are you a friend of David’s?”
“I work with him. It’s nice to meet you, Ms. Rivera.”
She nodded. “He was just telling me stories about the Ocean Vista.”
“Well, we really like David. He is a wonderful and delightful worker.”
David looked down as if embarrassed.
“I just wanted to make sure you both were okay and to see if there is anything I can do to help you.”
Ms. Rivera smiled weakly. “He just told me he doesn’t have a job anymore. But we’re not going to focus on that today.”
“There are jobs everywhere,” Meredith said. “A good worker like you is wasting time at the Ocean Vista. I know a lot of people in the area. I’m sure you’ll find another job that is far better suited for you when your mom doesn’t need you so much.”
“She needed my paycheck,” David said. “I screwed that up today.”
“Oh, hush. Listen to your friend. Uh…”
“Meredith.”
She smiled wide. “He’s spoken of you. You’re one of the nice ones.”
Her heart beamed, knowing David had spoken kindly about her to his mother.
“I thought you’d be at work,” David said. “Isn’t there the Montgomery wedding tomorrow night?”
“Always on top of things. Yes, but I won’t be there. Like you, I am moving on.”
“You?” He glanced at his mother and then at her again. “Is it that guy you’ve been hanging out with?”
She chuckled.
Ms. Rivera looked appalled. “David! You don’t ask people about their personal business.”
“It’s not personal if I see them together every day.”
“It doesn’t have anything to do with Mr. Cole.” She turned to Ms. Rivera. “Is there any way I can help? I don’t want to pry, but I know things must be hard right now.”
Ms. Rivera drew in a deep breath as tears filled her eyes. “They say I’ll be okay once chemo is done as long as I don’t have any more side effects. My doctor thought I was going to need surgery today, but they got that all squared away. So, I’ll be going home tomorrow. Things will be okay. Getting there is going to be hard. Especially if David is out of a job. But we’ll manage.”
“I know I have a few places I can recommend. Something will come up soon. In the meantime, I’d like to offer David a grant to help him while he’s looking for a new job and to ease both of your minds.”
“Oh, that won’t be necessary,” Ms. Rivera said uncomfortably.
Meredith cleared her throat. “There is a special fund for just this type of situation. Part of healing is being around people who make you laugh and who love you. You’re going to need David. So let me help you get this grant so you can focus on just getting better.”
Ms. Rivera’s eyes filled with tears. She looked at David. “Didn’t I say we’d find a way?”
David couldn’t look at Meredith.
“It’s okay, David. I am going to write you a reference and call a few people. You won’t be out of work for long.”
“You think so?”
“I know so.”
Meredith opened her purse and pulled out a business card. She handed it to David. “My cell number is on here. Call me tomorrow, please. Don’t forget. I’ll be waiting for your call. ”
“Why would you do this?”
Meredith let out a quick sigh. “Just because life is hard now, doesn’t mean it will always be that way. You can still reach for the stars. Am I right?” She turned to see Ms. Rivera beaming at David.
“That’s right. Thank you very much for stopping by, Meredith,” Ms. Rivera said.
“Take care.”
She walked out of the hospital room with a little less emotional pull on her heart than had been there when she walked in.
“Thank you for bringing me here,” she said to Griffin when she met him in the hallway.
They walked silently down the corridor and down the elevator when Griffin finally said, “You quit your job.”
She was just about to push through the revolving door when she chuckled. “That’s what you want to talk about? Aren’t you going to ask me about Ms. Rivera? David? ”
“I don’t need to. I heard every word you said. Something tells me that grant isn’t from the Ocean Vista.”
“No.”
“That was sweet. I’m sure they’ll really appreciate it.”
“I don’t think David, or his mother would have agreed to take money if they thought it was charity. He still has his pride. A small donation to help him and his mother get along for a few months isn’t going to hurt me.”
Standing outside the hospital doors, Griffin looked around. He appeared more tired than he’d been in days. Fatigue was dragging her down, so she understood.
“I’m more worried now about you,” he said.
They walked to Griffin’s Jeep. “It’s a job, Griffin. I have had many. I’ll get another one eventually. Or maybe I won’t. I have enough money invested that I don’t have to worry about it. It’s just a job. ”
He stopped walking when they reached the Jeep.
“What happened?”
She shook her head. “It was a long time coming. Edward came to work at the hotel two months ago. He’s green and makes mistakes, and he expects me to make him look good. I’m just tired of the drama. Let’s just go.”
They both got into the Jeep, and Griffin started to drive.
“That’s not what I mean,” he said. “That happens everywhere. You’re strong. You can handle that. Why did you quit now?”
“He fired David because he wanted to be at the hospital when his mother had surgery. It didn’t sit well with me.”
“Is that the only reason why we are here?”
“Of course. I feel bad for him. Them.”
“It has nothing to do with what you learned this morning? About me knowing about Lucas?”
“You have known about this for seven years. But no, this has nothing to do with…our son.”
“Maybe so. But I saw your face when you walked into that room. I can’t explain it.”
“Yes, you can. You’ve never had a problem saying what you feel, and you certainly didn’t hold back this morning when you were…rightfully angry with me.”
“I wasn’t going to say anything to you until tonight. But Lucas called. He’s been anxious.”
“You weren’t going to say anything,” she sputtered. “Why not? Here I thought we…” She waved him off and stared out the window.
“What?”
“Please just take me back to the hotel. You know what? I’ll get a taxi. Just pull over.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Why would you do that when you know I’m going there anyway and you’re already in the Jeep.”
“Because. ”
His amused grin annoyed her, sending her into one of her moods, which she called bad Meredith . Much like the episode earlier in Edwards’s office. “Just…take me back to the hotel.”
“I came back to Crystal Cove to tell you that I’d met Lucas. I just didn’t want to tell you before…”
“What? Before we kissed? Was making love to me a line you’d cross if you didn’t tell me? I was falling for you, you know. Again.” She chuckled as tears stung her eyes.
“I am, too,” he said quietly. “The longer I waited, the harder it got because of how I felt. I didn’t want you to learn about it the way you did, though.”
“Why? I wasn’t exactly forthright with you for years. I wouldn’t have blamed you for not doing it all just to spite me.”
“Is that what you think I’d do? I was always going to say something. I just…wanted to be with you—just you and me—without…this promise I’d made to Lucas between us. ”
She turned and looked up at him, cocking her head to one side. “Lucas and the military have always been between us. And I guess they should be. It’s who you are. And Lucas is part of us even though we never got the chance to raise him or to have him in our lives.”
They pulled into the hotel parking lot, and Griffin parked the Jeep.
“Yeah, about that.”
She got out of the Jeep and waited for him. “About what?”
“I should probably first tell you that I’m skipping the rest of the reunion,” Griffin said.
“Why? Are you leaving?”
“I was always going to leave eventually, but it depended on how well things went here. I know I sprung the news about Lucas on you last night, and I know you need time to process it.”
“Thank you.”
“But I made a promise to Lucas.”
“Promise? You’re at a point where you make promises? ”
“Are you angry I developed a relationship with our son?”
She clamped her teeth on her trembling lip, but the dam broke, and she couldn’t hold back any longer.
“Just how much of a relationship do you have with Lucas?”
“We’ve been best friends for seven years, ever since he sought me out to tell me I was his birth father.”
“What?”
“I know it’s a shock.”
“You’ve been having a relationship with our son for seven years?”
“Yes. We spend a lot of time together. He’s the reason I transferred to Hawaii. I wanted to be closer to him after he left the service, and that’s where he lives now.”
Tears she’d fought back with anger for the last few hours sprung free and flowed freely.
“You’re angry.”
She swallowed hard. “No. Jealous. You’ve seen his face,” she said, sobbing and then she laughed. “Of course, you’ve seen his face. He’s the spitting image of you. Or he was when he was a baby.”
Griffin chuckled. “That hasn’t changed. We’re like twins. Rather, I’m an older version of him.”
“You’ve shaken his hand. You’ve probably even given him a hug. I had a few short hours with him when he was born. That’s it. I didn’t want to let him go. But then I did. I’m jealous.”
“You can have a relationship with him, too. He wants to meet you. That is the promise he made me make. He wanted me to come here and talk you into meeting him.”
“Talk me into it? He thinks I’d need convincing? Why wouldn’t I want to meet him? Oh, forget that. I gave him away. Of course, he would be scared of my reaction. He probably thinks I hate him.”
“No, he doesn’t. Let me call him so you can talk.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket, but she held him back. “I’ll call him right now. ”
“Not yet. Please, not yet. I want to meet him eventually. I’m afraid he’ll blame me.”
“He’s not like that. Truly.”
“With you. You didn’t even know about him until he contacted you. I was the one who gave him away. He’ll hate me for it.”
“He was raised by parents who loved him. Sadly, they were both older, in their forties when they adopted him. And his mother became sickly soon after. It was bad enough that he lost one. He ended up losing both.”
“And he was left alone. Just like David might be if his mother doesn’t get better.”
“Is that why we were at the hospital?”
“I barely know David. He works at the hotel and I see him. But he’s a good person. He’s a good worker. He made an impression on me. He has integrity. He didn’t deserve what Edward did to him.”
“You are avoiding the subject.”
She turned to him and felt her heart squeezed. “I know we need to talk about this. I know I owe it to you and to me—”
“And Lucas?”
She drew in a deep breath, feeling the weight of what it all meant. “And Lucas. But right now, it’s about you and me. I haven’t wrapped my head around it all, and I need to. I have all these feelings and don’t understand where they’re all coming from. I mean, I know where. I just don’t know how to—”
“I get it. I felt that way.”
“I just need some time.”
“I’m not leaving until tomorrow. I really don’t want to have this conversation with you over the phone.”
She nodded.
“Thank you for being there for me today.”
He pulled her into his arms. “I’m always going to be there for you from now on. Always.”