“I guess.”
“Are you worried about the man you’re with now?”
“It’s a long story, and it’s incredibly selfish for me to even be thinking about it now, but yes.”
“I see.”
“He loved a woman, and she broke his heart. Like you said, she took a little piece of it with her when she left.”
“Do you love him?”
“I do. So much so that it scares me.”
Father Joe smiled. “That’s how you know it’s real—if it scares the heck out of you. I’m not personally that well versed in relationships of the man-and-woman kind, obviously. But I’ve counseled a lot of couples in my forty years of the priesthood. My advice would be to give this man some time. Perhaps he’s feeling just as scared as you are right now.”
I sighed and nodded. “You’re right. Time. We definitely need some time. I should probably say those prayers and get going now, before your mass starts. But thank you for talking to me.”
“Anytime, Elodie. I’m here from eight to six or so every day. But if I’m not here…” He pointed to the cross hanging over the small altar. “He is. So come by and talk to either of us whenever you need to.”Chapter 42* * *Hollis“How are you holding up, son?” Richard walked into the small waiting room outside the ICU while I was waiting for my coffee from the vending machine to finish brewing.
“I’ve been better. You?”
He smiled sadly. “Same.”
I slipped the cardboard cup out of the machine and sipped. My face scrunched up, and Richard chuckled.
“Looks like coffee,” he said. “Smells like coffee, too. Tastes like shit. Though you look like shit. So it’s a match.”
“Thanks,” I grumbled.
“Were you here all night?”
“I left to drive Elodie home and run an errand, then came back.”
He took a dollar from his pocket, and the vending machine sucked it in. “This has gotta be hard on you both.”
“It’s definitely not something I saw coming.”
Richard frowned. “I’m sorry about that.” He took a deep breath and pushed the button to add cream and sugar to his coffee. “I spoke to the pulmonologist on the phone a little while ago. He’s going to come in about two o’clock and talk to us. Said he’s bringing the neurologist at the same time, and wants to discuss prognosis. He didn’t sound too optimistic.”
I rubbed the back of my neck. “Okay. I’ll head out before then so you can have some privacy.”
“I wasn’t telling you so you would leave. I was telling you so you could be there. Bree would want us all to be together at a time like this.”
“Not sure Anna—Bree—envisioned I’d be around again. But I appreciate that.”
Richard sipped his coffee. “You might not have been together anymore, but you were always in my daughter’s heart, Hollis.”
She had a funny way of showing it. But this wasn’t the time or place for bitterness.
Instead, I nodded. “I’ll be there when the doctor comes. Thank you.”
“Can you let Elodie know about the time, too?”
“Yeah, sure. I’ll get in touch with her.”
She’d disappeared after she saw me sitting with Anna early this morning. I was sure she’d put two and two together and figured out I couldn’t have gone to the city and back. She probably thought I’d lied to her when I dropped her off—saying I needed to go home. But I really hadn’t planned on coming back. Then I saw a billboard for the pediatric oncology unit of the hospital and suddenly my car was crossing three lanes of traffic to turn off at the next exit for a Walmart.
It was difficult to plan anything when things could change from one minute to the next. Thankfully, Addison had taken Hailey and control of the business, so someone with a brain had the reins, at least.
After we finished our coffees, Richard went to sit with Mariah. I wanted to give him some alone time, so I decided to go for a walk outside and get some fresh air. I figured I’d call Elodie and tell her about the doctors coming at two o’clock.
But when I walked out the front doors of the hospital, I was surprised to find Elodie sitting on a bench.
“Hey. What are you doing out here?”
She forced a sad smile. “I don’t know. I wasn’t ready to come back upstairs yet, but I also didn’t want to leave.”
I nodded. “Can I sit?”
“Of course.” She inched over on the small bench. “I checked in with Hailey a little while ago. She sounded good. Apparently she asked Addison to take her to Home Goods, and she’s spending the day redecorating your office since she’s at your work today.”
“Great.” I chuckled. “Can’t wait to see what that looks like.”
We fell quiet. There was so much to say, yet nothing felt right. The silence stretched into awkwardness until I finally remembered I did have something to tell her—about the doctors. Only when I went to speak, she also started to talk.