“Oh, Emily. That’s what family is for.”
“I just didn’t know if you would be comfortable in a hospital again.”
“Your father is in Heaven now, and the doctors did everything they could. I miss him, but don’t go thinking this is the same thing.” A few beats of silence passed. “It’ll be all right, Emily. She’s in the hospital, and the doctors will make sure she gets better. She’s a young girl, and she’s strong. You overthink things. You always have.”
“I know, Mama. I know. I… no. You’re right. Thank you, Mama.”
“You’re welcome.” She hung up, and I glanced back over at Juniper. At least she was getting the rest she needed for now. Mama was right, of course. She was in a great children’s hospital, surrounded by trained doctors and nurses. They’d make sure she’d get better.
I was just panicking because I’d never dealt with her being sick like this. It had to happen at some point. I understood that in my head, but my heart didn’t seem to want to agree.
I shivered for a moment. Juniper had gotten sick before but had never ended up in the hospital. As much as I didn’t want to call Lionel, her father needed to know. She’d probably want to see him if she had to stay for more than a day.
I took one last look at the sleeping Juniper before stepping into the hallway and closing the door. I dialed and waited. The phone rang and rang. I prayed it’d go to voicemail. He needed to get the message, but that didn’t mean I looked forward to talking to him. I doubted I could get off the phone without saying something nasty.
I’d thought it was about to go to voicemail when Lionel finally picked up.
“What?” he said, irritation in his voice. I could hear a lot of background noise like he was at a busy restaurant or party or something. I guess I’d interrupted him.
“Well, hello to you too.”
“I’m waiting for my next plane in Houston. I don’t exactly have time to chat, Emily.” His voice was so snotty, I imagined he must have rolled his eyes when he started speaking. “Can’t this wait until tomorrow? Or better yet, until I get back from my trip?”
I took a deep breath and slowly let it out. Yes, he was being a bit of ass, but he still deserved to know.
“No, it can’t. I wanted to call and let you know Juniper’s sick.”
“That’s what you’re calling me about?” Lionel grunted. “You already told me about this. Kids get sick, and then they get better. You can’t call me every time she sneezes. Don’t be so overprotective, Emily. She’ll grow up with issues if you don’t learn to let go.”
The sad part about having a fancy smartphone was that you didn’t have a receiver you could slam down in a fit of anger. Instead, I imagined what it’d be like to bop Lionel over the head with my phone. It was kind of satisfying, but not enough.
“This isn’t a cold, Lionel,” I said. “She’s in the hospital. She’s got pneumonia. It’s serious.”
“So? What do you want me to do about it? I’m not a doctor.”
I groaned. Did he care about his own daughter? He wasn’t acting like it.
“I think you should consider coming back,” I said. “In case she wants to see you.”
He burst out laughing, which was unbearably loud over the phone. “Come back, seriously? Didn’t you hear me? I already left Tennessee. I’m in Houston.”
“Yes, I heard you, but your daughter is in the hospital.” Despite trying to control my temper, my voice grew louder. “This is the first time she’s been in the hospital since being born, for crying out loud. So, stop acting like I’m overreacting to something that happens all the time.”
“Oh, I see how it is. You get to run off to Japan with Logan Hawkins, but the minute Juniper gets a little sick, I have to cancel my vacation and come running back, disappointing my girlfriend.”
“She wasn’t sick when I left, and I would have never left if she had been. You know that.”
Lionel snorted. “Like you would have come back anyway.”
“How dare you,” I said through gritted teeth. “If Juniper got sick when I was in Japan, I would have come home on the first flight I could. You’re not even outside the country yet. I’m sure you can get a refund, and if your girlfriend cares about you or Juniper at all, I’m sure she’ll understand.”
“That’s not fair, and it’s easy to say when you don’t have to face that choice.” Lionel chuckled. “You know what your problem is, Emily?”
“That I married a good-for-nothing son of a bitch who cheated on me?”
“No. It’s that you’re selfish.”
“What did you say?” My fingers tightened around my phone until they ached.