They’d moved him one step down from the ICU and given him the okay for visitors, which only meant that he got all three of them in his room at once. Joy. And what was sad was that joy was what he’d expected to feel—he’d missed them so much, prayed for mother’s kindness in the dark of night on that transport flight. And when he’d woken up to her in his ICU cubicle, he’d felt a calmness he hadn’t had in years.
But that peace hadn’t lasted.
“Well.” Maddox’s mother let out a predictable sigh after the door shut behind his minister. A tall, slim woman, she had an imposing presence even when she wasn’t looming over his hospital bed. His father and Addy followed the minster out, going in search of coffee, which might be for the best, honestly. “That’s quite the interesting...guru you have there.”
“She’s a minister. It’s Unitarians, Mom, not a Hare Krishna cult.” Maddox had thought—stupidly, obviously—that she might be happy that he had a church family here.
“If you’re ready to come back to the church, I don’t know why you couldn’t find a real congregation.” Ah there it was. If he was ready.
“This is a real church.” Maddox was too tired for this argument. He went to the largest, oldest Unitarian congregation in San Diego, had for years now. “Even if it’s more liberal than you might like, God’s there for me. I’m not going back to our church. Not until they change their stance on LGBT acceptance and LGBT clergy.” Might as well toss everything out there.
“So you’re still...” His mother waved her hand.
“Gay? Yes, Mom. No newsflash there.”
“You almost died.” She sighed. “One could hope...”
“You thought God would show me the error of my ways?” Maddox shook his head, which throbbed like a cement block was sitting on his neck. “Think he was too busy fighting this infection.”
“I guess I knew you wouldn’t have changed.” She sighed and paced to the far side of the room. “But I don’t want to fight.”
“You don’t?” Hope unfurled in Maddox’s gut. Maybe they could find common ground after all—
“We’re back.” Addy came bustling into the room, their father right behind her. He’d aged since Maddox had seen him on his last visit home—gray hair thinning out to a few long strands up top, shoulders more stooped. Addy had too. Her brown hair was dyed a reddish shade now, and she wore thick lipstick instead of the shiny glosses she’d favored as a teen. And the small pregnant belly was the biggest change of all—a constant reminder that there were nieces and nephews he’d never met.
“Checked in for the flight.” His dad waved his smart phone. And wasn’t that a sight, him with a fancy piece of technology he wouldn’t have wanted anything to do with a decade ago.
“You’re leaving?” Maddox tried not to let his voice break. He’d been awake, really awake like this, less than a day. And they were leaving? And what was that business his mom had said about not fighting?
“Can’t leave Brant with the farm too long. Busy season.” His dad took a long swig of his coffee. Black, Maddox was sure. No fancy lattes for him.
“And Tommy’s sixth grade graduation is coming up,” his mother added, mentioning the nephew Maddox only remembered from wrinkly baby pictures. He undoubtedly went to the same small private religious school that Maddox and his siblings had gone to.
“I’ve got to get back to Dan and Connor.” Addy came to stand next to the bed. “But Mad...do you need somewhere to recuperate?” A lump the size of the boulders on the outskirts of their farm formed in Maddox’s throat, and he couldn’t even nod. “I can do some googling or talk to the nurses—”
“I’ll be fine,” Maddox said gruffly, tamping down the bitter tang of disappointment that she wasn’t offering her home. But why would she? She’d been just a kid when he left for the service. They barely knew each other.
“I’m not sure...” His mother wrung her hands. “Might be awkward but...”
Maddox sighed. Awkward was the understatement of the year. He bailed her out, even though part of him didn’t really want to. “I’ll be okay, Mom. There’s a rehab center here at the hospital, then I’ll be fine to go home with Ben.”
Ben. Maddox missed him so much. He needed to know he was okay, but the most recent update he’d gotten had been from a nice nurse who told him Ben wasn’t in ICU anymore, which was hardly reassuring.
“Ben.” His mother pulled a sour face. “He’s...like you?”
“A SEAL? Absolutely.” Maddox stared all three of them down and asked the question that had plagued him ever since he’d woken up. “Why’d you guys come?”
Addy licked her painted lips, eyes going damp. “They said you were dying. That you wouldn’t make it...”