I poured him a cup and grabbed a croissant from the container then I sat back down beside him and he put Sophie back onto the floor. She was more interested in crawling around to get her toys at the moment and was happy to be left to herself.
"I got a call from Brenda," I said and proceeded to tell Drake about the conversation.
"I'd like to spend time with Liam," Drake said. "I might take him up with me to the hospital."
I frowned. "Do you think that's wise? Won't it be upsetting to him?"
Drake shook his head. "Liam's seen more sickness and death than most of us have. He spent a lot of time on hospital wards, around other children who were sick and some of whom died. He doesn't understand it the way an adult does, but I think he'd be fine. I'll talk to Brenda and see what she thinks, of course."
"Of course," I said, realizing that Liam wasn't an ordinary child. Having cancer altered them, making them see the world differently than a child who has never been ill. "Whatever you think."
Drake took out his cell and called Brenda. I watched him while he waited, amazed that he could face all this turmoil in his life and still seem positive.
Finally, she answered.
"Hello," he said and smiled. "Yes, I'd like to very much. Maybe we could get some ice cream and go to the beach. Let me talk to your grandma, okay?"
He raised his eyebrows at me and waited. She must have come on the line and Drake said hello and nodded.
"Thank you. Yes, it was a shock of course. I'd like to visit with Liam today. What I wanted to ask you was whether you think it would be okay if he went to visit his other grandmother – if she's well enough."
He listened for a while, taking a sip of his coffee.
"I'd want to make sure she wasn't in any distress first. When I saw her this morning she was breathing much better and was brighter. Even if she can't understand who he is, I would like him to know who she is. Before she dies."
He nodded as he listened and then smiled. "Thanks, Brenda. I'll make sure not to dwell on anything morbid. I'll tell him that she's sick with a bad cold and had to be in the hospital. I won’t mention that she's potentially terminal. And I won't take him to see her if her condition's deteriorated."
Drake listened some more and then glanced over at me. "I think our whole family will take a trip up to see her. Then, we can all go for supper, and maybe ice cream like I promised, if you're okay with that."
I nodded my head, wanting him to know I was happy to go with him and Liam.
"Okay, we'll be by around three. If my mother is too ill, we won't go to the hospital but there's lots we can do down at the beach. Thanks. See you later."
Drake ended the call and turned to me, smiling. "Well, that's all settled."
"I'm glad. I just hope she's not too agitated so Liam can see her."
"They're giving her medicine that is calming her so I hope she'll be fine. She may still be unaware of who we are, and unable to understand who Liam is but he should see her at least in case she passes."
I leaned over to Drake and slipped my arms around his shoulders. "I love you," I said, my emotions getting the better of me.
"When I met you, I told you I was pretty much an orphan" Drake said, brushing hair off my cheek, "but now look at how much family I have. I have us, I have your father and Elaine, I have Brenda and Liam, and now I have my mother and her family."
My eyes teared up at that. "I'm glad for you."
We kissed, the kiss warm and full of affection and emotion.
For the rest of the morning and early afternoon, we did family things together, eating our lunch on the patio and then we put Sophia down for a nap that never happened. She was used to going down around three, but we wanted to spend time with Liam when he got home from school. It would mean she'd probably sleep in the car on the way home and it might mess up her sleep schedule at my father's, but I felt assured he and Elaine could deal with it.
We got ready to go and pick up Liam, the two of us standing at the mirror in the bathroom, brushing our teeth and getting dressed.
"I hope things go okay and that my mom is good enough for Liam to see her."
"You can only check and see. We've got lots to do even if he can't meet her today. There will be other days perhaps."
"We'll see."
I kissed him, brushing his hair out of his eyes. "That's all we can do."