“Dad, hi. Good morning.”
He says nothing and takes a step toward us.
Rory lets go of my hand to stand and adjust his posture as he faces my father. “Mr. Almonte, it is a pleasure to meet you. Rory Dennis.” He stretches out his hand, but my father doesn’t take it, never breaking his glare from Rory’s face.
“What is the meaning of this?” Dad asks.
“Dad, Rory is special to me. He helped take care of me when I was alone and has done nothing but help me and be kind to me.”
Rory’s rejected hand goes into his coat pocket, but he doesn’t let my Dad intimidate him. “Valentina is very special to me too, sir.”
Dad’s mouth opens to speak, but he is interrupted when Dr. Ramirez walks into the room.
“Valentina, good morning,” she says brightly. “Oh, hello. I’m Dr. Ramirez,” she shakes my Dad’s hand, but his glare stays frozen on Rory. “Dr. Dennis, good morning,” she says, smiling despite the questioning look on her face.
“Dr. Dennis?” Dad roars, and his chest rises faster with each breath.
“Yes, sir. I’m a physician here.”
Dad turns to Dr. Ramirez, an accusation in his eyes. “Is it common for doctors here to kiss their patients?”
Dr. Ramirez’s gaze scans the room from Dad’s face, to Rory’s, to mine, finally understanding what’s going on. “Dr. Dennis isn’t one of Valentina’s doctors, Mr. Almonte. I can assure you, no lines have been crossed.”
“Excuse me?” Dad huffs. “No lines have been crossed? My daughter is sick. He’s clearly taking advantage—”
“Dad, no one’s taking advantage. Please sit down so we can talk.”
Dad shakes his head. “What kind of a sick bastard preys on cancer patients?”
“Dad! He didn’t prey on me. He didn’t even know I was sick when we met.”
I can tell Dad’s resolve wavers a bit, but he’s also the person I inherited my stubbornness from, so I know he won’t relent so easily. “I will sue,” he hisses. “No one takes advantage of my daughter.”
“No one took advantage of anyone, Dad. And you are not suing. If anything, you owe a wealth of gratitude to everyone in this hospital, including Rory. They have all made me very welcome knowing I was here alone.”
“Mr. Almonte, I’m sure you have questions. I’ll be back in an hour when everyone is calmer.” Dr. Ramirez doesn’t let Dad answer her before she is out of the room. I don’t blame her for her quick departure, because the showdown taking place in my room is awkward as fuck. I don’t even want to be in the room myself.
Dad takes a deep breath. “I need you to leave,” he tells Rory.
“He’s not leaving,” I say and grab Rory’s hand to make myself perfectly clear.
Rory never breaks eye-contact with Dad, and Dad’s glare moves from him to me and back to him again.
“Please,” Dad says. “I have to speak with my daughter and her doctors.” His voice is more placating now, and I’m more receptive to it. Rory looks at me, checking with me it’s okay if he leaves. I nod.
My eyes widen with horror when Rory bends to kiss my lips one last time before heading out. When he stands, I look at Dad, who is fuming. Rory Dennis is a brave man to have made that move.
“Mr. Almonte, I’ll be back later. I’m sure you’ll want to chat with me too.”
Dad looks stunned and frozen in place as Rory leaves the room. He starts pacing, pausing to glare at me every few steps, just as Chema had done. He seems a little better than he did last night when he first arrived. He has shaved, and his clothes are crisp once again, though more casual than what I’m used to seeing him wear. My mother is nowhere to be seen, and I’m not surprised. She’s never handled family situations well. Avoidance being her modus operandi, I know she has knocked herself out cold with pills back at their hotel room. I don’t have to ask Dad for confirmation.
We switch to Spanish for the rest of our conversation. “Dad, can you sit down? You’re making me dizzy.”
He stills and at last sits, taking the chair Rory vacated only moments ago.
“What on earth were you thinking?” he asks. “Were you even thinking? Men like that prey on weak—”
“Dad! Stop. You don’t know him. He didn’t prey on me.”