Page 16 of When Sky Breaks

“Sorry, you’re right, just trying to lighten the mood. I haven’t had you home for longer than like five minutes, and I just don’t want it to be on these terms—me being sick. So do your old man a favor and humor me. Tuesday, you can ask anything you want after the appointment. Okay?”

Unable to refuse his request, I nod and turn my attention to my mashed potatoes, shoving down my unrealistic desire to make everything better immediately. If there was ever a need for a magic wand, today would be it. But this is reality, and there’s no room for fancy, child-like fantasies.

CHAPTER SEVEN

sky

Chemo. A terrible word. But it’s the best option for Foster and he’s forever the optimist.

“Thanks, Doc. See you soon,” he says as he shakes Dr. Ramirez’s dainty hand. She’s rated the best in the county, and I refuse to accept anything but the most optimal care for him.

For a split second, I wonder if Johnny would have the same feelings I do about her opinion, but I brush that thought aside. There would be too much of a conflict of interest there.

“Now, before your brain goes into overdrive, how about we all go get some ice cream?” Foster suggests as we pile into his car. He refused to let Trek or me drive. Says he’s not an invalid and while I agree, I’m hard-wired to care too much and worry all the same.

“Let’s go to Frozen Delights,” Trek offers from the rear.

“But Cool Scoops is just up the street on Main,” I counter.

Trek shifts in his seat, and I hazard a glance over my shoulder at him. He’s biting a nail but gives me a wane smile. “Come on, it’s good. Let’s go to that one.”

Foster shrugs. “Okay, sure. I don’t have any other plans for the day. Really, for the next six months, actually,” he says with a grin, but I’m too focused on Trek and how he won’t meet my gaze.

I may have ignored him for five years, but I lived with him slightly longer, and I know the signs of shifty behavior. He’s hiding something.

“No, we should go to Scoops. They have your favorite flavor. Delights skimps on their chocolate.”

“Sky? For real? Come on.” Trek half whines like the immature man he’ll always be.

“It’s Dad’s choice,” I remind him, annoyance dripping from my tone.

“Wow, you two haven’t forgotten how to bicker, have you?” Foster chuckles and pats me on the knee.

I glare at Trek until he shifts to stare out the window, his mouth turned down. What is his deal?

Somehow, I win the argument, and we pull into the lot of Cool Scoops. A prickly nostalgia wraps around my throat. Maybe this is why Trek didn’t want to eat here—he knows how many moments I shared in this tiny town square. One being Snaps where August worked just a few stores down. But, if he truly had me in mind, he’d say so.

Would he, though? I’ve been incredibly successful at pushing him away, and he’s processing Foster’s diagnosis just like I am.

Time to pull up my big girl pants. It’s just ole Colonel in that camera store, anyway.

“Double fudge brownie, please,” I tell the kid behind the counter.

Foster and Trek rattle off their orders, and after I pay, I step over to fist a bunch of napkins.

“Let’s sit outside.” Foster’s already licking off a bite of strawberry ice cream that plopped on his hand.

Trek grabs a chair, the sound grating across the tiled flooring. “The inside looks good to me.”

I stare at him. “Did you suddenly develop an allergy to the sun?”

He drags his blazing blues in my direction and shoves the chair back. “Fine. After you.”

Confused, I follow a bemused father, with Trek shuffling behind me, to the fenced-in patio facing the street. The wire chairs scrape against the concrete once we sit, the material digging into my bare legs. Early September is still warm, and the dress I’m wearing rides up, my legs sticking to the metal.

“Good choice, Dad. This is so good,” I say in between licks, finally taking a moment to enjoy myself and not think about the past or the man next to me who keeps looking suspiciously down the street.

“I still think Delights would’ve been better,” Trek mumbles, and I’ve about had it with his attitude.

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