“But I feel bad when those responsibilities take me away from you and Fin. And now Sloane needs me to fly to New York with her for that meeting tomorrow, but I don’t want you to hate me if I just leave both of you.”
Sighing, I put the phone on speaker and laid it on my dresser while I pulled on my shirt. “Do you need to take this trip?”
“Well, I…” she trailed off, and I hated she was still trying to justify always putting her needs last.
“Don’t make this harder than it needs to be. If you need to go to New York, then go. Fin and I will be okay. There are plenty of people who will step up to help if I need it.”
“Sloane is worried my author won’t agree to the new contract with the adjusted agreement on moving her books into film production. She’s been with Vivid for years, and I’ve been her editor since the beginning. If we can’t secure the film rights to her books, it’ll set the California office back months in planning while we try to shuffle another project forward, which means securing the rights to another manuscript, and…”
“Then it shouldn’t even be a question. Go do what you need to. It’s only a few days.”
The speaker rustled as I heard her take a deep breath. “After I finish packing, do you want to come over there?”
Sighing, I looked toward where Fin was trying to eat her fist in the center of the bed. “We need to head to Ma’s today. Pops is in the hospital.”
“Adrian, oh my God. Why didn’t you lead with that? Is he okay? Do you need me to come get Finley?”
“He’s got a concussion but didn’t break anything. He’s stable, and they’re keeping him for observations. Hutch said Pen is looking forward to some one-on-one baby time, so I’m hoping it keeps them both distracted while we make some decisions.”
“I’ll call Sloane and tell her what’s going on. We can try to reschedule…”
“No, Is. All you’d be doing is waiting around.” My heart ached with how she was so willing to drop everything, but we both had things that needed our attention right now. “You’re only going to be gone for a night. Go get those contracts signed and I’ll let you know if things change with Pops.”
She was quiet, and I knew she wanted to argue with me about staying here, but she eventually whispered, “I’m so sorry you’re going through this. I hope he’s going to be okay.”
“Me too.” He had to be.
Sunday I was too busy to even check my phone, scouring through websites to find places near Southie that were taking new memory care patients. Thankfully, Pops had a little nest egg tucked away since the mortgage was paid off—thanks to my salary from my single year with the Sox and some of Hutch’s income while he was overseas.
Relying on a Medicare bed being open wasn’t going to happen. Ma had been pulling strings where she could, getting appointments set for her and Hutch to tour some facilities first thing on Monday.
I wanted to be there to help, but Finley wasn’t allowed in most of the places he could go until she was a little older. Pops’ concussion was showing the promise of resolving itself, but the doctors didn’t want to discharge him with how confused he still seemed.
Hutch had stuck around the house to help Pen with her cousin while I made a trip to the hospital to see him. I hated leaving Finley since she’d not slept well the night before and woke up refusing to eat and out of sorts, but Hutch had insisted he could handle a cranky baby.
When I got to the hospital, I was exhausted. I wasn’t typically quick to cry, but seeing him in that hospital bed gutted me. I’d grown up without a father, but this man had tried his best to make up for his son’s absence. He’d been our rock for so long, encouraging us to spread our wings and find our places in life, and now we needed to be strong for him.
I never wanted Finley to grow up with only one parent. The circumstances were different than a husband killed in action, but I couldn’t lose Isobel. Whatever I had to do to make sure she found her way through this depression, I would do.
My phone had been an afterthought until I arrived back at my apartment. Finley had been worn out from playing with her cousin and slept the whole way home, only briefly rousing to drink part of a bottle before I settled her back into the crib.
Isobel would only be gone a few days on her trip, but it felt like it was a lifetime away. I needed her, but asking her to choose between something she needed to do for her job and shouldering my burdens when there wasn’t anything for her to do to help wasn’t fair. She had enough on her plate, so I needed to focus on the things on mine.
ISOBEL
Boston
Leila kicked me out of her apartment bright and early, with a coffee mug in my hand and a donut in the other. She had to get to work, and it was time I dealt with things I’d been avoiding as the stress of my life threatened to pull me under.
My breasts ached as I waited for my Uber to arrive, and I was thankful that my apartment was a quick ride away. Sitting down to pump once I got home, I turned my phone back on, my lips quivering as I pulled open the text messages. Adrian was worried, but I wasn’t sure how to face him.
By the time I was done, I checked my phone again, noticing I had two new voicemails. Bracing myself, I pressed the play button on the first one.
“Is, please call me. I’m worried that I didn’t hear from you last night, and I just want to make sure you’re okay. I’m not mad, babe, I’m just concerned. Please don’t push me away. I know things are hard right now, but we’re going to get through this.”
I sniffed as I pushed the play button on the second one, trying not to cry again. I hated I was doing this to them.
“Is, you need to talk to me. I don’t want to leave things like this. Please let me know if you’re okay. I’ll give you space if you need it, but please don’t push me away. I’m taking Fin with me into the office today, and I’ll bring her back to my place tonight. Love you.”