Page 23 of Loving Decker

“I didn’t come in today. Maybe I’ll come on over to sit with him.”

“You’re always welcome, of course. We never know what kind of good it will do to sit and talk to them. Can’t hurt at any rate, as long as you have the time. Some people don’t have the time or resources, and that’s okay too.”

“Mm, true.”

“But that’s not why I’m calling. I have your paperwork here and noticed that Mr. Haws has been nonresponsive for four weeks. Is that what you’ve noticed?”

Her heart pounded. She could guess where this conversation was going, and she was not ready to talk about it. “He responded the other day. I was talking to him about how the newly mowed grass smells, and he squeezed my hand.”

She was quiet for a moment. “We’ve never seen any response like that. Sometimes patients can twitch. It has been known to confuse their loved ones.”

Irrational defensiveness and anger and sadness all swirled around in response. Faith didn’t need to be having this conversation. She didn’t want to talk about whether or not her grandpa had really tried to communicate with her. She didn’t want to talk about how long he’d not responded or the options she had to turn off his machines. She didn’t want to talk about any of it because she was not ready to let him go. So she just said, “Thank you. I’ll keep that in mind.”

“So, why I was calling, once a patient has been nonresponsive for this amount of time, it is our standard procedure to reach out with your options. We have counselling and specialists and a support group to help you explore all options and navigate the emotional repercussions of your choices.”

Faith’s heart clenched as though the weight of the world rested on it and then relaxed. “I appreciate your call. I just don’t think I can talk about this right now.”

“I understand. I’ll email you the packet so you can take a look when you’re ready.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, darling. Oh and someone left the loveliest bouquet. It will make you smile when you see it.”

“Oh, great. Thank you for telling me.”

“You’re welcome. Bye now.”

Faith hated that the first thought to enter her mind when the nurse hung up was that if Grandpa was not on life support, maybe she wouldn’t have to sell. She pushed away that thought as soon as it came, but it had left its mark, and though she was ashamed, there was nothing she could do about it.

Chapter Ten

Decker went home in high spirits. He had no idea how comfortable things were going to be with Faith. He should have known. Of course things were easy. He’d known her forever. As they transitioned to being more than friends, things could jump really easily to something serious, but taking it slow felt like a good idea.

Though he didn’t know how much longer he was going to wait to kiss her. Now that he’d thought about it once, it was the thought that wouldn’t go away, the thing that made him smile, and the temptation he couldn’t wait to succumb to. He laughed. As if kissing her was anything other than holy. She was the woman he most admired. How could it be anything but an expression of his love and caring.

Love. An interesting word. Of course he loved Faith. He’d loved her forever. As a friend, as a neighbor, as a person. But now the word sat a bit awkwardly on his tongue. He’d have to toy with it for a while before he figured out just how it applied to Faith now.

The next day, there he was, standing on her front porch with two brown bags full of ingredients and other items from the grocery store. He’d never purchased flour before, or nutmeg for that matter. He’d had to ask so many questions of the workers at their local Hammerdukes Groceries that a bagger took pity on him and took his list to help him find the rest of the items.

When Faith’s door opened, his mouth dried up like the desert. She had her hair on top of her head, pulled off her long and slender neck. A pink apron was tied around her waist, and her cheeks were rosy with a dot of flour on the tip of her nose. And everything about her was basically what he’d been looking for his whole life without knowing it.

“Hi.” She breathed, her smile growing.

“Hi yourself.” He lifted his arms. “I’ve bought out Hammerdukes. It’s time to make some pie.” He followed her into her house. “That is what we’re making, right?”

“Yes. Pie and cookies and bread if we have time. Sweet rolls.”

“Good heavens, woman.”

“Well, there are some people who could use some love. And this is how we’re doing it today.”

“You’re not going to get any complaints from me. Just tell me what to do, and I’m gonna do it.”

“That’s what I like to hear.” She pointed toward the kitchen. “Now, you’re gonna need to get yourself to the sink first.”

“Don’t you worry. My mama trained me well.”

“Oh, I know. I should basically be asking you for a tutorial here.” She laughed.

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