Page 68 of Kraken Cove

“It’s not the end of the world. The prognosis is still good.” Dad’s voice is so calm. How the hell does he have so much control?

“Fuck!”

“Luke!”

“Sorry, Mum, but surely cancer gives me a free pass to say fuck.”

She frowns at me, but Dad chuckles. “Pretty sure a few fucks never hurt anyone.”

Mum scowls at him. “Rob!”

I ran my hands through my hair. “What about the cost? Will your health insurance cover it?”

The smile drops from Dad’s face and Mum covers her mouth with her hand.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

And now this lawsuit is hanging over their heads and they don’t even know it.

“We’ll be OK, Lukey,” Mum says eventually. “The gap is a bit bigger than we expected, but the bank already said we can redraw on the mortgage, and business has been picking up.”

That’s not what Jack says, but I don’t argue. I just bite down my worry and try to give them a reassuring smile. More than ever, I hope Mia has been able to work some magic on Margaret and at least that disaster can be averted.

I stick around for a while and manage to choke down some salad. Eventually, I say goodbye and head home. My limbs feel heavy as I dry off in the basement of the Inlet Views. It takes me longer than usual to be able to shift.

I’m worried. I can’t pretend I’m not. When I meet Mia at my house she spots it straightaway.

She’s barely even out of her car in the driveway when she freezes. “Oh, Luke, what happened?”

I brush a speck of something from my eye as I struggle to keep my voice steady. “Dad’s got cancer.”

She instantly drops the bag she’s holding and slips her arms around my waist. “Oh, I’m so sorry.”

It takes me a long moment to get my shit together, and more to feel like letting her go. Mia stays right where she is until I’m finally able to draw a long breath. “He’s going to be OK.”

I nod. “He just needs treatment, but the cost...”

She pulls me through into my living room where I sink down onto the sofa. Her hand remains firmly clasped in mine. When I tell her about my parents' money worries and the surgery her face falls. “I couldn’t get Margaret to talk to me.”

I try not to let my disappointment show. It’s not her fault. She’s done everything she could.

Through the long night, I toss and turn, unable to sleep, wishing there was something more I could do.

I’ve always been a fixer. I fix my neighbours’ problems, I fix arguments in my family, I fix things that aren’t working. But this is a problem I can’t fix and that drives me crazy.

TWENTY EIGHT

Mia

I don’t think either of us gets much sleep that night. One thing I hadn’t factored in was Luke’s need to sleep underwater. When he explained it made so much sense to me. I know he’s been waking up sore and dry every day he’s woken in my bed. Now we’re at his house, he can make use of the basement pool. Only I feel restless not having him next to me.

Early in the morning, I finally give up on sleep and creep down the stairs to the basement just thinking to check on him. To be near him. As soon as my toes dip into the water his head breaks the surface and he frowns at me. “Couldn’t sleep?”

“No.”

“Me neither.” He swims over to the stairs, wrapping his arms around my legs and laying his head in my lap. He’s wet of course, but I don’t mind. I brush his wet hair back from his face.

We’re quiet for a while. I’m trying to figure out the best approach to try talking to Margaret again today. “You know it’s a shame the Rotary Club doesn’t know about this. I bet they’d love to help. You said your parents have been lifelong members.”

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