Page 6 of Black Lace

(TIFFANY)

“What arewe going to do if he dies?” Jasmine’s voice cracks on the last word, speaking my fears aloud.

Gramps is in surgery, and it’s unfathomable to think of him dying. Logically, I know he’s almost eighty, but he’s still so with it that I can’t imagine him passing away. It hurts to think that a conversation about advertising budgets might be the last one we ever have.

“He won’t,” I say decisively.

“But what if he does?”

I turn to look at Jasmine, sitting in the uniform hospital chair next to me. The fear in her eyes is clear as day, and I’m taken back to a time many years ago when she asked me the same question about our mom.

I put my arm around her shoulders and hug her tight. “He won’t, but if he does, we will survive. I willtake over from him at Carter Group and be a horrible boss who makes you work lots of overtime because there’s no goddamn way I will let his legacy die with him.”

“I can’t tell if you’re joking or not,” she says with a laugh as she wipes away a tear.

“Definitely not about his legacy, but I will neither confirm nor deny whether I plan to chain you to your desk when I become CEO.” She breaks out of my embrace and pulls her phone out of her pocket as I frown at her. “What are you doing?”

“I need to memorize the phone number for the Department of Labor for no particular reason.”

I burst into laughter, then quieten down quickly when other hospital guests look over at us.

“Dr. Timberlake is the best. He’ll keep Gramps alive,” I assure her, but I’m really trying to convince myself.

Jasmine is on her phone, so I pull mine out and try calling Ben, but it goes to voicemail. The same happens when I call Dec. I sigh because I really hoped one of them would answer. I switch into the group chat we have with our sister Crystal as a message comes through from her.

Crystal Carter: I have my last exam on Tuesday, so I’ll fly back Tuesday afternoon. I’ll come sooner if anything happens.

The words ‘anything happens’ loom over me as I write a response.

Tiffany Carter: Sounds good. We’ll keep you updated. I know you’re going to ace your exams and become the best environmental lawyer ever.

Like Dad, Crystal has decided she doesn’t want to be a part of Carter Group. Since being in California, she’s decided to go into environmental law instead of commercial law. I’m proud of her for doing what she wants, even though I’m disappointed that she won’t be working with us when she gets her degree.

Time drips away slowly, and seven hours have passed before Dr. Timberlake tells us the surgery was a success. I’m flooded with relief, and I realize how certain some part of my brain was that Gramps was going to die today. I’m a wreck by the time he wakes up, and we get to see him in his hospital room.

“Why do you look stressed, girl?” he asks in his gruff voice.

“Probably because you had to have open-heart surgery last night, Gramps,” I laugh through my tears and look at Jasmine, who looks as stressed as I feel.

“We do actually love you, old man.” She grins at him.

Gramps smiles back at us. “I’m glad to hear it. Don’tworry about me, girlies. I’m not going anywhere. I’ve got a wedding to attend before I do.”

He has us in fits of laughter by the time we leave, and a nurse comes in to tell us visiting hours are over, and we need to go so he can eat lunch and get some rest. We say goodbye and share an Uber home.

The driver drops Jasmine off first before we get to my apartment building. It’s literallymyapartment building. Gramps bought it for me as a twenty-first birthday present. He did the same thing for Jasmine and Crystal when they each turned twenty-one.

I take the elevator to the penthouse, exhausted right down to the bone. I desperately need sleep. I couldn’t get any last night because I was so worried about Gramps and unable to sleep in a hard chair in the hospital waiting room. I get a glass of water, and I’m walking through the living room toward my bedroom when I hear Ben’s voice.

“Tiff.”

I jump about a foot in the air and squeal as I turn around, water sloshing out of the glass and onto the carpet at my feet. “Holy shit, Ben! You scared the living crap out of me.”

He doesn’t reply. He just looks at me. He looks like a mess and is wearing the same outfit he had on last night. His hair is messy, and his clothes are disheveled. I know this man better than I know myself, and I know something isn’t right with him.

“What’s wrong, Ben?” My heart beats faster as a sense of alarm comes over me.

“I’m sorry, Tiff,” he says quietly.

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