Page 67 of Private Exhibit
How many other patients was he missing?
Andy slowly scanned the room. It was strange to think just how rare the disease was, considering how many files he had there. By the looks of his office, Ashworth-Grahams was an epidemic. But when compared to the total population of Agoran? Of the entire world? Those files represented a mere handful of people at best.
But each of those people had been someone's son. Someone's brother. Even someone's father, on exceedingly rare occasions.
In the middle of his desk, the Perry file still lay open: a seventeen-year-old boy who'd fathered a daughter with his high school sweetheart right before he died. Andy had been re-reading that file when he'd gotten the call that Junior was in the E.R.
As it turned out, for the last time.
Andy dropped to his knees.
Whoa, Dad. What the hells?
Andy looked up, panting as he stared at his son.
Junior crouched down in front of him, his eyes wide.Are you alright? Are you hurt?
“What?” Andy gasped. He shook his head, feeling confused. “No. I'm fine. Why?”
You look like you're having a heart attack.
Andy paused. Was he? Deep down, he knew it wasn't the case—none of the signs were there—but it still almost felt like it. He shook his head again. “I'm fine,” he repeated, trying to convince himself just as much as his son.
Junior studied him for a long moment, then winced.First time back in here?
Andy slumped onto his backside and rested his arms across his knees. There was no way he could make himself stand up quite yet. “Yeah.”
Junior copied him, sitting on the floor.Spent a lot of time in here.
“Yeah, we did.”
What's with the talking?
“What?”
You rarely talk out loud to me.
Andy blinked. He hadn't even realized he was doing that. Communicating telepathically had become second-nature. Every once in a while, he even caught himself responding to the living with a projected thought, only to realize after the fact that they couldn't hear him.
Then again, he'd spent most of his time with almost nobody but ghosts over the past four years. There had been little need to talk out loud.
Andy breathed a laugh. “Guess I've been spending more time with Devon than I realized.”
Junior's look of concern vanished right off his face.You mean the boy you were kissing?
Andy rolled his eyes and got up. “Don't start that again.”
What?Junior snapped, jumping to his feet.I'm allowed to be upset.
“And I'm allowed to date.”
But not a guy my age!
“He's almost ten years older than you!”
A knock sounded on the door, and a doctor poked his head into the room. “Everything alright in here?”
“Fine!” Andy snapped.
