Page 215 of The Holy Grail
Seeing how tormented Evan was, Malcom reached over and took Evan’s hand this time. “It’s okay.”
“No, it’s not.” Evan shook his head before turning back to Lauren. “For the record, though, I may have been navigating my bisexuality in my teens but I’ve never navigated a relationship like this before,” he said, motioning between himself and Malcom. “So, I’m a work in progress, too.”
“We all are … right up until our last breath.” Lauren smiled. “Now, it’s time to pick your crystal.”
Malcom pulled the bowl of crystals toward Evan. “You have to close your eyes, so you pick the one you need, not the one you want.”
Doing as instructed, Evan closed his eyes, then began digging around in the bowl, taking his time. Finally, he settled on one and when he opened his eyes he was looking at an oval shaped crystal comprised of pale pink, burnt orange, and milky white intermingling colors, with what appeared to be little flower blossoms within the stone.
“That’s flower agate,” Lauren explained. “It’s a grounding stone known to help with transformation and new beginnings. It also encourages self-growth and is used to restore emotional balance.”
Chapter 72
Brothers
Malcom was in the middle of the bi-weekly staff meeting at Klein & Schmidt, trying to look alert (for some reason, they were held right after lunch instead of first thing in the morning), when his phone vibrated with an incoming call. As discreetly as possible, he pulled his phone out of his pocket just enough to see who was calling, and when he saw the name ‘Martin’, he immediately shoved it back in his pocket, not bothering to answer.
He usually only heard from his brother on major holidays or on Malcom’s birthday, and since today was neither, he had to wonder if Monroe had told Martin what happened at the restaurant, and was Martin calling to stir some shit? If that was the case, then Malcom really didn’t want to take the call.
A few moments later, he felt the vibration notification of a voicemail message, and shortly after that, he heard thewhooshof an incoming text. Pulling his phone out of his pocket once more and seeing it was from Martin, Malcom opened it, now feeling a bit of unease as he did so.
MARTIN: Dad had a stroke. They’re taking him to Holy Trinity.
MARTIN: Can you meet me there?
Shocked, Malcom read the text twice, then got to his feet, drawing everyone’s eye. “I’m sorry, but my father’s had a stroke. I need to get to the hospital.”
“Of course,” Mr. Klein immediately said, concern on his weathered face.
On the way to his car, Malcom texted his brother back.
MALCOM: I’m on my way.
And as he drove out of the parking lot, a single thought kept running through his head:That motherfucker better not die before I get a chance to talk to him.
At the hospital, Malcom found Martin in the ER waiting room, slumped over in a chair.
He looked slightly disheveled and very anxious, which made sense, because Martin and Monroe were very close. Malcom figured if he’d been close to Monroe, the situation would feel vastly different, but as it was, Malcom felt oddly numb.
“Thanks for getting here so fast,” Martin said.
Malcom nodded, then asked, “So, he had a stroke?”
“Yes. It happened at the courthouse, during jury selection.”
“You were there?”
“No. The judge called to notify the office after it happened—apparently Dad had been asking questions of a potential juror, and he just … dropped to the floor. At first they thought he might be having a heart attack, but one of the bailiffs was able to determine it was a stroke, because there was partial paralysis, and one side of his face was …” Martin trailed off, his expression stricken. “Anyway. I was also told he couldn’t speak at all, so that isn’t good, either.”
Even though he wasn’t an expert on strokes, Malcom was in agreement. “I assume they’re going to be running some tests?”
“They’re doing bloodwork right now, and then a CT scan,” Martin added. “Maybe an MRI.”
Sitting down on one of the uncomfortable chairs, Malcom murmured, “Well, I guess we wait and see what the doctor says.”
While he and Martin waited, Malcom made several phone calls.
The first was to his mom, who was understandably surprised and also very concerned. He knew his mother had had many good years with Monroe, so the news was received with great emotional impact, despite her recent aggravation with his behavior. Malcom kept the conversation brief, simply because he didn’t want to discuss how he was feeling at the moment, not wanting to come across as an asshole for being angry with Monroe, instead of concerned.
