Page 7 of Loyalty, Lust, Love
She assumed she’d misheard him because there was no way Mr. Keno was dead. He’d been like a second father to her sinceshe was in 6thgrade. Although she didn’t see him as often as she’d like, they spoke regularly, and he hadn’t mentioned being sick. It was a struggle pushing Lynx’s heavy body away from hers, but he got the hint and sat up.
“Dead? Was he in an accident? What are you saying? Tell me what happened!”
He rubbed his hand down his face and released a sigh. “I got a phone call from an unknown number. The woman on the phone didn’t say who she was but told me he was dying and didn’t have much longer. After giving me the name of the hospital, she ended the call and wouldn’t pick up when I tried calling her back.”
“Why didn’t you call me?” Her words were strained as she spoke through tears.
“Because I wanted to find out what was going on first. I called the hospital, and all they told me was he was a patient there, nothing else. I got on the next flight out and went straight to the hospital. He died before I got there.”
“Oh my God! What did the doctors say?”
“He had prostate cancer, and it had already started to spread when they caught it.”
Losing his father to cancer was very triggering for him because he’d lost his mother to the same disease when he was eleven.
“You didn’t know?” He shook his head. “But I saw him last month and?—”
“He came to DC last month and looked fine.”
“This can’t be right. Maybe the woman called the wrong person. Did you see him?”
Lynx bent his head solemnly and could no longer control his emotions. “He’s gone, Bunny. Pops is dead.”
Picking up Cornell from the airport was the furthest thing on Fateema’s mind. Lynx was her priority, and nothing elsemattered except being there for him. She was his safe space, as he was hers since they were eleven years old.
She pulled Lynx into her arms, and he rested his head on her bosom. They cried together like they’d done many times in the past and would very likely do in the future.
Neither knew how much time had passed, but Fateema’s phone pulled them from their mournful haze. It wasn’t until then that she thought about Cornell. She slowly reached for her phone, answered it, and put it on speaker.
“Hello.”
“Hey, did you forget you had to pick me up?”
“I’m sorry, Cornell. I had an emergency. Can you get an Uber?”
“An Uber? It’s gonna cost me?—”
“I can’t talk right now. I’m sorry about the inconvenience. I’ll update you soon.”
She could’ve handled that better, but her focus was on making sure Lynx was good, not Cornell. Lynx’s head was still on her chest, and he tilted it back to look up at her.
“Thank you, Bunny.”
“With you is the only place I want to be right now. Pops was like a second father to me, and I’m devastated. I can’t believe he’s gone. This is unreal.”
“I can’t wrap my head around it because it was so unexpected.”
“Why wouldn’t he tell you? It doesn’t make any sense.”
“I wish I knew. I need to find out who the woman was who called me.”
“Do you think it was a nurse?”
“Possibly, but she probably would’ve introduced herself as such.”
“True.”
“Do you think you can help me make the arrangements? I don’t even know where to start.”
