What amazed me, but shouldn’t have, was that it worked. From what I could overhear, they promised him that everything was instantly pre-approved and that the medical team had been informed. Just like that, no week to process or get signatures. Just some tapping on the keyboard and done. It was bullshit that money could do this, but for today I was willing to accept thebenefit of said bullshit because it was life saving for someone I cared about.
Maybe my father wasn’t a heartless piece of shit after all. I wouldn’t say that made him a good person, but who was really when you scratched the surface? Everyone had something not great about them. I just wished his cruel side wasn’t on the surface and you had to dig deep to get to his other side.
My father scribbled on a piece of paper as he was talking, then hung up the phone. He ripped the paper off and brought it to me. “This is the name of the person I talked to. This is the case number. It should be all done now.”
He didn’t say he was sorry. We took two steps, and my mate stumbled. “Screw this,” I said, and I scooped him up, ready to carry him all the way if need be.
“I’ll call for the car.” My father said and before I could question what he meant, he added, “You’ve got to go and I have a driver on stand-by. Your mate needs you to comfort him. Besides, if they try to mess with you, I’ll handle it so you can do what needs to be done.”
In that moment, my heart softened even more toward him. Maybe I needed to give him another chance.
We made our way down in the elevator, and I realized Father was dragging Roy with us. I understood why. We were in the middle of the Sebastian debacle when we got the news and he probably wanted to finish the discussion, at least the part with my brother. The entire situation was messed up. Did I think this was the best time to be dealing with it? No, but I wasn’t going to express my opinion. Not when my mate needed me.
I sat in the back seat, holding Heston as the driver decided he was the racing kind. A couple of times we passed police cars and I was sure we were going to get pulled over. But that’s the thing with fancy, expensive cars like this one. Cops often looked the other way. Normally, I thought it was bullshit, but today I couldn’t be more grateful.
Apparently, I was one crisis away from being morally gray.
We arrived at the hospital and my mate and I ran through the emergency doors, asking where his dad was before they even acknowledged us. Who knew where my father and Roy were? They’d come in another of Father’s cars. At any other time, I would have given anything to hear their conversation.
“He’s already been moved,” the intake nurse said.
“To a room?” If so, I needed to know which one and which direction to head.
“No, to surgery. If you go out the double doors and turn left, you might be able to catch him before they go. He’s on the docket, but not quite up yet.”
My mate and I ran, and caught up with his father at the elevator. His hospital bed was being pushed by a man in scrubs. A second man had one hand on an IV stand and the other on a cart of monitors, all of which were connected to my father-in-law.
“Dad,” my mate said, his voice cracking.
His father forced a small smile, “Don’t cry. Someone here worked a little magic. My surgery’s been approved. I’m not going anywhere… anywhere except the OR.”
The elevator binged. It was only a couple floors away.
“What do you think I’m gonna do? Die on you? I just got a new addition to the family.” He looked to me, “And if I’m lucky, maybe we’ll get some more.” He fixed his gaze on my mate’s belly.
“Dad, really? Giving hints about grandkids… now?”
His father smirked. “Gotta keep you on your toes.”
The elevator doors opened, and they pushed him inside. This was as far as we could go. Now came the hardest part—waiting.
Chapter 29
We’re going to the chapel and…
Heston
The waiting was killing me.
I paced and checked the clock on the wall. There must have been something wrong with it because the hands hardly moved. Staring at the phone didn’t help. Digital versus analog? Nope, time wasn’t going any faster. My watch, which I’d had for years, had a second hand and I stared as it made the journey round and round.
In movies, the coffee people drank while in a hospital waiting room was always terrible. Nothing had changed. I got us two coffees from a vending machine and Devyn made a face. Weirdly, I couldn’t taste it. It could have been tea or soda.
At least the view from the window changed as people left the building, some carrying flower arrangements. I hoped their loved ones were going home and would be surrounded by an enticing floral scent.
Others departed with their arms around one another, wiping away tears as they hunched over, as if creating a barrier against the grief that buffeted them.
I kept my gaze on the traffic in the busy street running past the hospital. Horns blared and pedestrians strolled across the walkways, while food delivery people maneuvered their way between the cars.
