Page 51 of Laying His Claim
“I hated him.”
Justin stood in the doorway to Jalissa’s bedroom, taking in the sight of her. Before leaving, the sisters had helped re-braid her flyaway hair, as they had done so many times when she was in the hospital. She’d changed out of her floppy sweats and looked neater and more alert than she had in days.God bless his sisters-in-law, he thought fervently.
“Who did you hate?” he asked as he stepped into the room. Somehow, though, he knew.
“My dad. All through my teens and ever since, I‘ve been mad at him. I’ve hated him. For years, we struggled financially because his health insurance wouldn’t cover his long term care. Preexisting condition, they said. He lied to the insurance company that he paid for over twenty years. He told them that he was unaware that he had the condition. But that only got him into more trouble.
After my grandmother died, he went to the U.S. to get tested and they confirmed he was a carrier of the gene. He had probably thought the insurance company in Canada wouldn’t find out about the test he did in the U.S., but they did. They had the evidence that he knew. The judge sided with the insurance company. They denied his claim. His medical care in the end was not what he’d hoped. Medicare covered his basic care—and he died an unhappy person!” She covered her eyes with her hands. “How could he do this to me? Why did he even have me, knowing what he had, knowing that he could pass it on? It’s so irresponsible.”
He came to sit next to her, letting an arm rest lightly around her shoulders, not wanting to spook her by doing anything more intimate. “He and your mom made you out of love,” he smiled. “And it shows.” That smile took a lot out of him, because inside he was breaking. He thought of all the lies he’d told while she’d been asleep, the battles he’d fought to save his baby’s life. Which now might be in jeopardy.
“But the disease—”
“Jalissa,” he asked soberly. “We can’t rehash the past. We need to focus on a way forward. If we need to fight, we will fight together. I will put all my resources into the battle—and they’re substantial. I love you and I love our son. We’re a family now, and I want us to be a family for the next seventy years. I want to marry you, share a home with you. I will always be by your side.” He touched her cheek and then planted the lightest brush of a kiss on her lips. “Who was your genetic counselor before the accident?”
She looked stumped by his question, staring into his eyes in silent pain. “I didn’t have one,” she stammered.
His brows shot up. “How come?”
“Because… I’ve never been tested for the disease. I wanted to qualify for insurance at my jobs. If I knew for sure that I had the disease, then I would need to mention it. I never found out because I can still have plausible deniability. But I know that I have the gene.”
“You’ve never been tested?” Something akin to hope bubbled low in his stomach and traveled up to his heart.
She shook her head no and looked down at her hands.
“Oh my God! Jalissa! Then there’s a chance you don’t have it!”
“Justin. I know that I have the gene. My mom died of cancer and my dad of complications from Huntington’s disease. My dad’s first symptom presented when he was around thirty-one. I’m about five years away from the beginning of the downhill climb. We’re all destined to die young in my family.”
“That’s not your destiny, baby. You are not dying young. Remember, you came out of an almost two-year coma. That’s pretty miraculous to me.”
“Justin…”
“I understand the hesitation, baby. But it’s better to know your enemy, if there is an enemy. And insurance doesn’t matter anymore because we have the means to fight this. So, what do you say you get tested? You and Seb?”
Jalissa looked unsure, but she seemed to be listening, taking his opinion seriously. “I’m scared, Justin.”
“I know baby, but I have your back.”
Chapter20
They decided to have room service for dinner, even though the largest restaurant in their luxurious five-star Philadelphia hotel was beautifully decorated and a wonderful dining experience.
They’d been in the United States for more than a week, since Justin’s research showed that testing there would be faster than in Canada, especially since Justin had some close contacts at the medical center they’d visited who could fast-track them. Whatever guilt she felt at his leveraging his clout was assuaged by her relief that she did not have to ride out her anxiety for the four weeks or more that the test usually took.
They sat at the small table in their elegant suite. The blinds were pulled back from the full-length windows, giving them a view of the glittering Philadelphia night. Justin had done a good job managing her anxieties, convincing her that this was not just a medical quest, but a family vacation.
Since she’d allowed her blood, and Seb’s, to be drawn for the test on the first day of arrival, they’d spent the rest of time on walking tours, trips to the museum for them, and play parks for Seb. Not to mention eating at some of the finest restaurants their friends had recommended. Melanie had been very understanding once they’d told her it was a medical emergency and had taken on a temporary chef while she was away, although she constantly claimed that the young man was nowhere in Jalissa’s league.
“You should eat,” Justin coaxed.
These past couple of days, Jalissa had been off her food again, thanks to her fickle stomach. She knew she needed her strength, but the nerves were killing her. The test results were due in the morning. What would they say?
Jalissa turned to watch Seb, secure in his highchair, happily painting himself with the bowl of mushy peas that the hotel had been kind enough to provide. Bath time later would be really interesting.
Finally, she answered, “I’m nervous, yes, but at this point, I just want to know. I—”
She was interrupted by the sound of Justin’s phone trilling beside his plate. He didn’t usually bring it to the table, but lately he’d been keeping it close, just in case the medical center had something to say. He picked it up, and the smile that crossed his face told her it could only be one person: his mother.
