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I used my key to enter. When Genevieve heard the door, she rushed to the foyer.
She looked like I was the last person she expected to see.
Her shoes echoed against the marble floor as she hurried toward me. “Gavin? Oh my God. Gavin!”
“Hey, Genevieve. Good to see you.” I rolled my suitcase to a corner.
She hugged me. “Why didn’t you tell us you were coming? We could have prepared for you.”
“No need. I don’t need anything but one of the guest rooms. I just came to see my father.”
“How long are you staying?”
“I actually don’t know. I haven’t booked a return ticket yet, but probably at least a month.”
There was something odd about her expression. She also seemed somewhat out of breath, like my arrival had stressed her out. It alarmed me a little.
“Everything okay?” I asked.
“Yes. Of course. Welcome home. I’ll prepare your old room for you.”
“Thank you.”
“Shall I let your father know you’re here?”
“Uh, sure. Let him know I’ll be up there in a few.”
She ran up the stairs as if she were in some kind of race against time.
Odd.
After using the downstairs bathroom off the kitchen and grabbing a glass of water, I headed upstairs myself. I was on edge, very apprehensive to witness what I knew to be true: Dad’s condition had deteriorated. I could no longer live with my head in the sand about it.
I paused before opening the door to his bedroom. When I finally did, I saw something totally different than I’d prepared for. I’d never understood what the expression “time stood still” meant until that moment.
I squinted my eyes. For a second, I thought it might have been the jet lag—perhaps I was hallucinating. But the longer I looked at her, the more certain I became. It was unmistakably her. And ten years dissolved into ten minutes as I looked into her eyes—eyes I’d been sure I’d never see again.
Raven.
Raven?
What’s happening?
Confusion mixed with anger, and my harsh words came out before I could think better of uttering them.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
Raven stood frozen, seeming unable to speak as I took her in.
I’d never wanted to see her again. I never wanted to remember the pain I felt when she ended things. But within seconds, it was all back. And more than that, why was she here with my father?
“What kind of game are you playing?” I asked.
The look in her eyes transformed from shock to rage. “Excuse me?”
“Please don’t speak to Renata like that,” my father said.
I looked over at him. Did he just say Renata? “Dad, what are you talking about? Renata’s been—”
“No!” Raven shouted. Her eyes shot daggers at me.
She spoke to my father in a low, calm voice. “Excuse me, Mr. M.” Then she turned to me. “Can we please speak out in the hallway?”
Feeling like I’d walked into a bizarre dream, I stepped out of the room. She came out behind me before closing the door.
Raven continued a ways down the hall, and I followed her.
She whipped toward me. “What do you think I’m doing here? You think I’m manipulating your father?”
I told the truth. “I have no idea what you’re doing.”
She inhaled slowly, then exhaled. “I’m his nurse, Gavin.”
“His nurse?”
“The company I work for assigned me here six months ago. I almost canceled. But I decided to come for one visit, because I was genuinely curious about your father’s condition. I wasn’t sure if he’d remember me. It turns out, he thinks I’m my mother. I’ve let it continue because it makes him happy.”
Suddenly, Genevieve’s strange reaction to my arrival made sense. She’d worked here all those years ago when I dated Raven. She knew everything that happened. That’s why she’d apparently kept this from me for six months.
“Why didn’t the staff tell me you were here?”
“Maybe they were afraid of your reaction. They don’t want to see me go because my being here has really helped him. I owe him so much, Gavin. So I stayed. I let him believe I’m my mother. It’s been six months, and I’ve been his day nurse every single day. Nothing sinister is happening. But thank you for your confidence,” she said bitterly.
“Raven, I’m—”
She walked away, back toward my father’s room, before I could form an apology.
I followed her.
She opened the door. “Mr. M, I’m going to give you some privacy with your son. He came a long way to see you.”
“When will you be back?” my father asked, not even acknowledging me.
“In about an hour, okay?”
Dad looked sad. “Okay.”
It was eye opening to see my father more concerned about when she’d be returning than about my being here.
Without making eye contact, Raven rushed past me and disappeared out the door.
Feeling a little like I was outside of my body experiencing all of this, I turned to my father. He stared blankly ahead.
