“Biopsy,” she scoffs, casting an apologetic glance at Oscar and Archie, as if I’m embarrassing her in front of her guests. “Should have never let this one go to medical school,” she says with an exaggerated chuckle. “Doctors aren’t exactly my thing. All they do is cut you open. I’m still in my prime. Can’t exactly have my neck butchered up, now can I?”
“Better than dying ofskin cancer,” I snap, slapping my palm on the table harder than I intended. “I should know.I’vebeen to medical school.”
“You’re blowing things out of proportion,” she says. Her tone is still light, but her smile is now visibly strained. Though she’s still trying to laugh it off, the air around us is heavy now. Neither Oscar nor Archie is smiling anymore.
“I’m not, Mum. This is serious.”
“You know.” Archie leans forward, elbows on the table, his voice calm but firm. “If Kat thinks it might be smart to get it checked out by a medical doctor, you should listen to her. I’ve seen her in the field in Uganda. Your daughter is the real deal. She saved a lot of people—including me.”
I shoot him a grateful glance.
Mum looks down at her napkin, folding it with unnecessary care. Then, slowly, she lifts her head and gives us her brightest, most dazzling smile.
“All right, all right. I’ll make an appointment tomorrow.”
“With arealdoctor,” I clarify, still on edge.
“Why don’t you make my appointment, then?” She turns to look at me, her lips pinched. “At least he’ll be up to your standards.”
I let out a long breath and circle back to my seat. “I’ll call first thing tomorrow.”
“Now,” Mum says, waving her hand as if to shoo away the tension. “Let’s talk about something else. We don’t want to ruin this otherwise fun night. Tell me, Archie. How was your trip to Africa?”
We chat about Uganda, and I start to relax again as Archie chatters about our trip and all the memories we created there. Yeah, bringing him was a great idea after all.
We’re drivingback to our building, the fumes of Mum’s incense finally thinning as we ease back into real life.
“Thanks for coming,” I mumble after a while. “Told you it was going to be a show. But I appreciate the assist on the medical issue.”
He steals a furtive glance at me. “No problem. I’m just glad I could help. Hope it’s nothing.”
I pick at the hem of my dress, rolling the fabric between my fingers. “Me too,” I murmur. “Dermatology is not my specialty, but I don’t like the look of that spot. I’d feel better if it was removed. I’ve been asking her to take care of it for a while now, but… well, now that you’ve met her, you understand.”
“She’s pretty awesome, though,” he says, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “I love my mum, but yours is something else.”
Don’t I know it.
“Yeah. That’s one way to put it,” I snort, looking out the window.
“I mean it. She’s great,” he says. “Honestly, when I saw how reluctant you were to go, I expected someone totally different. I thought it’d all make sense when I met her, but she’s really notthat bad. Sure, the doctor thing isn’t ideal, but at least she agreed to go in the end.”
“Only because you asked her to.” I let out a frustrated sigh. “And it’s not over yet. She hasn’t actuallyseenthe doctor. Just watch—she’ll cancel the appointment because her astrologist says she shouldn’t leave her house that day. The woman is unpredictable.”
“Oh, I see,” he says, tapping his fingers against the wheel. “Everything you’re not.”
“Well, I didn’t really have much of a choice,” I reply, my voice quieter now. “I had to be the responsible one. The organised one. If I hadn’t managed everything—money, rent, bills—we would have ended up on the street.”
“I’m sorry.” His tone loses all trace of teasing. “My mate Finn’s parents were similar. Kind of hippies, never taking things seriously. He and his siblings had to be the grown-ups in the family.”
I glance at Archie. “Does he play football too?”
He winces. “Allmy friends play football. I’m boring like that.” Then, his eyes widen. “Oh, maybethat’swhy the Universe is pushing us together? So I can diversify my social circle.”
I let out a laugh. “Probably. And I don’t know any footballers yet, so…”
Hepauses to swipe his security badge at the entrance to our parking garage. The gate lifts, and we pull in.
“So,” he says as he steers into his spot. “Are you really working this Saturday?”
