I try to follow him, but Mark stops me. ‘You need to stay here.’
‘I’m scared, Mark.’
‘He’s in good hands. Jas is an excellent surgeon.’
‘What’s wrong with him?’
‘We’ll know more in a while.’
‘But he’ll be okay, right? It’s not life-threatening, is it?’
Mark holds my eye. ‘He’s in the best place he can be right now.’
A sob escapes me. This can’t be happening. He was asking for a Rennie twenty minutes ago, and now Mark is talking in that horrible doctor’s voice that is measured and calm but not telling me the thing I most want to hear – that Dad will be okay.
‘I can’t lose him,’ I whisper.
‘As soon as I know anything, I’ll come and find you.’
He squeezes my hand. I want to hold on to it, to delay the moment when I’m left to wait alone, but I know I have to let him go.
He darts through the double doors, his shoulders hunched, and when he’s out of sight, I settle myself in the waiting room and attempt to distract myself with Sudoku on my phone.
After a couple of minutes, there’s a commotion by the reception desk and it takes me a few moments to realise who’s causing it.
Mum, Yan, Tig, and Pen.
I’m on my feet immediately. ‘Guys? What are you doing here?’
‘What do you mean what are we doing here?’ asks Mum. ‘Is this the time for Mr Lee’s Kung Po chicken?’
My heart squeezes with gratitude. ‘Thanks for coming.’
‘Of course we came,’ says Yan, with a watery smile. ‘Has he already gone through?’
‘A few minutes ago. Mark’s with him.’
‘Does he know what’s wrong with him?’ asks Mum.
‘If he does, he didn’t tell me.’ I pause to steady my voice. ‘But he looked concerned.’
Mum pulls me into a hug. ‘It will be all right,’ she whispers, rubbing my back the way she used to when I was little.
I blink away tears before I turn to Tig and Pen. ‘You left Theo and his parents at the restaurant?’
‘Gran’s there,’ says Tig. ‘The rule is one family member always stays with the guests.’
Mum nods in approval.
‘Plus, the mains had just arrived,’ says Pen. ‘Someone had to stay and put them all in doggy bags.’
The ridiculousness of what she says makes me feel overcome with emotion.
I pull them both into a hug. ‘I’m so glad you’re here. I was dreading the long wait.’
‘You should never have come alone,’ says Mum. ‘Your dad didn’t want to make a fuss, but it wasn’t fair on you.’
I nod, a lump in my throat stopping me from speaking.
