Page 87 of At His Beck & Call

The silence feels ominous, as if something’s coming. If he is going to fight me for custody of Henry, the legal bills are going to cripple me. But I’ll have to cross that bridge when I come to it.

Turning the corner into the room, my spirits lift. Henry is sitting on the bed beside Bethany, his eyes lighting up whenhe sees me. He has the little googly-eyed purple monster in his hand, a constant companion since I gave it to him.

He looks so much better than he even did just this morning, and he even manages to climb down on his own and come and give me a gentle hug.

I place my hand on his head and kiss him as he smiles at me.

“You ready to go, Buddy?” I ask, looking at Bethany as she comes over and gives me a much tighter hug.

Henry tugs on the sleeve of my coat. “What happened to that nice old lady, Mom? She hasn’t been by in a while,” he asks suddenly.

“Oh, I think she went home, sweetie. She was doing so much better.”

“What old lady?” Bethany asks with a frown.

“I met this lovely woman in the cafeteria, and she offered to come and watch Henry when I couldn’t be here. I wish I knew where she lived, I’d love to thank her for doing that.”

“Are we going to Bethany’s apartment?” Henry asks, and I nod, glancing at the window and the gathering dark clouds.

“Yeah. Mommy’s going to be out tonight for just a little bit, and then I’ll come and pick you up, and we’ll go home and get all snuggly.”

He giggles as I glance at Bethany. She frowns at me as I bite my lip.

“I should cancel,” I say finally, voicing the feeling that has plagued me since I woke up this morning.

“Hey, Hen and I have had this date scheduled for weeks,” Bethany protests as Henry goes to her and she puts her arm around him. “I promised him Finding Nemo, chocolate chip ice cream, and bedtime stories. We have a date, just like you.”

“But I should cancel,” I say again, dreading the date with Noah more than anything. We’re going for an early dinner, and I’ll be picking Henry up by eight, but it still feels like an endlessamount of time away from him—especially since he’s finally going to be out of the hospital.

“You’ll have fun,” Bethany says warmly. “And it’ll be good for you. And the bad weather we might be getting should hold off until after you get back.”

I’m glaring at her irritably when Dr. Erkhart comes in with Henry’s medication and some other paperwork.

“I’ll call you in the next few days to find out how he’s doing,” she says, smiling down at Henry and ruffling his hair. “I’d expect we’ll start chemo in a couple of weeks. You be a good boy for your mom, okay?” she says with a smile.

She’s a wonderful doctor, and I couldn’t have asked for a better team to care for my son.

“You give yourself some R&R as well, okay?” Dr. Erkhart says, giving me a hug.

“Thank you for everything.”

“He’s a trooper,” she whispers just for my ears. “He’s doing great.”

I pull back, fighting tears as Bethany takes my hand and I take Henry’s, and we head down to the parking lot to Bethany’s car.

She’s been amazing over the last week. Making sure to come to the hospital whenever James wasn’t scheduled to visit and when her work allowed.

I’m just glad that Henry has such an amazing auntie, but guilt still pricks at me as I think of the night ahead. I had no idea about Henry’s schedule when I agreed to the date, but now it feels so stupid to be leaving him.

On the way to Bethany’s, we stop by my apartment to pick up some of my makeup and clothes. We’ve agreed that I should get ready at her place so she can help me.

Bethany sighs as I fidget in my seat, unable to keep still as I twist around to check on Henry. He yawns widely, looking out the window, his eyes glassy and tired, headphones over his ears.

“You haven’t done anything that’s just for you in forever, babe,” Bethany says firmly as she turns onto my street. I tug at my skirt, smoothing my hands over the soft fabric.

“Noah sounds like a nice, normal man,” Bethany continues. “Not a dick. Not James. Plus, he asked you out after only knowing you for a day, so he gets extra points for that. You haven’t been wined and dined by anyone foryears. And Hen will be fine—we’ll have a great time.”

Why do I feel like being with Oliver would be more fun than anything Noah has to offer?