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Molly sniffled a few times. “Yeah. She’s fine. It’s not my mom. It’s my dad.”
“What happened?”
“He’s sick. Apparently he was diagnosed with lung cancer, and the long-term prognosis is not good.”
“Shit, Moll. I’m sorry. Come here.” I pulled her into a hug. She started to cry again in my arms. Not knowing what to say or do, I just held her tight and kept petting her hair and telling her everything was going to be okay. Once she calmed down, I led her over to the couch.
“What can I get you?” I said. “Do you want a glass of wine, or water, maybe?”
“No, it’s fine. You made dinner, and it’s probably already getting cold.”
“Don’t worry about dinner. Tell me what you need.”
Her face was so red that it made the blue in her eyes really stand out. Mascara or some other kind of makeup streaked down one of her cheeks. I wiped it away with my thumb. “You want wine?”
She nodded. “I think I could really use a glass, yeah.”
In the kitchen, I poured two white wines and took the bottle with me when I went to sit next to her again. Passing her a glass, I said, “My dad had prostate cancer when I was a teenager. I was terrified and thought he wasn’t going to make it. But he pulled through. Medicine improves every day. Sometimes a bad prognosis can change.”
“I know. It’s just that my dad and I… We have a complicated relationship.”
I nodded. “I get it. My relationship with my mom isn’t simple, either.”
Molly sipped her wine while staring down at her feet, seeming lost in thought. I gave her some time to decide what she wanted to share with me. Eventually, she continued.
“When I was sixteen, my father left my mother. He’s a dermatologist, and he married his nurse barely a year after he walked out. Kayla, his wife, is only six years older than me. I think I took the breakup and his recoupling harder than my mother did.” She shook her head. “I was just so mad at him. He basically started a new life without us. The entire thing was so stereotypical and cliché. My mom had worked two jobs to help put him through med school. He paid her back by trading her in for a newer model a month before her fiftieth birthday—and his nurse, no less. I actually have a little sister who people think is my daughter.”
“That sucks. I’m sorry, Molly.”
“Thank you. Anyway, it’s been almost twelve years now. My mom is over it. She’s dating a really nice guy now. But I never let go of the grudge, and it’s really put a strain on my relationship with my dad over the years. He calls me every few weeks, but our conversations are like two strangers talking—How’s the job? How’s the weather? Any good vacations planned?”
“Does he live here in Chicago?”
She nodded. “He lives over in Lincoln Park.” She stayed quiet for a few minutes again, and then said, “I’ve wasted so many years harboring bad feelings over something that wasn’t even about me.”
“Well…” I took her almost-empty wine glass and refilled it. “The good thing about forgiveness is that it doesn’t have an expiration date. You can give it anytime.”
Molly forced a smile. “Thanks.”
“Is he in the hospital?”
She shook her head. “Apparently he had some tests done, and he’s starting chemo in a few days. He called my mom because he left me a message last week, and I haven’t gotten around to calling him back yet. Apparently neither did my older sister.”
“Does your sister live here in Chicago?”
“No, Lauren lives in London. She did a study abroad during her junior year in college and met a guy. Moved there to be with him the day she graduated. They’re both professors at a university, so she only comes back once a year to visit.”
I nodded. “How are you going to handle things? Will you call him or go over and see him?”
“I don’t know. I guess I should do both—call him back and then go speak to him in person. Though, to be honest, the thought of that makes me feel sick. It’s been a long time, and I’m not sure how to go about fixing things, especially now.”
“I’ll go with you, if you want.”
Molly blinked a few times. “You will?”
“Of course. You’re my roomie. I got your back.”
“I appreciate that. I really do. But it would probably be weird to bring along someone he’s never met before. I think I need to mend this fence on my own.”
I nodded. “Okay. Well, how about I drive you over to Lincoln Park when you go? I’ll park around the corner and wait for you. I can bring my laptop to do some work. That way you don’t have to drive if you get upset, and you’ll have someone to keep you calm on the way there.”
