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He didn’t say anything about her going along with him. He’d go to help his boys with their mother’s demise, she guessed. With thoughts swirling, she got Stevie out of the car and they walked into the house together.
“I’ll put him down for a nap.”
Chris nodded and went into her bedroom to pack a bag while she got Stevie in his crib. Back in the bedroom, she sat on the bed and watched him pack.
“Wow, so that was the two percent!”
“I don’t have the details yet, but if the aneurysm had started to dissect, they’d either stent it if they could or replace it with a graft, and it sounds like that’s what they were trying to do. It was in a bad place, right at her heart.”
“Why would it happen so fast?”
“I don’t know,” he said. “I’ll try to find out for my boys’ sake.”
“Again, I’m so sorry, Chris,” she said, looking up at him.
“Thank you. We were divorced for a long time, but there is concern because of my boys.” He looked down at Annie. “There’s a chance they might want to come back with me, Annie. They like Kirk, but I don’t see them staying with him and he owns that house now.”
“Wow, so we have to work that out, too.”
“Yes, yet another issue.”
“Well, certainly don’t give that another thought right now. You have a three-hour ride ahead of you.”
He zipped up his bag and pulled it off the bed.
“Do you want a coffee or anything for the road?”
“No. I’ll stop and get something when I get there. Will you be here later? I’ll call you as soon as I get there.”
“I’ll be here,” she said.
He took her hand and they walked out to his car. “I didn’t think this would come to a head so fast.”
“Well, it’s another reason why taking one day at a time is a good way to live. We’ll deal with this loss before we move forward. Your boys will need their father’s attention, regardless of their age.”
“Thank you for being so understanding,” he said, bending down to kiss her before he got into his car.
She didn’t know what to say so she didn’t respond. Understanding wasn’t a word she’d use to describe what she was. As he pulled out of the driveway and she waved goodbye to him, she thought of words that were more appropriate: resigned and apathetic.
The luckless Cindy would continue to dictate their relationship for the foreseen future.
***
Justin was at the clinic seeing a pregnant mare when Chris called to give him the news about his ex.
“Guess where I am?” Chris asked.
“On a ladder, painting the bathroom ceiling.”
“Nope, on the interstate, going to Mobile.”
“Oh no,” Justin replied. “I almost don’t want to know.”
“Yep, she felt worse Sunday and went to the ER.”
“Are they doing surgery now?” Justin asked.
“No, they did it this morning and she didn’t make it.”
