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After I got my dad calmed down, I went to find the doctor. I wanted a clear understanding of the accident and my mother's injuries. The doctor confirmed that the coma appeared to be because her body had been through a trauma, and that there was nothing worrying on the scans. All her other injuries were minor, especially considering the severity of the accident, but we wouldn't know her true status until she woke up. I made sure he understood that I was the point person now, and that my mom was to want for nothing. He nodded and reiterated that there was nothing to be done but wait. The waiting was excruciating.
I found myself wanting to call Deira, but remembering the look on her face as she'd slammed the car door, I didn't think that was a good idea. I called Scott instead. He offered to come to the hospital, but I asked him to take care of the business instead. That way, I could concentrate on taking care of my parents.
"Of course, man. Whatever you need. Anything else I can do?" he said over the phone.
"No, that's all," I replied. I was about to hang up, when Deira and our argument from earlier flashed into my mind. "Actually, Scott, there is something you can do. I was going to take care of it, but I have to focus on this now."
"Anything," Scott said.
"Mr. White, the head of the PR department. We had a complaint about him. Sexual harassment," I said.
"Sexual harassment complaint? Who from?" Scott asked.
"Not an official complaint. Someone tipped me off in confidence. I was going to look into it myself, but now..."
"Don't worry about it, Cassius. I'll take care of it," Scott replied. "You just focus on your family."
"Thanks, man," I said.
After we hung up, his words echoed in my head. He'd told me tojust focus on your family. He meant my parents, but every time I thought about the phrase, I had to admit that my mind turned to Deira and Makayla.
The next 24 hours were some of the longest of my life. Finally, during the evening of the next day, my mother woke up. I had just left her room to get some coffee when I heard my dad's voice calling for me. I rushed back to the room and saw my mom had not only woken up, but was holding my dad's hand. When I came through the door, she smiled at me.
"Cassius," she said softly, "you're here, too?" She held out her hand, and I quickly took it. I felt like I might collapse out of relief. My dad had also called the doctor, who soon came in and looked her over. Miraculously, he said that all signs indicated that she was fine and would make a full recovery. After a round of hugs and tears, I excused myself under the pretext of calling Scott, but actually I just wanted to give my parents a moment to themselves, and give myself a little time to process.
During this ordeal I'd realized many things. I hadn't expected to be so scared when I heard about my mom, or to feel so moved when I saw my dad in distress. When we'd fought years earlier, I had been young and impulsive. The estrangement had seemed like it would last forever. Now I realized what I'd been missing by not having my parents in my life, and I also realized what I might miss if I screwed things up with Deira and Makayla.
When I went back to the room, my mother already seemed more energetic. She steadily improved over the next few days, and I finally decided she seemed strong enough to take the shock, and it was time to tell them about Makayla. I sat down at her bedside and called my dad over, telling them I had something important to talk to them about. Then I told them the whole story, about how I'd met Deira, how she'd had no way to contact me for years, but that somehow, we'd run into each other again. I braced myself for their shock and disapproval, but they just listened quietly, their eyes widening at some points of the story but not saying anything.
Finally, I finished, and waited for them to speak.
My mom looked at me, her face astonished.
"So, you mean... I have a granddaughter?" she asked.
"I know it's a shock," I replied, "but I hope you're not disappointed."
"Disappointed?" my father gasped, and when I looked over, I realized he was grinning. "Cassius, I just have one question. When do we get to meet her?"
TWENTY-FIVE
DEIRA
I had hurried inside after getting out of Cassius's car, but I didn't want to go back to Dani's apartment when I was so upset. I waited until I saw Cassius drive away, and then I went back out to take a walk around the neighborhood. I had meant to calm down, but I found myself reliving our conversation and soon I was crying.
Cassius not believing me about Mr. White hurt even more than I had let on. I'd let out all my anger on him, but beneath the anger was a deep pain and a sense of betrayal. Why did he think I would make something like that up? What did I have to gain from that? And did our relationship mean so little to him that the word of an employee he barely knew was better than my word?
That last part stung more than I wanted to admit. For all the ups and downs of our relationship, it had never felt meaningless to me, but it seemed for Cassius this always came second to his job. He believed Mr. White over me, just like he had taken a business call instead of watching Makayla. I was starting to think that my feelings for him were blinding me to the reality of how little we mattered.
I had to go around the block twice before I got a hold of myself. I stopped at my car to check in the mirror, trying to fix my makeup to eliminate all traces of tears. I must have failed, though, because the first thing Dani said to me when I walked through her door was, "Are you okay?" She knew I'd gone out to talk to Cassius, but I hadn't told her what happened at work with Mr. White yet.
"I'm fine," I lied, shaking my head so she'd know I didn't want to talk about it in front of Makayla. She got the message and nodded. Then she gave me a big hug.
"Hey Makayla," she shouted over her shoulder to the girl, who was watching a movie on her couch, "how'd you like to have dinner here tonight? I'll order pizza."
"Yes!" Makayla shouted, jumping up and down on the couch.
"You don't have to do that," I protested. "You already helped me out by watching Makayla so I could talk to Cassius."
