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We should not leave.
We don’t know what type of woman she is.
We don’t know how she is going to treat her.
How can we leave Becca alone with her?
“If you don’t mind,” Samantha says, reaching out and touching Joey’s arm. “Thank you.”
Joey reaches for me, but I pull away and walk straight to the kitchen and start pacing.
“You need to calm down.”
I spin to face him. “I was calm until you took a call from someone who didn’t even care her child is dying,” I basically scream at him.
He steps up to me, his hands gliding along my arms to try to soothe me, and it almost works until I see Becca’s door opening and her mother stepping out.
I pull away from Joey and walk straight over to her. “Is she okay?” I look past her to see Becca struggling to keep her eyes open. “She gets tired easily,” I explain.
“Mom.” We all turn to see Becca looking at us. “Is Dad coming?”
Samantha shakes her head and wipes away a stray tear that is falling down her cheek.
Becca nods and closes her eyes again.
“It’s kind of you to love her. Thank you.” She steps up to Joey and hugs him. “Her father will be happy to know she didn’t die with her soul sinning.”
For fuck’s sake! I ball up my fists and barely avoid hitting her.
“Will you be coming back?” Joey asks, distracting her from looking at me.
“No, I said my goodbye. She knows I love her, even though I didn’t approve of her choices recently.”
“You don’t want to be here when she passes away?” I blurt out, not believing a mother could not possibly want to be with their child at a time like this regardless of whether they have met their expectations in life.
Joey’s eyes find mine, and he shakes his head infinitesimally.
“I am here. And she has days, maybe only hours. She told you I was a doctor, right?” She turns back to me to direct that question.
“No, she did not.”
“She’s tired, can barely hold a conversation. I’ve seen many patients at the end of life. She chose not to do any treatment, and I respect that. Sometimes not all treatments are good for you and can make you sicker, therefore, your quality of life deteriorates. Her pain is managed, but she is nearing the end. She doesn’t have long.”
“And you can just leave?” I ask her incredulously.
“I can. Thank you both again.” She makes her way to the door and walks out. I’m left standing there angry, so incredibly angry at a mother who can be like that. Someone who raised you, loved you, but didn’t want anything to do with you because of who you loved. At least mine is just gone, and I don’t have many memories of her. And those I do are fleeting and not all that great.
“Your mother would never do that to you or Keir,” I say to Joey, a tear escaping as I look up at him. He manages to laugh, but it’s humorless as he swipes a thumb across my cheek and pulls me to him.
“No, she wouldn’t.” He kisses the top of my head and gently rocks me from side to side. “Adora.”
“Hmm.”
We hear something fall, and I’m moving fast before I can even think twice. I find Becca on her side, her eyes open, and her phone on the floor.
“Joey!” I scream.
He comes in, pushes past me, and immediately lays her down and starts doing CPR. I stand at the door, unsure of what to do. It feels like I’m frozen to the spot, my heart beating so fast I can’t think straight.
