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When I placed my hand in his, he shook it and hugged me.
“You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for this moment.”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t understand. What the hell is going on, Aunt Barb?” I spoke in a stern tone.
“Ian is Liam and Henry’s younger brother.”
“What?” I breathed out a laugh. “That’s impossible. My father didn’t have any other brothers.”
“It’s a long and complicated story. One we will tell you after you tend to him. Jackson, look at me. He needs your help, and you are now his doctor. Anything that is said here falls under doctor/patient confidentiality. Do you understand me?”
I inhaled a sharp breath. “Yes, Aunt Barb. Let’s go into my office, and you can tell me what’s going on.” I looked at Ian. As we were walking to my office, something hit me, and I abruptly stopped and turned to face him. “Do you have twin sons who are doctors?” I asked.
“Yes. Grayson and Gabriel. I know you’ve met them, Jackson. Grayson called me one night and said he had dinner with you after the medical conference you attended at Mass General. He got a kick at how he’d met someone with our same last name.”
“And you didn’t bother telling him I’m his cousin?”
“Jackson, we are not getting into that now,” Aunt Barb said as we stepped inside my office.
I let out a sigh and gestured for them to have a seat. I grabbed the clipboard with the new patient forms and handed it to him.
“You need to fill this out if I’m going to be treating you.”
“Barb, can you do this for me?” He handed her the clipboard and a pen.
“Of course, darling.”
Darling? What the fuck was going on?
“You can’t fill the paperwork out yourself?” I narrowed my eye at Ian.
“Unfortunately, no. It’s very hard for me to hold a pen and write these days.”
“Okay.” I put my hands up in frustration. “Just tell me why you’re here, and then we’re going to discuss where the hell you came from and why my family and I have never heard of you.”
“For God’s sake, Jackson. Calm down.” Aunt Barb furrowed her brows.
“Two years ago, I was diagnosed with a glioma in my brainstem. I underwent radiation and was put on a series of medications to reduce the tumor. The tumor shrunk considerably, and I got better. About three months ago, previous and new symptoms started to appear. I went to my doctor in Hawaii. They did an MRI and confirmed that the tumor had grown back and was bigger than before. He told me they could do nothing this time because going through radiation again in such a short amount of time would most likely destroy my central nervous system.”
“Why didn’t your doctor remove the tumor?” I asked.
“Because of where it was located. He said that if the radiation didn’t destroy it, there was nothing he could do.” He placed his hand on his forehead. “The headaches are killers.”
Aunt Barb reached into her purse and pulled out a pill bottle.
“Jackson, can you please get your uncle a bottle of water?”
“Sure.” I went to the kitchen area and pulled a bottle of water from the refrigerator. Pulling my phone from my pocket, I sent Georgia a text message.
“Babe, I’m sorry. This is going to take a lot longer than I thought. I don’t know when I’ll be home.”
“What is going on? Is Aunt Barb okay?”
“Aunt Barb is fine. It is regarding a friend of hers.”
“Who is this friend?”
“I will tell you everything when I get home. I have to go. I love you.”
