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“I know. And I promise I’ll be back in time. I booked a noon flight out today, and tomorrow I’ll be on a noon flight from the east coast, which gets in at three because of the time change. We don’t go on until ten, so I have a good cushion.”
“What if they cancel your flight back?”
“I’ll get on another one. I’ll take three planes if I have to. Or if there’s high winds or some reason why I can’t fly into San Francisco to meet you, I’ll fly as close as I can get and drive the rest. I won’t let you guys down.”
Dylan shook his head. “Don’t fuck us over, dude.”
“I won’t.”
“You’ve never once flaked on us, so if you say you’ll be there.” Monroe shook his head. “You’ll be there.”
I nodded and looked to Dylan. He looked less confident, but nodded.
Kevin frowned. “Can you at least tell us what’s so important?”
“Lala’s mom is sick.” I paused and was going to leave it at that, but then decided better of it. “And Daisy answered my phone when she called the other morning. I wasn’t even with her. We’d inadvertently switched phones the night before. But it didn’t look good, especially with my history and all. We’ve been talking, but things are off, and I don’t want to leave it any longer. I need to see her in person.”
Dylan nodded. “You want a ride to the airport?”
“Yeah, if you don’t mind. That would be great.”
Nine hours later, I pulled up at Jefferson Hospital. I went to the waiting room closest to the ICU and texted Lala. She had no idea I was coming, and I had no idea if she was even here…or if Warren was still hanging around.
Holden: Are you still at the hospital?
She texted back a few minutes later.
Lala: Yes. I’ll probably leave in an hour or two. Dad’s going to stay overnight tonight.
Holden: Can you go to the waiting room for a minute? I have a surprise there for you.
Lala: A surprise in the waiting room? Which one? And how?
Holden: The one closest to the ICU entrance.
Lala: Okay.
I leaned against the doorway. It was directly at the end of the hallway that led to the ICU ward, so I figured I’d see her when the double doors opened. Thirty seconds later, they did, and Lala’s eyes went wide.
“Oh my God.” She ran to me.
I engulfed her in a bear hug, lifting her off her feet.
“What are you doing here?”
“I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“But you have your big show tomorrow night. The one with the record producer.”
I nodded. “I know. I’ll be back in time. I’m on the noon flight out tomorrow.”
She looked into my eyes. “I can’t believe you’re here.”
“I’m sorry I couldn’t come sooner.” I pulled her against me and took her mouth in a kiss. “I’m sorry for upsetting you, Lala.”
She softened. “Thank you for coming. It means a lot.”
The double doors leading to the ICU opened again. Lala’s back was facing them, but I saw the man coming out before he saw me…before he saw us.
“Your father…” I whispered.
Lala stepped back and smoothed her top. Mr. Ellison noticed his daughter at the end of the hall and smiled. Then his eyes lifted to my face and his smile wilted.
Bill is definitely not giving me his cell phone number anytime soon. “Hey, Mr. Ellison.”
“Holden. What are you doing here?”
I looked at Lala, and she gave me a face that confirmed what I’d suspected—her parents had no idea about us. Extending my hand, I smiled as best I could. “I’m in town for a gig, and I heard about Mrs. E. I figured I’d come see how she was and check on Lala.”
He smiled. “That was very nice of you. Jean is doing much better. Thank you.”
“I’m glad to hear it.”
“I was just heading to the men’s room, if you’d like to go in and visit. They only allow two people at a time. Lala can take you in.”
I nodded. “Thank you.”
I followed Lala down the hall to her mother’s room. Mrs. Ellison was sleeping, but she looked better than I would have thought. “She looks really good.”
“I put a little makeup on her and did her hair. My mom is old school and would hate for anyone to see her without her face on.” Lala made air quotes.
“Whatever makes her happy.”
We visited for a little while, and then Mr. Ellison returned. The three of us made small talk. Lala had been here since last night, and Mr. Ellison was taking the overnight shift this evening.
“Dad, I’m going to get going,” Lala told him. “I don’t want us to get in trouble for having three people in here. And I’m really tired. All the bells and whistles kept me up last night again.”
