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“Mom, please.” I laughed and hugged her back.
“I’m so happy to see you!”
I hadn’t seen my parents since they came to London last Christmas and it had been longer since I’d seen my brother. My dad came out and offered his hand. He was old school and in his book, men didn’t greet each other with hugs. His other hand came out to pat my shoulder, though. I could see myself, and Remi reflected in my father’s eyes. Kat and Kevin looked more like my mom, though I also had her coloring. “Good to see you, Son.”
“You, too, Dad. Kevin,” I said, shaking my brother’s hand. Both of the other men’s hands were rough with callouses and stained with evidence of the manual labor they did on a daily basis.
“Hello, Chase.”
My brother was heavier than me, no doubt because I spent my whole life on the field running, and his wife, Jodi, was an amazing cook. They were high school sweethearts and got married before they were twenty-one. Kat’s husband David was the produce manager at the flagship store of a local grocery chain, and they had an acreage that wasn’t far from my parents.
“Are you hungry? I made lunch,” my mother said, wrapping an arm around my waist as we all made our way into the house. The day was nice, and out of the city, it was cooler with a breeze. The air was clean and I realized how much I missed being home.
“A little.” I wasn’t, but it would crush my mother if I refused her food. The knot in my stomach hurt and I just wanted to get this over with.
Inside the house, Kat shot me a look and I mouthed. “It’s fine,” to her when I thought no one would see. My mother was busy cooking and talking about the grandkids and asking me questions about Arsenal and how long I’d be home. “You know the town will be buzzing when word gets out you’re back.”
My dad, however, just watched me. He knew me and knew what I had to tell them was a heavyweight. “Roma, let the boy breathe. He just got here.” He was leaning up against the counter with his arms crossed.
I was thankful for his intervention. “Mom, Dad, I need to talk to you. I need to talk to you all. I know you have lunch going, Mom, and I’m sure it’s delicious, but can we go into the living room for a few minutes?” I asked. I didn’t have much time and after lunch, I’d be turning around and driving right back to Atlanta. “I have something pretty big to tell you.”
My mother wiped her hands on a dishtowel as her brow dropped. She was clearly concerned. “What is it, Chase? Is Arsenal releasing you?”
“For Christ sake’s, Mom. He’s their star forward. No way they’re releasing him,” Kevin said, exasperated. He took off the billed hat that bore the logo of Forrester Electric and put it right back again.
Kat was conspicuously quiet.
“Please?” I motioned with my hand toward the other room. “Can we all sit down? I’ll explain.”
They all preceded me in with a mixture of concern and confusion on their faces and took positions on the leather sofa and loveseat. I was nervous and didn’t feel like sitting, more like climbing the walls. “Look, I don’t know how to pussyfoot around this, so I’m just going to say it. You can ask me a question, but please, just let me get it all out, first.”
“Chase, you’re worrying me. Dad said you were in Atlanta to donate bone marrow. Is that the truth? Is it you who is ill?” my mother asked.
“No. I am donating marrow. To my daughter.”
My mother gasped and Kevin said, “Holy shit!”
My dad sat back and rubbed a hand over his face letting it all sink in before he responded.
“She’s five years old and she has leukemia. Two rounds of chemo put her in remission for about a year, but it’s back. A transplant is probably our last hope to save her.”
“Oh, my God,” my mother said, stunned. “Why didn’t we know about her, Chase?”
“It’s a long story.”
“Who’s her mother?” my brother demanded.
I paused, unwilling to have them think poorly of Teagan.
“Teagan Tessler,” my father stated without hesitation. “If the little girl is five, it must be her.”
Kat was sitting on the couch and held her head in one hand, watching my parent’s reaction.
“Yes. You didn’t know because I didn’t know.”
“The bitch that married your best friend? Has he been raising your kid? That’s soooo fucked up,” Kevin murmured under his breath.
“Kevin, let your brother finish,” Dad admonished. “Go on, Chase.”
