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Lilah shook her head in denial.
“No. I refuse to believe that. Gramps is a fighter; he wouldn’t simply give up. And he would have told us. He would never have kept this from us.” Her voice shook with emotion and she covered her mouth in an attempt to stifle the imminent tears. “I think I want a second opinion.”
“Of course,” the man said amenably. “But while your grandfather is in this unresponsive state, the decision for any further testing falls to his medical proxy.”
“Bring me whatever papers need to be signed and—”
“Mrs. Templeton,” the doctor interrupted her gently. “You aren’t his medical proxy.”
Lilah blinked at him in astonishment. “Of course I am. I’m his only living relative.”
“When he was first diagnosed, your grandfather specifically stated that he wanted Mr. Templeton as his medical proxy and legally appointed him as such.”
Lilah turned to look at Ben, who met her eyes without an ounce of guilt or remorse in his expression. “But why would he do that?”
“Lilah,” Ben murmured, leaning over to stroke her back gently. His palm came up to massage her nape beneath her fall of hair and she unconsciously leaned into his comforting touch.
The doctor cleared his throat awkwardly and got up, a squeaky wheel on his chair protesting the sudden movement and startling Lilah into looking at the man whom she’d already decided she hated and didn’t trust at all.
“I have to do my rounds. Unless you have further questions, I’ll leave you in privacy to discuss this matter. The rest of my day is open, barring emergencies, so please feel free to contact me anytime.”
Lilah watched, not bothering to disguise her dislike, as the man donned a fresh white coat, pocketed a stethoscope, and vacated the office.
“I don’t trust him. He could have been filling Gramps’s head with lies and misinformation this last year.”
“To what end?” Ben asked reasonably.
“I don’t know. Greed? People often find creative ways to take advantage of Gramps.”
“Your grandfather is not a fool, Lilah,” Ben reminded her, his reasonable voice now laced with exasperation. “Do you think he would have accepted a prognosis like that without getting second, third, even fourth, opinions?”
“But why wouldn’t he tell us?” she asked, her voice high and squeaky with tears. “He was so sick and he allowed us leave him to deal with this alone.”
“Cyrus is a proud and stubborn man. He loves being your strong, protective hero, someone who can move mountains for you. Maybe he didn’t want you to see him fighting a losing battle.”
“It’s not a losing battle,” Lilah denied hotly. “It’s not! We don’t know that it is… he tried to fight it without us in his corner. Maybe with additional emotional support, knowing how much we love him, he’ll have more reason to fight. We have to talk to Gramps, convince him to consider alternative treatment plans… mayb—”
“That!” Ben seethed, dropping his hand from her neck to jab a finger in her direction, his face darkening. “That right there is why I think you’re a selfish brat. And probably why Cyrus wanted me to be his medical proxy. For fuck’s sake, Lilah. He’s dying. Sorry to put it so bluntly but he is. And maybe he didn’t tell you because he wants to go out on his own terms. He doesn’t want to be forced into trying alternative treatment plans that’ll make him feel sicker to gain only a few days or weeks more. But he would do them if you insist, Lilah, because he would do anything for you. And you would force him to bow to your will because Lilah wants whatever the hell she wants.”
“Well, I need to hear that from him, Ben, not you,” she said with as much dignity as she could muster, while she blinked back even more tears.
“Would you listen?” he asked skeptically.
Stung, she could do nothing but stare at him through huge, wounded eyes.
“Well, you’ve already decided that I wouldn’t, so what I say right now won’t carry much weight, will it?”
He sighed again and this time the sound was weighted down with sadness.
“I shouldn’t have lost my temper. This news has obviously come as a great shock to you and, as they say, denial is the first stage of grief, so obviously you’ll want to consider all the alternatives before you accept such a bleak prognosis.”
“Don’t you want that too? He just told us Gramps is dying, Ben. And I know you love him too, so surely you agree that we should explore any and all avenues here.”
There was a long, odd moment of silence before he replied, and when he spoke he seemed like he was carefully considering each word before saying it. “Of course I love Cyrus, and I want what’s best for him… and I believe what’s best for him is what makes him happy. We should respect his wishes on this, Lilah. Would you want him to suffer just to keep him with you a little longer?”
