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Yvonne smiled and placed her hand on top of his wrinkly one, trying to ignore the fact that he seemed to shrink a little bit more with each passing year. When she was a child, her Pop Pop reminded her of a giant, a larger-than-life man, stronger than a bear.
She pushed aside thoughts of him aging.
“I was there, you know,” she said. “The night Vince was born. Leo called and asked if Lochlan and I would come sit with him. Denise hadn’t been comfortable having him in the delivery room, so her parents were with her instead. I think it hurt him, knowing that his son was being born, and he couldn’t be there to see it.”
“I didn’t realize you and Lochlan had been there for him. That was very kind of you.”
“It was a pretty long labor, close to fourteen hours. Lochlan and I kept taking turns, running out for food and stuff. Leo wouldn’t leave the waiting room. I swear he must have walked a thousand miles around that tiny room. And then, just like that, the baby was there. A nurse called us into a different room, and she put Vince in his arms. I’ve never seen a look like that. It was the most powerful love I’ve ever witnessed. I want that for my own children, want him raising them with me, loving them.”
“And,” Pop Pop prodded.
“And…me.”
“I was wondering if you were going to get to that part. Loving a man because he’s a good father is a wonderful thing, but it’s not the only thing.”
“No. It’s not. And I hope you don’t think I’ve been pining for him for years on end. I haven’t. We’ve both lived very full, very busy lives. And the timing has always been just a little off. Until last week.”
“Last week?”
“He kissed me. And…” Yvonne flushed, slightly embarrassed by her admission.
“I’ve done a fair bit of kissing in my life, lass. Can I assume you liked kissing him?”
“I’ve been falling in love with Leo in bits and pieces ever since I was fourteen. But when he kissed me…that was it for me. Hook, line and sinker.” Her Pop Pop loved fishing, so she knew he’d appreciate the metaphor.
“Well, then, I think the answer is obvious.”
Yvonne sat there for a moment, trying to recall the question. “It is?”
Pop Pop nodded. “Go to the hospital. Your place is there. With your man.”
“My man?” she asked, teasing. “Not my friend?”
“My dear girl, if you have an ounce of compassion, you will forget that terrible advice, and perhaps do an old man a favor and not tell anyone about my brief lapse in judgment. I do have a reputation to uphold in the family.”
Yvonne laughed, leaning forward to kiss her grandfather on the cheek. “I won’t say a word. I won’t have to. Twenty bucks says Riley didn’t have a damn thing to do in the kitchen. I suspect she’s already managed to call at least three of her six siblings to tell them the story.”
Pop Pop grimaced. “I never take a bet I won’t win. I suspect you’re right. So you go to Leo and show him that a chaotic life is better when it’s shared with a partner. And I’ll go to the kitchen and take Riley’s phone from her.”
Yvonne walked to her car, then drove to Johns Hopkins, trying to still the butterflies in her stomach and hoping that this time her Pop Pop was right. She didn’t want to barge in on his family at such a stressful time if her presence there was an imposition, if Leo truly didn’t want her there.
Her phone rang when she was halfway to the hospital.
“Hello?”
“Yvonne, it’s Sunnie.”
“Hey, listen, this really isn’t a good ti—”
“I picked up an extra shift at the hospital tonight because quite a few nurses are out with a stomach bug. People are puking left and right around here.”
“Lovely,” Yvonne murmured. “Thanks for sharing.”
Her cousin, Sunnie, was a nurse at Johns Hopkins. Though she typically worked in the oncology unit, Yvonne knew she pitched in wherever and whenever needed.
“That’s not why I called. Leo’s here. His dad had a heart attack.”
“I know,” Yvonne said. “I’m on my way, unless you thi—”
