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I furrowed my brows. “Shouldn’t I be asking you that?” I replied quietly.
“I’m fine. Now answer my question,” she bluntly stated, and I kissed her forehead. Man this woman was infuriating and absolutely incredible all at once.
“Yeah, it’ll all work out,” I mumbled against her skin as Maddie let out a massive sigh.
“You two are so cute,” she gushed, clasping her hands together and drawing attention that I didn’t want yet.
My mom turned around, and made eye contact with me. I clenched my jaw, not wanting to have this discussion here in front of everyone. “Weston, can we—” she began, but was interrupted by the staff doors plunking open and Rosemary sucking in air loudly at the sight of the doctor.
He quickly swayed our way, his eyes widening. “Wow, the group has grown a bit.” He chuckled as Tenley's mom stepped forward.
“What did the scans say?” she blurted out in desperation.
The doctor stuffed his hands in his white coat pockets. “Let me take you and a few other family members back to see your husband, and I’ll discuss things then.”
Rosemary nodded as Luke, Maddie, Tenley, and their grandparents all rose from their seats. I gave Tenley a reassuring smile and squeezed her hand before she walked toward the doctor, her crocs squeaking slightly on the white tile.
“Weston?” Rosemary said, turning to look at me. I raised my brows, shocked. She waved, gesturing for me to join. “I mean, I think it’s only fitting, considering,” she added quietly. I blinked, frozen for a moment, surprised that she asked me to come with the rest of her family.
Cassidy grinned, nodding slowly beside me as my mom watched with surprise etched on her face.
Slowly, I pushed myself out of the seat and glanced at Tenley. She smiled, her entire body softening as I walked forward. Before I reached the group, my mom’s hand plunked against my shoulder, and I paused.
“Weston, I need to—” she began, but I shrugged her off.
“Not now,” I stated abruptly, and joined the small group.
“I’m so sorry,” my mom whispered, defeated, so quietly I barely caught her words as small fingers slipped into mine and we were led through the cream doors.
Everything looked the same as we wandered the labyrinth of brown, wooden doors and flickering fluorescent lights. The doctor took a couple right hand turns, a left, and another right before pushing open a set of double, beige doors, and we entered another hallway.
Passing two rooms on the right, he stopped in front of the third door, the quiet ominous feeling escalating with each ticking minute. Finally, he looked at us. “I want to warn you, he is not in the best shape. So try and not overwhelm him,” Doctor Jones said, his hand resting on the silver handle.
Rosemary nodded fervently, straining to peer through the little glass slat and into the room. He pushed the handle and the door popped open. A monitor beeped in the corner of the room, screens flashing with numbers and lines that didn’t make sense to me. Beside the monitor was a metal rack, with bags of saline and medication hanging from the silver hooks. Tubes ran from the bags, clear fluids dripping through the plastic before sliding through the needles in Charlie’s very pale arms.
He was lying on the hospital bed in a gown, the white sheets looking scratchy against his skin as Rosemary rushed to his far side. The room was dimly lit and he blinked, lifting a frail hand. She grabbed it, sobbing ,and pressed the weathered fingers against her face.
“You gave me such a fright,” she whispered and he blinked very slowly, a pained smile spreading across his chapped lips. No one said anything as she caressed his head, his thin, gray hair laying flat beneath her touch.
Tenley’s fingers squeezed mine tightly as she took a shaky breath, tears brimming in her eyes. Maddie reached for her mom as Irene clung to Frank.
But Charlie didn’t look away from his wife’s eyes. It was a tender moment as she sniffed, studying him, and gently whispering all of the reasons that she loved him. Beautiful, private moments were shared, and I watched Tenley, ignoring what they were saying. She silently cried, knowing that goodbye was soon.
Sooner than she had been expecting. Sooner than any of them had expected.
Eventually, there was a quiet lull in the mood, and Doctor Jones cleared his throat. “Mr. Mayn. Mrs. Mayn. I want to discuss our options from here,” he gently began. Rosemary nodded, straightening upright, but didn’t let go of Charlie’s hand as they turned their directions to the doctor. A love so deep that, even at death’s door, I knew she would try to slide through with him, clinging on for as long as possible.
“Your scans revealed that today’s incident is, as I assume you suspected, a result of your cancer. Which leaves me bearing the bad news that there really is nothing more we can do. We’ve administered a light dose of pain medication and are giving some fluids, but that’s really all we can do besides making you comfortable. So, you have two options. Option one, and the one I recommend. You can stay here for a couple days while we monitor you, administer more fluids, nutrition, and pain medication. That way, we can hopefully see some small improvement.” He paused.
Charlie’s brows flickered, his green eyes glanced at his wife. They remained locked onto each other’s gaze, silently communicating for a moment. He coughed and wheezed. “Option two?” he asked, his voice hoarse.
“You can go home. But at home, we won’t—”
“Home,” Charlie immediately breathed out, cutting the doctor off. “I want…” He paused and took a deep, painful breath. “I want to go home.”
“I can give him the fluids and everything there,” Tenley quickly jumped in offering.
The doctor clenched his jaw but didn’t argue, ignoring Tenley. “I’ll have the nurses come in and help get you ready to go. They’ll bring in your discharge papers shortly,” he said, and quietly left the room.
