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“I’m staying,” she interrupts. “Now I’m worried too.”
“It’s impossible not to get attached to grandma, huh?” I say, taking my phone out of my pocket.
Elsa nods and comes to sit right next to me.
I dial mom’s number, hoping she can hear it over the noise of the reception party.
“How is she, Harvey?” It’s the first thing mom says.
“To early to really say because we’ve had no word from the doctors.” I hear her let out a sob and I’m quick to reassure her. “But she’s sleeping! She’s under observation. Everything is going to be alright!”
Mom breathes with relief, and after composing herself, she asks, “Want your father and I to go there?”
“No, have lunch, wait for the party to die down, then you can tell everybody,” I say. “She’s okay now, mom. But stay close to your phone.”
She bids me a tearful goodbye and I hang up the phone and sigh deeply.
“Is she okay?” Elsa asks me.
“Not really,” I say, juggling my phone with one hand. “But she’ll only be happy when grandma is out of here. Speaking of which…”
I turn fully to Elsa, completely crooked in my chair and not caring even a little. “You’re not doing this just to guarantee your money, right?” I continue, “Because your work is pretty much over, you can leave at any time…”
But Elsa just shakes her head and looks down at her shoes before replying, “I know, but I appreciate it all, even this. Your family is loud and so affectionate. They love each other deeply and are so welcoming. I saw how kindly they treat Kiera’s new husband. I was treated like a princess too.”
Once again, I nod, lost in thought.
“How long do you plan on staying?” I ask, my finger pointing at her.
“Until you go back to Boston,” she shrugs with one shoulder.
“No,” I shake my head, leaning forward to face her. “I’ll be leaving from here and going straight to Vancouver for a tournament. Really, you can leave whenever you want to.”
I reach over to rest a hand over hers and she doesn’t stop me.
“Something tells me I shouldn’t go now,” Elsa says, sounding reasonable despite this crazy situation we are in. “Let’s give it a day. I’ll feel bad if I leave now.”
This girl is either too kind or too dumb to realize she is no longer needed, and I don’t know how long I can keep pretending that I don’t want her to stay.
I’m about to say something stupid when a young, friendly doctor comes to us, adjusting his glasses to read the clipboard.
“Mr. Baker? Mrs. Connelly’s grandson?” he says, talking to me.
I stand the same instant, approaching the doctor as a kid approaches candy. “Is she okay, doctor?”
“Um,” the doctor looks around, then from me to Elsa and vice versa. “Please follow me to my office.”
Elsa and I follow him, apprehension weighting heavily on our shoulders.
Chapter Thirteen
ELSA
Thedoctortellsusthat Harvey’s grandma is going through heart failure and that only a transplant can fix it.
But at her age, the doctors recommend we just keep her comfortable and wait for the best outcome, and considering the best outcome here is for her to pass away in her sleep, this isn’t a happy day.
Harvey’s parents, Lorna and George, arrive by the end of the day to relieve us, saying they still hadn’t said a thing to anyone in the family. Harvey makes his mom promise to tell Grant and Lorna’s sisters when they arrive back home and then Harvey and I head back home as well, to finally change out of the formal clothing, eat something, and rest.
