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He chuckled softly, but let her lead him to a chair. “I’m fine and yes, it’s okay for me to walk,” he assured her. “Hey, Wendy. We hit a bit of traffic getting home. I’m sorry I wasn’t here to greet you.”
“That’s okay. Lily was here waiting for you, so we had some time to talk.”
“Oh?” He looked over at Lily before turning back to Wendy. “And?”
“She had questions that weren’t my place to answer,” Wendy gently admonished. “So maybe now would be a good time for the two of you to talk.” Then she glanced over at Robert and seemed to silently agree that they should leave the room.
Once they were alone, Lily blurted out, “What is going on? Are you sick? Is that why you sent everyone away?”
He gave her a patient smile before reaching over and taking one of her hands in his. “The simple answer is yes to both,” he began slowly. “It took some intense coordinating to make everything fall into place and then you, my sweet Lily, showed up.” He squeezed her hand before continuing. “Two months ago, at my annual physical, my doctor found a spot on my lung. I was already under his care for some minor heart issues and unfortunately, this has the potential to be very serious. I didn’t want everyone sitting around worrying about me. By now I’m sure you’ve noticed that I prefer to be the one taking care of everyone else.”
“I do, but…”
“I have to wait ten days for the pathology report,” he went on. “And a few days after that, everyone will be home and I either can celebrate with them or have some serious conversations. I didn’t want to deal with the hovering while we wait.” He sighed. “And then you showed up.”
“And I don’t feel even a little bit bad about that! You shouldnotbe alone right now!”
“Lily, Robert is here with me and he knows me better than anyone and is a master at keeping me occupied. Not that I don’t love and appreciate you being here and your concern, but just like I didn’t want your parents and grandmother making a fuss…”
“I’m not making a fuss, Grandpa!” she argued. “I’m genuinely concerned, and I hate that you lied to me!”
He continued to smile patiently. “I think we can both agree that this family is not great where medical issues are concerned. Present company included.”
She felt her cheeks heat. “Okay, fine. We’re not. But you kept lying to me. I saw you walking around with Wendy twice when you told me you had conference calls and were busy!”
This time he had the decency to look remorseful. “Again, I wasn’t expecting you to be here,” he said gently. “And I certainly didn’t expect you to show up at the office. I thought you’d be out with your friends and doing stuff on your own.” He paused. “Or that you’d be anxiously meeting with doctors.”
And yeah, she caught the hint of sarcasm.
“Fine, I ruined your big secret plans, but where have you been these last few days?”
“I had a cardiac catheterization and a lung biopsy.”
“Oh. That doesn’t sound like two things that usually happen together.”
“They’re not, but everything needed to be checked out so we know how to proceed from here.”
“So what happens now?”
He shrugged. “Now I wait for the results of the biopsy. My heart looks good. I’ve modified my diet and I’m doing everything my cardiologist recommended and all I can do now is…”
“Wait,” she said miserably.
“Exactly.” He squeezed her hand again. “And what about you?”
“What about me?”
“Have you made any decisions about your surgery?”
Damn.
“We’re talking aboutyou,” she reminded him. “I’m not the one who’s keeping a big secret from the family. Everyone knows about my injury.”
“True, but none of them know that your only option is surgery. Or have you called your parents and told them?”
Her gaze narrowed. “That was a cheap shot and you know it. I would never call them while they’re on vacation and worry them.”
“Well, then I guess I feel safe knowing you won’t call and tell them about me either.”
