Page 111 of Love, Second Chances and Other Nonsense
I feel Adam tense beside me, ready to leap to my defense, but I place a gentle hand on his arm. I can handle Hailey Kelley. “And I see you’re as charming as ever, Hailey,” I reply, my voice sweet enough to cause cavities. “That phone still surgically attached to your hand? You might want to have that looked at while we’re here.”
Hailey’s eyes narrow, but before she can respond, Adam cuts in. “Don’t start, Hailey. Not today.”
“Me? Start something?” She has the audacity to look offended. “I’m just surprised to see her here, that’s all. Last any of us knew, you two were kaput.”
“Clearly, you were wrong,” I say, moving closer to Adam’s side.
Paula finally unfreezes, her high heels clicking across the linoleum as she approaches. Her hair is perfectly styled as always, not a strand out of place despite the hospital vigil. Her makeup is flawless, her clothes expensive and immaculate. Even in a crisis, Paula Kelley maintains appearances.
“Adam,” she says, arms outstretched for a hug. “You came home.”
Adam takes a deliberate step back, keeping me at his side. Paula’s arms hang awkwardly in the air for a moment before she drops them, her smile faltering.
“Hello, Mother,” he says, his voice devoid of warmth.
Paula’s gaze shifts to me, and her expression sours like she’s just bitten into a lemon. “Caitlin,” she says, my name sounding like a curse on her lips. “What a… surprise. You and Adam broke up.”
I slip my arm around Adam’s waist, feeling the rigid tension in his muscles. “We’re working things out,” I say, meeting her gaze steadily.
I feel Adam stiffen in surprise and send him a reassuring smile, leaning closer into his side.
“How… nice.” She manages to make those two words sound like the opposite of nice. “Though I’m still not sure why you’re here. This is a family matter.”
“That’s exactly why she’s here,” Adam says, his voice suddenly hard. “Because she is family to me.”
Paula’s perfectly penciled eyebrows shoot up. “Don’t be ridiculous, Adam. She’s not family. She’s just some girl you dated—”
“Leave Caitlin alone.” Adam’s voice cuts through his mother’s like a knife. “She’s here because I asked her to be here. She’s here because, unlike you, she actually cares about my well-being.”
Paula gasps like she’s been slapped. “I’m your mother!”
“Yes, you are,” Adam agrees, his voice dangerously calm. “And you were a terrible one.”
The waiting room goes absolutely silent. Lauren’s eyes widen, Jake shifts uncomfortably, and Hailey’s phone slips from her fingers, clattering on the floor. Paula looks like someone just pulled the floor out from under her.
“Adam Kelley,” she finally manages, her voice trembling with either shock or rage, probably both. “How dare you speak to me that way?”
“I dare because it’s true,” Adam says, still in that frighteningly steady voice.
Paula’s mouth opens and closes like a fish out of water. She looks around the waiting room as if searching for allies, but finds none. Lauren is staring at her shoes, Jake is suddenly very interested in a poster about the importance of handwashing onthe wall, and Hailey is pretending to be absorbed in her phone again.
“What are you even doing here anyway?” Adam asks, his voice hard. “Dad’s divorcing you, isn’t he?”
Paula’s face flushes an alarming shade of red. “He was… coming to his senses,” she says stiffly. “We were working things out.”
“No, you weren’t,” Lauren interjects quietly. “She’s been making the divorce proceedings difficult,” she explains to Adam. “Making impossible demands, refusing to sign anything, delaying meetings with lawyers.”
“Lauren!” Paula snaps, whirling on her daughter. “That is private family business!”
“Sit down and be quiet, Mother,” Adam says, his voice so commanding that Paula actually takes a step back. “Nobody here is interested in listening to your bullshit.”
Paula looks like she might explode, but instead, she snaps her mouth shut and stalks back to her chair, sitting rigidly down with the expression of someone who has just been mortally offended.
Lauren touches Adam’s arm gently. “Dad went into surgery about an hour ago,” she says, bringing us back to the reason we’re all here. “They’re trying to repair damage from the heart attack and place some stents. The doctor said it could take several hours.”
Adam nods, some of the anger draining from his face, replaced by worry. “How bad was it? The heart attack?”
“Bad,” Lauren says simply. “The only saving grace is he was out getting coffee and not alone at home. The employees were able to call 911 immediately.”
