Page 113 of Love, Second Chances and Other Nonsense
“There’s nowhere else I’d rather be,” I tell Adam truthfully. And despite the grim setting, despite the family drama still simmering around us, I mean it with every fiber of my being.
41
Chapter 41
Caitlin
The pizza box sits open between us, the scent of grease and cheese filling our cramped hotel room. Caitlin sits cross-legged on the opposite side of the bed, a slice in her hand. I watch her take a bite, feeling strangely detached from the normalcy of the moment. Just hours ago, I was staring at my father in a hospital bed, tubes snaking from his arms, his face pale against the white pillowcase. Now I’m here, watching Caitlin lick sauce from her thumb, as if we’re just two people sharing dinner after a long day.
“So,” Caitlin says, breaking the silence. “Who’d have guessed there would only be one room available at the inn? At least it’s got more than one bed, eh?” She waggles her eyebrows in an exaggerated manner.
“We could have found a different hotel, you know.” I chuckle, helping myself to another slice.
“Meh, this one was fine. I think I can handle sleeping in the same room as you. Besides,” she leans forward, her eyes crinkling at the corners, “I think we need to stick together. You know, just in case certain people find out where we’re staying and try any funny business.”
“Certain people being my mother or Millie?”
“Yes.” She gives me an arch look over her slice of pizza. “I was surprised Millie wasn’t at the hospital, to be completely honest. I would have thought she’d have been all over that considering what a big part of the family she is.”
I shrug. “Lauren mentioned she’s been making a complete pest of herself since the heart attack. Calling and texting everyone constantly for updates. And earlier, she kept butting into conversations with Dad’s doctors and pestering the staff. She was getting on even my mother’s nerves. So Rhonda finally convinced her she needed to go home and rest.”
“Hopefully, she’ll stay home,” Caitlin mutters.
“God, I hope so.” The mere thought of seeing Millie again makes my skin crawl.
“You know what? Let’s not ruin a perfectly good pizza talking about her. If she shows up, we’ll deal with it together.”
I couldn’t agree more.
My mind drifts back to the hospital, to those few precious minutes with Dad. I’d been shocked by how small he looked, dwarfed by the hospital bed and the machines surrounding him. Gerald Kelley had always been larger than life in my mind, a force of nature. But there in that sterile room, he’d looked old and fragile, his skin paper-thin and mottled with bruises from IVs.
His eyes had fluttered open when I spoke his name. Recognition had dawned slowly, then his cracked lips had curved into a weak smile.
“Adam,” he’d whispered, his voice barely audible over the beeping monitors. “You came.”
“Of course I came,” I’d told him, squeezing his hand gently, mindful of the IV.
“I’m so glad Adam…so happy you’re here…” Each word had seemed to cost him tremendous effort, but he’d squeezed my hand with surprising force.
The memory blurs as I feel Caitlin’s hand on my arm, pulling me back to the present.
“Where’d you go just now?” she asks softly.
I blink, realizing I’ve been staring at the same half-eaten slice of pizza for who knows how long. “Sorry. Just thinking about Dad.”
She sets her pizza down and wipes her hands on a napkin. “Lauren said he looked better than she expected, all things considered.”
“Yeah.” I nod, setting my own food aside. “The doctor seemed cautiously optimistic when we left. Said his vitals were improving.”
“I keep thinking about my mother,” I admit. “Her behavior tonight. The look on her face when Lauren told her dad had updated his medical paperwork. Like she couldn’t believe he’d actually cut her out.”
“She seemed genuinely shocked,” Caitlin agrees.
“You know what I’ve realized about my mother? She creates her own reality, and when the real world doesn’t match up, she just… refuses to accept it.” I shake my head, remembering Paula’s rigid posture in the waiting room chair, her icy glares. “She really believed she could manipulate her way back into his life and bully me into falling back in line, even after everything that’s happened.”
“Some people never change,” Caitlin says simply.
“No, they don’t.” I think of Millie then, and an involuntary shudder runs through me.
