Page 88 of Perfect Distraction
The song ended and the lights flipped on. Lauren slid back a few inches and grabbed his hand, her eyes bright and happy.
“Come on,” she said. “Let’s skate some more, and then we’ll go get ice cream.”
Andrew didn’t want to move an inch from this spot. He wanted to stay here and hold her but he sighed and said, “Okay, gorgeous. You lead, I’ll follow.”
It was one of the truest statements he’d ever said.
…
The next morning, Lauren was waiting for him immediately after his PET scan, and her presence gave him strength. A year ago, if someone had told him he would live his life in sections of time—revolving around chemo appointments and scans, he’d have looked at them like they were crazy. But here he was, doing exactly that. And he prayed that after today, he’d be finished with it all.
She walked him to his car in the parking garage, keeping what felt like yards between them. Once there, he pulled her between his car and the one parked beside him, so they were completely hidden. He kissed her hard before he let her go, trying to convey what he felt through his touch. Her cheeks were pink when he released her, and she wobbled a step, grabbing his arm.
Pleased with himself, he smiled at her. She knocked him off-balance, too, but he was better at hiding it. “Thanks for coming with me. I hope the rest of your day is great.”
“You too. I’ll talk to you tonight?”
“Definitely.”
She pressed another kiss to his lips and turned to walk back into the building. Andrew leaned against his pickup truck, watching her. He had no idea how he’d gotten so lucky, but he wasn’t about to question it.
It wasn’t until late that afternoon, when he received a phone call from Dr. Patel, that he learned his luck had run out.
He’d just left the DA’s office and was sitting in his car when the phone rang. He recognized the number as one from the cancer center, and a brick settled low in his stomach. Why were they calling so soon? Was that bad?
“Hello?”
“This is Dr. Patel, is this Andrew?”
“It’s me.”
“I’m calling about your PET scan from this morning. There has been a good response to the chemo, but unfortunately there are still two bright spots on the scan…”
Andrew’s vision went fuzzy, and he had difficulty focusing on what she was saying. He heard things like “two additional cycles of chemo” and “still a chance of complete remission” and “another scan in two months.”
“Andrew, are you there?”
“I’m here. Sorry. It’s just, not what I was expecting, I guess.”
“I know it’s hard to hear that the scan results weren’t as good as they could have been. But sometimes we need a little additional kick to get it all. The odds are still good we can get you into remission with two more cycles. I’ll ask Kiara to schedule you to see me next week, and we can look at the scan together and discuss it in more detail, okay?”
“Okay. Thanks, Dr. Patel.”
Andrew sat in his car, staring at nothing. The fuzzy, numb feeling he’d had while talking to the doctor faded, replaced by the urge to move. To do something.
He felt antsy, almost to the point of desperation.
He pulled up a contact on his phone and put the car in drive. It rang a few times before the other person picked up.
“Hello?”
“It’s me. Can you meet me at McNellie’s?”
Andrew was sitting at the bar when Logan walked up. He gestured to the two beers sitting in front of Andrew.
“One of those for me?”
“Nope.” Andrew finished off the one that was nearly empty, pushed the glass to the other side of the bar, and went for the second.
