[- Decree -]

I’d texted Sara that Denise wanted to meet this morning. Her reply was for me to hear her out, but to hold my ground. There was also a heart emoji added to the end of that text, and it surprised me that something so simple made me feel pretty damn good. After the meeting, I texted her back:

Me: Did as you suggested, and it went better than expected. She’ll accept a swap in custody until it doesn’t work out for her caring for Jen. Then Jen will be with me full time.

There wasn’t an immediate reply or indication that the message had been seen, so I figured she was in the OR and assisting still—which is what she told me her morning looked like when we walked out of the café before heading to work. I pulled up Lance’s number and dialed it.

“Hey, Brad,” he said when he answered.

“Busy?”

“Working on a few things, but I’ve got time. What’s up?”

“Denise has a serious health issue that’s recently come to light, and we’ve talked about Jen’s custody,” I was beginning to say, but he interrupted me.

“How serious are we talking? I mean, if she’s willingly talking about you taking on custody, it must be pretty serious.”

“Yeah, a cancerous brain tumor, not something you want, and the survival rate is pretty bad,” I said solemnly.

“Oh, shit… Hey, sorry to hear that, bud. What did you guys negotiate in regards to Jenny’s care?”

I told him what we’d discussed and when done asked, “Can you do that, get it written up and over to her lawyer?”

“The straight flipping of the custody parameters, along with the difference in child support amounts, will be easy enough to draft. I can’t inject in that the idea of ‘hope’ she recovers and the idea no one would contest it being reverted back at some point if Jenny isn’t eighteen by that time.”

“I thought that might be a long shot, but I had mentioned it to her, so that’s why I asked.”

“The simplest track for this is writing it up without mention of reversing it at a future date should she recover. When presented, I can explain the purpose of the change, and if you two want to shake on it being reversed at some point, like a gentlemen’s agreement, that’s the best move—though technically not legally binding for something like this. She’s got to know you’re not out to screw her, especially given that joke of a mediation we did last month and the ridiculous will change.”

“Yeah, likely she knows all that. How soon do you think we can get it in front of her lawyer and then a judge?”

“The earliest I can get it to Wayne is the end of the week. If he listens to Denise’s instructions and signs off on it quickly without any revisions or a bunch of bullshit posturing, we could probably get in front of a judge the week after that possibly. I can talk with a clerk I know downtown to see if she can slide this in someplace since it would be quick, like less than fifteen minutes quick, for a judge to sign off on. No contesting, no need for everyone to be there; it should be simple enough. If I can get Jenny to write a letter of support and her being okay with the change, that would help grease the skids. Oh, have her mention knowing her mom’s health issues are prompting this; it’ll help,” he replied.

“Jen could do that; I’ll get her on that today. Let’s do our best to make all this happen quickly…”

“I’ll do my best,” he said, and after a pause asked, “How’s Jenny doing? Are you alright?”

“Jen’s struggling with her mom being sick, no concerns about the change or being with me more. I’m… I feel for Denise; it’s going to be a difficult couple of months, if not more. Thanks for asking.”

“Is the push on getting this done quickly because of her health, or are you afraid she’ll change her mind?”

Denise changing her mind certainly was a possibility, but having this done sooner than later would be the smart move, at least where Jen was concerned. Gary was a wildcard, and if there was some idea in his head motivated by money, money I was paying for both child and spousal support, I didn’t need him gumming up this agreed-upon change by getting in Denise’s ear. Truthfully, my biggest concern was making sure Jen had some stability in her life while her mom was seeking treatment.

“I just want to make this easier for Jen…”

“Where’s Sara at with this?”

“She’s supportive; I think we’re good,” I replied but wondered about his question.

“Good to hear… Anything else?”

I mentioned being worried about Gary and why I had those concerns. Lance assured me Gary had no legal claims to any monetary support I provided should Denise pass and reminded me that the agreement to pay spousal support had been my idea and was voluntary—not court ordered. I didn’t have to do that, and had Denise even sought support, it would have been an uphill battle for her, and she’d have likely been given a smaller sum than agreed upon—which is why it wasn’t contested by her lawyer in the divorce proceedings.

“You’ve done all the right things when it comes to Jen, Denise, and the divorce, believe me…”

“I don’t take well to failing at things I commit to… You know that.”

“I do, but your marriage didn’t fail due to lack of love. Life happened, focus was diverted in support of your family, and it takes two people to make it work and fail. You need to stop beating yourself up for that. I hope you’re not feeling like this health issue she has is something you could have prevented.”

Lance and I had been friends since college; he knew Denise's and my story better than most, and his insight just now might have hit the target closer than he knew. I knew I couldn’t have prevented what was happening to Denise, but it didn’t mean I didn’t care or wish there was more I could do to help her get through this.

“I hear ya…”

“I feel like Sara’s been a bright spot for you after a long stretch of grinding out a paycheck and maybe feeling guilty about how things ended with Denise. Look, all I’m saying here is for you to take the lessons learned with Denise and make sure you don’t lose sight of what’s important—that’d be Jen and Sara, right?”

The only other people who would care enough about me to talk to me like this were my parents, Lisa—Ken’s wife—and Lance. Sara probably wouldn’t be bold enough to call me out on something this early in our relationship, but if we got a few more months under our belts, she’d absolutely give it to me straight. Was I risking what Sara and I had while trying to make up for my past failures with Denise? Shit…

“You’re right, fuck… I’ve fallen on my sword enough, huh?”

Lance chuckled before saying, “Yeah, a few times. It’s noble and all, but just don’t let that become a character flaw. You’ve got a life to live, dude. I’m not saying don’t be compassionate or caring, just be reasonable, alright?”

“Yeah, I’m hearing you, I promise... Thanks, man, you and Nina have been great friends, and I think I needed that little reminder right now. I love you guys…”

“Right back at ya…”

“You want to get back to me when this heads Wayne’s way?”

“I’ll ping you.”

[- Confirming -]

“Did you take something?” I asked as we lay there in bed, my arms around Sara as she snuggled in closer.

“Yeah, a couple of Tylenol after I showered… They’ve been in my purse forever, though, so I’m not sure they’re going to do much,” Sara replied.

She’d made it to my condo after I’d gotten home and was close to finishing up preparing dinner for us. She was certainly later than usual, looked tired, and was probably relieved I had dinner going. She told me she’d had a rough day and a headache—though blaming that on probably needing to get her contact prescription upgraded.

“I hate eye exams… All that ‘better like this’ or ‘better like this’ stuff? So annoying,” she complained while we were eating.

After dinner we’d talked about our days, and I told her more about meeting with Denise. She listened, seemed interested, and asked a few questions, but I felt like maybe something else was up. When I asked, she blamed her headache, and shortly after that we decided to call it an early night—even though she had tomorrow off.

When she was done showering, she seemed a little livelier, though she had crawled into bed wearing one of my old t-shirts and looked like she was ready to shut down for the night. I went through my normal nightly routine and was snuggling with her twenty minutes later, still feeling like there was more going on than a long day and headache.

“I think I’ve got a bottle of ibuprofen in the bathroom if you want to switch it up…”

“Too late now, already took the Tylenol. If I’m still suffering later tonight, I’ll get some, promise,” she said, kissing my cheek. “Lance didn’t have any concerns with the request to switch the decree up? Are you worried about any of that?”

“No, he seemed good with it, just can’t put in verbiage that isn’t enforceable legally. I just want it set before she starts any treatment and can’t commit to setting Jen’s care up. The less I have to deal with Gary, the better; that’s my biggest worry.”

“Gotcha… I can see where that makes sense, the ‘enforceable’ angle. The more I hear about Gary, the more I’d be worried also.”

“My thoughts exactly… Can I ask you something?”

“That sounds ominous…”

“No, but… You know I’m happy, right? I want you to be happy too and to say, I mean, tell me when you’re not.” I got all that out way too quickly, and I’m sure it sounded like I was nervous or scattered about my intentions for asking.

Sara shifted in my arms so she could see my face; there was concern on her face, or maybe it was curiosity on her part as to what point I was trying to make.

“You doubt I’m happy?” she asked.

“No, but with all this craziness with Denise, I don’t want that screwing up what we’re doing together…”

“Do you love her still?”

“No, but while some of this stuff she’s dragged me into lately is crazy and sucked for both of us, I can’t say I hate her either. We were together almost nineteen years, and I care about her and what’s happening to her. Jenny was the greatest gift she ever gave to me, and I’ve spent a lot of time trying to make up for failing as a father. I can’t get that time back, and it sure seems like she’s growing up so damn fast.

“I couldn’t ever be with Denise again if that’s what you’re wondering. Too much has happened, and we’ll never be more than friends, barely that I’d bet most times, if any of that makes sense. I just don’t want to make those mistakes I made with her with you, and I pray you’ll kick my ass if I stray from making you happy. That’s really all I’m saying.”

She lay there next to me, watching and listening intently while I dumped all that. When she didn’t immediately speak, I was worried.

“I’m not worried you’re still in love with Denise, if that helps. I think you’ve paid your dues, though, at least with all you’ve told me about your two’s relationship. You need to understand, though, that you were half of a relationship that didn’t work out and couldn’t be fixed for whatever reason. You get to move on, Brad; we all do.

“If I had a concern, it would be that you are not able to leave the past where you left it and maybe are afraid to make mistakes going forward. No one’s perfect; I’m certainly not. We’re going to make mistakes; I can promise you that. If we make those on accident, not purposely to hurt the other person, then we’ll be fine. That’s my take on Denise,” she concluded.

“You realize how easy you make it for me to love you?”

“Yeah, I’ve got an idea,” she said while tracing a hand down my chest and awakening that part of me she so easily could arouse below my waist. “Let’s just keep making it easy for each other to feel that way, okay?”

There was a gentle tug, and I may have shifted a little as she kissed my shoulder and smiled, and I held my breath as her face followed the same path her hand had taken.

[- 911 -]

I’d just pulled the lasagna Sara and I had made yesterday from the oven when my cellphone began buzzing in my pocket.

“Hey you, what’s…,” I didn’t get to finish my sentence.

“Dad, you need to get over here right now! Mom and Gary are arguing. I’m scared,” a frantic Jenny blurted out without taking a breath.

I could hear yelling in the background and tried to think of the best way to handle this on the fly.

“Can you get out of there safely? Like, maybe get over to Aaron’s house? See if his dad is home and would be willing to stop down there, at least until I get there?” I barfed quickly back at her.

Sara was looking on worriedly, had heard Jen frantically asking for help, and whispered, “Just call 911…”

“Jen, should we just call the police?” I asked, sounding a little more in control.

“I’m not leaving, Mom, Dad,” she whispered.

I could hear Denise shouting something in the background. Fuck!

“I’d rather it if you were out of there, Jennifer. Please, just slip out of there and get over to Aaron’s. I’m on my way…”

“K…”

The line went dead, and I began moving for the front door, explaining what Jen had told me, with Sara right behind me.

“I heard most of that,” she began, “Call 911, Brad… If this is some kind of domestic dispute, you do not want to be in the middle of it,” she complained.

“I don’t want to be involved, but I can’t leave Jenny in the middle of that. I’ll call Aaron’s mom on my way over there,” I said, grabbing my coat and keys from the table just inside the front door, giving her an ‘I’ll be back soon’ look as best I could in my rattled state.

“Okay, good… But I’m going too! You can’t expect I’m going to sit here and worry about this shit, Brad!”

“Sorry… Yeah, I get it, let’s… Yeah, let’s go…”

[---]

We’d made it to the main boulevard down the block from the condo when my phone began ringing. It was an unknown number, but I pressed the connect button on my steering wheel anyway.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Brad?”

“Yes…”

“This is Ray, Aaron’s dad. Just calling to tell you Jenny’s here; she’s safe. I put in a call for a wellness check on Denise given what Jenny has told me. Look, for de-escalation purposes, do not go over there. Let the BPD make contact and see what they can do to defuse the situation. Just come here and get Jenny, alright? Are you hearing what I’m telling you, Brad?”

“Yeah, ah… Okay, we’re about eight minutes out. I really appreciate you looking after Jenny for us.”

“No problem, see you in a few…”

“Thanks, Ray...”

I killed the call.

“She’s safe; let’s get there safely,” Sara said softly, putting a hand on my shoulder to emphasis her point.

She was right, of course; I was driving erratically and needed to get a handle on my emotions. Jen was safe, the police were en route, and there wasn’t much else I could do besides get us there safely.

[- Safe -]

We pulled into Aaron’s driveway and were getting out as a police cruiser passed by us and slowed to a stop in front of Denise’s a few houses down the street from us. They weren’t in any hurry to get up to the door once parked, and had Ray not opened the front door, I’d have waited longer to see them make their way to her door or yelled at them to get a move on it.

“Good to see you, Brad,” he said with an outstretched hand. “They’ll call me after they’re done; come on in; I think Jenny will be happy to see you.”

I introduced Sara, and we followed Ray inside to the kitchen, where the kids were gathered: Jen, Aaron, and Jacob—Aaron’s little brother. Paula was supervising the herd, but when we walked in, Jen bolted to get in my arms and was crying.

“I… I don’t know what his… His problem is…” she huffed.

“She got the decree changes today, Jen… Maybe she hasn’t discussed it with Gary yet. Whatever it is, I’m sure the officers over there will get things calmed down,” I replied softly.

Jen looked at me and then peeled herself from my arms to hug Sara.

“You did the right thing by calling,” Sara cooed, pushing her back so she could look at her. “That was very brave and smart of you.”

“Thank you for taking her in,” I said to Paula and walked over to Aaron to shake his hand. “I appreciate you being there for Jenny too.”

“Yeah, no problem, Mr. Styles,” he replied.

“Can I get either of you something to drink?” Paula asked.

“No, thank you though,” I said and looked over to Sara, who was hugging Jen again. She shook her head, indicating she was fine.

“Jenny said Denise has a brain tumor?” Paula asked after a long moment of silence.

“Yes, something just recently discovered. She’s gearing up for treatment soon,” I replied, but I noticed Ray was staring at Sara. “You okay?” I asked him when he caught me looking at him and wondered what his issue was.

“Yeah, but I feel like I know you or have seen you someplace,” he said, looking at Sara.

“I get that sometimes,” she replied as Jen and she stopped hugging.

“No, like… Wait, you’re a nurse? That’s it… Six months ago one of our detectives was shot in the leg, and we were visiting him at Boston General—you came in while a bunch of us were in his room,” Ray said, excited about figuring out where he’d recognized Sara from.

She was smiling. “Yes, I seem to recall the one motorcycle officer saying something about wanting to get a sponge bath.”

That got Ray a glare from Paula. He was quick to explain it wasn’t him and they were just messing with Sara.

“That sounds like harassment to me,” Paula said, still glaring at Ray.

Aaron and Jacob were laughing under their breaths. Ray was about to defend himself a little more, but his cellphone began ringing.

“Yeah…”

We watched the one-sided conversation, which included him asking the officers to inform Denise where Jenny was and that I was also here.

“Right…,” a long pause as Ray listened, “I’ll do that… Yeah… Gotcha… Sure…”

We all watched him hang up and set his phone on the kitchen island.

“Okay, everyone’s fine, no domestic violence or anything like that. Sounds like Denise was a little rattled, worried about where Jenny had disappeared to, but saw her texts saying she was here and Brad was on his way. Gary might have had a bit to drink tonight, and they’ve asked him to find someplace else to stay for the night to cool off.

“They warned him to not come back tonight, saying tomorrow afternoon is the requirement. No calls or texts to Denise or Jenny in the meantime also. Probably should have mentioned they add you to that list of ‘do not call’,” he said, looking at me.

I nodded; it wasn’t necessary as I doubted Gary would want to talk with me.

“They need about ten to fifteen minutes to get him situated with some clothes and personal items before they escort him out and give him a ride to wherever it is he thinks he wants to sober up. You can take Jenny home to Denise after that,” Ray concluded.

[- Confrontation -]

“Mom!” Jen yelled from the front door as she entered and disappeared from sight.

The police were gone and so was Gary. We hung back in the car, though Jen had said we should come in before she rushed off to find Denise inside.

“It’s probably not a good idea for you to rub me being here in her face,” Sara said softly. “I’m not up for a yelling match with anyone tonight. Everyone’s nerves are raw, so maybe you should just go in and say whatever, and then we should leave when you’re comfortable Jenny’s alright, yeah?”

We were both watching the open front door for any movement, and I reached for my seat belt to do as Sara asked just as Denise and Jenny appeared at the door. They were waving for me to come in; at least that’s what it looked like.

“I’ll be right back,” I said, looking at Sara, squeezing her hand, and exited my car after turning it off.

At the door Denise looked as tired as she had Monday in my office, but there was also relief showing through, and even a little smile—though it didn’t stick around very long. Had she seen Sara in the car and that’s what made that disappear?

“Are you alright?”

“Yes, just a misunderstanding,” she said, looking like she didn’t want to expand on that with Jenny standing there with us.

“Okay, I’m just glad you two are alright. I thanked the Temples for taking Jenny in,” I replied.

“I texted Paula my thanks,” she paused to look around me at Sara sitting in my car. “Jenny said Sara was with you; she could come in if you want.”

I was at a loss for words. She’d not only used her name but even said ‘she’ when referring to her. I had to wonder if she was doing that to fuck with me or maybe it was for Jenny’s sake. I recovered quickly, though, and got out that it’d been a stressful evening for everyone and we were here to just make sure Jenny and she were alright.

“I’m fine, Bradley, but I’d like to meet Sara and thank her for looking after Jenny,” she said, sounding incredibly reasonable—though that sounded crazy to me for obvious reasons.

What the hell?!

“Another time, okay,” I stated and looked to Jen for a moment for help or to get a read on what she thought about that.

Having taken my focus off Denise for that brief millisecond prompted her to engage her feet for some unknown reason and move past me standing on her stoop. She was now heading towards my car at a quicker pace than I’d expected. I was a step behind her when I got my ass in gear and was asking her to stop the entire thirty feet to my car, telling her this wasn’t the time for this. She ended up at the driver’s side door quicker than I’d realized, trying to get the door open, but I was preventing that with my body.

“I just want to meet her and thank her for helping tonight,” Denise said gruffly, not looking at me and singularly focused on Sara sitting in my car.

“Mom…”

“Denise!”

Jenny and I had called out to her at the same time. She seemed determined to confront Sara and was ignoring both of us. We didn’t need the neighbors getting an earful of cats fighting to go along with the extrication of her husband by the police tonight! Fuck!

“I’d like to thank you,” she said loudly towards Sara through the window, “For being there for Jenny. I appreciate that you would do that for her.”

I could see the confusion on Sara’s face as she looked at me for some indication of what she should do. Her hand moved to the seatbelt, unbuckling it and then she was opening the car door, and stepping out before I had a chance to complain.

No! What are you doing!

For a long moment, the two women stared at each other across the roof of my car.

Oh shit! Oh shit! Jenny had moved next to Denise, and I was about to say…

“You’re welcome… You have a beautiful daughter, and she means a lot to me, even in the short time I’ve known her. You already know she means the world to Brad, and you’ve both done a great job preparing her to be an intelligent, strong, and confident woman,” Sara said without looking bothered one bit by Denise pushing this impromptu meeting.

I don’t think either Jen or I took breaths as we waited for all hell to break loose. I looked back and forth between Sara and Denise.

“Thanks, she’s going to be something special. Alright, well… Nice to finally meet you, put a face to a name, and I hope we can maybe chat sometime over coffee. Jenny says you like Café Duro. I’ve never been, but I’d be happy to meet you there sometime,” Denise offered.

“I’m usually off Tuesdays and Wednesdays; Jenny can give you my number. I’m happy to meet with you,” Sara replied.

“Sounds good,” Denise said and turned to me, “Thanks for being here tonight, Brad. I have the signed decree change inside if you want to come get it,” Denise said, turning to walk into the house after saying that.

I looked to Sara, and she shrugged. I opened my mouth but couldn’t speak and shrugged back at her while shaking my head.

“Come on, Dad,” Jenny prodded.

What the fuck had just happened?!

[---]

Back in the car, I sat staring at the steering wheel for a good fifteen seconds before starting the car. When I started to back out of the driveway, Sara put her hand on mine still on the gear shifter.

“You okay?” she asked worried.

“What just happened?”

“I’m not sure, but if you want to tell people aliens were involved, I’ll back your story,” she said with a giggle.

“No, I mean really… That’s the craziest reversal I’ve ever encountered with anyone I’ve ever known. I mean, she didn’t misgender you or say anything fucked up to me—not once,” I stated, still in shock.

“Did she say anything else when you went inside?”

“Only you weren’t what she expected, and could see why I liked you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Sara challenged.

“Nothing, it’s… Well, your hair… You’re a dirty blonde, and I really like the curls—she knows that about me,” I answered, embarrassed and thankful she couldn’t see that I was blushing maybe a little in the dimly lit vehicle.

“Really now,” Sara said sarcastically. “Curls?”

“I like what I like, and you a lot more than like… We’ve established that,” I said, smiling at her.

“For my curly dirty-blonde hair…”

“Yes, so don’t ever change it, please. Your hair is the frosting on the cupcake I can’t get enough of…”

“Bradley, Bradley, Bradley…,” she said, sounding amused and maybe happy. “So, that wasn’t how I was expecting my meeting her to go down. Am I supposed to actually have coffee with her if she asks?”

“Not if you don’t want… Look, I’m happy to run interference if that ever comes about, or maybe I can insist on being there,” I offered.

“You don’t think I can handle her?”

“Oh, God no! I mean, you’d easily best her if she went all stupid on you, but truthfully it’s probably something to avoid, right?”

“I’m not sure… Now I’m curious,” she said, sounding like she was playing with me.

“Wait, no… No, don’t be talking like that. Let’s leave crazy ex-wives in crazy ex-wives land. Really, consider the craziness we’ve been through already, tonight even, okay?”

“Did she say anything about Gary?”

“No, but Jen was there, and I don’t think she wanted to talk about him with her around,” I said, turning onto the main boulevard towards home.

“What a strange evening…”

“You’re telling me,” I said, taking her hand and kissing it, before placing our hands on the center console armrest.

[- Decisions -]

Over the next couple of days, I’d been texting both Denise and Jenny a couple of times a day to make sure everything was alright. It probably annoyed Denise, and she’d told me it was a one-off thing with Gary and her health issues were a stain on their relationship right now. Didn’t matter what she said or what excuse she offered, Jen was living there still, and I didn’t want any issues spilling over onto her.

“Hey… Is everything alright?”

“You know, I’d appreciate it if we could put the events of earlier this week behind us and you could stop worrying. I’m fine, Jenny’s fine, Gary’s fine, and my household is the furthest thing from Defcon 1, so please, no more asking—it’s getting a little old,” Denise replied annoyed.

“Sorry… I just wasn’t expecting a call from you,” I said, trying to sound less nervous—Nelly. “What’s up?”

“I’m scheduled for surgery tomorrow morning at Boston General,” she started saying, but I butted in.

“Tomorrow? On a Saturday?”

“Yes, tomorrow. My doctor didn’t like something he saw on my MRI yesterday, and he’s moved up this second treatment option.”

“I’m sorry…”

“I’m kind of over this crap, so I might as well get on it. The surgery was inevitable; I’ve come to terms with it.”

“Does Jen know?”

“I’m telling her after she gets home from school, before she heads your way for the weekend. It’s not as bleak as everyone thinks. My doctor says there’s a good chance they’ll be able to remove this thing in my head, and with the chemo/radiation, keep it from spreading. So far it’s not spread to any other organs.”

“That’s encouraging, thank you for sharing that,” I said, relieved. “You know Jenny’s not going to want to be here… So, if you want, she can stay over there tonight, and I can hook up with her at the hospital in the morning. What time are they admitting you?”

“Thank you for that… Let’s see how she does. They want me there at 7AM. I doubt I’ll get much sleep tonight.”

“Well, either way I’ll be there with Jen or meet you both there…”

“Thank you… I’ll reach out later,” she said before hanging up.

[---]

Jen: Mom said I can stay here tonight if I want. I want.

Me: Absolutely, I’m fine with that. Are you alright?

Jen: IDK

Me: Your mom made it sound like her doctor was confident about the surgery. That’s huge.

Jen: Guess

Me: You should be there tonight with her, and I’m glad you’re doing that. Do you want to talk?

Jen: Maybe later.

Me: K, well, call me anytime.

Jen: Thanks, Dad. Love you.

Me: Love you more, kiddo.

I’d slid my phone over the table to Sara at the Indian restaurant we decided to eat at so she could see what Jen had sent me. Sara had done the same with her phone so I could see her exchange with Jen.

Jen: Is Doctor Jenkins a good doctor? I know you know people in the hospital and know experience matters for stuff like this.

Sara: He’s the best in Boston when it comes to dealing with brain issues. He’s done thousands of surgeries probably, so he’s very skilled. He teaches this stuff too, so believe me, your mom is in good hands. I would recommend him and seek his care if I had the same issue.

Jen: K. I’m scared that this is rushing it.

Sara: He wouldn’t have insisted on moving the surgery up from whatever schedule he’d told your mom prior if he wasn’t concerned about your mom’s health and beating this. That’s his job is to beat this for your mom, and doing it sooner than later is going to improve her chances of beating this.

There was a long pause in the message timestamps, but Jen eventually picked up the conversation.

Jen: Thx

Sara: Any time. If you want to talk, just call.

Jen: I will.

We slid our respective phones back to each other.

“Thanks for talking with her,” I said.

“If she were to look him up, she’d see he’s the best around. There are rating sites for doctors, and people even leave reviews. She’d see he’s well respected. He loses patients like any doctor; I mean, they’re not God’s, but this guy is really good. Denise is lucky to have him.”

“Is it strange to be doing this on a Saturday?”

“Nah, I’ve seen surgeries scheduled for things after 10PM on holidays… No, not unusual. But that he’s moved up the surgery means he’s worried about something he saw. You said Denise had said something about him not liking her last MRI—my guess is he felt like this needed to get done,” she said, but I sensed there was something more.

“And?”

“Yeah, well, I was asked if I wanted to scrub in tomorrow morning, but I told them I had a connection to Denise after hearing what the surgery was for and who. The hospital takes that kind of stuff seriously, so while that would have been great for me to experience, liability-wise for the hospital, not so much. Her surgery is like a ten to twelve hour affair, and they’re going to have two shifts of nurses and anesthesiologists.

“They’ll overlap for an hour between the shifts. A second surgeon—Pratt or Billings—will also be involved, though Jenkins won’t leave the OR at any time. Those two doctors are really good and more than capable of assisting or even doing the work if Jenkins wants. It’ll be a lot of robotics work and very interesting; I’d like to have been in on that…”

“I had no idea you’d been asked to assist.”

“I didn’t know until one of the nurses on the schedule had to pull out because she came down with something, so I was asked pretty much as I was walking out the door tonight.”

“Do you know more about her condition?”

“No, only what you’ve told me and the invite to scrub in on the brain tumor removal surgery. HIPAA laws aren’t anything to mess with, and I don’t need to poke Denise in the wrong way by knowing more about her condition.”

“Seriously...”

[- Waiting -]

I’d arrived early to the hospital admitting area, about fifteen minutes early, and found that Denise and Jen were already there. We were like that, never late—always early—for anything we did when we were a couple. For me, it was a constraint of my chosen career and not wanting to miss out on a stock buy or sell opportunity. Denise was just punctual and annoyed when others weren’t.

“Morning…,” I said, hugging Jen and then Denise.

Denise read my look correctly and cleared up my confusion by saying, “He’s parking the car…”

“Cool,” I replied, then asked Jen, “You eat?”

“To nervous…”

“I don’t expect you to keep her here all day, so please don’t make this your two’s day,” Denise complained.

“Sara said they’d status us a few times during the surgery. How about we hang until the first status and then leave for a bit, maybe get lunch, and then come back?” I asked both girls.

Jen nodded, but Denise said, “I can have Gary text Jenny…”

“Mom…”

The complaint wasn’t lost on Denise, and she gave in after seeing the determination on Jen’s face. Gary arrived a minute after that; it was the first time I’d seen him since he was asked to leave Denise’s place. He nodded my presence; I his existence, and that was the extent of our speaking. At two minutes to 7AM, Denise was called to the desk. I hugged her again and wished her luck. Jenny and her hugged, as a few tears streamed down their faces, and we watched Gary escort her to the desk and then through to the prep room.

Out of sight, I hugged Jen and suggested coffee in the cafeteria, though Sara had warned me it wasn’t worth it. I was hoping I could get Jenny to eat, talk out her feelings, and at some point Sara might join us. It meant less time at Café Duro for her, but she’d said she wanted to check in on Jen.

In the cafeteria, Jen was sitting quietly across from me, holding a tall cup of hot chocolate, not really smiling until something caught her eye, and she got up quickly. Sara had walked in, and she rushed to her open arms. I could only smile, stand, and wait for them to come back to the table.

“G’morning to ya,” Sara said, giving me a little peck and side hug.

“You were right,” I replied after we’d all sat, and I made a face at the cup of coffee in front of me.

“You doubted me?” Sara said, giving Jen a smile that got her to chuckle momentarily. “You should have asked; I could have brought you two real coffees.”

“I felt like hot chocolate, but this is pretty bad even for that,” Jen stated.

“There’s an espresso cart on the other side of the hospital, near the main entry that’s a lot better option. If Wanda is working, it’s a safe bet you’ll like your drink, but if there’s a guy there—skip it. A few of the other nurses have complained about him being a bad barista. That stuff isn’t cheap, so if you get a bad cup of coffee, it’s really annoying.”

I watched Jen lean to her side to look around me and turned to see Gary walking into the cafeteria. He noticed us but was at the counter getting coffee. I didn’t want to be on edge, but I was and hoped he wouldn’t join us.

“They said they’d try to update me at ten o’clock,” Gary said when he arrived at our table a few minutes later.

He didn’t sit, so assumed he was heading back to the waiting room, until he wasn’t and seemed to be lingering. In that lingering, I could see he was studying Sara—a lot more intently than I…

“Oh… You? You’re Brad’s friend?” He said, having likely seen her badge or it clicking that she was a nurse at this particular hospital.

“We’re not doing this here,” I stated with an edge to my voice looking up at him standing at our table.

“Okay, but I thought… No way, this can’t be a tran…”

He didn’t get to finish because I was out of my chair and posted up in his face, and he stopped speaking, maybe surprised by my aggression or worried I was going to hit him.

Jen, unfortunately, had moved at almost the exact same time and was trying to squeeze between us, saying loud enough for the entire cafeteria to hear her, “WTF Gary! Knock it off…”

Gary took a tentative step back.

“I thought he was a tranny. Who’s this woman?”

With Jen between us, I couldn’t do anything but say evenly, “Get out of here; you’re going to make an ass of yourself…”

“Can’t wait until the president kills this gender fantasy you all li…,” Gary was saying but was spun around at the shoulder by a large and angry-looking security guard who did not look happy.

“Is there a problem here?” He growled evenly.

“Get off me!” Gary shouted at him and stepped to his left to get out of the guy's reach.

I pulled Jen to the side and stepped in front of her.

“Nurse Connelly, you good here?” The giant asked with a baritone rumble that commanded not only caution but also respect.

“I think Mr. Lamb was just about to return to the waiting room outside the robotics OR. You wouldn’t mind escorting him, would you? I think he’s lost his way.” Sara said smoothly.

“Be my pleasure,” he said, turning to Gary. “If you’ll follow me, sir,” he said, sweeping his arm towards the cafeteria exit.

What the guard had said would in no way be mistaken for a request. Gary looked to be considering his limited options but eventually began walking towards the way he’d entered. There were a few claps from those in the cafeteria sitting near us who’d gotten a show from the idiot.

“That’s some kind of bullshit, Gary!” Jen yelled at him as he walked away, her voice warbling and her fists clenched at her sides.

There were a few snickers; a few people might have commented she was right, but I needed to bring this show to an end.

Softly I put a hand on Jen’s shoulder, saying quietly, “Language, kiddo…”

“Daaad, it is! I don’t care!”

“Gotcha… This is not the place to settle this and not the time, but I promise we’re going to put an end to this,” I said to her and then turned to look at Sara.

“I’m sorry,” she said to Jen and then me.

“What for! He’s pathetic…,” Jenny complained.

“Some people are just wired that way; it’s alright,” Sara said.

“You’ve got nothing to apologize for,” I stated. “He’s an ass, and you shouldn’t have to put up with that.”

“Yeah, you aren’t the problem,” Jen said, stepping over to her and hugging her. “I’m so sorry about that, Sara...”

“I’m fine,” Sara said, returning the hug, “But I probably should get to work. I’ll check on you two later. Text me if you hear anything, okay?”

Jen let Sara go, and I got a quick kiss, hug, and a chance to whisper in her ear that I would handle him, we’d catch up to her later, and that I loved her.

“Let it go,” she whispered back. “He means nothing to anything we have going on, please.” She pulled away to give me a pleading look before saying again, “Please…”

I nodded that I couldn’t do that, and she walked away without saying another word.

::: --- :::

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Rachel M. Moore