“Told you it was here,” he says. “Come around on this side and see what else he’s got.”
There’s a photo of Phoebe and Falon sitting at our patio table outside. They’re holding glasses of margaritas and wearing ridiculous sunglasses with American flags on them. My mother likes to throw a big Fourth of July cookout before the town parade. Even though I haven’t been since high school, she always mailed me an invite.
I’ll be there for it this year, I think to myself. This year, I’ll be there for all of it.
“That picture of your mom and grandma might be my favorite.” Martin points to a photo of the two of them sitting on a swing at a little B and B they used to visit every year in Napa. Mom is pregnant with me and Phoebe, her belly the size of a watermelon, and she’s laughing because Nana Rosie’s side of the swing is lifted higher than hers. “Your mom looks so happy there.”
“She always said she hated being pregnant.” I run my finger along the frame. “Guess I’ll have to remind her of this.”
Smith closes the filing cabinet next to my father’s desk. “I’ve got what I need. You ready?”
I pick up the photo of me on his desk. “Can we stop one more place?”
He hands me my helmet. “We can go wherever you want.”
“Then two more stops. Please.”
It’s late afternoon when Martin and I arrive at the hospital. Dad’s visiting hours are restricted, but Martin was able to negotiate a few moments for me to be alone with my father. He looks smaller. As if the procedure to fix his heart somehow shrunk his presence.
“I’m just dropping something off, Dad,” I whisper.
I don’t expect him to respond. The desk nurse said they needed to adjust his pain medication, which would likely put him out for the rest of the night.
“This is the first book of mine that was published.” I place a copy of Once upon a Hot Summer Night on his bedside table, and I perch myself on the side of his bed. “There’s a bookstore close to your office that has several of my books, so if you want, I can get you more. I’m going to be honest with you, though.” I pause to consider my words carefully. “There’s a lot of sex in this book, Dad. You can skip over most of it, if you’d like. I’ll fill in the blanks for you if you have questions about the plot.”
There’s a tap at the door. Martin peeks his head inside. “The nurse says you have five minutes.”
“OK.”
“I’m going to wait outside in the parking lot. There’s a woman in the lobby who won’t stop discussing her bowels.”
“I had no idea that you were interested in that sort of thing,” I tease.
“I am a man of mystery.” He winks. “I’ll see you out there.”
“You can stay if you want,” I say. “I’m almost done, and it’s cold outside.”
He nods and takes the open seat on the other side of my dad’s bed. Dad stirs a little in his sleep, and I take his hand and shush him the way he did to me when I couldn’t sleep when I was a little girl.
“Dad, I want you to know that I’m going to stick around for a while,” I say softly. “We’re still figuring things out, but it looks like I’ll be moving down here for a bit while Phoebe is in Australia. I want you to be able to recover, and I want to spend some time with you and Mom and Nana.”
“Tell him that this won’t affect your bookstore,” Martin says. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt. I just know your dad wouldn’t like the idea of you putting it on hold.”
“It’s fine. The conversation is a little one sided now, anyway. I’m going to do what I can remotely. Social media and marketing. Maybe come up with a fundraising campaign to get things kicked off.” I run my hand along the stubble on his cheek. “I’ll be here, though, Dad. No matter what, you and Mom and Nana will have me around.”
The nurse taps on the door, signaling our time is up. I take out two last items.
“I brought you some company.” I place the photos from his office onto his bedside table. “In case you get lonely.”
I kiss his head and promise to be back tomorrow and the tomorrow after that. No matter what.
After we drop off the legal documents with Falon, Martin and I decide to spend the night at his place. Phoebe suggested I take as many breaks from our parents’ house as possible while she and Falon are there. The two of them talked things over with Mom, and they’ve agreed to give Australia a year. They also agreed to have a small wedding before moving in the spring so that my mother can finally throw a proper wedding. Phoebe claims it’s the worst deal Falon has ever negotiated, but I think she is secretly looking forward to having a little more of the spotlight.