Pat swallowed, and after what might have been the longest minute of my life, he finally nodded. “How’s the mine coming along?”
Thea visibly relaxed.
I took the olive branch and ran. “Good. They’re on track to have the 1880 tunnel open all the way to the third ventilation shaft by the Fourth of July. Cam figured that one would be the biggest draw. The rest of that tunnel and the other two will have to wait for next season.”
“That’s incredible. The Historical Society council was thrilled when they heard there would be a soft opening this year.”
“By thrilled, he means the clapping exceeding golf level,” Thea added as Tillie arrived with the food.
She juggled the plates with a dexterity I envied, then looked at me after setting my burger and fries in front of me. “You sure like the burgers and fries, huh, Willow?”
“Yep.” I reached for the ketchup. There was zero chance I was letting her get under my skin.
“I was just thinking it must be hard to stay in shape, seeing as you sit all day with your art stuff, right?” Her smile was faker than her eyelashes. “It must add up quick.”
“Oh, don’t worry about Willow.” Thea chuckled. “She gets plenty of workout time. At night. At Cam’s. You know…with Cam.”
My teeth sank into my bottom lip to keep a straight face, but Pat didn’t bother hiding his sputtering laugh. Progress. A few weeks ago, he would have seethed at Thea’s implications.
Tillie gave Thea a look that could have curdled milk.
“True,” I jumped in for fear that Tillie would come across the table at my friend. “And in fact, I was heading up to see him after this. Would you mind putting in an order now so it will be hot when we’re ready?”
Still glaring at Thea, Tillie took out her notepad and pen. “What would he like?”
“Let’s do a double-bacon cheeseburger, medium, with avocado, ketchup, lettuce, and tomato. Oh, and a salted caramel shake, too. That would be great!” I smiled up at her.
She clicked her tongue. “You sure about that last one? I’m pretty sure Cam likes chocolate fudge shakes.”
“Oh, he does,” I assured her. “That’s for me. I have to stock up on my calories so I can burn them off later, right?”
“Right.” She spun and left.
“And the case?” Pat asked, clearly making an effort.
“Not sure. Art is pretty adamant about getting the DNR.” I started in on my food.
“On the days he’s lucid?” Pat doctored his own burger with mustard, but his tone told me he’d definitely been hanging out at the barbershop.
“Yes, Pat. On the days he’s lucid. He called Cam and asked for his help, which is the whole reason Cam moved back. Plus, after his hospitalization, he’s pretty determined.”
Pat chewed slowly and nodded.
“He even went with Walt to get a DNR tattoo across his chest,” Thea added. “Xander flipped his lid.”
Pat seemed to mull it over. “He did say something about it not being legally recognized,” he admitted. “That it was more his dad having a hard time coping with ending up on that ventilator than actually wanting the DNR.”
“Trust me, babe. If a man gets that tattooed on his chest, he’s serious.” Thea popped a fry into her mouth and nodded.
“But still, Xander’s been taking care of him for years. This whole mess feels like Cam wants…” Pat sighed at his burger. “I can’t even say it.”
“Wants what?” I prompted.
“Wants his dad to die,” he finished in a whisper. “Everyone knows they don’t get along, and it just feels…wrong. He’s only fifty-eight.”
Holy crap, this was what we were up against. Alba seriously thought Cam just wanted to get rid of Arthur because they didn’t like each other?
“You’re right. Art’s only fifty-eight, Pat. That’s only thirty years older than we are right now, and he’s asking to determine what happens to his own body. He’s asking Cam to go against everyone in this town, including his own brother, because he wants a say in whether or not he ends up strapped to a hospital bed on a ventilator again. And if he didn’t have Alzheimer’s, no one would think twice about what he’s asking. You can get a DNR today if you want one, but he can’t, because fifty percent of the time he can’t depend on his brain. So what, the other days—when he can—those don’t matter?”
“They should,” he muttered.
“Yeah, they should. But everyone is making this about Cam and Xander, not Art. And trust me, if Cam wanted Arthur to die, fighting a legal battle to then wait it out doesn’t really strike me as his style.”
The bell rang as the door opened, and I saw Simon enter in my peripherals.
I jumped out of the booth, and he sighed as he saw me. Oh no. That was a sad sigh. “Simon, is everything okay? I thought you were supposed to be with Art and the doc for the eval.”
“I’m glad I ran into you. Art isn’t lucid today.” He shook his head slowly.
My stomach sank. “How not lucid? Like it’s 1998? Or—”
“Or the psychologist was a claim jumper coming to take the Rose Rowan?” he offered, wincing.
“Oh.”
“Oh.” He nodded.
“But it took weeks to get in with that guy. What does this do to the case?” Cam was going to be devastated.
“He said he has one opening the week before court, so we’re taking it. But if the same thing happens, then Cam’s at a real disadvantage.”
He’d lose.
“Okay. Thanks. Did you want to come join us?” I motioned back to the table and saw Tillie drop off Cam’s food.
“No, I’m grabbing a shake to go. Thanks for the offer, though.”
We said our goodbyes, and I slid into the booth so I could get money from my purse.
“Everything okay?” Thea asked.
“Just stuff with Art’s case.” I took out a twenty and put it on the table. “I’d better go find Cam.”
“Okay, honey.”
“Wait,” Pat said as I slid toward the end of the booth. He took a deep breath, then another, and finally looked over at me. “Yesterday, at the Historical Society council meeting, some people were talking.”
Since there were only nine council members, that narrowed it down.
“They were all getting coffee. The meeting hadn’t started. And someone brought up Art and the case, and of course Xander was pretty mum about it. He’s never going to shit-talk Cam in front of other people. But one member may have suggested that it was impossible not to take into account the history and character of the person bringing the lawsuit.”