Olivia grins. “He’s not going to like the change of diet, is he?”
Dan squeezes Otto’s hand. “He’ll survive. It’s not like we’re going vegan. Now, go get something to eat.”
She kisses Dan’s cheek. “Call me if you need me.”
We leave the room, head to the elevator, and as we wait for it, she asks, “How did you find me?”
“I called every hospital in the city, asking for Otto Sierra,” I answer.
She arches an eyebrow and says, “Wow, if I didn’t know you, I’d be a little concerned.”
“Listen to me, I sound like a stalker,” I joke as we enter the elevator. “We should exchange numbers, or the next time you might be serving me with a restraining order.”
She offers a sad smile. The sadness and the grief dim her face. It pains me to see her hurt. “Actually, you sound like a good friend. Thank you for coming. I’m trying to be strong for Dad and Dan. It’s hard.” Tears run down her face. The elevator doors slide open. As we step outside, she says, “I’m scared. What if something goes wrong? I can’t lose him. We—”
I put my arms around her, set a kiss on top of her head, and pull her tight as she allows herself to grieve. Anything I say might not be enough, but I do my best to reassure her that everything will be fine. I wish I could do more to take the sadness away from her. A meal and some words might not be enough, but they’ll have to do.
If either one of my parents had a near death experience, I’d be devastated, but I’d try to be strong for my family. That’s what they expect from me, to be the rock they can lean on when things are bad.
Eventually, we make our way to a pub that’s a couple of blocks from the hospital. I have fish and chips. She orders a Reuben sandwich.
“How was your interview?”
I sigh and tell her all about it.
“You don’t want this job,” she concludes.
“There’s no other alternative.”
“I could give you a job if you’re so desperate,” she offers.
“What kind of job?”
She shrugs. “I’d have to talk to human resources and see what they have for someone like you. It feels like you took a step forward and now you’re about to take two steps back.”
“Believe me, I’m past that. I don’t think I can afford to wait any longer.”
Her phone buzzes. She smiles.
“It’s Dan. Dad is awake. He wants to see me.”
I call the bartender, asking to bring Dan’s food, which Olivia ordered earlier.
“Thank you again for coming over,” she says. “It’s good to have a friend around.”
“Don’t tell me you’ve become a hermit-workaholic,” I try to joke.
She sighs. “Holly, my best friend, lives in Boston. We talked earlier, but she can’t just take off work to be with me for the next week while I have a silent existential crisis. My college friends are sprinkled around the country. I hang out with people, but I wouldn’t say they are part of my circle.”
I hold her hand as we walk back to the hospital. There’s not much I could say that’ll make her feel better. I understand her. A lot of my friends live on the East Coast. We sometimes talk, we text often, and we try to meet twice a year.
Other than Misty, who moved to Colorado when I did, I don’t have any close friends. If I move to San Francisco, this will prove to my sisters that they’re wrong. Misty moved to Denver because of the job, not because she’s in love with me. I look at Liv. Actually, if I move here, I’ll be close to her. For some reason, the dreadful feeling is gone. Here’s that silver lining. My parents might call it the window that opens when all the doors are shut.
“Well, I’m here for you,” I say reassuringly.
“That means a lot to me.”
When we enter the room, her father is staring at the food tray in front of him. “Hey, Dad!” she greets him and kisses the top of his head. “How are you feeling?”
He frowns at me. “I heard you were with your New York friend.”
“Sir, it’s nice to see you again. I wish it was under different circumstances.”
“You and me both.” He sighs and stares at the bag that Olivia holds. “Did you bring me some edible food?”
“No.” Olivia hands the bag to Dan. “You have to eat what’s on the tray. Didn’t you hear the doctor? Only boiled veggies and grilled chicken.”
“I’ll eat outside,” Dan says, kisses Otto’s forehead, and looks at Olivia. “Call if you need me. I’ll be in the waiting room.”
Olivia’s phone rings. She bites her lip. “It’s the office.”
“Answer. I’ll stay with your dad.”
Otto and I stare at each other. Suddenly, he asks, “Why are you here?”
“Olivia mentioned she was at the hospital and I wanted to be here for her.”
He nods. “So, you came all the way from New York because you heard I’m in the hospital?”
“No. I live in Colorado, but I had a job interview here in San Francisco,” I explain. “We were going to go out tonight.”
He narrows his gaze. “What do you do for a living?”
I snort. “Currently? Nothing.”
“That’s reassuring. You don’t understand how well it feels to learn that your little girl’s boyfriend is unemployed.”
I laugh. “We’re just friends. As I said, I came to San Francisco to interview with a financial firm.”
Unamused, he asks, “What were you doing before that?”
Does he understand that I am not his daughter’s boyfriend? What’s with the twenty questions? Yet, for some reason, I feel obligated to answer. “I tried to start up a few businesses, but none of them took off.”
“When you set up a business, you have to be passionate about it. You can’t just say, I’ll start a chocolate factory because it pays well. You have to know all about chocolate. Love chocolate. Your heart has to be in what you’re doing or it won’t do well.”
Is it crazy that he makes sense? None of what I’ve done in the past three years has been exciting for me. I was just doing it for the profits.
“I wish someone had told me that before I burned through my savings.”
“It was an expensive lesson, wasn’t it?” I nod. “I’ll give you a free tip. When I decided to start my construction company, I was broke. I tried to get a loan, but there wasn’t any bank that would take a chance on me. Dan had just received an advanced payment for one of his books. He offered it to me. He trusted me and believed in me. He knew building was my passion, and I wanted to do more than just build a house. I wanted to develop neighborhoods, cities… the sky was the limit. Find your passion and then find someone who believes in you. It’s that simple.”
“What are you two talking about?” Olivia enters.
“What was that call about?” her father inquires.
“It’s Lulu, your assistant. She postponed all your meetings for next week. I’ll be taking over while you recover.”
“Thank you for doing it. Why don’t you head home?” he suggests.