“Honey.” The one word caused me to freeze, and Delilah turned off the faucet. I placed the screwdriver on the countertop and tensed, readying myself for anything. Her voice was hoarse and had no life to it. She sounded like she was sick.
“Mom, what’s wrong?”
“I don’t want to worry you, but I have a fever. My doctor said to get to a hospital if a fever occurs. I’m not feeling well and need help getting there.”
“I’m on my way,” I said and closed the cabinet door. Delilah rushed to my side.
“Let’s get going.”
She turned to Ms. Young, who was already rising from the table. Tuck still sat on the chair, looking scared, and I crossed the room to him as Ms. Young spoke. “Leave Tuck with me and I can drop him by your mom’s later, Delilah. Y’all get going, let me know what’s happening.”
“The fridge.” Delilah gestured over her shoulder. “I’m so so—”
She cut her off. “Don’t fret about it. It’ll be easy to put back, and I’ll give Tuck one dollar for every item.”
I knelt in front of Tucker. “We’ll be back, okay?”
“Is your mom going to be okay?”
I swallowed past the fear rising in my throat. “I hope so, bud. She’s got some really amazing doctors.”
He reached out and wound his arms around my neck. I hugged him back, rubbing my hand up and down his back. “It’ll be okay.”
Delilah did the same after Tuck released me; then she led us outside, grabbing the keys from my hands. “I’ll drive so we can get your mom more easily. When you go to grab her, I’ll make sure the back seat is ready and then I’ll drop y’all at the emergency exit.”
Three little words I couldn’t believe popped into my mind. I couldn’t say them. Not right now. I needed her by my side through this, and I knew she’d stay there. I slid into the passenger’s seat and grabbed her hand as soon as she backed out of the driveway. I planted a kiss there and released it as she raced down the street, going over the speed limit to make it to my mom.
I was out of the car and sprinting up to her house before Delilah could put it in park. True to her word, when I made it back outside—half-carrying Mom, with her medical bag slung over the other shoulder—Delilah had both our doors open and was back in the driver’s seat, ready to go.
“What happened?” I asked Mom on the way to the hospital.
“It started as the normal nausea, but then I got very dizzy and felt feverish. I started coughing and haven’t been able to stop.”
Just as she finished speaking, she started coughing so hard I was worried her lung would come up. I glanced at Delilah, who met my eyes. It’s going to be okay, she mouthed.
I closed my eyes and counted the seconds until we arrived. I jumped out of the car before it had come to a complete stop and threw open the back door, gathering my petite mother in my arms and racing inside.
I glanced back at Delilah.
“I’ll be right in, I promise. Go.”
I nodded and ran straight to the registration desk. “My mom has a fever. She’s going through chemotherapy for ovarian cancer. She’s coughing and pale.”
The nurse rose from the station and brought a wheelchair around the desk with her. “Okay, sir, I’ll need some more information from you and we’ll get her back straightaway.”
Another nurse stepped forward and started rolling the wheelchair as soon as I placed my mother in it. Her head was leaning to the side, and her eyes were closed. Her eyes opened, but it was as if her lids were too heavy to handle. “Where are you taking her?”
“We’re taking her to an exam room. If you could fill out some information while we do our initial exam, we’ll get you right back with her.”
Pounding footsteps sounded behind me a moment before Delilah’s hand landed on my back. “What’s going on?”
“I’ll be right there, Mom.”
She nodded and I grabbed the clipboard from the nurse. “I need to fill these out.” I grabbed Delilah’s hand for reassurance, and we sat in the closest seats.
“I can see her from here. I’ll keep an eye on her while you fill them out,” Delilah said.
My heart squeezed and those little words roared to life inside my veins. My entire being was begging me to tell her how I felt, how this would be impossible without her. Instead, I filled in the spaces on the forms, one by one, as Delilah kept me updated on everything they were doing.
“I’ve never seen her look so sick before,” I whispered. I put my shaking hand over my face and took a deep breath. My entire world felt like it was going to crumble. I was straining to hold the pieces together, but it felt like a losing battle.
Delilah rubbed my back and pressed a kiss against my temple. It was everything knowing she was there.
“Can you promise me something?” I asked.
“Anything.”
“During the season, if I’m on a road trip, will you help her?”
“Yes, no matter what.”
I nodded. A part of my brain snagged on the “no matter what” and wondered if she thought our relationship wouldn’t continue, but I couldn’t process that right now.
“I’ll do anything I can to help her. No matter what,” she repeated.
I shook my head, clearing those thoughts from my mind. “I know she has cancer, but she’d been doing well. She’d lost weight and stuff, but she was doing okay. I’ve never seen her look like that.”
“I know,” Delilah whispered. “Are you almost done with the forms?”
I nodded and stood, holding out my hand for her. She grabbed the bag from the floor and hooked it over her shoulder, and together we strolled toward my mother.
Her eyes opened and she spotted us walking toward her. A ghost of a smile graced her lips. She’d always wanted to see me settled and happy with someone. Someone who made me as happy as my father had made her. She had to get better. I needed her here. I needed her to see everything life was going to give to me, to us.
My jaw turned to granite. I wouldn’t think like that. She would be here. She’d be here for me. For Delilah. For Tuck. She’d be there if we got married. The image of Delilah in a gorgeous wedding dress with Tuck at her side popped into my mind and took the last bit of air in my lungs.
My mind raced to the future, the World Series trophy.
A baby with Delilah—a brother or sister for Tucker.
My mom had to be there for all those moments.
Every second felt like an hour as we waited for the doctor. I stood when he arrived. I wanted to pester him with questions before he began speaking, but I waited. He smiled at Mom.
“How are you feeling, Jenna?”
“I’m not going to win a marathon anytime soon.”
I gritted my teeth in a cross between annoyance with the small talk and gratitude that, even looking as bad as she did, her sense of humor was still intact.
“I’m going to admit you for the night to monitor you, but it seems as if you’ve caught a little cold. They’re harder to battle when your body is compromised by the chemo, but you’ll make a full recovery and will be back on your feet in no time.”
I collapsed back into the chair. Delilah sat on my lap, hugging me close to her and whispering in my ear, “she’s okay. She’s going to be okay. You’re okay, handsome.”