“For me, too, only it didn’t start awful like yours did.”
“I heard some stuff about him today.” I don’t even stop to wonder if I should be sharing things about my ex with him. It’s so easy to talk to Wyatt about anything and everything, and it was like that from the start. We talked about so many things at the wedding, which was why I didn’t hesitate to take him up on the invitation to hang out afterward.
“What kind of stuff?”
I tell him what Maria found out. “How can he be an alcoholic, and I had no idea?”
“I’ve heard of instances where spouses didn’t know that their significant other was a secret alcoholic.”
“Really? That can happen?”
“Sure it can. People go to great lengths to keep addictions hidden from their loved ones.”
“I hate that he was suffering like that, and I was oblivious.”
“He chose to hide it from you, Dee. There’s probably nothing you could’ve done differently.”
“I could’ve moved home from New York.”
“Why didn’t you?”
“Maria would tell you there’s nowhere better than right here, and I agree with that, but I had this… I don’t know how to describe it except as a burning need to get out of here and be somewhere else for a while before I settled down and got married and raised a family here. That’s why I only applied to colleges in New York and Boston. Marcus and I had started dating by then, and he applied in the same places, so we could still see each other. Everyone here thought I was crazy to go so far from home, but I needed it.”
“You wanted an adventure.”
“Yes,” I say on a sigh, relieved that he gets it. “My cousin Dom, who’d been there a year by then, made it sound like so much fun, and for him, it is because he makes bank as a sales rep for a medical supply company.”
“It wasn’t for you?”
“Not so much after college. Living in New York City is hard. It’s insanely expensive and crowded, and even the simplest thing, like grocery shopping, is complicated. I barely made enough for my half of the rent, so I didn’t get to go to all the shows I thought I’d see or the concerts or the museums. But hey, at least I can say I did it.”
“That’s a big accomplishment for someone so close to her family.”
“I was so homesick at first. It was awful. I missed everyone so much.”
“It’s interesting to me that you missed them, but you didn’t say you missed Marcus.”
“I did. Of course, I did.” Sighing, I add, “But not like I missed them.”
“Interesting.”
It is. I vividly remember yearning for my family, especially on Sundays when everyone would be together at brunch. While I missed Marcus after he went back to Miami, it wasn’t the same way that I missed everyone else. And I never really thought about it that way until right now. I already know I’d never be content living away from Wyatt. Now that I know he exists in the world, all I want is to spend every second I can with him.
Very interesting, indeed. Maybe Marcus did us both a favor by blowing up our relationship and giving us a chance to find something better than what we had together.
When we get to my parents’ house, I park behind my brother Milo’s silver Toyota Highlander. “Milo’s here, so you’ll get to see him, too.”
“Great.”
He follows me inside to the kitchen. My dad and brother are at the table playing dominoes while they drink coffee. “Uncle Vin sent some leftovers.” I put the boxes from the restaurant in the fridge.
“Thank you, honey,” my dad says when I kiss his cheek.
“Wyatt, you remember my dad, Lorenzo, and my brother Milo from the wedding.”
He shakes hands with both of them. “Good to see you again.”
“You, too.” My dad takes a closer look at Wyatt. “Heard you two made quite a stir at brunch.”
“I told you they’d already know.”
Wyatt’s smile tells me he doesn’t care.
“You had a heart transplant,” Milo says. “That’s sick.”
“Not so much if you’re the one getting your chest cracked open.”
“Ouch,” Milo says.
“Not the most fun I’ve ever had.”
“They said…” Dad looks up at me and then at Wyatt. “That it only lasts for so long.”
“That’s right, but so far so good for me seventeen years in.”
“Where’s Mommy?” I don’t wish to dissect Wyatt’s situation again. We’ve already had enough of that for one day.
“She’s in the living room watching the news.”
“How’s she feeling?”
“So-so,” Dad says.
He looks exhausted and pale. My mother’s illness is taking its toll on him, too.
“Wyatt said he’d take a look at the port for her if she wants him to. He’s a doctor.”
“Let’s go see what she has to say.”
I take one look at my mom and can tell she’s got a fever. Her eyes are glassy, and her cheeks are rosy. “Mom, my friend Wyatt from Car’s wedding is here. He’s a doctor and said he’d be happy to take a look at the port if you want him to. Wyatt, you met my mom, Elena, at the wedding.”
My mom smiles at the way I come in hot. “Hello to you, too, my sweet.”
I lean in to kiss her cheek and come away alarmed by how warm she is. “Hello, Mommy.”
“If your handsome doctor wants to take a look, I won’t say no to that.” She unbuttons her blouse and tugs it to the side so he can see her port.
“How long has it been red and puffy?” I ask her.
“Since Friday. The doctor gave me antibiotics, but they don’t seem to be working.”
Wyatt takes a close look at the site and then sits back to speak to her. “I think you should probably go to the ER, Elena. The port is infected, and you may need IV antibiotics.”
She moans at the thought of being back in the hospital.
“Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but you don’t want to let that get out of control. Infections can be risky.”
My mom’s deep sigh says it all. “If you think it’s that serious, then I guess that’s what we’ll do.”
She wants to shower before she goes, so I help her through that, blinking back tears as I always do when I see the scars from her surgery as well as the weight loss, bruises and other ravages of her illness. I engage in cheerful conversation as I help her get dressed in loose-fitting sweats, always focused on keeping her spirits up, regardless of the latest setback.
“Your Wyatt is gorgeous,” she whispers, even though there’s no one around to hear her.
“I think so, too.”
“We need to talk.”
“I know, but not now, okay? Let’s get you to the ER so we can figure out what’s going on and get you home as soon as possible.”
My dad insists on taking his car, so Wyatt and I follow them to Miami-Dade in my car. On the way there, I call Jason to ask if he knows anyone in the Emergency Department who can pull some strings, so my mom won’t have to wait in a room with sick people for hours.