Page 54 of Bad Habits
My sister and I exchanged a panicked look before we remembered we were supposed to be soothing Mama, not letting her see how freaked out we were. “I’ll be okay, Mama,” I said, curling my arm around her shoulder. “Bypassed are a lot more common now, right?”
“Yeah, but triple bypasses…” She shuddered. “Those are damn near the worst. I knew I should have nagged him more about goin’ to see the doctor but he just kept puttin’ it off, sayin’ he felt fine and didn’t need no doctor.”
We sat down, with Charli and I flanking Mama. “Don’t blame yourself for this,” Charli said, rubbing her back. “We all know Daddy’s as stubborn as an old mule. Wouldn’t take care of himself, or give up the booze or cigarettes.”
I thought of Knox and all of his habits. He was no different than most in our industry, but seeing that my father’s lifestyle choices had nearly cost him his life, I vowed to talk to Knox about making some changes. He was young, so the damage probably wasn’t as severe, but I couldn’t stand to watch him abuse his body, knowing the possible outcome.
“Knox…” Mama took a tissue out of the pocket of her cardigan and wiped her nose. “That man…”
“What?” I frowned, looking at Charli, who shrugged, like she was clueless too. “What about Knox?” My parents still didn’t know we were a couple, so I had no idea why Mama would be mentioning him now.
“You don’t know?” Her eyes widened. “I can’t believe he didn’t tell you.”
“Tell me what?” I asked, as my heart rate kicked up a notch. I couldn’t handle any more surprises right now.
“The doctor informed me that all of your daddy’s medical expenses that aren’t being covered by insurance are being taken care of by a familyfriend.”
“Knox?” Charli and I asked in unison. Of course it was Knox. We didn’t know anyone else worth hundreds of millions of dollars. I couldn’t believe he’d done this. Just when I thought I couldn’t love that man anymore, he proved me wrong.
Mama nodded. “I don’t know how we’ll ever repay him,” she said, sniffling. “That is the most generous thing…” She shook her head before giving me the stink eye. “You still gonna try tellin’ me there’s nothin’ between you two?”
“Uh, no.” Mama and Charli gaped at me before I added, “We’re, uh, kind of together.” I shook my head when I remembered what Knox had done for my family. After that, I should hire a skywriter and announce to the world how much I love him. “Not kind of together,” I corrected. “I’m in love with him.” I smiled at Mama’s gasp. “And he feels the same way about me.”
“Well, of course he does,” Mama said, rolling her eyes. “Anyone can see that.”
I smiled, thinking how lucky I was to have him in my life. “I don’t want to get ahead of myself, but I think he just might bethe one.” I whispered those words, fearful of jinxing it.
Charli’s lower lip trembled and I could tell she was fighting back tears. Ugh. I was getting everything I’d ever wanted while she was willing to uproot her whole life and pass up a great job opportunity to be there for our parents. I couldn’t let her do that.
“Ya think?” Charli snorted, blinking back tears. “I could have told you that even before you started seeing that idiot, Leo. Which is why I was so surprised when you slept with—” She slapped her hand over her mouth when Mama eyed her.
“Who’d you sleep with?” Mama asked me.
“No one.” I shook my head furiously. “Not important. So, when will Daddy’s surgery be?”
She twisted her lips and shook her head, pointing a finger at me. “This ain’t over, but I suppose it can wait. The doc said they have to wait at least a week to perform surgery. In the meantime they got him on meds and he’ll be recovering.”
“Can we see him?” Charli asked.
We’d each been in to see him briefly, but both my sister and I wanted a little quality time now that we knew open heart surgery was inevitable.
“Of course,” Mama said. “One at a time though, and don’t say or do anything to get him all riled up.” She winked. “The doc gave me the same warning. Little does he know everything I say gets the old man all worked up.”
We shared a smile before I said to Charli, “You go in first. I want to sneak outside for a minute and call Knox. Thank him for what he’s doing for Daddy.”
“And you tell him we’re gonna pay him back every dime,” Mama said. “Lord knows how much it’ll cost, but even if we have to pay a bit each month—”
“Don’t worry about that now, Mama. Let’s just focus on getting Daddy well.” A few hundred thousand was a drop in the bucket to Knox, but it would have wiped out my parents’ retirement savings.
* * *
“Hey, babe. How’s your dad?”
Just hearing his voice made me tear up. “I can’t believe what you did,” I whispered. “Offering to take care of his medical expenses? Knox, that goes above and beyond. We can’t thank you enough.”
He grunted. “Please, Chee is family. I don’t give a shit about the money. The only thing that matters is that he pulls through this. And he will, right?”
I could tell he was holding his breath when I whispered, “He’ll need a triple bypass in about a week.”
