Page 26 of Second Chance At Love

“I hope so,” Henry replied. He kept his voice calm for Ben’s benefit. “You should text Addison. She needs to know but I don’t want to wake her if she’s sleeping.

“Ben? I’m not likely going to be able to continue at RameslyHotels for a while. If you and Lincoln could step up to help Addison out, especially since she’s going to need time to be a mom, I would appreciate it,” added Henry.

“You know I will help her,” replied Ben. “But surely that’s not going to happen just yet. You’re going to get better.”

“My lawyer, Temple, has all my paperwork in order. His phone number is in my phone’s contact list. The passcodes for my phone and laptop are two one nine nine. I have already gone over my end of life plan with the doctors so you don’t need to worry about making those types of decisions,” continued Henry.

“Stop it. You’re not dying,” declared Ben, his voice sounding rough.

“Maybe I’m telling you all this too soon?” questioned Henry with a smile, feeling fatalistically humorous. He also felt remorse for putting his younger brother through this. Ben obviously wasn’t ready but if Henry took a drastic turn for the worse, these were things he needed to know.

“Fifty years too soon,” retorted Ben.

Henry had a dry laugh. “You want me to live to almost a hundred? Only if you’re alive as well.”

“Deal,” solemnly said Ben, holding out a hand.

Henry looked at his youngest brother. He was struggling with the idea that Henry might not make it. Well, that made two of them. Henry shook Ben’s hand. “Deal.”

They both knew it was a promise Henry couldn’t possibly make.

Henry leaned back as a cough racked him. It took him a moment to catch his breath and the black dots swimming in his vision to clear.

“I will give Cora a call,” stated Ben before he got up, leaving the exam room.

Henry just leaned back, closing his eyes, and prayed.

At some point he drifted off because when he woke up, some orderlies were wheeling his bed along a hallway. They settled him in a private room, gave him new clothing to wear, and asked him if he needed anything further for the night. Henry replied that he just needed them to tell Ben where he was before closing his eyes again. He was exhausted. All of his limbs felt like lead and he wondered if he wasn’t just a touch warm.

Not good things.

It was later that Ben was waking him up by shaking his shoulder. “Hey, Henry.”

Henry lifted open bleary eyes to look at his brother. It took him a moment to remember he was in the hospital. There was light coming in the window so obviously he had slept the entire night through despite the nurses coming in at odd hours to check on him. Henry tried to clear his throat and coughed.

Ben waited for him. “Do you need a drink of water?”

Henry shook his head negatively. His voice felt raw as he replied, “What happened?”

Ben grinned. “When I called Cora it went to voicemail. I thought she was probably asleep so I left her a message. However, Addison told me Cora is at the hospital. Lincoln is watching Nick and Oliver.”

Henry frowned. He wasn’t quite following what Ben was saying or why his brother was so excited.

“Cora came in because she was having the baby. We have a healthy new nephew just this morning,” smiled Ben. He pulled out his phone, showing Henry a video of a red and squirmy baby in the glass bassinet of the hospital nursery. “Adam Bennet Ramesly.”

“That’s a good name,” replied Henry. He knew it was Cora’s father’s name with the Ramesly tacked on. It was a special name for her.

“The doctor says once your fever comes down, they can visit you. How are you feeling?” asked Ben.

“Good,” lied Henry as another coughing fit overcame him. This time, he couldn’t catch his breath. It was like he was gasping but there was no air. He could hear Ben frantically calling for the nurses.

Chapter Nine

Cora held onto Adam, gently patting him on the back as he snuggled against her. Ben and Addison were seated beside her. Henry’s doctor was sitting in a chair facing them. The past twenty-four hours had been difficult with Cora having Adam and adjusting to being a new mom again while Henry had been very ill.

“Henry is responding well to the antibiotics since we put him on the medication yesterday. Fortunately, his condition is better than we might have predicted. He still cannot be on the transplant list at the moment but his lung capacity is holding and he is improving,” explained the doctor. “If his fever abates and he recovers well enough, he can be put back on the heart transplant list. In fact, this means he will be placed at a higher priority.”

“Because his health is worse,” grimly stated Ben.