at the ceiling. The physical pain has ebbed, but my heart aches.
Dean and I have learned so much through all the storms we’ve weathered in the past. We know how to stand together. So why now, of all times in the world, does it feel like we’re starting to fall apart?
Again?
Chapter 21
Olivia
December 14
“Next Monday?”
Acid boils into my chest. I tighten my grip on the phone.
“Yes,” the nurse replies. “December nineteenth. Dr. Turner wanted us to let you know he has a cancellation, so there’s an opening Monday at nine. We can schedule your surgery for that time.”
“What…what if I don’t take it?”
“Then you’ll have to keep your original appointment for after the holidays.”
I swallow past the lump in my throat. Monday is six days from now. As much as I want answers, this surgery could result in terrifying answers that unleash a firestorm of new questions. Terrifying questions.
Or not. The answers could also be good ones, insofar as anything related to cancer can be good. Or they could be inconclusive, that weird gray area where no one really knows what to do next.
But whatever the results, having the surgery sooner means the Christmas I was planning will be colored with worry. And Dr. Nolan told me I’ll need to have all my paperwork in order, like advanced care and next-of-kin directives. Dean has always ensured our family documents are up to date and rock-solid, but now we might actually have to use them.
And what about other stuff, the details that aren’t part of any legal paperwork? What if something goes wrong or they discover the cancer has spread and it’s worse than they originally thought…
“Mrs. West?” the nurse says. “Dr. Turner strongly recommends you have the surgery on Monday. You’ll need to be at the hospital by seven, and the surgery will take place at nine.”
My heart is beating too fast. I swallow and manage to say, “I…uh, can I call you back?”
“Yes, but please let me know as soon as you can. You’ll have to come in for the pre-surgical appointment on Friday. We have a three o’clock opening, if that works for you.”
“All right. I’ll call you back within the hour.”
Putting the phone down slowly, I stare at the wall calendar. On Mondays, I’m scheduled to volunteer at Writer’s Workshop in Nicholas’s classroom. Bella has swimming lessons after school. Monday nights we usually have homemade pizza for dinner, and I need to make sure we have all the ingredients.
I pick up the phone to call Dean and tell him about the surgery opening, but then I realize he’s in a lecture right now. I check his calendar on my phone. Lecture, then a meeting at the downtown public library, then office hours.
I grab my satchel and car keys and head to the Wonderland Café. After putting on my apron, I start to refill trays of truffles for the cold case.
Surgery next week?
My sense of foreboding deepens. I haven’t been able to shake the feeling that the surgery is going to tell us something we don’t want to know.
“Liv, Archer just pulled up in back.” Allie pushes through the kitchen doors. “Is he here to check out the water damage on the floor?”
“Yes, I’ve talked to him about it already.” I go through the kitchen to meet Archer in the back parking lot, smiling at the sight of the dog Patch sitting in the passenger seat of his truck, his tongue lolling out.
“I guess you found him a new owner,” I remark as Archer comes around from the driver’s side.
He stops and glances at the dog. “Why do you say that?”
“His new owner’s name must be Archer West.”
He gives me a sheepish grin. “It’s not my fault he got attached to me.”
“Is he sleeping at the foot of your bed yet?” I ask.
“Kelsey still doesn’t want him in the house, but because it’s so cold out she lets him sleep in the laundry room. Only a few short steps from the kitchen.”
“I’ll bet you could make a deal with her,” I suggest. “Find the dog a new home in exchange for her hand in marriage.”
“I don’t just want her hand in marriage, Liv,” Archer replies. “I want her whole body and soul in marriage.”
I can’t help smiling. “Good one.”
He goes upstairs to the Wicked Witch’s Castle Room while I put the rest of the truffles into the cold case and check on a few customers. It’s our lunch rush, so the place is full, the noise of chatter and