“I don’t know. He said not to worry about any of the red tape, that it was all taken care of. I’m not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. I know I filled out a heck of a lot of papers. There are several organizations that step in to help in cases like mine. My best guess is that one of them said yes.”
“That’s wonderful, Mom. I’ll call my boss and take Monday off work. I’m staying here with you all weekend to make sure everything goes right.”
“You most certainly will not, child. You will go insane sitting in this room all day and night. I’m going a bit insane myself.”
“You’re too weak to stop me, so it looks like it’s just you and me and a full box of Yahtzee. I’m going to run home and grab a few things, and I’ll be back in an hour. It will be just like old-times, when we had all-nighters. I would get so mad at you for making me leave my books in my bedroom, but now, those are my favorite memories.”
“How can I fight you when you’re making me all sentimental? Fine. You can stay with this old lady if you like, but be warned, I’m not against a little cheating to win each game.”
“Even cheating, I’ll kick your bootie. I love you, Mom. I’m so glad you’re feeling better. I also think you’re right – I have a feeling that everything is going to work out.”
Ari leaned down and hugged her mother. Terror was seizing her heart that this could be the last weekend she ever spent with the most important person in the world to her, but with a hard swallow, she pushed the fright down.
She hated that she’d been sick so long. What if something did go wrong and these days were the last she had with her? She’d never forgive herself, even if she couldn’t help getting sick. It would still haunt her forever.
She wouldn’t allow fear to ruin her time with the woman who’d given her life – who’d always been there for her – who was her best friend. She couldn’t change the past, all she could do was make sure their present was as perfect as possible.
She quickly ran to her apartment and gathered a couple changes of clothes, then stopped in at a local store and picked up a few games. Of course, she snuck in a couple books, just in case her mother got too tired and fell asleep for a while. She wasn’t leaving her side all weekend.
If it truly was their last few nights together, she needed to pile on the memories. Losing her mom would be worse than anything she could imagine. The world would simply stop spinning. There just wouldn’t be a reason to go on for her. She’d smile and lie to her mom, telling her it would all be okay, but Ari knew if her mom died, it wouldn’t be okay. Nothing would ever be okay again.
Chapter Twenty-Two
“If you see a bright light at the end of a long dark tunnel then you run like heck in the other direction. Do you understand?”
“Surgery will be fine, Ari. You need to quit worrying about me, okay? I’m your mother and it’s my job to worry about you, not the other way around. You just take care of yourself. The doctor said surgery will last for several hours. I’d tell you to go outside and enjoy some of this beautiful sunshine streaming through the windows but I know what a worry wart you are and I realize you won’t leave this hospital. Instead, I need you to do your best to stay calm, and know I’ll be as good as new in just a few hours.”
“I love you so much, Mom. Don’t you dare leave me. I mean it.”
“I promise you I won’t.”
“Ms. Harlow, it’s time to go now.”
Ari’s jaw tensed in frustration. Knowing the woman was only doing her job didn’t help because Ari had a horrible feeling in her gut and she didn’t want to let her mother out of her sight. All she wanted to do was keep holding her hand. If there was a way for her to go into the surgical room with her, she would. She wasn’t ready for this, not that any amount of time would prepare her for her mother’s possible death.
“Quit trying to intimidate these nice medical people, Ari. You are far too petite to scare anyone.” Ari hadn’t even realized she’d growled at the nurse when the woman had stepped up to the bed.
“You raised me, Mom. I’m tougher than I look,” Ari joked as she bent down and kissed her mother’s cheek with tenderness.
They took her mom from the room and Ari slowly sank down into her chair, finally allowing the tears that had built up all weekend to fall. Her mother was tough and Ari knew she’d make it through this just fine. She was being paranoid for no good reason.
After about an hour of sitting alone in the room panicking, Ari decided she had to get up and walk around. Driving herself crazy wasn’t helping and sitting there all by herself was only fueling her paranoia. She wandered from the room and found herself in the spot she’d run into Rafe so many months ago.
It seemed like a different time. She’d grown so much in the last several months – dropping out of college, losing her family home, finally finding work and, of course – meeting Rafe. She almost wished she’d taken up his offer just so she could lean on his shoulder in this moment.
She snapped herself from those kind of thoughts immediately. Even if she had taken his offer, it wasn’t like he’d be there for her. The whole point of his kinky arrangement was to have his women at his beck and call. He wouldn’t be her boyfriend and he certainly wasn’t the type of guy to hold her hand while she worried about her mother.
Moving down the hall and finding pictures lining the beautiful tan walls pulled her thoughts in a different direction. She admired the work of the photographer, seeing beautiful images of historical homes, blooming flowers and important members of the community in different outfits, most of them volunteering at various functions.
When she got to the end, she found a picture of Rafe wearing a hardhat with a hammer in his hand and a big smile on his face. She was stunned at how human he looked without his custom suit on.
She read the words beneath; Many thanks go out to Raffaello Palazzo who donated the money for this wing to be built. He’s a dedicated member of the community and can always be counted on to lend a helping hand.
Ari rolled her eyes at the words. She was sure the picture had been nothing more than a publicity stunt. He most likely had dressed in a pair of jeans, had the paper come out and take his picture, then ran as fast as he could to his air conditioned limo.
“I’ve never been very fond of that picture. I always photograph so much better on my left side. My assistant insists that it’s her favorite image, though, and I’ve learned over the years that it’s a losing battle to argue with her.”