She handed my phone to me.
I scrolled through my messages. “Looks like I got a text from Max. Mom is at the hospital. He said to meet him out front. The limo will take you home, Becca, and I’ll go to the hospital with Max.” My heart stopped for a second, and I reread Max’s text to make sure I was reading it correctly.
“Text him back, Matt,” Becca said.
I’ll be waiting , I replied to his text. Knowing Max was on his way and he couldn’t text me the details, I told myself that everything was fine. When I couldn’t take it anymore, I tried calling my father, but he didn’t pick up. Heart attack, stroke, cancer—all possibilities ran through my mind. Becca and I said our goodbyes to Rachel and Jax and to some of our friends on our way out, and then waited outside. Shortly after, the limo and Max drove up. After Becca left in the limo, I got in Max’s car.
“What happened?” I asked, closing the passenger door.
Max glanced at me, released a soft sigh, and sped down the street. “Mom has acute respiratory arrest.”
“What?” My voice came out louder than I had wanted. “What the hell is that?”
“Apparently, she had difficulty breathing because of bilateral lobe pneumonia. That’s what Dad said. She started out with a fever and then coughing increased. When she had shortness of breath, Dad decided to take her to the hospital. She was admitted right away. She’s in ICU.”
“Why didn’t they call us?” I rolled my eyes at my stupidity. Dad had tried to reach me, but only when Mom was admitted. I knew they hadn’t wanted to trouble us. Knight Fashion was my parents’ baby. They knew how busy we would be, especially at the end of the year. I wondered if Dad knew about Victor suing us. Though he had said he wouldn’t interfere, I knew he’d called a few employees he’d hired at the managerial level to see how things were going. It wasn’t because he didn’t trust us. I knew a part of him missed the action.
Max signaled right and hopped onto the freeway. “I feel guilty. Mom and I played phone tag, but I should have been persistent. Maybe I could have done something about it, like telling her to go see a doctor.”
I looked out the window, thankful that there was no traffic. “I feel guilty too. You can’t blame this on yourself, Max. You know how Mom can be. She wouldn’t have gone. And how would you have diagnosed her condition over the phone? She’s fine and that’s all that matters.” I paused. “She’s fine, right?”
“As long as it doesn’t get worse. I’m just thankful it wasn’t a stroke, heart attack, or cancer,” Max said wearily.
I ran my hand down my face. “Yeah, I know what you mean.”
“We need to take care of ourselves too,” Max added and then changed the subject, “I can’t wait till Christmas. Three days. I’m counting down to our vacation.”
I crossed my legs and rested my head on the headrest. “Me too. I feel like I’ve been running in circles and can’t stop.”
Max looked over his shoulder and changed lanes. “Yeah, me too. I’m excited about the couple of new employees we hired to take some of the load off our shoulders.”
“Same here,” I agreed. Then I changed the subject, “So, just because I know our wives will talk, what did you get Jenna for Christmas?”
“It’s a surprise.” Max chuckled, teasing me. “It took me a while to decide. What do you get a wife that has everything? I’ll show it to you later. I took a picture of it. I just need time to get her out of the house so I can do my thing.”
I tapped Max on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, big bro, I’m good at being sneaky. I’ll get her out of the house for you. Just let me know when.”
After about a ten-minute drive, we got off the freeway and into the parking lot. After Max parked the car, we entered through the automatic double glass doors.
“Hello. May I help you?” the night receptionist said, her eyes scanning us from head to toe.
I looked at
I scrolled through my messages. “Looks like I got a text from Max. Mom is at the hospital. He said to meet him out front. The limo will take you home, Becca, and I’ll go to the hospital with Max.” My heart stopped for a second, and I reread Max’s text to make sure I was reading it correctly.
“Text him back, Matt,” Becca said.
I’ll be waiting , I replied to his text. Knowing Max was on his way and he couldn’t text me the details, I told myself that everything was fine. When I couldn’t take it anymore, I tried calling my father, but he didn’t pick up. Heart attack, stroke, cancer—all possibilities ran through my mind. Becca and I said our goodbyes to Rachel and Jax and to some of our friends on our way out, and then waited outside. Shortly after, the limo and Max drove up. After Becca left in the limo, I got in Max’s car.
“What happened?” I asked, closing the passenger door.
Max glanced at me, released a soft sigh, and sped down the street. “Mom has acute respiratory arrest.”
“What?” My voice came out louder than I had wanted. “What the hell is that?”
“Apparently, she had difficulty breathing because of bilateral lobe pneumonia. That’s what Dad said. She started out with a fever and then coughing increased. When she had shortness of breath, Dad decided to take her to the hospital. She was admitted right away. She’s in ICU.”
“Why didn’t they call us?” I rolled my eyes at my stupidity. Dad had tried to reach me, but only when Mom was admitted. I knew they hadn’t wanted to trouble us. Knight Fashion was my parents’ baby. They knew how busy we would be, especially at the end of the year. I wondered if Dad knew about Victor suing us. Though he had said he wouldn’t interfere, I knew he’d called a few employees he’d hired at the managerial level to see how things were going. It wasn’t because he didn’t trust us. I knew a part of him missed the action.
Max signaled right and hopped onto the freeway. “I feel guilty. Mom and I played phone tag, but I should have been persistent. Maybe I could have done something about it, like telling her to go see a doctor.”
I looked out the window, thankful that there was no traffic. “I feel guilty too. You can’t blame this on yourself, Max. You know how Mom can be. She wouldn’t have gone. And how would you have diagnosed her condition over the phone? She’s fine and that’s all that matters.” I paused. “She’s fine, right?”
“As long as it doesn’t get worse. I’m just thankful it wasn’t a stroke, heart attack, or cancer,” Max said wearily.
I ran my hand down my face. “Yeah, I know what you mean.”
“We need to take care of ourselves too,” Max added and then changed the subject, “I can’t wait till Christmas. Three days. I’m counting down to our vacation.”
I crossed my legs and rested my head on the headrest. “Me too. I feel like I’ve been running in circles and can’t stop.”
Max looked over his shoulder and changed lanes. “Yeah, me too. I’m excited about the couple of new employees we hired to take some of the load off our shoulders.”
“Same here,” I agreed. Then I changed the subject, “So, just because I know our wives will talk, what did you get Jenna for Christmas?”
“It’s a surprise.” Max chuckled, teasing me. “It took me a while to decide. What do you get a wife that has everything? I’ll show it to you later. I took a picture of it. I just need time to get her out of the house so I can do my thing.”
I tapped Max on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, big bro, I’m good at being sneaky. I’ll get her out of the house for you. Just let me know when.”
After about a ten-minute drive, we got off the freeway and into the parking lot. After Max parked the car, we entered through the automatic double glass doors.
“Hello. May I help you?” the night receptionist said, her eyes scanning us from head to toe.
I looked at
Similar Books
