Emma gripped the railing tighter. “You should’ve told me. I know you didn’t think highly of Andrew, but he was a doctor. I’m still in touch with some of his colleagues. They could’ve helped.”
Silence settled between them.
Emma made herself turn around, and her mother was leaning against the wall. She paused to tighten her coat’s sash and drew herself up to her full height. “What do you want me to do, Emma? Do you want me to apologize for respecting your father’s wishes?”
Emma dug her nails into her palms. “I want you to acknowledge that I’m your daughter. One fight shouldn’t changethat, and neither should your disapproval of my life choices. I deserve to know the truth.”
Marie pressed her mouth into a thin, white line. “What good would it have done? You have your own life in the city, and Henry didn’t want you here out of pity—”
“Pity? Are you serious?He’s my dad. Of course, I would’ve wanted to be here. You have no idea how angry I am right now… How did we even get here?”
No matter how many times she went over it in her head, she couldn’t understand.
Disapproving of Andrew and her career choice was one thing.
Systematically cutting her out of their lives and leaving her out in the cold to bleed was another.
Her parents were many things, but heartless wasn’t one of them.
Or so she thought.
“I sent a colleague of Andrew’s Dad’s medical files,” Emma continued after a long pause. “He’s a neurosurgeon, and he should be able to give us a second opinion.”
Marie stiffened. “Your father isn’t going to be happy about any of this.”
“Nobody is,” Emma replied, her voice catching toward the end. “But it’s happening anyway, and I’ll be following up to make sure he’s getting the necessary treatment. I know you don’t want me to, and I know you don’t want me here, but let’s just figure out how to get through this.”
With as minimal damage as possible.
Once her dad was out of the woods, they could worry about the debris.
Marie’s hand darted out and lingered midair, a frown hovering on the edge of her lips. “I never said I didn’t want you here, Emma. Things are a lot more complicated than youthink. Your father and I never meant to keep things from you or exclude you.”
Emma searched her mother’s tired and weathered face. “You can’t say that and not mean it.”
“Idomean it.”
Emma raised an eyebrow. “So, are you ready to tell me the real reason you walked away from the limelight? The Marie I knew made a lot of sacrifices for her career, and she wouldn’t have walked away so easily.”
“Maybe the Marie you knew doesn’t exist anymore.”
Emma held her mother’s gaze and ignored the tightening of her chest. “I guess not.”
But who was the woman standing in front of her if she wasn’t the mother she’d grown up with?
In silence, Emma brushed past her mother and slid the door open. A blast of hot air hit her in the face as soon as she walked in. Henry was sound asleep, his mouth half-open as his snores filled the room. On the tips of her toes, she crept over to where he slept and stared at his sleeping face, at the lines and wrinkles marring every inch of his features.
She hated knowing she’d played a role in their rift too.
Her parents might’ve kept her at arm’s length, but she hadn’t tried hard enough to stop them.
With an exhale, she leaned forward to press a kiss to her father’s forehead. She lingered for a few seconds and then drew away. In the doorway, she glanced over her shoulder at her mother’s silhouette, outlined behind the balcony’s glass door. Marie slid the door open to step in, and Emma yanked on the knob to slip out into the hallway.
Her walk downstairs was a blur of fluorescent lighting and dull conversation rising and falling around her.
Emma listened to the squeak of her shoes against linoleum floors and ignored the smell of disinfectant.
Even the sound of beeping monitors receded into the background, taking a back seat to the voices clamoring for attention inside her head. When Emma stumbled out into the cold December night, she leaned against the nearest wall and inhaled a mouthful of air. After several deep breaths, the tremor in her hand subsided, and she set off at a brusque pace.
