Chapter Seventeen

Kate

 

Jane found me in the lounge where family could wait for patients in surgery. I ran to her and hugged her tighter than I’d probably squeezed anyone before. My breath trembled.

Tears ran down my cheeks. Only then did it occur I hadn’t cried until now.

She rubbed my back. “There, there, honey.”

There will be time to cry later, Kate.

I released her, wiped my cheeks, and we sat. “Thank you for coming.”

“What do you know?” About Peter.

“Not much. I was told they stabilized him, but there’s still work to do. Could be hours.”

“Hospitals…love to make you wait.” She squeezed my hand. “What about the rest?”

I told her what I knew, though that was harder to get through without my voice wavering.

“How do I do this?”

She gently touched my chin so I’d look at her. “One day at a time, honey. One minute.” Then wrapped her arm around me to pull me into another hug. “You know you can come stay with me.”

I dried my eye. “I know. But the house is still my home. Pete’s home.”

“As long as you remember you’re not alone. The mister and I both handled our parents’ estates and all the bureaucracy that comes with it. Your dad has friends. Kristi and Peter’s friends have parents. People will want to help.” She paused, then, “Sam will be home from college soon, too.”

I slumped in the uncomfortable chair. “What about it?”

“Ah, I see.”

A shrug at her knowing look. “People move on.”

“From what?”

I rolled my eyes. “From keeping in touch when you’re not in the same place every day.”

“You might’ve lost touch in the hustle and bustle, Kate, but he still cares.”

My brow arched. “It took less than a month for him to start ghosting email. He got other priorities. I’m not bitter about it.” But it did make me mad.

She sighed. “He only came home for three days that first Christmas. It’s tunnel vision. His father was the same way when he was trying to make something of himself.”

I shrugged again. “It’s not like we don’t hear the statistics. The majority of humans will keep a handful of friends after high school and maybe have one of them still by the end of college. Most of those people aren’t intending to lose friendships—they’re just pulled in new life directions and making new relationships.”

She smirked. “How very mature of you.” Then sighed the sound that comes from living. “You wake up one day and wonder where time went. I’m only forty-five and I notice it.” Tucked her purse strap on her shoulder. “If this is going to take awhile, I want coffee. Can I get you somethin’?”

“No, thank you.”

She patted my shoulder, then left the waiting room.