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“Gabe, it’s me, Dante.”
I stepped out into the hallway, hoping not to disturb Bella.
He continued before I could ask him what he was calling about.
“It’s Dad. The doctors just left his room and told me that he’s got days left, at most. If you want to see him, and I’m not saying you have to, but if you do, now is the time.”
I let out a deep breath and closed my eyes, rubbing my temples. It was too early to deal with the drama surrounding my father.
“Ava is coming up today, you could always ride with her.”
“I think she might’ve left already, she said she had to be back by this evening for a lecture or something,” I said. “And I don’t want to leave if she’s not here. One of us at least should be here to help Bella.”
“Don’t you have staff on hand?”
“I do, but I’m not going to leave her without family, not right now.”
“Alright, I understand,” Dante said. “It’s your call, man. I’m not going to guilt trip you or anything, but I know even with how bad things were for us, there’s likely something you want to say to him or ask of him, and if so, now is your last chance.”
He was right. There was a lot I wanted to ask of my dad, but I knew he would never give me a straight answer, even on his deathbed.
“Thanks for letting me know,” I said.
“Of course, Gabe. No matter what happens, we’re still brothers.”
I hung up the phone and stood there in the hallway, mulling over what Dante had said.
“Everything alright?”Bella asked from behind me.
I hadn’t even heard the bedroom door open. She was wearing a soft, pink robe and tying it around herself as she stepped out of the room.
“Yeah, it was just Dante,” I said. “Dad’s only got a few days left, according to the doctors. I’m sorry, I didn’t want to wake you.”
“It’s fine, don’t worry about me,” she said. “I’m worried about you, Gabe. Are you sure you don’t want to go see him?”
“I can’t, Bella. I need to be here for you, Ari and Lucy, and for the boys, too.”
“We have it covered, Gabe,” she said. “Ava will be back this evening, and with the staff you’ve hired, we have plenty of help for you to be able to leave for a day. Chicago is only a few hours away, you can leave early and come back in the evening, like Ava is doing.”
“I don’t want to leave you like that.”
“We’ll be fine,” she said, placing a hand on my arm. “This really could be your last chance to say goodbye to him.”
It wasn’t even just about saying goodbye. It was those damned, nagging questions I felt I needed to ask. Even if he fed me a line of bullshit, I still wanted to ask them.
“I don’t know...”
“I think you’re going to regret it if you don’t go,” Bella said softly.
She was right. I pulled her into me and kissed the top of her head, which was soft and fluffy from her bedhead of curls.
“How in the hell do you know me so well already?”
She turned her head to look up at me. “Does that mean what I think it means?”
I didn’t answer, not with my words, but with a sigh of resignation. She was right. They were all right.
“I have plenty of help and it’s only one day, Gabe,” she said again. “We will be fine.”
