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“You guess?” I said.
“Mom and Dad don’t share much of the details with me. They don’t want me to worry, I think.” She made a face. “I’ve told them a few times that being in the dark makes me worry more, but I can’t force them to give me the details.”
I squeezed her hand gently when the car stopped, and the driver said, “We’re here, sir.”
“Thank you,” I said.
Riley and I climbed out of the car, and she gave me another nervous look. “Why am I suddenly so anxious? Like a, I want to turn around and go right back to our hotel, anxious.”
“I think that’s normal,” I said.
Riley gave me an anxious look. “I haven’t seen her in over two years. Dad says she’s thin and pale, and the chemo has made her lose her hair. I don’t have much of a poker face, and I don’t want to upset her.”
I pulled her into my embrace. “You’re prepared for her to look different, and while it’s hard to see the people we love in pain, I’m confident you’ll be nothing but supportive of her.”
She rested her head against my chest and took a deep breath. “Thank you for being here with me.”
“You’re welcome, baby.”
She took my hand and smiled at me. “Okay, let’s do this.”
It was early evening, and after months of cold and snow, the warm air and bright sunlight were a welcome change. She led me up the sidewalk to her parents’ house. They lived in a modest looking bungalow on a quiet street lined with towering palm trees. I frowned as we grew closer. I could hear loud music playing, and several cars were parked in the driveway.
Riley paused, her head cocked to the side, as she stared around the side of the house. “The music is coming from the backyard, I think.”
She knocked on the front door, and after a few minutes, when there was no answer, she tried the door. It was locked, and she knocked again before frowning at me. “That’s my dad’s car in the driveway, but I don’t know who the other cars belong to.”
“Do you want to text them?” I asked.
She shook her head. “No, come with me.”
Still holding hands, I followed her around the side of the house. A six-foot-tall wooden privacy fence surrounded the property, but a sidewalk ran alongside the house, leading to a latched gate.
Riley opened the gate, and the music swelled, as did laughter and conversation. Her brow furrowed, she glanced up at me before leading me into the backyard. We rounded the house, and I nearly ran into Riley when she stopped with a soft gasp.
The backyard was large, with an in-ground pool, a patio, and an outdoor kitchen. More than a dozen people were in the yard. A few floated in the pool while the rest had gathered in small groups on the patio, talking animatedly with drinks in their hands. Music blared, and the smell of cooking meat drifted in the air. A large, balding man wearing a Hawaiian shirt and a novelty apron with the phrase “The last time I cooked, hardly anyone got sick.” printed on it stood near the barbecue. He waved a pair of tongs in the air and hollered, “Steaks are almost ready, folks.”
“Dad,” Riley whispered, her gaze on the man in the apron. No one had noticed us yet, and Riley stared up at me with a look of confusion. “That - that’s my dad.”
She suddenly marched forward, her hand gripping mine tightly. She pushed past the people on the patio and stopped a few feet from her father. “Dad?”
The man whipped around, staring wide-eyed at Riley. “Riley? What are you doing here?”
“What’s going on?” Riley asked.
She could barely be heard over the music, so I reached over and turned off the speaker. The buzz of conversation ground to a halt as Riley stared at her father. “Dad? What is this?”
“What… what are you doing here? Who is this guy?” He stared at our entwined hands before looking me up and down.
“Deacon is my boyfriend,” Riley said. “I’m here to see you and Mom. Where is she? Is she lying down?”
The patio door slid open, and a woman stepped onto the patio carrying a bottle of wine. She was tall, perfectly tanned, and fit and wore a bathing suit with a sheer cover-up. She held up the bottle of wine, grinning at the people on the patio. “Who shut off the music? It’s way too early for this party to end.”
Riley’s hand clamped down on mine, and she swayed on her feet. I put my arm around her waist, bracing her against my body. “Riley, baby, what’s wrong?”
She stared at me, chewing compulsively on her bottom lip. “She… she’s…”
The sound of a wine bottle smashing on the patio made Riley gasp and twitch against me. The woman in the bathing suit stared at Riley, her hands clenching and loosening, the wine bottle broken at her feet and bright red liquid soaking into the patio stones.
