LAKE
“What the fuck is going on, Dad?” I quickly fastened my seatbelt the moment the pilot made an announcement.
“I have no idea. Turbulence?” He did the same, and Aurelia did too.
“Are we turning?” she asked. I could hear the fear in her voice.
“We’re going higher? I thought we were going to land right now.” Something was wrong. I instantly felt the chill in my body.
My heart pumped harder as I closed my eyes to pray. If the jet had had an emergency landing, the pilot could have just told us, but that seemed not to be the case. The jet flew smoothly when we left New York.
After ten minutes of silence, and the jet was high enough, Dad quickly pressed the button.
“Are you okay, Dad?” I looked over my shoulder. Aurelia was pale. “Just take a deep breath.” I pulled up the window shield, quite the opposite of what was supposed to be done.
“What are you doing, Lake?”
“One way to find out what’s going on- what the fuck?” I stared in disbelief at the Hover fighter jet flying with us. “Is that the Striker?” My uncle named his latest fighter jet after my cousin. That was how he loved his son.
“I think there’s been a threat,” Dad whispered.
Dad’s bodyguard came with a Sat phone. “Mr. Linden is on the line.”
“Thank you.” I took the phone and answered. “Linden, what the hell is going on? Why are there Strikers tailing us?”
“Are you guys okay?”
“Aside from I almost had a heart attack, we’re okay. Now tell me, why did we just turn around?”
“Just have patience. You might want to call your brother-in-law and thank him. There’s a threat on your father. The father of a man named Tomas, who threatened Maverick, just paid a group of militia and is coming after you. The only thing he was misinformed about is he didn’t know he was about to be skinned alive and that he was just about to kill the father of the man who was married to the daughter of Gaetano Siciliano. So, don’t worry about it. By the way, Osmium in Canada is dealing with them as we speak. I already informed your pilot to wait for my go once the threat is over.”
“What kind of threat exactly?”
“They were about to shoot the jet with HIMARS as soon as it was in range. That’s why Strikers are tailing you for countermeasures.”
“What the hell is HIMARS?”
“Never mind. What is important is we’re handling the situation on the ground. You have to call your wife as soon as you land safely. She was the one who called me.”
“Shit. Thank you, man.”
I sagged against the seat as the call ended. I felt like my bones just melted. I could barely sit straight.
“Lake?”
I couldn’t tell him right now, not until we were safe on the ground.
“I’ll tell you about it later.”
“How long are we going to stay up?”
“As long as we have enough gas, I guess.”
“That’s not funny, Lake.”
I chuckled at Aurelia. “Trust me, it wouldn’t be fun once you hear what I am about to tell you, but that can wait.”
We finally landed an hour and a half late. Two security vehicles, and one for our ride, were waiting on the tarmac.
“We should go directly to the hospital,” Dad told me.
“Yeah. We’re late, but you’re a VIP patient. They can wait a little longer, considering we just had an emergency.”
“Aren’t you going to tell me what Mr. Linden told you?”
I looked at Dad before I got in the SUV. “It’s going to be fine, Dad. I need to call my wife.”
I dialed her number.
“Babe?” She answered it in a second and seemed breathless. “Oh, God, you have no idea how good it is to hear your voice.”
“You miss me that much?” I felt a lot better when I heard her voice.
“You can’t just joke like that. I thought I was going to collapse when Terzo told me you were in danger.”
“I’m sorry, baby, but we’re fine now. Osmium guys just picked us up from the airport. I’ll call your brother later. Are you okay?”
“I’m a lot better now. I’m still here at Osmium and watched your jet land.”
“So you’re stalking me at this moment?”
“Shut up. That’s not even funny. I deserve a bag of Bannock.”
“You’ll get it, baby.”
“Please, be careful. If something happens to you, I swear I’ll cut Owen’s balls and parade them on the street.”
I laughed out loud, all giving me a weird look. “I let him know that. I have to go, baby. I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
We arrived at the hospital. After a few tests, the head of Oncology had my father’s file and took us to the conference room. They had the report of the Colonoscopy, some tests like PET scan, an MRI, and the biopsy done back home. They compared and explained to us in layman’s terms.
“I want to be direct to you. There’s no need to sugarcoat it. You have stage IIB adenocarcinoma of the colon. The two doctors you went to for consultations are right. The cancer cell has grown to a small area of the wall of your colon and tissues, but it hasn’t metastasized to other organs. That’s why you’re experiencing some symptoms. The good thing is it can be treated through surgery and chemotherapy. There’s a huge chance you’ll be cancer-free within five years unless you will stay untreated.”
“We will do the surgery and chemotherapy,” I answered quickly before my dad could reply. I didn’t know why he had to wait until it got worse.
The doctor was patiently waiting for my father’s response.
“Dad?” I could see something was bothering him that he wasn’t telling me.
“You know you have to do this, Wallace,” Aurelia said.
“I will give you the decision tomorrow.”
“Are you kidding me, Dad? The reason why I made that deal with you is because you’ll get the treatment.”
“If you’re worried about the side effects of chemotherapy. It’s only temporary,” the doctor explained.
“What am I missing here?”
“Are you afraid of changes in sexual interest, Wallace?” the doctor asked him. I like this doctor. He was blunt and direct to the point.
Fuck. You’ve got to be kidding me.
Aurelia just shifted uncomfortably in her seat.
“Among other things, doctor.”
“Wallace, it’s fine.” Aurelia held his hand. “What is important is you’re getting this treatment. I promise nothing will change if you still want me to be with you. I’m more worried about your health. We talked about this, and you have your sperm cryopreserved.”
Oh wow. This was getting better and better. I shook off the thought of having a sibling about the age of my unborn child.
“Then we’re doing it, doctor,” I said as I kept my gaze on my father.
***
In the hotel room, I stared at him. I wanted to laugh and be sad for him at the same time. “What’s really bothering you, Dad?”
“Some chemotherapy can deteriorate the patient.”
“We’ll. You have the money and can buy the whole floor for your treatment if you’re worried about infection. Yes, you may lose weight and hair and make some changes in your body and mind, but what’s worse than metastasis? God forbid, maybe next week, it’s already stage III. You’ve wasted too much time, Dad. Please? If there’s anything you want to tell why the push and pull, now it’s the time.”
“What if the surgery goes wrong?”
“Oh, God. They’re the best, Dad. I heard about the latest chemo that doesn’t have the same side effects as the old chemo. You won’t lose your pretty nice salt and pepper hair.”
He chuckled, running his fingers through his hair.
I was frustrated, and it seemed nothing could convince him, even if his life were at stake.
“That’s why we’re here. Or I can talk to the head of oncology. We can do it at home. I will pay no matter how much it takes to bring him to the States if you want the surgery to be done there.”
“Okay.” He slightly nodded.
“That doesn’t sound okay.” I looked at Aurelia. “Care to tell what’s wrong with him?”
“Just tell him already, Wallace. We’ve wasted too much time,” Aurelia said to him, her hands on his shoulder.
“Do you want to have kids?” My gaze bounced between them as I shrugged. “It’s fine by me. My baby will be a few months older than yours, so why not?”
Aurelia smiled. “You’re making him feel worse.”
“I am not. I swear. My kid will have a playmate by then. His uncle or aunt.”
“Stop it.:” Aurelia laughed, and my father smiled.
“Dad, please?” I quickly went into serious mode.
“If something happens to me, I want you to forgive me, Lake.”
I rolled my eyes. “For God’s sake. That’s what’s stopping you? Why do you think I am here? I’ve forgiven you, Dad. I’d rather see you well than keep grudges on you while you’re sick. Just consider the treatment. You have my word. I will be by your side every step of the way, and Our company is in good hands. You have my word.”
“Thank you. And tell your wife, too.”
“I will, Dad. I’m sure Maverick has forgiven you. She even baked apple pie for us.”
“I want to meet Terzo and his father.”