“So, I take it your evening went all right? I didn’t get any panicked calls.”
“Yes, it went fine,” she said, “but I’ll have to catch you up on why later. Why are you already here, anyway?”
“Doc Chambers knows how close we are. He promised to keep me updated about what’s going on with your mom so I can be there for you,” she said as they entered the elevator and started up. “And I got called in about five minutes before they moved your mom.”
“Well, I’m really glad you’re here,” she said when the doors dinged open. “I don’t think I could handle this alone.”
Charlotte took her friend’s hand and held it the whole way to the ICU unit, where Phoebe could only look through a window at her mom. She was hooked up to all sorts of machines. It was the nightmare she’d always had. That her mother would slip away from her like this. Phoebe felt her legs start to give way under her, but Charlotte held her up and led her to a chair.
“I’ll get Doc Chambers. Just sit right there.”
Phoebe nodded and gripped her clutch, desperately trying to hold onto anything, needing a lifeline to pull her out of this mess. She knew what the doctor would say. Her mother needed that surgery, needed it soon. Phoebe had no choice now. She’d been backed into a corner, and her only option was to give up her life so her mother would have a shot at living a bit longer and maybe die with a little less pain.
That man downstairs, the man who hadn’t even really noticed she’d been absent from his side for half the night, that was the man she was going to have to marry.
But what about Ben?
She shook her head. She did like Ben, but there was no way he was as rich as Mitch. No way could she ask him to put up money for this sort of thing. She knew what her heart was getting drawn into, but it wasn’t going to solve her problems. She needed a wealthy man who was willing to give her what she needed to make her mother better. Her phone buzzed and she pulled it out. It was from her pirate, a text: Hope your mother is doing ok. If you need to talk later, I’m here. See you Friday night, and maybe I’ll bring my cutlass.
Phoebe grinned as she texted back that she couldn’t wait to see it.
She might have to marry Mitch in the end, but until that time came, she was going to have some fun with this Ben. Why not, right? She was only going to live once. Might as well make it as exciting as possible before she threw her life into the hands of a man who didn’t notice her enough to realize she’d been gone.
“Phoebe?” Charlotte called out, and she glanced up. Doctor Chambers was right behind her, looking grimmer than he had the last time they’d spoken.
“How is she? Is it the tumor?”
“Honestly, I’m not sure at this point,” he said. “She was doing fine, and we were going to wake her up when suddenly she stopped breathing. We have her on a ventilator now and are monitoring her vitals, but I’m afraid she’s slipped into a coma.”
Phoebe slumped over in the chair as her vision blurred and her ears started ringing. Her mother, in a coma? This was not how she’d thought this night would go.
“Is there a chance to still do the surgery?” she whispered as Charlotte sat beside her, holding her upright.
He hesitated before sitting down on her other side. “There is, but we have a limited window in which to do it. And now, we have to wait until she comes out of the coma. If we try anything now, it could make the situation worse.”
“So what exactly are you saying?”
“The second she wakes up, we have to do the surgery or your mother’s chances of surviving are zero. I’m sorry, Phoebe, but I don’t have any better news to give you.”
All she could do was nod and stare at the window of her mother’s room. Fighting for her life and probably not even aware of it. Not understanding what her daughter was going to have to do in order to save her life. Would she ever know? There were days her mother had a hard time remembering who she was, let alone that her husband had died. Those had not been pleasant conversations.
It was nearly an hour later before Phoebe was finally able to stand and follow Charlotte to a private room where she could fill out some paperwork on her mother’s behalf.
When she reached the waiting room, Mitch hurried to her side.
“Is she doing all right?” he asked, glancing between her and Charlotte.
“Just take me home,” Phoebe whispered. “Please.”
“Of course,” Mitch said.