Crew

I walk out of the exam room and into my mom's arms. She's a small woman, but her arms have always been the safest place on earth to me.

She's loved me without reservation from the first day we met. She read to me, taught me how to tie my shoes and when I graduated college she was in the front row screaming my name with tears streaming down her face.

I am her son as much as Kade and Curtis, my older brother, are.

"You talked to him?" She takes a step back to look up at me. "How did it go?"

"Fine, mom." I kiss the top of her head. "I said my peace. He said his. We're good now."

She's at peace too. Her life hasn't been easy. I've tried my best to offer her refuge from the storm of his temper. He's never touched her in anger. My siblings have always been safe from that too.

I wasn’t as fortunate.

It was never overt. I didn't have bruises but the pushing and shoving and name calling created scars that no one can see.

"He'll need to have surgery. Kade will stay here with me." She squeezes my arms. "I want you to go home, sweetie. Take Lark with you. Her son needs her, and there's a woman who needs you."

"What woman?"

Her hand brushes my arm as she points into the waiting room. "That beautiful woman over there talking to your father's doctor needs you more than I do."

I look back over my shoulder and see the woman I love.

 Adley is deep in conversation with Dr. John Tate, the cardiologist brought in to take over my dad's case.  My mom requested him personally because of his reputation for being a leader in his field. 

No one expected him to be in the hospital this late since he's not on call tonight, but he was in the cardiology ward. When I mentioned to the admitting doctor that I know Dr. Tate's daughter, Sydney, personally, he relayed the message, and within five minutes I was shaking John's hand and thanking him for his help.

I watch Adley as she plays with the hospital visitor badge strung around her neck on a lanyard. I see how focused she is on everything he's telling her.

I see her dream now.

The stack of medical books on the coffee table in her apartment.

The catalog for the New York School of Medicine that was on her kitchen counter.

The poster of the human heart hanging behind her bathroom door.

I assumed it was Sydney's dream to follow in her father's footsteps, but this is Adley's dream.

She turns toward me then, her face searching for mine. I know she feels the same connection I do and when she finally locks eyes with me, I have no doubt that I'm looking at the future Dr. Adley York, Cardiologist.

***

"We can stay," she says softly after kissing me. "I'm fine with staying."

"He's stabilized." I look over at where Dr. Tate is speaking to my mother. "They're going to monitor him tonight and decisions will be made tomorrow. He's weak, Ad."

"He needs a double bypass." She looks into my eyes. "It's risky because of his prior myocardial infarction."

"You want this, don't you?"

The sudden subject change takes her surprise. She's silent for a moment as she digests what I just said. "You mean do I want to be a doctor?"

I nod. "I see the dream."

The corner of her mouth curves into a smile. "You do?"

"This is why you kept putting off going back to school to be a vet, isn't it?"

She rubs the edge of the badge around her neck. "Yes. I always felt a pull toward taking care of animals, but then John came over to help Sydney move in. We talked for hours about his work. I was so excited by that."
"I think it's the perfect fit for you." I reach for her hands. "You know I'm on board to help in any way I can."

Her gaze drops to the tiled floor. "It's going to eat up my entire life for the next decade. Well, forever if I'm honest. But I feel a passion for this I never felt when I thought about being a vet. I know this is right for me, I just have to see if I can make it my reality."

"You can do anything, Ad," I say the words with all the assurance I feel. "You're the most determined person I've ever met. You're going to ace this and one day, you'll be the doctor people will call when they want the best of the best."

She squeezes my hands tightly. "Say that again when I start doubting myself."

"Crew?" My sister walks up beside us. "I'm going to take off. I want to go home to see Ryker and Benton."

Benton Moore. My nephew. A little boy named after our family. That was a gift from Lark. She's been a gift to me. I couldn't ask for a better sister.

"You know, Adley, right?" I wrap my arm around Adley's waist.

"We met at Matiz when she came to see you one day." She smiles at Ad. "She kept me in one piece earlier. She may be the calmest person in this waiting room."

Adley laughs. "It's all smoke and mirrors."

No, it's inner strength and a strong spirit.

I want to tell her about my adoption and the hell I've been through, but tonight is for her. I won't tarnish her dream with my nightmare. At least, not tonight.

"We're heading out too." I look back at where my mom is now sitting with my brothers in a row of chairs near a vending machine. "I'll go give mom a goodnight kiss and then I'll take my two favorite women home."