Promise Me (Book One of the Kirkland Family)

Promise Me: Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Justin honestly didn’t want to discuss his failed marriage with his dad -- and especially not the prospect of dating again -- so the two men sat in silence until Hannah returned to the waiting room a few minutes later.  She held a cardboard cup carrier in one hand loaded with four to-go cups and a sack of sandwiches in the other.  Ronald Kirkland’s eyes lit up when he saw her, and that smile of his got a little bit bigger.  “Now there’s one lovely lady after my own heart,” he said to Hannah, who smiled beautifully in return.

“Mary Alice mentioned that you missed your dinner, too,” Hannah announced, setting her packages on a table.  She handed a styrofoam cup to Ronald and said, “Decaf tea with lemon, no sugar, correct?”

His dad’s eyes twinkled.  “Ah, you’re a real treasure, Hannah girl.”

Justin watched as Hannah flushed with pleasure, and the stirring in his gut returned.  Then Hannah removed a paper coffee cup from the carrier and held it out to him.  “It’s coffee...cream, no sugar.  Your mom said that’s the way you like it.”

He could only stare at her for a moment, battling something inside himself.  She brought him coffee.  The exact thing he’d been thirsting for only minutes earlier.  Or had this been his mother’s idea? He quietly took the cup from her.

“You’re welcome,” she said, a bit on the snide side, and settled down cross-legged on the floor next to the table to pass out the sandwiches and start eating her dinner.  Justin’s coffee still remained in his hand, untouched, as he watched her from the corner of his eye.  If she’d been the kind of petty, self-centered woman he believed her to be, she wouldn’t have thought to provide them with food and drink.  Beth wouldn’t have.  Beth would have stayed down in the cafeteria, picking through a salad and devouring a slice of cake, instead of coming back here to eat with them.  Beth would have hid from the unpleasantness of Josie’s appendicitis and surgery for as long as possible.  Or wouldn’t have even bothered to come to the hospital at all.

How much convincing did Mom and Dad have to do to get Hannah here tonight?  Did they drag her out of her house?  Or did they only mention what was happening to Josie, and Hannah raced to the car?

Justin was so confused right then, that he just didn’t have an idea on which scenario played out.  All because of a cup of coffee.

“What happened to my wife?” his dad asked.

Hannah had just taken a big bite of her sandwich, but she covered her mouth a moment, allowing herself to chew, before answering, “Ladies room.  She should be back by now.”  Hannah turned to look in the direction she came from, but no Mary Alice appeared.

“Ah,” his dad commented vaguely.  “I’ll bet she got herself lost.”  He stood up and set his cup and half-eaten sandwich down.  “I’ll go see what’s keeping her.”  And then he was gone, leaving Justin alone with Hannah.  She continued to eat, but when she did look up at him, she stopped and asked, “Aren’t you hungry?”

Justin glanced down at the wrapped sandwich on his lap.  He’d forgotten all about it.

Hannah nodded with understanding as she took another giant bite, her cheeks bulging in a very cute way.  ‘You’re worried about Josie,” she said after swallowing and taking a sip of her drink.  “Have you had your appendix taken out?”

“No.”

“Tonsils?”

He met her eyes, wondering about her inquiries.  “No.”

“Anything?”

He felt a smile come across his lips.  “Do wisdom teeth count?”

She laughed.  “I suppose so.  Though I think the down-time from that is a bit shorter than getting an appendix removed.”

“You had yours out, right?”

She nodded as she balled up her wrapper and tossed in a nearby trashcan.

“How long were you out of commission?”

Hannah sighed.  “Four weeks.  I was in California at the time.  My dad flew over to see me, but I convinced him to go back home after a few days, saying I was fine.”

Justin frowned.  “Why didn’t you want your dad around?  I thought you two were close.”

Again, she sighed and leaned back against a chair leg.  “Because I’d been there in Hollywood, for several years then, and my dreams of becoming a famous actress and singer were in the toilet and just getting flushed away more each day, and I didn’t want him to think I failed.  He believed in me.  He thought I could do anything, when in reality, I couldn’t.”  The light in her eyes dimmed as she stared at a wall on the other side of the room.  “I was ashamed of myself.”

“But he was there to help you out,” Justin said, getting more and more confused by this woman with every word.

“I know,” she said softly, still not looking at him.  “Now, I wish I had let him stick around longer...I wish I had spent more time with him.  I wish...  I miss him so much...”  Abruptly, she jumped to her feet and turned away, her hands going up to her face.  “Excuse me a moment,” she said thickly and walked over to a window, looking out and heaving deep breaths, her shoulders rising and falling in great motions.

She’s crying.

Shit.

Shit, don’t cry!  Anything, but crying!

Justin almost got up to go over to her, not exactly sure why, but his parents returned to the waiting room, and his mother centered on the scene, taking it all in, probably seeing Justin’s scowl as the source to Hannah’s grieving.  “Justin Lewis Kirkland!  What have you done now?”

Hannah turned around, and before Justin could say anything, she exclaimed, “Oh, Mary Alice!  Nothing!  He did nothing wrong, I promise.  I was just thinking about my dad, and...and Justin has been very kind, and...and well, I don’t particularly like hospitals very much, not since Daddy passed away, and now with Josie being here...”