It's fucking freezing outside and Vivian waves to me while I get on my bike and start the engine flipping her off, "What's going on Casey?"
"Dad- he's in the hospital." Dad?
Fuck, "I'm on my way."
I reach the hospital as soon as I can and find my siblings and Mom in the waiting room.
"Adrian, what are you doing here? Casey I told you not to call him," she mumbles. Casey looks up at her teary-eyed, while Mom's expression softens.
I hug him close and wipe his tears, "It's okay little man you did the right thing." I hug Liam who wakes up and I give him and Casey ten bucks to go get snacks for everyone from the vending machine.
"You didn't have to come Adrian. We're leaving as soon as I know why they called me."
"Like hell, I didn't have to. Tell me why Dad's in the hospital and when he came back," I'm careful not to yell since the rest of my siblings are sleeping and Luna is in Mom's lap.
Right then the Doctor comes out.
"Mrs. DiCaprio," Mom winces at the last name since she's been going by her maiden since he left. "I'm Dr. Singh, your husband's oncologist. Unfortunately, we've diagnosed stage two liver cancer. I'm sorry I don't have better news."
The words are like a blow to my chest.
"We believe a liver transplant would be the best course of treatment but that isn't possible until he's stabilized. Preferably, since it's indicated he's a drinker- we think a family donor would work best."
I feel like a bastard as the first words out of my mouth are, "How much would the transplant cost?"
"It would be a few hundred grand." Who the fuck is going to donate their liver? Not me.
The doctor leaves us to process the information and Mom looks distraught.
"What am I going to tell the kids?" She breathes out. That their father drank away his liver and is now asking for theirs. But I don't say that.
"You'll tell them Dad isn't feeling well. And that he needs to stay here so they don't get sick." None of them would want to meet him anyways. Not even baby Luna.
"It's not our responsibility to take care of him. They called me because I was still his registered emergency contact," she's hesitant to say it because she doesn't want it to seem like she's condemning him to death if she doesn't help.
She's right though, he left. He is not our responsibility.
"Momma," I hear Luna mumble rubbing her eyes. She looks at me and I smile but she just rubs her eyes again in confusion.
"Hi sweetheart," I smile down at her.
"Ady," she giggles.
I pick her up and hug her. If anything can make me feel better it's a hug from her. Her small arms make their way around my neck as I pick her up. She feels so tiny in my arms.
The rest of my siblings wake up and immediately rush over to me. "Adrian I missed you," Addison tells me.
"I missed you too Addy." The back of my mind swirls with issues of cost. I don't know what my father has been doing these past six years but finding a stable job isn't one of them.
The nurse tells her the bill will be coming to her and Mom refuses to pay. She explains that they're divorced and she is no longer obligated to shoulder his shitshow of a life and leaves.
Shortly after Dad had left, she filed for divorce which he happily accepted.
Fuck America's healthcare system.
"Mom, I gotta get back to school by Monday but I'll stay the night at the house. You need rest."
She nods and I pick Luna up with Reese on my back and we head to the corner. I know they miss me so I take them with me while Luna refuses to part with Mom.
"Can we get ice cream? Please," I hear Reese's request. It's 2 degrees but when has that stopped us. I stop at the local ice cream shop.
"Adrian, no way man, when'd you come back to visit?" Tony asks.
Tony is a senior in high school and I knew him from when I was in school. He was also Italian and had a father with temper issues.
"Just came back today. My old man's in the hospital so I'm helping out before going back to school on Monday."
"He's back? That's shitty, sorry about your Pops."
"Bound to happen sooner or later.".
"Doesn't make it much easier." No, it doesn't. The kids are too distracted by the ice cream flavors that they aren't paying attention to our conversation.
We order and get Luna some before heading home.
The house looks the same. A ranch house with a driveway covered in snow.
The inside looks the same I think as I walk in. The potted plants my mom loves so much, framed pictures of us without my dad, and the furniture we've owned since before I was born.
It's a simple three bedroom with two bathrooms and a small kitchen and living space. Narrow staircase. I shared a room with Casey and Liam until I moved out while Reese and Addison kept one. Luna later moved in with Addison and Reese with the boys.
I get a text from the boys asking me where the hell I went and I tell them what happened.
'Everything okay?" - Devontae
"You need anything from us?" - Luke
"Call if you need anything." - JJ
They know the family situation. They know what's happening. But they also know I don't accept handouts or pity.
I decide to sleep on the couch and give the boys their space but they end up falling asleep on me. I chuckle to myself. I missed them more than I care to admit.
In the middle of the night, I still can't sleep. Eighteen years in this house and every mark on the wall has a story behind it.
The pink marker Addison drew with. The scratch from when I broke the overhead lamp with a basketball. The cracked window from that time it rained so hard our power went out. The winter storm when we made a fort in our room and the chair accidentally marked the wall.
I walk downstairs to see Mom on the table looking over papers. Please don't tell me those are foreclosure papers.
"Mom, what are those?"
"Newspaper articles. I kept every single one since the first time you were mentioned," she slides them across the kitchen table along with a scrapbook. "Addy made a scrapbook out of them," she laughs.
"She's always been crafty," a natural artist.
"They miss you. I miss you. How's school?" She gets up to make hot chocolate for me.
"We don't have to talk about that, Mom." I shake my head at her and she furrows her brows, "And why not? Are you failing out?" she smiles because she knows I'm too smart to be flunking.
"Because there are things more important than me."
"Nothing is more important than you." She warms the milk in a pot careful not to spill any while mixing it with the powder.
"It's good. Practice before march madness begins. Classes are boring and easy as usual."
"JJ's Mom tells me and Charlene that you guys are getting worked over by King." She and the moms talk all the time. Besides Luke's at least. She could care less about sports.
"It's the usual. He's getting us in shape to be a champion team."
"You're already a champion team. At least he's there to keep you focused. Tell me your grades are keeping up with basketball though."
"They are. I promise." She fills two mugs and adds ReadyWhip to the top of each and hands one to me. The mug is purple and says, 'You make the world a better place,' obviously Addy's choice.
"Any girls?" Mom has never been one to focus on my relationships but ever since I became a senior she's added it into our conversations.
Genevieve lingers in the back of my mind and I don't reply soon enough which she catches, "What's her name?"
"Genevieve," I smile, "Gigi." Cherry.
"She must be serious, you're smiling. And actually telling me about her," she takes a sip from her mug and looks excited, bombarding me with a million questions.
"Nothing serious. Not yet at least." She looks at me knowingly like she realizes I'm totally whipped.
"When she does become serious, I'm going to say I told you so."
"I'm looking forward to that day."
_________
The next morning we wake up late and make breakfast burritos before I go to the arcade with them so Mom can get some rest.
I do some grocery shopping with them and I do the laundry. I also get the kids to clean their rooms before fixing mom's car. I worked at the car repair shop down the street all through high school so I fixed her Honda Fit and Luna helped me wash it. Her body was drowning in the large coat.
By 5:00 pm I had to leave so I could get my classwork done for the week. That way I could focus on basketball and boxing.
It was an emotional goodbye for my siblings and Mom since I don't see them often.
"Call me again if something happens," I tell Casey. He nods up at me and I hug him goodbye.
Getting back to campus, I step into the house. It's silent so that means the boys are out.
I decided to text Genevieve. Even her name is pretty. Gigi is a cool nickname. It's almost as if vintage and modern language collide.
8 pm. Saturday.
Ace. Any specifics?
Wear something nice Cherry. Preferably red.
Do I get to know where we're going?
Nope.
See you then:)
She's so fucking adorable.
I read for a little while with a new book called The Road by Cormac McCarthy. It's about a father-son duo attempting to survive a global catastrophe. Reminds me of my father and me except it's me trying to survive a catastrophe he keeps adding to.
"You're home," I look up and see Luke.
"Yeah, I got home around an hour ago. Where were you?" I ask.
"Working out. How are your folks?" He asks, opening a beer.
"They're fine," I say nonchalantly. He knows not to ask much more. I'm an incredibly private person. I don't like showcasing my shitshow father or flaunting my poverty in front of people.
"When's your date with Genevieve?"
"Saturday," I reply as he hands me a beer.
"Just don't take her somewhere you've taken another girl. That one really screwed me over."
He knows I don't date, "I definitely won't." I'm also not dumb as shit.
It's not entirely his fault. There are only so many places in Chicago and he's used them all.
"Or remember that time you flirted with that girl and she called you boring?"
"Say one more fucking word and I'll kick your ass."
"You say the sweetest things, A."
Devontae and JJ walk in with towels around their necks and head straight for the fridge, "Coach asked admin for a new sauna and they approved it."
"Can you believe it, a new hot tub too," Devontae adds.
We attempt to make dinner and do it decently and for a few hours, I forget my fucked up father's freight of crap he left on us.