I spotted a little frown when she pushed the door open and tossed her keys in the glass bowl by the door. I set her bag down and grabbed her hand.
“I need to stop at my mom’s for something, but I’ll be right back here, tonight.”
I pressed her body flush to mine, my hands drifting down her back. “You know how I hate sleeping alone.” I nuzzled her neck, dropping kisses along her jaw until I covered her mouth with mine. She moaned into my mouth as the kiss heated up quicker than I’d anticipated, my anxious mind momentarily distracted by the glide of Thea’s tongue.
I forced my lips away from hers, trying to catch my breath and bring down the bulge in my jeans. A weekend away had turned us into a couple of sex fiends, which was great, but I had other important things to do today.
“See you later,” she whispered, pecking my lips before I turned to leave. A wide, dopey smile stretched my lips as I headed down her outside steps.
I jumped into my car, blasting the radio on the way and singing along like a moron. The sun was shining, the sky was clear and blue, and I was so high on life and the beautiful woman I was going to ask to marry me.
The second I closed my mother’s front door behind me, something felt off. I still had a key, and I’d texted her when we’d landed to tell her I’d be stopping by, but I found her huddled in a whisper with Steve after I came into the kitchen as if they hadn’t heard me come in. Their door had two loud locks and closed with a rattling slam no matter how much I eased it shut, so for them to not even lift their heads up when I arrived made the tiny hairs on the back of my neck stand at attention.
“What’s going on? No greeting for your baby boy?” I joked and met my mother’s tentative gaze. My heart accelerated along with my breathing as I rushed closer.
“What’s wrong? Tell me. Now.”
Steve dropped a hand to my shoulder and motioned to the kitchen table with his chin.
“Have a seat, Dom.”
I shook my head as I looked back and forth between them.
“No, I’ll stand. Just tell me.”
“Honey, please,” Mom whispered and cupped my cheek. “Just have a seat. Don’t panic, it’s all right.”
I let a little air out of my lungs and fell into one of the wooden chairs.
“First of all, tell me why you rushed over. I didn’t think you’d be able to leave Thea so fast.” She placed her hand over mine and squeezed, a big smile lifting her cheeks but not making it to her eyes.
“I…um…” I stammered, no longer feeling even an ounce of the elation I’d flown over here with. “I wanted Nonna’s ring. Thea’s the one, and I want to ask her to marry me as soon as I can.”
Mom gaped at me, her glossy eyes lighting up. “I knew it! Oh honey, I’m so happy for you,” she croaked out, her voice heavy with tears, but I wasn’t sure if they were from joy or sadness. My eyes darted to Steve, and he had the same morbid smile, like when something great happens in the midst of something awful.
“Can the two of you spill it before I have a heart attack?”
Mom took my hand in both of hers.
“I got a chest X-ray last week for that cough I can’t seem to shake. The doctor saw a mass on the bottom of one of my lungs and wasn’t sure if I had walking pneumonia so he sent me for a cat-scan on Thursday.”
The second she said ‘mass’, my heart free-fell into my stomach.
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
“Because I know how you are, kiddo. Look at you,” she chuckled, rubbing the top of my wrist. “It’s not pneumonia, it’s lung cancer, but only stage two.”
“Only?” I scoffed. The word ‘only’ didn’t belong anywhere near cancer. “You quit smoking years ago. I don’t get it.”
“She did,” Steve said, rubbing her shoulder as she kept hold of my hand. “But it doesn’t undo all the damage. We made an appointment with the oncologist for this Friday—”
“I’m going with you, and this is the last time you keep anything about this from me, got it?”
I shot up from the chair and trudged over to the sink, clutching the edge as my head drooped. My mother had cancer. The more times it rattled around my head, the more unbelievable it sounded. The thought of losing her chilled me to the bone, and I couldn’t move.
“Oh baby,” her voice was muffled as she leaned into my back. “Please don’t be upset with us. Why would we ruin your vacation for no reason?” She grabbed my shoulders and turned me around. “And your news was the best gift I could have gotten today. Thea loves you, and the two of you are going to be so happy. And let her mother know I already decided my dress will be blue for the wedding, so she needs to pick something else.” She quirked an eyebrow at me, and a smile crept across my lips.
I wrapped my arms around her and dropped my head into the crook of her shoulder, holding on as tightly as I could, as if that would stop her from getting sicker, or worse. Not many guys thought of their mother as their best friend, but she was everything to me. She had to beat this because I couldn’t consider an alternative.
