“I recorded the wedding ceremony for you. I’ll send it tonight, okay?”
“Thank you. I would love to see it.”
Before I can dig myself any deeper, she switches gears.
“There is another reason I called. Your father’s physical therapist pulled me aside yesterday,” she says softly. “He wanted us to know there’s… something new.”
Everything in me goes still.
“What happened?” I ask.
“It’s a clinical trial,” she says. “Regenerative nerve work. Very advanced. It’s still very early, but they are seeing huge benefits. Some people are regaining mobility—some even walking again. It’s overseas, and it’s… well, it’s really expensive, Scottie. More than we could ever afford. And the waiting list could be ten years.”
I stop walking completely.
“Ten years?” I echo.
“Yes,” she says, voice trembling. “And your father already said no. We’d have to borrow against the house to even come close. He’s refusing now that the house is almost paid off. He doesn’twant to leave me in debt if something happens to him, just for a small chance to walk again, but…”
My throat tightens. Hard.
“Ma,” I say. “If there’s even a chance he could walk again, I’ll pay of it—”
“We can’t ask you to—”
“You’re not asking,” I cut in. “I’m telling you. I’ll handle the cost. Whatever it is. We’re applying.”
“Scottie—”
“No,” I say firmly. “I don’t care if the list is ten years long. I don’t care what it costs. If there’s even a sliver of hope that he could get better, then we’re trying. End of discussion.”
She sniffles softly. The sound hits me straight in the gut.
“You’re a good son,” she says, her voice cracking, trying to keep the emotions together.
“I had good teachers,” I say quietly.
And seeing how Katerina was raised, I realize even more how good I had it being raised by my parents. If I can give anything back to them, I’m happy to do it.
There’s a beat of silence where I can almost feel her smiling at that.
“Just… call me next time?” she whispers. “I want to know the girl who made my son get married without warning. I am a matchmaker after all. Whatever skills she has, I would love to borrow them to get some of these men from dragging their feet to the altar.”
I let out a laugh.If your client has a brother, teach him how to shoot pool.It worked for Luka,I want to say, but I don’t.
“Yeah,” I breathe. “You’ll meet her soon, and you can get all her tips.”
We say our goodbyes, and I pocket the phone. Relief floods that at least my mother won’t hate me forever, but the thing that’s sticking with me now is my dad’s health.
I need to find a way to get him into that trial. But not in ten years… I need to get him in now.
The Commons rises in front of me, glass windows catching the fading afternoon light. The building looks familiar and strange at the same time—like it used to be just an apartment complex, but now it’s also the place where my wife is waiting upstairs with chamomile tea and tired feet and a text from her father that terrified her.
No matter how hard I try to play it cool, this thing, this marriage, this woman… has already crawled under my skin.
And I’m not sure I want her to leave.
Chapter Eleven
