“I’ve got you now. Here, let’s go back out to the waiting room, and... Do you have anyone there to sit with?” She started moving forward slowly, supporting Sam as they walked.
“Y-yeah. Yeah. M-my—my boyfriend and—and sister, and...” He trailed off as they started down the hallway. He could see his father walking—marching, really—through the double doors already, and yet his own feet stumbled along, his steps short and unsteady. “My uncle... will he be okay?” Sam asked quietly, holding tighter to the nurse’s hand. He felt her squeeze it gently.
“There are always risks with any surgery,” she admitted. “But I can promise you that he has one of the best surgeons in the country leading the team, and they’ll do everything in their power to see that your uncle’s surgery is a success.” She patted Sam’s hand. “And I’m here, along with nurse Janice and our other staff, to help you and your family with anything you need. Okay, dear?”
She was so kind and sweet to him, and Sam couldn’t help but smile just a little as he nodded.
“Th-thank you. I . . . really appreciate this. Sorry I’m so . . . Uncle Barry is . . .”
The nurse laughed lightly and slowed just a bit to press the button on the wall and open up the double doors. “Barry seems like a pretty special guy. I know he’s very, very happy you made it here. It was all he talked about this morning, how his nephew Sam was flying in from Seattle and how he couldn’t wait to see you.”
Sam sniffled and blinked back tears as the doors in front of them opened. And as he lifted his eyes up and scanned the small waiting room, he saw Ollie stand up quickly and start jogging over toward them, his eyes filled with love and concern. A warm sense of relief flooded him, and Sam straightened himself up as his eyes locked with his boyfriend’s. He gave Ollie a small smile, wiped a tear from his eye, and then turned to the nurse.
“Thank you again. I appreciate your kindness. This has been...” He couldn’t find the words, but the nurse seemed to understand.
She smiled and nodded her head. “You’re welcome, dear. If you need anything at all, just let Kai know,” she said, tilting her head toward the blond-haired man at the reception desk. “He can get ahold of us at the nurses’ station, and we can come out and talk. Okay?”
Ollie reached them, and everything else faded into the background as Sam moved away from the nurse and straight into Ollie’s arms. The embrace was immediately what he needed—comforting warmth and love—and he let out a long, shuddering breath as his boyfriend’s hands rubbed gently up and down his back.
“Shh, now. I’ve got you,” Ollie said, and Sam felt a light kiss press into his cheek.
He didn’t cry—maybe he was all cried out, all his tears finally gone. Or maybe everything just felt that much more hopeful now that he was back in his boyfriend’s arms. The doctors and nurses had been plenty optimistic, and Barry himself had been too, although he always was—that was just his nature. But until just now, Sam hadn’t been able to really feel that same sense of hope and optimism.
Ollie spoke quietly, thanking the nurse, and then shifted back a step and took Sam’s hand. “Here, let’s sit. It’s going to be a long day, and... you look exhausted.”
A light laugh escaped Sam. “That’s a kind way of saying it, love.”
Ollie grinned up at him, squeezed his hand, and then led him over to a couple of open seats just across the aisleway from where his parents and sister now sat. Briefly, Sam wondered whether they should maybe sit... somewhere else. But he let Ollie direct him, and when they sat, Ollie quickly pulled him back into another embrace, this one just as warm and comforting as his earlier hug.
Sam closed his eyes and leaned into his boyfriend, relaxing with a long sigh. And Ollie kissed him again, this time on his temple. Another quiet gesture of love.
“Thank you for being here, Oll,” Sam whispered.
Ollie didn’t say anything, but Sam felt Ollie’s arm tighten around his shoulders, and it was almost as though he could hear the words, hear the “I love you” that he knew Ollie meant every time they hugged or kissed.
It occurred to him then that maybe he should sit up, move a respectable distance away from Ollie, to... maintain a sense of propriety. He certainly didn’t want his parents—who were sitting right across from them, not more than a few feet away—to make a scene if they decided to voice whatever nasty opinions they still had of him and his sexual orientation. He heard echoesof the past, their insults and taunts and snide remarks, and he almost,almostpulled away from Ollie.
But when Ollie’s free hand reached over to take his, the familiar, comforting touch seemed to chase away all that past negativity, reminding him just how much he was loved. Ollie loved him, and Katherine, she loved him too. And...
Sam opened his eyes and met the kind gaze of his sister, Jaz. She smiled at him, her eyes glistening with unshed tears of her own, and then she nodded—a tiny, almost imperceptible nod, but a nod nonetheless.
She loved him too. She’d... changed. Not just in the last few months, since the last time he’d spoken with her, but a change that had been happening for a long time, he realized. She’d just had to figure out how to navigate everything, play “nice” with their parents. But she’d told him this morning how grateful she was that he was here, how happy she was to see him. She’d given him a big hug, and that had felt... amazing.
He avoided his parents’ gazes, even though he couldfeelthe disapproval, the disappointment, and instead, he closed his eyes and settled again with his head on Ollie’s shoulder, his hand gripping Ollie’s.
Hewasloved. And he was hopeful—and optimistic—that his uncle would make it through surgery and on his way to a full recovery. And he had all the support he needed to help him get through this day, no matter what was to come.
Chapter 17
Ollie walked slowly down the hallway, balancing two cups of coffee and a couple of individually wrapped pastries from the hospital cafeteria. He’d tried to talk Sam into leaving for a bit so they could sit down and have a full meal—pastries were not enough, especially considering Sam hadn’t had anything to eat since the night before in Seattle. However, Sam hadn’t wanted to leave the waiting room, just in case, and Ollie couldn’t really say he blamed him for that.
There had been no news. At least, not when Ollie had left about fifteen minutes ago. No news, even after four hours. The nurses had told Sam the surgery would be somewhere between three and six hours, and so every minute that stretched on beyond three hours had started to make everyone more tense.
Twice, Sam’s father had gone up to Kai—the man at the reception desk—and had asked for updates, and nurse Janice had come out and explained that the surgery was going well, everything was fine. Or at least, that was the gist of things, from the few words Mr. Reynolds had decided to share with them. Things were tense enough without them pushing for more detail.
Ollie rounded the corner and entered the waiting room. He smiled as he saw Jaz sitting next to Sam, holding his hand while talking with him quietly. She reached up and wiped a tear from her eye as she nodded, and then they both laughed lightly, the sound filling Ollie’s heart with hope.
“No news still?” Ollie asked as he slid into the seat next to Sam.
