Jaz shook her head. “Nothing yet. But Sam was just telling me about the project you’re working on—something about antibody therapy to cure cancer?”
Sam smiled and leaned over to brush a kiss against Ollie’s cheek as Ollie handed him one of the cups of coffee and a pastry. “Because my boyfriend is a genius and is going to help change the world.”
Ollie felt his cheeks heat up, and he ducked his head to hide his embarrassment. He knew Sam was proud of the work he did, but Ollie was a bit more of a realist.
“Well, that’s the ultimate goal—finding a cure. But cancer is such a multifaceted group of diseases. We have an approach we’re working on now that might help... At least, that’s what we’re hoping. The plan is for it to be a broad but also highly targeted therapy that is effective against a range of different cancers. But we’re still in the early stages of development, and it’ll be a while.”
Ollie felt Sam’s knee bump into his, and he lifted his eyes again to see Sam grinning at him while biting into his pastry.
“See, he’s a genius,” Sam declared, and Ollie shook his head.
“It does sound promising,” Jaz agreed. “I mean, not that I know anything about antibodies or cancer therapy.”
With a quiet laugh, Ollie took a sip of his coffee, set his cup and pastry down on the table next to his chair, and then said, “Itisa unique approach, and—”
Just across from them, Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds both suddenly stood. Jaz twisted around toward the double doors, and at the same time, Sam pushed himself to his feet, his coffee nearly spilling. Ollie and Jaz followed, both standing up quickly as nurse Janice, accompanied by a doctor Ollie hadn’t yet met, started over toward them.
An immediate, collective sigh of relief seemed to spread through the group as the doctor gave them a big smile and nod. Ollie set his hand gently on Sam’s arm as his boyfriend shuddered. He then gave Sam a reassuring squeeze, and whenSam turned to look at him, his eyes shining with more fresh tears, Ollie smiled softly and took the coffee cup out of Sam’s hands. He set the coffee next to his own cup and then straightened back up to wrap an arm around Sam’s waist.
The doctor stopped in front of them and nodded again. “The surgery was a success, and Barry is back in recovery now. It might be several hours before he wakes up, as we discussed yesterday, Jaz,” the doctor explained.
Jaz wiped her eyes and nodded. “Yeah, I remember. Um...” She seemed to sway, and Sam moved away from Ollie and reached out to pull her up against him.
Ollie’s heart stuttered as he watched them embrace, Sam holding her smaller frame up against his much larger one. Sam then murmured a few gentle words to Jaz before she sniffled, wiped her eyes again, and nodded.
She straightened back up and then stepped over to hug both of her parents. Sam watched the exchange, his expression taut, but he made no move to approach either of them, and instead, he blinked and looked back at Ollie. It hurt—seeing the pain and resignation in Sam’s eyes—and Ollie automatically reached over and took Sam’s hand in his, pulling Sam closer to him. He felt Sam’s tension ease almost immediately, and he gave Sam’s hand a gentle squeeze.
With a shuddering breath, Sam nodded, almost as though he was resetting himself, and he turned back to the doctor. “When—when can we see him?” Sam asked, his voice unsteady and filled with emotion.
The doctor seemed to defer to nurse Janice, who smiled kindly and nodded.
“Once we get him moved back into his room, which should be in the next hour or so, he can have up to two visitors at a time,” she explained. “But again, it’s normal for him not to wake up for several hours.”
“Does anyone have any questions right now?” the doctor asked. He turned and addressed Jaz again, and Ollie realized they had probably already spoken at length. “We’re still expecting he’ll need to be here for about a week before we can discharge him, and then he’s going to need a good support system at home for several weeks. Seems like that shouldn’t be a problem, with all of you here for him now.”
Ollie risked a glance at Sam’s parents then. Mr. Reynolds’s eyes were trained on the doctor, although he said nothing. Mrs. Reynolds had one arm almost protectively around Jaz’s shoulders, and the permanent scowl on her face didn’t waver, even as she seemed to realize Ollie’s eyes were on her. She looked directly at him, her frown deepening, and then shifted her focus back to the doctor, who had started summarizing what was going to happen with Barry in the next hour or so while they continued to monitor him in the recovery room.
Her obvious dislike of Ollie was almost unsettling, although not as unsettling as the fact that she and Mr. Reynolds treated their son just as poorly. Ollie hadn’t really encountered many people who were quite as open with their homophobia as Sam’s parents, especially after he’d moved back to the Pacific Northwest. But he also knew he had a loving mother waiting back at home for him—he had that unconditional love and acceptance that he’d always had, that he knew he’d always have.
He hoped Sam knew he had that too. Ollie’s mom adored Sam. And Ollie himself...
Ollie scooted closer to Sam and released his hand so he could slip his arm around Sam’s waist again. Sam let out a short breath, glanced down at Ollie with a weak smile, and then turned back to listen to the rest of what the doctor had to say.
As the doctor finished, Sam reached forward to shake his hand.
“Thank you so much. It’s...” Sam trailed off and shook his head as though he couldn’t find any more words.
With a nod, Ollie spoke up. “I think what Sam wants to say is that it’s wonderful to know Barry has been in such great hands,” Ollie said.
Sam nodded. “Y-yeah. Yeah, thanks, love. Um... Thank you, doctor. And Janice. And please, thank your whole team for me—for us.”
A tear slipped down Sam’s cheek, and he sniffled as he reached up to brush it away. Ollie tightened his arm around his boyfriend.
Mr. Reynolds chose that moment to speak up, stepping forward in a way that almost blocked Sam from the doctor. “We do appreciate everything, doctor.”
He too offered the doctor a handshake, and then, the doctor and nurse Janice finished up, letting the group know one of the nurses would be back out with more updates as they came. A few minutes later, the group was alone again in the waiting room.
“I’m... exhausted and could use another cup of coffee and maybe something to eat,” Jaz said, giving Ollie and Sam a half-smile.
