On the driveto the hospital, AJ’s mind was in analyze mode. He was attempting to dissect the phenomenon of Poppy’s effect on him with the academic detachment he’d spent his life cultivating. He failed. Instead, he played the voicemail again. And again. He listened to it forty-seven times before exiting the Pine Ridge off-ramp and pulling into the parking lot of the hospital. Each time, he noticed something else, the tremble on her “um,” the way she always rose in pitch when she said his name, and the odd and charmingly formal “Okay, bye” at the end, as though she wanted to be polite even in crisis. He was aware that most people would consider the behavior obsessive, but AJ had always found that repetition soothed him, it turned a rough edge into something soft and predictable.
As he parked, he attempted to fortify himself against the bombardment of high-stakes emotions and high-strung energy he was about to be faced with. His family needed him, but all he could think about was Poppy. Would he see her? Would they speak? Would she want to see him after her shift?
He cut the ignition and let the sudden cessation of vibration settle his nervous system before stepping out into the harshCalifornia sun. The air smelled like a mixture of pine sap and asphalt as he squinted and placed his hand over his eyes to guard them from a light so bright it seemed almost artificial. He blinked hard, orienting himself to be in the present, and started toward the main entrance.
The hospital was a six-floor midcentury structure painted an institutional beige, with sliding doors that hissed open and closed in a rhythm that reminded him of a giant exhaling.
Inside, the lobby was a staging area for chaos, with a toddler fussing on her mother’s lap, an elderly couple arguing in low, urgent tones, and a cluster of nurses at the information desk speaking in a language of polysyllabic abbreviations and clipped efficiency.
Before AJ could acclimatize to the new environment, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of something rushing towards him, practically tackling him like a linebacker. His mom.
She held him in a reverse choke hold, her arms squeezing tightly around the back of his neck. “Where were you? We couldn’t get ahold of you?”
AJ didn’t think it was anyone’s business where he’d been the night before, nor did it have any bearings on the circumstances at hand. “I’m here now.”
His mom sniffed back her emotion and nodded as he guided her back to the seating area and urged her to sit down. When he got her settled, he looked around and saw both his brother and Tristan were still wearing their tuxes from the night before, hair uncombed, eyes bloodshot. Tristan’s girlfriend, supermodel Emmanuelle, was seated beside him. She and Zion were being schooled by Yaya on knitting and, from what he could hear, lectured about the benefits of a full eight hours of sleep. Frankie was quietly sitting alone but she didn’t seem at all upset that herfiancé had moved on so quickly, which AJ was happy about. He never thought they should have been together in the first place.
Growing up, he always thought Liam and Frankie would end up together, despite the four-year age difference. Liam was one of the few people who Frankie didn’t have to take care of, he took care of her. And they laughed a lot when they were together, and Liam wasn’t a big laugher. They talked a lot, too, and Liam wasn’t talkative. It seemed to AJ that Liam was always more Liam around Frankie.
Which now that he thought about it…
While his mom excused herself to take a call from some of Dr. Sterling’s friends and professional associates who were calling in for an update, AJ leaned over to his brother and asked in a whisper that only they could hear, “Is Frankie wearing Liam’s clothes?”
Niko’s face scrunched in either disgust or offense, it was difficult for AJ to distinguish the two, responding at the same volume. “You didn’t read my text?!”
AJ pulled out his phone and pulled up his brother’s text thread. The third one back explained the situation.
Niko:Found Liam and Frankie... together. IN BED. Woke Liam up, he opened the door shirtless, barefoot, and in sweats. Frankie’s clothes were hanging on the chair. Saw through the crack in the door. She was still in bed.
AJ could feel his brother waiting for a reaction as he read the message. When he didn’t have one, Niko elbowed him. “Can you believe that shit?”
“Yes,” AJ replied.
“Oh, fuck off,” he whispered-yelled under his breath. “First Mom and Dr.Sterling, and now them? You didnotsee this coming.”
“Okay.” AJ never argued with his brother, there was no point.
“So why the fuck did you say, yes?” He mimicked a robotic voice.
“You asked if I could believe it, not if I predicted it.” Although, he could have done both.
“What?!” Niko grimaced in utter frustration. “What are you talking about?”
“I always thought they should be together.”
“No, you didn’t.”
“Yes, I did.”
“Fuck off,” Niko repeated. It was one of his favorite things to say. He used it for all occasions, happy, sad, frustrated, excited, nervous, confused…anything.
AJ didn’t respond.
“Okay, fine. Why, Nostradamus?” Niko demanded.
AJ had just said he did not claim to have predicted their coupling, but he wasn’t going to point that out to Niko, who seemed frustrated enough as it was.
“Temperament. Interests. Mutual respect. Communication style. Trust. Shared values—” AJ listed their commonalities.
