There was no way that Brock had taken care of Tiana. Although, his family seemed nice enough. And he was so happy that she had Pops, which reminded him, he should call Pops and let him know.
He placed the cloth on Tiana’s forehead and couldn’t help himself from leaning down and kissing her head. On the way out of the room, he was surprised when he saw that Tiana was getting a call from Golden Years. Talk about perfect timing.
“Hello,” he answered, thinking it would be Pops or Cindy, who worked at the front desk.
“Hello, I was calling for Tiana Matthews,” a man’s voice sounded.
“She’s not feeling well. This is Niko Costas. Is everything okay with Mr. Matthews, with Pops?”
“Oh, okay, hi Mr. Costas, yes, I’ve heard a lot about you. This is Dr. Best and the reason I’m calling is, I’m sure you’re aware, the surgery is scheduled in December.”
No. No, he was not.
“There’s been a change in the surgeon’s schedule. She will no longer be in Sacramento on those dates due to a private family situation. She is, however, going to be in Silver Cove for the next two weeks. She’s going to be at Pine Ridge for the next week, and I can book an ER tomorrow. I know the space will get taken, so if you could just have her call me at her earliest convenience, the sooner the better.”
“Let me have the phone!”
Niko could hear Pops in the background.
“Mr. Matthews would like to?—”
“Niko!” Pops barked.
“Hi, Pops.”
“What’s goin’ on with Tiny?”
Niko loved the nickname Tiny for Tiana. He could only imagine a tiny little Tiana in Pops liquor store the day after she ‘robbed’ it with her crayon drawings of candy. It must have broken Pops’ heart.
“She woke up with a fever, I’m here with her. Zion and Shayne are covering her classes, and Liam is coming over to check on her in the next hour. I’m staying with her.”
“Good, you do that, and let her be. If my insurance doesn’t cover this, then I don’t need the dang surgery. I’m not gonna put Tiny in the hole for that! If it’s my time, it’s my time.”
Oh, so that’s what this was about. It was about payment. For once, this was something Niko could fucking do something about. And Niko did not think Tiana would appreciate Pops talking like that, saying things like, “If it’s my time, it’s my time.”
“Okay, Pops. I won’t wake her up, I promise. Can I speak to Dr. Best again?”
“Yes.” Dr. Best spoke when he was back on the line.
“Is this just a financial issue or is anything else? Is everyone else on board?”
“Yes. We are all in agreement that this is the way forward.”
“Whatever financial arrangements need to be made, I will be taking full responsibility for them.”
“Okay.”
Dr. Best went over who would call him back and then gave him a rough idea of what he could expect the next day. As soon as he got off the phone, Niko went back into the room and woke Tiana up.
“Tiana, hey.”
One lid opened, while the other remained glued shut.
“The surgery, for Pops, he’s having it tomorrow.”
“Okay.” She nodded and closed her singular opened lid.
“Did you hear me?” he asked, wanting her not just to hear but to comprehend.
