“Yes, of course.”Except Marty had been the fitness enthusiast. I’d trailed along for the ride, but he’d been in peak health. Cancer hadn’t given a fuck about that—
“Are you okay?” Andre’s brow furrowed.
“Of course.” Because that was what I always responded. I sighed. “Okay, maybe not. Marty was the fit one of the two of us. He took such good care of his body. I should’ve been the one to get cancer—not him.”
“My mom died of cancer as well. She just…healthy one day, in the hospital the next, and sort of dead just after that. It all happened so fast. I didn’t have time to prepare. Although—” He rubbed his face. “—can you ever prepare for something like that?”
“Only in that we’re all going to die. I guess it depends on your religion. Or your faith—”
“I don’t have a religion. I don’t have a faith.”
“Okay, that’s fair.”
“How about you?” He eyed me as if trying to discern my position on all this.
“I was raised in the Hindu faith. I might’ve strayed in my adulthood, but I still believe in a power greater than myself—if that makes sense.”
He shook his head. “We’re born, we die, and that’s an end to it.”
This time, I tried to figure him out. “But your mother lives on through you. Through your memories of her.”
“I supposed. But when I die, there’ll be nothing left. No more Fultons.” He cocked his head. “Right?”
“You don’t have any full siblings, so directly from your specific parents? No. But you know there are other Fultons. Demetrius…and I assume your siblings down in Texas—”
“Yeah.”
“And you might marry. Might have children with your last name.”
“It’s not a good last name. I wish I’d had my mother’s.”
“There’s nothing to stop you from changing your last name. Maybe—” I considered. “Maybe meet Demetrius before you make the final decision.
“I don’t know if I’ll have the courage to do that.” He bit his lower lip.
“Demetrius doesn’t know you’re coming?”
“Today? No. I just said I was going to but was, you know, evasive when he asked for details.”
“Okay. So what’s the plan?” I snuck a peek out the window to still see fields everywhere.
Andre rubbed his face again. “I don’t really have one.”
“Have you booked a hotel?”
He shrugged.
Okay, that’s not helpful. Push or ease back?No, I had to push. The guy needed to know where he was staying tonight. “It’s the Canada Day long weekend. Most of the hotels will be booked.”
He scrunched his nose. Clearly this wasn’t something he’d considered.
“Look, I can get my laptop and I can see if I can find you a hotel room in Mission City. Otherwise, we might find something in Abbotsford. They’re a larger city with more options. Or AirBNB? Would something like that suit?”
He cleared his throat. “I…don’t have money.”
I blinked. “Like you don’t have cash?”
After a long moment, he shook his head. “I mean…just nothing. I quit my job, put my stuff in storage, gave up my apartment, and bought a plane ticket.”
