No Longer Waiting For You Chapter 03
At seven that evening, the hospital room door swung open. Rodney glared at me, immediately on the offensive.
“Claire cooked this huge dinner specifically for you. Why didn’t you show up?”
Claire walked in right behind him, holding Macey’s hand. “Olivia, I’m so sorry. Rodney spent all that time helping me fix my plumbing yesterday. This is completely my fault.”
She was wearing a khaki coat. Rodney had bought it for her just last month using his year-end bonus.
When I had asked him for a new winter coat, he’d told me, “You stay home with the kids all day. Spending money on nice clothes for you is a waste.”
I stared at Rodney, finding the sheer absurdity of the situation almost unbelievable. “Tanny is seriously sick in the hospital, and you chose to go have dinner at another woman’s house?”
“Olivia, this isn’t Rod’s fault,” Claire sighed, playing the peacemaker. “Raising Macey on my own is incredibly hard, so I rely on him for stuff around the house. When Macey ran a fever in the middle of the night recently, he drove us to the hospital and stayed the whole night.”
Macey stood near the hospital bed, swinging a Princess Elsa doll by her side.
“Mommy, that doll is really pretty,” Tania whispered, tugging weakly at the hem of my shirt.
“Mr. Barston bought this limited edition one for me,” Macey bragged, tilting her chin up proudly. Tania immediately dropped her gaze and started picking at her fingers.
Rodney frowned, setting a bakery box on the nightstand. “Look, enough arguing. I came to see Tanny, didn’t I? Claire mentioned Macey wanted a strawberry cake, so I bought an extra one while I was at it.”
While he was at it? He had stayed over there to eat a huge dinner with Claire and her daughter. Then, as a complete afterthought, he’d grabbed a cake on his way to see his own hospitalized daughter.
“I texted you this afternoon, telling you Tanny had a seizure and was rushed to the ER. Did you even read it?”
“Yeah, I saw it,” he said dismissively, pulling out his phone and swiping at the screen. “It’s just a fever. All kids get fevers. You’re overreacting.”
Claire quickly stepped in to smooth things over. “Olivia, please don’t be mad. Rod was up working until four this morning. He’s exhausted. It’s my fault—if I knew how to fix the plumbing myself, none of this would have happened.”
Rodney gently patted her shoulder. “This has nothing to do with you,” he told her softly. “Don’t take the blame.”
He opened the cake box, picked up a plastic fork, and fed the largest strawberry directly to Macey. “Is it good? Eat slowly so you don’t choke.”
“It’s good. Thank you, Mr. Barston,” Macey beamed.
Tania watched them, swallowing hard. “Mom,” she whispered, “I want some strawberries, too.”
Rodney paused and frowned. “I got these for Macey. You can’t have any. Your fever just broke, and eating sweets is only going to make you sick again.”
Right then, the hospital room door swung open. Konnor walked in carrying a thermos and a bakery box.
“Liv, I made some oatmeal for you and Tania,” he said. “And I brought this strawberry cake. I checked with the doctor, and Tanny is allowed to have a little bit now.”
He set it on the tray table and popped the box open. The words “Get Well Soon, Tanny” were written across the top in chocolate frosting. Reaching into his bag, he pulled out a gold-foil hardcover edition of “Guess How Much I Love You” and handed it to her.
“This is your birthday present, Tanny,” he said softly. “I’m so sorry I couldn’t be there to help you blow out your candles yesterday.”
Tania broke into a huge smile, grabbing the picture book and hugging it tight to her chest. “Thank you, Mr. Warrington!”
Konnor just smiled and gave her head a gentle pat.
A few steps away, Rodney was still gripping the fork he’d been using to feed Macey. He looked pale, his jaw tight. “Olivia, what is this about? Who are you trying to impress by calling him down here?”
I looked at him, completely calm. “What? You refuse to step up and be a father, and now you’re mad that someone else actually wants to care for Tanny?”
Claire tugged at his sleeve, looking entirely too pleased by the drama. “Rod, just let it go. Let’s get out of here so we don’t disturb Tanny’s rest.”
He nodded and followed her out into the hall. Just before the door clicked shut, I caught him looking back over his shoulder, his eyes locked on the picture book in Tania’s hands.
For the first time, he looked genuinely panicked.
