The Best Day of My Life

by Lynda Throsby

  We head back home, back to reality and our newly renovated house in the Hollywood Hills. It’s the one thing we agreed we would invest some money in. It has an infinity pool, and the views of L.A. are stunning. It is quite a big house but Evelyn fell in love with it, visualizing what it could look like, and the extra rooms ready for when we start a family. I think it’s too big, but Evelyn wanted it. All our things were put in while we were on honeymoon, so it’s exciting heading back to our new home and spending our first night there together as husband and wife.

  We concentrate on our business. We have eleven games being developed at the moment with three under contract — gaming is just exploding. We look at filling our offices with more employees. It’s growing fast.

  We both decide we want a few years to dedicate to ourselves and growing the business before we start a family. Neither of us is in a rush. We are still only twenty-one. We have plenty of time and want to enjoy each other.

  Present

  I WAKE UP with a start. It’s a nurse coming in to take Evelina’s observations and to start prepping her for surgery. I’m aching. This cot they gave me to sleep on is way too small for my six-foot-three frame. I look up and see the Evs sitting crossed legged on the bed, looking down on me.

  “Morning, Evs,” I mumble trying to get up. I slept better than I thought I would. Maybe with all the stress and lack of sleep the night before, then the relief. I hear them both giggle. I peep up and see them whispering.

  “What’s so funny?” I say yawning and trying to stretch the kink out of my neck before lifting my arms above my head to stretch. They both giggle again, and right now it’s the best sound in the world.

  “Dad, did you take your clothes off last night?’ Evander asks me pointing to my bare chest. I look down and see what he’s pointing at, then look to the side of me where there is a young nurse frozen, looking down at me. I follow her gaze and yep, sure enough, I’m naked to the waist with a thin sheet barely clinging to me and just about covering my modesty. I do have boxers on, but they are the skin tight ones. Looking down my bare chest and legs, it doesn’t look like I have anything on. The Evs carry on giggling while I take in what the nurse is ogling at. Maybe it’s my abs that have her frozen in place. I go to move, and she gasps and turns away. I smile, then pull the sheet around my waist and get up. I grab my jeans and slip them on underneath the sheet.

  “You can turn round now, nurse. Dad’s got his jeans on. He won’t flash you,” Evelina tells the nurse. I scowl at her.

  “I had my boxers on anyway!” I say indignantly. The young nurse turns straight into my bare chest. She steps back blushing, and her eyes drag over my bare torso to my waist where my jeans are not fastened. She licks her lips and drags her bottom lip between her teeth. I don’t think she realizes what she’s doing.

  “Ahem,” I say, and her eyes dart to my face. I have a big smile plastered there and wink at her.

  “Oh s-s-sorry. I forgot something.” She turns and practically runs out of the room. The Evs roll around on the bed, laughing hysterically.

  “Dad, you’re so mean. She liked looking at your muscles. Like all the ladies do when you don’t have a top on,” Evelina says rolling her eyes at me and falling back on the bed. I laugh at her then remember her surgery yesterday.

  “Evelina, please be careful of your cut. You don’t want it coming open.” I go to make sure it’s not bleeding while grabbing my t-shirt and fastening my jeans. It’s a good job I didn’t have morning wood. That poor nurse would have run out screaming. I laugh to myself — not the thoughts I should be having now.

  “How do you feel this morning, poppet?”

  “Ok, I think. I have a little pain in my tummy, but not much. I’m just a little scared about my surgery today, Daddy. Will it be all right? Will you be here when I wake up? Will it hurt? Like really hurt, afterward?”

  “Oh, poppet, don’t be scared. I will be here in this room waiting for you. I’m not going anywhere. I’m not going to lie to you, it will be sore afterward, and you will have to take it really easy. No running around for a few weeks or jumping on beds or fighting with Evander. You have to be very careful. You will stay here for maybe a week, then I can take you home to look after you. When you are healed from surgery, that’s when you will need the other medicine to make you better.”

  “But I’m confused.”

  “What about?”

  “If they are taking the poorly thing from me because it can’t be fixed and that will make me better, why do I need another medicine that’s going to make me poorly to make me better?” . It’s very confusing all this being poorly?” I laugh at her and kiss her forehead.

  “I know it’s confusing. The thing that has made your kidney broken is called a tumor, and some might still be in your body. They take the kidney out because it can’t be fixed. Then, when you are healed, they give you the medicine to make sure the tumor is gone completely. The medicine makes you poorly because it kills any tumor still in your body. Does that make sense?” She nods and shrugs.

  “I think so. So I have a tumor in my kidney, and they take my kidney out, but give me medicine to kill any tumor that might want to stay in my body?”

  “You, Miss Evelina, are one smart little girl and your daddy tells you perfectly. Smart, beautiful, and brave. What more could anyone want?” Dr. Cassidy says from the door. She was obviously listening and didn’t want to interrupt.

  “Morning, Doctor,” the three of us say at the same time.

  “Good morning, Tourney family. How is my patient this morning? I heard your daddy gave my nurse a bit of a start just now?” She smiles and winks at Evelina before looking at me. I just shrug.

  “I had my boxers on.” I smile and wink back. She actually blushes a bit. The Evs snigger.

  “Here we go again,” Evander says rolling his eyes. We all look at him as if to say ‘what?’ but the Doctor quickly turns the subject to Evelina.

  “The nurse will come and do your observations.” She leans in close to Evelina. “Maybe when your daddy uses the bathroom,” she whispers.

  “Then they will get you ready for surgery. Mr. Al Syed will do the surgery. He is one of our best doctors, and I will be there in theatre with you all the time. Not that you will know because you’ll be dreaming about your turtle and Stitch here,” she says picking them both up.

  “Are you ready for this, sweetie? Do you have anything you want to ask me?” Evelina shakes her head.

  “No, Daddy told me everything.” She takes the teddies from the doctor and cuddles them.

  Just like yesterday, I go with her, holding her hand as far as they will let me.

  “I love you, Evelina. I will see you really soon. Make sure you have some nice dreams in there. Love you to the moon and back, poppet.”

  “Love you back from the moon to us forever. See you soon.” They whip her through the doors quickly. I just crouch down where I am, with my head in my hands, praying everything goes well. I look up to the ceiling asking Evelyn to watch over her and bring her back safe to me. I can feel the tears rolling down my cheek. There’s a hand on my shoulder. I turn, and it’s the young nurse who flew out of the room earlier.

  “She will be fine, Mr. Tourney. She’s in the best hands in there.”

  I get up. “Thank you, nurse, and sorry about earlier.”

  She shrugs, goes a bit red, and then leaves through the theatre doors.

  Evander and I go for breakfast at the hospital restaurant.

  “You okay, buddy? You’ve been very quiet. You know she’s going to be okay, right?”

  “Yeah, Dad, I know. I’m still worried though. Will they get all the cancer from her? My friend at school lost his mum to cancer. She had surgery to get rid of it, but it came back, and she died. Will that happen to Lina?”

  “Nothing is certain in this world, son. We have to get on as best we can no matter what life throws at us. Evelina’s cancer is at the lowest stage, which is really good and means it shouldn’t have spre
ad. They are almost sure the surgery will get rid of it, and the chemo is a precaution to make sure it’s gone. We just have to hope and pray that it is the end.”

  “I hope so. I would be so sad if anything happened to Lina. We know you miss mom every day, and I think I kind of understand that now. You always say mom was your life — your other half, but Lina actually is half of me.” Wow. Ten years old and he talks like he’s my age.

  “You know, buddy, you make me so damn proud to be your dad. You are the smartest ten-year-old I know. Except me when I was ten, of course.” We both laugh. It’s what we need to lighten the mood.

  I’m back in Evelina’s room with Evander when Sonia arrives with clean clothes for us. She brought my PJ bottoms so I don’t scare any more nurses after Evander told her about the incident with the nurse this morning when she phoned. I’m sitting on a chair with my leg jumping when Sonia puts her hand on my knee to stop it.

  “It’s always been your telltale that you’re nervous.” I didn’t even know I was doing it.

  “It’s been four hours now. Something must be wrong. The doctor said it should be two to three hours.” Panic is setting in big time. I get up and go to the door to look down the corridor. Nothing, no sign of her, but I do see Alana, the lady I met yesterday, standing there, leaning against the wall. She has her head back on the wall, and her eyes closed. I decide to walk to her and see if she’s okay. If I stay in the corridor, I won’t miss Evelina coming back.

  She hears me approach and looks at me. I can see she’s been crying again. I hope her daughter Caroline is okay.

  “Hi, Alana, are you okay? Is Caroline okay?” I ask when I get near her. She nods and wipes under her eyes.

  “Yeah, she’s okay, or as okay as she can be. It just gets hard you know. I needed a minute. I refuse to let her see me upset — she has enough to worry about. I usually sneak off when she’s sleeping to have a cry.” She shrugs. I know what she means though.

  “Yeah, I get it. I’m the same. I don’t want either of them knowing I’m upset to the extent I am. It’s hard trying to be upbeat when your heart is breaking for your child. How’s Caroline doing?

  “Just the same really. Just before I met you yesterday, the doctor gave me the biopsy results. It wasn’t good news. She has liver cancer, and she’s pretext three, which means she will need major surgery to remove the tumor, but she may need a liver transplant as well.” She starts crying again, and I’m not sure what to do. I don’t know if I should comfort her. Shit, what do I do? I step closer and lightly touch her arm.

  “Oh, Alana. I’m so sorry. I really know how hard this is. Is your husband with her?”

  She shakes her head no and takes a deep breath. “No, he died seven years ago — the same cancer that Caroline’s got. I can’t believe I’m going through this again.” Shit, she’s sobbing now. I just pull her into me and hold her. I don’t know if she has a partner or not, but I can’t just let her stand there crying like this. She puts her arms around my waist and cries into my chest. I hug her.

  “Let it out, Alana. Just let it go.” We stay like that for a good ten minutes while she slowly calms down. She pulls away and looks up at me.

  “I’m sorry, Theon. I’ve wet all your t-shirt now. I didn’t mean to do that but thank you. Thank you, so much. You have no idea how much I needed that. I … I feel so helpless, and I don’t have anyone to release it on.”

  “Believe me, Alana. I do know how it feels. I’ve been the same with Evelina. I lost my wife ten years ago in childbirth. I don’t have anyone except my mother-in-law. She’s looking at me with such sorrow on her face, but there’s no pity. She’s been there she knows what it’s like.

  “What a pair we are.” She smiles at me. “The similarities are bizarre.”

  Yes, they are when I think about it. Both single parents with twins, both lost our partners, and both have a child with cancer. Wow.

  Just then I hear the door at the end of the corridor and see Doctor Cassidy with the porters pushing a bed.

  “Thank fuck for that.”

  “Are you okay, Theon?”

  “Did I say that out loud? Yeah, sorry. It’s Evelina. She’s back from surgery. She’s been gone longer than I expected and panic set in. I was looking in the corridor for any sign of her when I spotted you.”

  “Oh, I’m so sorry. You’re comforting me when you’re in a panic yourself. Go. Go to Evelina. She will need her daddy. No doubt I will bump into you again as we’re on the same floor. Thank you, Theon. Thank you for being my shoulder to cry on. I really needed that.”

  “Anytime you need my shoulder or chest to wet again just let me know. Here she is. I best get going. Take care, Alana.”

  I’m at the door of Evelina’s room just as they get there. My baby is all groggy, but she opens her eyes and sees me smiling down at her.

  “Hi, my big brave girl. Daddy’s here. Go to sleep, poppet.” She smiles at me, and I hear her whisper, “Daddy,” then she closes her eyes and sleeps. Evander is up and by her side, holding her hand while they sort her bed out.

  “I missed you, Lina. I’m so glad you’re back. I love you.” I’m welling up again. He’s being brave and really holding it together, but I know it’s cutting him up inside. He is so sensitive, just like me. I look at the doctor.

  “How did it go? I have to say I’ve been in a panic she was gone for so long?”

  “It was a little longer than normal but nothing to worry about. It went perfectly. There was a slight bleed, which they had to stem before closing her up. That’s not unusual, so don’t worry. She’s been out of surgery for a good forty minutes, in recovery. Mr. Al Syed said the tumor looked small from what he could see. Her kidney will go to the lab now for tests, and they should be able to tell if it penetrated the wall of the kidney. That’s where chemo comes in, just in case some cells escaped. But surgery was a success.” That’s what I need to know. It was a success. I let out a huge sigh and run my hand over my head. I look up to the ceiling saying a silent thank you to Evelyn.

  “She will be groggy for the rest of the day now with the amount of aesthetic she had. I don’t know if you want to leave and get some rest or you’re more than welcome to stay with her. If you stay and she wakes, just try and get her to have sips of water. Her throat and mouth will be dry. As you can see she has drips. One bag is fluids to keep her hydrated. The other is a painkiller, and then we will administer antibiotics intravenously. She’s in good hands, Mr. Tourney.”

  “Thank you, Doctor. For everything.” I can actually smile properly with relief.

  Now the surgery is over, and Evander has seen Evelina with his own eyes, and he knows she’s going to be fine, I manage to persuade him to go home with Sonia and get a good night’s sleep. He reluctantly leaves. I’m sitting next to Evelina’s bed holding her hand. I put the turtle under her other arm. It’s her comfort. I sit, watching her breathing.

  “Evelyn, I wish you were here, beautiful. I need you so badly right now. I’m glad you’re there though, my angel, looking out for our baby girl,” I whisper to myself.

  15 Years Earlier

  BUSINESS IS BOOMING. Evelyn and I are flat out with work. We now have fifteen people working for us, and we are looking at hiring more. We’re enjoying married life. It’s nearly a year since we got married and we still can’t get enough of each other, but I don’t think that will ever change. No matter how busy we are, we leave the office and have dinner together every night. We’ve also said no working weekends. That was a rule we made at the beginning, and we’ve stuck to it, no matter what deadlines are looming.

  We enjoy our weekends, and we make sure we do things together. One weekend Evelyn picks what we do, the next I pick. We go to the beach, out to restaurants, travel: Vegas, New York, Atlanta, Nashville. We have been everywhere. We are very rich, and our only real indulgence is we fly privately, and we stay in the top hotels. That’s at my insistence because I want her to have the best of everything.

  I’ve also have G
randma staying with us on some weekends when we’re just relaxing, or going to a museum or shopping. She still works her one job so she doesn’t go stir crazy on her own she tells me. I’ve been worried about her though. When I spoke to her last weekend to see if she wanted to come and stay, she turned me down for the first time ever. I was surprised and asked what was wrong. She said she was feeling under the weather and it was nothing to worry about, but I am worried. I’ve phoned her every day this week. She’s not been in work, so Evelyn and I are on our way to see her now. It’s Friday evening. I stop at a deli and grab a couple of wraps for us and a lovely chicken broth for Grandma. She’s told me before she loves the broth from here.

  I have a key, so let myself into her house. It’s quiet. Too quiet. I look at Evelyn. “There’s no TV or radio on. Do you think she’s out? Her car was in the drive though?”

  “Maybe a friend picked her up and took her out somewhere.” Hmm maybe. We head into the kitchen, and I stop, frozen. Evelyn slams into my back. Fuck. I run. Grandma is on the floor. I hear Evelyn say something, but I’ve no idea what it is.

  “Grandma, Grandma, can you hear me? Grandma, it’s me, Theon?” She moves slightly. I’m trying to check to see if she’s hurt anywhere without moving her. Evelyn is next to her head stroking her hair.

  “Grandma, it’s Evelyn. Can you hear me?”

  “Hmm, Susan is that you?” Oh no, Susan is my mother.

  “Do you think she’s banged her head?” I ask Evelyn.

  “I don’t think so. There are no cuts or bumps that I can see on this side?”

  “We need the medics, Evelyn.”

  “They’re on the way, baby.” I look at her puzzled then it registers she was talking on the phone when we got to the kitchen. I thought she was talking to me. I sit on the floor next to Grandma, holding her hand and with my thumb stroking the back of it, the other hand gently stroking her cheek. It’s fucking killing me, her being on the floor, but I can’t move her. I’m talking to her constantly, she’s mumbling back, but I can’t make out her words. My first instinct was that she’d been attacked, but she looks okay, and I can’t see any signs of a break in. It must be a stroke or a heart attack. I look up to the ceiling. Please don’t take her from me. She’s the only family I have, I say in my head.