by Mary Smith
Caryn sat next to Cabel on the couch and texted the Longs to let them know about Oliver. She rested her head on Cabel, and soon she too had fallen asleep.
Chapter Thirteen
Cabel was certain not many would laugh in an ICU room, but he kept chuckling at Oliver, Caryn, and the Longs. Oliver’s doctor had come in and explained the long-term changes Oliver would need to make. Less red meat, more veggies, less stress, and more exercise. All the words Oliver hated and expressed as so. Caryn had made it completely known it would happen and she’d make sure of it. As did the Longs.
When lunch finally arrived, Oliver complained about it all. However, Caryn made him eat the chicken broth soup.
“I asked for coffee.” He glared at Cabel.
“It’s decaf,” he said.
“That’s not coffee.”
“It is for you,” Caryn added with a harsh motherly tone as she texted on her phone.
Oliver growled and set the Styrofoam cup down. “Have you got Jackson back on the roster?”
Before Cabel could answer, Caryn jumped up. “No work talk. You’re supposed to lessen your stress.”
“I’ll be stressed if I don’t know what’s going on.” Oliver raised his voice and his face reddened.
“All right. All right.” Cabel’s soothing tone echoed in between them. “Everyone needs to remain calm.”
They looked at him.
“Oliver, yes, Jackson is back in Manchester. Yes, he’s still the same, but he does have an appointment with Caryn coming up. Caryn, you have to wean him from the stress or he’ll explode.” He kept his tone even.
“I know.” Her shoulders fell in defeat.
“Sweetheart.” Oliver took her hand. “I’m fine.”
She glared at him.
“Okay. I’m not fine. However, I do feel better and each day I’ll become better, but you can’t change me.”
“I just found you…” Her voice cracked.
“And I’m not leaving,” he reassured her.
Cabel knew the pain Caryn was in. It was written all over her face.
“Cabel, take her down to the cafeteria and get her something to eat,” Oliver told him.
“I—”
“No.” He stopped his daughter from disagreeing with him. “Get out of this room. There are nurses everywhere. If I need something, I’ll ring the bell.” He held up his call button.
Cabel took her hand. “Come on. You’ve not eaten in a while.”
Finally, she agreed and let him lead her to the elevator and down to the cafeteria. The food hadn’t been outstanding, but he watched Caryn build a salad and pick up a couple bottles of water. Cabel paid for everything, and when they tried to find a place to sit, Taden, from the other side of the room, stood waving his arm. Janan, Nova, and Taden had already eaten when they sat down.
“How is he?” Taden asked.
“Stubborn.” Caryn sat next to Nova.
“He’s doing well,” Cabel added while taking the empty chair next to Taden. “How’s practice?”
“Okay, I guess,” Taden answered. “I’m going to check on everything when I leave here. Are you going to the office or the game tonight?”
“Neither.” Cabel picked up his fork.
“Why?” Caryn questioned.
“I want to stay here with you,” he explained.
Caryn shook her head. “You need to work right now.”
“Trying to get rid of me?” he joked, hoping she’d smile.
“No, but the Bears are at a breaking point. You and Taden need to be there to keep it together.” She gave him a pointed look.
“I agree,” Janan added.
“Me too.” Nova nodded. “The team is falling apart.” Nova’s sad tone pulled at Cabel.
“You’re right,” he said. Janan and Nova were his bosses and they were correct. “I’ll go to the office in a bit.”
Caryn took his hand from across the table. “I’ll be okay and will keep you updated if anything changes.”
He knew she would, but Oliver seemed to be bouncing back to his usual self and nothing would stop him from coming back to his Bears.
They all sat around and had small chit chat. Cabel’s mind was on work and didn’t pay much attention to their conversation. When everyone began to stand and cleared their plates, Cabel followed suit. They all went back to Oliver’s room, but Taden and Cabel told him goodbye and made their way to the arena.
Thankfully, Cabel’s assistant was on top of everything. Between her and the public relations department, they managed to keep the media at bay and kept the staff calm. She gave Cabel his messages and a to-do list of what had to be completed today.
He spent his day on the phone and replying back to emails. Of course, he signed his name about one hundred more times, but soon he headed home to check in on his girls and get ready for the game.
Cabel: Do you need me to bring you anything?
Caryn: No.
Cabel: Have you eaten?
Caryn: Yes. I might go home tonight. He seems to be doing much better.
Cabel smiled at his cell phone screen. Obviously, with such a big surgery, he had his doubts. However, only for a moment. He knew Oliver Matthews very well and Oliver would bounce back in no time.
“Dad, is that you?” Leia called from the kitchen.
“It’s me,” he announced, going toward her.
“How’s Oliver?” she asked wiping her hands on a kitchen towel.
“Better.” He grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge.
“And Caryn?”
“Good. She’s tired but good,” he told her truthfully.
“Are you going to the game?”
Cabel nodded. “Yes. Do you want to come?”
“Well.” She paused. “I was going to ask if I can skip it.” She walked around him into the living room and came back with a book to show him. “In the high school, there are clubs, and I joined this one.”
“The Bronte Myth by Lucasta Miller,” Cabel read the title out loud.
“It’s a non-fiction club. They pick different books each month. This month’s meeting is tonight.”
“Where’s the meeting?” Cabel questioned. He didn’t want her out too late.
Leia rolled her eyes. “We use a video conference site. Remember, we’re in a virtual high school.”
Cabel chuckled at her teenager attitude. “Remember, I am old,” he joked, handing her book back.
“You know what I mean.”
“I do, and it’s fine if you miss the game.” He was elated for her to have interests and friends.
“Thank you.” She smiled. “Are you going to the hospital after the game?”
“Yes. I’m not going to travel with the Bears to Buffalo tomorrow. I need to work in the office,” he explained.
“Okay. I’m going to get set up. Love you,” Leia called over her shoulder as she left Cabel alone in the kitchen.
He heated up some leftovers and used his iPad to continue the search he started before the fundraiser. He rubbed his jaw feeling his five o’clock shadow growing in as he stared at the screen.
Many, many years ago when he proposed to Chloe it seemed easy. He went to a jewelry store, told the salesman he wanted an engagement ring, and he showed Cabel three of them. All he had to do was pick one.
Simple and easy.
Now, with the internet, there were millions of choices and Cabel couldn’t decide. Wanting to propose to Caryn had been the only task on his mind since talking to Oliver.
He took a deep breath thinking about the day he asked Oliver for her hand.
Oliver roared in laughter.
“Am I that funny?” Cabel couldn’t understand what the laughter was for.
“No. No.” Oliver dabbed his eyes free of the tears. “I just never thought anyone would be asking me this particular question.”
“She is your daughter and even though we’ve had our ups and downs we’ve been together for a year.” He went on, but Oliver held up his ha
nd.
“I’ll stop you there. Answer me this. Do you love her?”
“Yes,” Cabel said without thinking about it.
“Do you see a future with her?”
“Only her,” he answered from the heart.
“Then my answer is yes.”
Cabel told him he didn’t have a ring yet and wanted to do it closer to Christmas. Oliver promised to keep the secret.
Now, he had to find the perfect ring for the perfect woman.
Cabel knew all the PHL’s cameras were on him, therefore, he kept his face neutral. The Bears racked up another loss and Jackson stayed on the bench most of the game. When he was on the ice, he continued to keep the puck to himself. Taden had said prior to the game no one spoke to him in the locker room. And he didn’t speak to anyone either. He hoped Caryn’s idea would help, but this season was already shot to hell.
He moved through the crowd to make his way to the locker room. Of course, the sports reporters wanted a comment about the game and Oliver. He answered with a professional attitude, but he wanted to really tell them the truth.
When they finished he went into the locker room. Most of the team pulled their pads off, and some were already in the shower. Cabel made his way directly to Jackson, taking a seat next to him in the empty stall.
“How are you?”
Jackson shrugged, not answering him.
“A condition on you being back here is for you to go see—”
“Yah,” he barked. “The shrink lady. Got it.” He jumped up and moved toward the showers.
Cabel almost stopped him to give him a piece of his mind, but he let him go on his own. He hoped Caryn could get through to him. He strolled over to Taden’s office, but the equipment manager said he already left.
Cabel said goodbye to the guys and went out to his Hummer and back to the hospital. When he walked into the ICU, all the Longs and Caryn were sitting around Oliver’s bed.
“Hey.” Caryn came over, hugging him and giving him a quick kiss. “Sorry about the game.”
He didn’t care about the game at that moment. When Caryn was this close to him, only she mattered to him.
“Did you watch, Oliver?” Cabel inquired as Caryn led him to an empty chair next to her.
“No.” He shot a look at Caryn. “Apparently, my daughter felt it would be too stressful.”
“I don’t care if you’re mad at me. You need to wait a bit longer before you watch a game,” she ordered him.
“Has she told you her grand plan, Cabel?” Oliver actually rolled his eyes.
“Oh, this must be good.” Cabel grinned. “What’s the plan?”
“Caryn is going to take care of me,” Oliver told him with an unenthusiastic tone.
He looked between Oliver and Caryn, waiting for a punchline. “Well, I assumed she would.”
“Tell her I can hire a nurse,” he continued.
Cabel waved his hands back and forth. “Oh no, no way. You’re not going to get me involved in this one.”
“I simply said I want to help you out. I’m certain you can have whatever staff you have handle the majority of your daily activities. However, there’s more to do,” she explained.
“That sounds reasonable,” Janan added.
“Oliver, I have to agree.” Taden put in his opinion as well.
“If you’re all going to gang up on a poor, old man—”
“Pfft, please.” Nova cut him off. “Don’t try to pull some of that on us. Caryn is going to help you and we will too.”
“I’ll agree to it if you all go home and get a good night of rest.” Oliver challenged them all.
“Are you kicking us out?” Janan glared at him.
“Yes,” he firmly stated. “So, everyone leave.” He shooed them with his hands.
Cabel saw the apprehension in her eyes. He knew she wouldn’t leave without a fight, but surprisingly she nodded.
“Okay, but I’ll hold you to your end of the deal.” She stood up and held out her hand.
“Cabel’s right, you do have my stubbornness.” Oliver took her hand into his and shook it.
There was a round of goodbyes, and they all walked out together. Caryn realized Cabel still had her car. “It’s at your house. I got an UBER home and picked up the Hummer before I went to the arena.”
“I feel like I’m losing my mind.”
“You’re not. Come on, I’ll get you home and you can rest.” He kissed the top of her head as they made their way to his Hummer.
“I don’t have my purse.” She sounded sad as he jumped into the driver’s seat.
“Why? What do you need?”
“As weird as this might sound, I really, really want Taco Bell.”
Cabel blinked at her. “I thought you didn’t like Taco Bell.”
“I guess it’s because I’m tired or something.” She shrugged.
“Well, I’ll get it for you. It’s not a problem.” He drove toward the one closest to her home.
They talked about Jackson and the game as he made his way to the drive-thru. “What do you like?”
Caryn took several seconds before rattling off five different items. Cabel seemed surprised but past it off and ordered her items and a couple for himself.
After she unlocked the doors, he carried it all into her house and headed straight to her kitchen table. She pulled two bottles of water out for them as he laid out their food. Neither of them spoke much as they hungrily ate. Cabel seemed a bit surprised how much Caryn had to eat. He guessed the events of the past several days caught up with her.
“Are you heading home tonight?” Caryn crumbled the last wrapper.
“No, I’d like to stay here. If you want me to.”
“I’d love you to. Seriously, I just want a shower and crawl into bed with you.” Her eyes pleaded, and he wanted the same thing.
“I have clothes in the Hummer.” He got up and retrieved his bag from the vehicle and went back in.
Caryn already must have been in her room since Cabel couldn’t find her downstairs. When he reached her room, she was curled on her side—fast asleep. He had no plans to wake her. He locked up the home, turned off all the lights, and maneuvered into her bed. It didn’t take long before he fell fast asleep.
“How do you wake up so early without an alarm?” Cabel asked, walking into the kitchen.
Caryn handed him a cup of coffee. “It’s a habit. I just can.”
“You’ll have to show me that trick.” He gave her a gentle kiss.
Winking, she said, “It’s a talent.”
He smirked. “You do have many talents.”
“Oh, do I?” she teased, taking a sip from her cup then made a contorted expression.
“What’s wrong?”
Studying her cup, the color of her face paled and she bolted from the table, running to the bathroom.
“Caryn! Caryn!” Cabel chased after her.
She barely made it to the toilet before losing the contents of her stomach. Cabel went into father mode. He reached for the washcloth Caryn kept in a small basket by the sink. He ran it under cold water and then placed it on the back of her neck. When he thought she was finished, she started up again.
Once she sat back on her heels, she cussed. “Stupid ass Taco Bell.” She groaned moving to her feet. “You shouldn’t have seen this side of me.”
“Everyone gets sick.”
She rinsed her mouth and then took the cloth from the back of her neck and patted her face.
“Do you need anything?” Cabel felt helpless.
“No.” Feeling her forehead with the back of her hand, she stated, “I don’t have a fever.”
“Maybe something didn’t agree with you,” Cabel suggested. “Plus you have had a lot going on.”
“You’re probably right.”
“Maybe you should rest today?” he suggested.
She shook her head. “No, I need to make sure I don’t have a fever, and then I want to go back to the hospital to see Oliver.”
/> Cabel wanted to argue with her, but he understood her way of thinking. Her only parent laid in the hospital, and she wanted to be there for her father.
Caryn left the downstairs bathroom and went to the master bedroom to brush her teeth. Cabel followed her, concerned for her. He knew her to be strong and right now, she didn’t seem to be that way. Wanting to be there for her and wanting to fix it all. He knew he couldn’t do it and felt helpless.
As she finished cleaning up, she noticed Cabel hovering. “I know I’m warm, but I’m not sick.”
“I just don’t like feeling this way.”
“What way?”
“Not useful,” Cabel admitted.
Caryn laughed. “Not useful? Cabel, that couldn’t be further from the truth. I’m just stressed and you being by my side has made everything much better. I wouldn’t know what to do without you being there for me.” She hugged him. “You have been my rock.”
Hearing her words made him relax a bit. Right then and there he wanted to ask her to marry him. He stopped himself before the words came out. This wasn’t the right place or time.
“Why don’t we have lunch together?” Cabel asked as Caryn released him. “I can come to the hospital, and we can eat in the cafeteria.”
“Sounds perfect.”
Janan, Nova, and Cabel sat around Nova’s desk, looking at the reports in front of them.
“Who are you thinking?” Janan asked. “I veto Hamilton and Teo,” she quickly added.
“Well, those were the two I planned on picking.” Cabel tried not to smile but couldn’t help it.
“All right, let’s be serious for a second.” Nova jumped in before Janan could run her mouth some more. “We have a budget to get in line and games to win.”
Cabel had always been impressed by Nova. She had the business mind like Oliver even though she was quite young. He knew she would take this team far with Janan.
“Sales and tickets are down, and we can’t let that happen.” Nova sighed. “We have to trade for some bigger game players, get some wins, and get back on track.”
“Seems like an easy enough game plan.” Janan turned the page. “Who do we have that is good enough to trade and get a hero on the ice?”