Finding Her Family

by Syndi Powell

  “If you’re sure.”

  “You’re not getting rid of me.” Ruby jokingly made a face at her. “You’re stuck with me. Isn’t that what you told me not that long ago?”

  “I’m usually right.” Page smiled and accepted another hanger. “Okay, so we still have to get you registered for school.” When Ruby groaned, Page laughed. “And we need to come up with some rules. School comes first. I expect you to study hard and do your best. Curfew is at nine, unless you’re out with me. And...” Page paused. “What other rules do parents have? I’m new to this.”

  Ruby giggled. “That’s probably not something you want to admit.” She folded the empty duffel bag and placed it back in her closet. She turned and regarded Page. “I’ll agree to curfew at nine, but I should be allowed to stay up until eleven. I’m not a baby.”

  “Nine thirty on school nights.”

  “Ten.”

  Page gave a nod and held out her hand. “Done.”

  They shook on it, and Page took a seat on the edge of Ruby’s bed. “You’re probably not going to want to hear this, but we need to do more shopping.” She glanced around the room. “We could paint in here. Get you a new bedspread. And you’re going to need more clothes for school.”

  Ruby groaned and dropped on to the bed next to Page. “More shopping?”

  “I know how you feel, but I’m in the mood to spoil you, okay?”

  Page’s cell phone buzzed, and she pulled it out of her jeans pocket. A glance at the screen told her it was Sherri. “Hey, girl. Guess who just agreed to become my daughter?”

  “That’s great, but this is an official call. It’s about Mateo.”

  The sound of her official officer’s voice made Page pause, and her stomach flipped. “What’s wrong?”

  “He’s been in a bad car accident. Can you come up to the hospital?”

  “Yes.” She hung up and looked over at Ruby. “We have to go. Mateo needs us.”

  * * *

  PAIN. RAW, ANGRY pain ripped through him as Mateo tried to sit up. Someone pushed him back onto the bed. “Don’t rip out my handiwork, Mateo. Just relax and let me do my job.”

  April’s voice.

  “Where am I?”

  “Detroit General.”

  Mateo’s eyes opened, and he winced at the harsh overhead lights. “What happened?”

  “A car tried to take you out, but you’re too tough for that.” She turned to a nurse and asked for more gauze. “Now please lie there and let me find where you’re bleeding so I can save your life.”

  He closed his eyes, remembered seeing the headlights rushing toward him. Thought he’d never see Page again, never tell her that he wanted to be with her. That made him groan even more.

  “I’ll fix you. Don’t worry.”

  “Page. Where is she?” He was staring at April now, who was leaning over his left side.

  She grinned. “Found the bleeder. Sutures. She’s on her way. Sherri called her.”

  “I need her.”

  “What you need is to let me get you sewn back together.”

  “No. Page...she’s all I need.” He tried to sit up, but moaned at the pain that kept him prone.

  To a nurse, April said, “He’s going to tear these out if we don’t sedate him. Sorry, Mateo, but I need you to lie still. I need to reset your leg and you don’t want to be awake for that.”

  “Not until I see Page.”

  “After.”

  A nurse pushed something from a syringe into his IV, and everything became fuzzy, then black.

  * * *

  PAGE RAN INTO the emergency room with Ruby beside her. She searched the waiting room and saw Sherri and Dez. Their heads were bowed and Page worried that the worst had happened. It couldn’t be. She was the one dying, not Mateo. Sherri saw her and waved her over.

  Sherri put her arms around her. “Thank goodness you’re here.”

  “How is he?”

  Dez replied, “Car broadsided him going sixty plus. The firefighters had to cut him out. He’s alive, but it’s bad. Crushed his leg.”

  Page brought a hand to her mouth to stifle the sob. “No.”

  A slightly pregnant woman approached her and put a hand on her arm. “Hello again, Page? We met a while back. I’m Lulu, his sister.”

  “I remember. Your brother, he’s my...um, lawyer. And friend. And...”

  “You love him.”

  Page nodded and wiped at the tears that couldn’t seem to stop. For someone who didn’t cry, she’d done enough of it lately to last forever. “I can’t lose him.”

  Lulu wrapped her arms around her. An older version of Mateo joined them and put his hands on both of their shoulders. “My son is a fighter.”

  They took seats, Ruby offering to get drinks while they waited for news. Page gave her a fistful of bills and refused the others’ offers to pay her back.

  She couldn’t lose him. Not when she could see the rest of her life ready to start. She’d lick this cancer and be Ruby’s mom, and she hoped to be Mateo’s wife eventually. She’d apply for the midwife program and find herself happy by being everything she’d always wanted to be. It wasn’t fair that just as she was about to get it all, everything would once again be snatched away from her. She wasn’t going to accept defeat. Not this time.

  April entered the waiting room, and Page rushed toward her, the rest of his family surrounding them for news. “How is he?”

  Her friend gave a thin smile. “I was able to find where he was bleeding internally, but his left leg is broken. We’re sending him up to surgery. He’s not out of the woods, but he’s closer to being okay than he was when he came in.”

  Page closed her eyes and stepped back as his family started to ask more questions. She turned and found Ruby standing there, her arms full of pop cans. “Mateo’s going into surgery,” she told her.

  “Is he going to be okay?”

  Page allowed herself a small smile. “I think so.”

  Ruby returned the smile. “Hey, what’s he going to say about you becoming my mom? And don’t even try it that you don’t love him.”

  Page’s smile widened. “He’ll have to understand you and I come as a package deal. But I bet he loves you as much as I do.”

  “You love me?”

  “From the moment you told me you didn’t need anybody to take care of you. I knew I had to be the one who loved you.”

  Ruby grinned. “I love you, too, Page.”

  “I’ll remind you of that when I ground you for the first time.”

  * * *

  MATEO OPENED HIS eyes to find Page sitting in a chair next to his hospital bed. When she noticed he was awake, she stood and put a hand on his forehead. “How are you feeling?”

  “Like a car hit me.”

  She smirked at the comment. “Funny.” Glancing at the door, she said, “I should go get your family. We’ve been taking turns watching you sleep, and they’re going to want to know that you’re okay.”

  He put a hand on hers on the bed railing. “Not yet. There’s some things I need to say to you first.”

  “There’s things I need to tell you, too.”

  He stared at her, unsure of what those things were now that she was there with him. “You’re so pretty.” He wanted to groan. That’s what I came up with? He closed his eyes. Concentrate, Mateo.

  “I look like hell, Mateo. But thanks, I guess.”

  He opened his eyes. “I love you.”

  “What?” Her mouth fell open, and she gaped at him, then checked the liquid bags hanging from the IV stand. “What do they have you on?”

  “It’s not the drugs. It’s me. I love you, Page.”

  “Why?”

  The question took him aback. “Because you’re strong. And funny. And smart. Despite the odds being against you, you don’t g
ive up. And you love Ruby even though she could be taken from you. I want you to love me that way.”

  Page shook her head. “You stupid, stupid man. What if you had died before I could tell you?”

  “Tell me what?”

  “That I love you, too, you fool.” She leaned forward and kissed him on the lips. “I need you, but don’t ever do this to me again.”

  He reached up and touched her cheek. “If you love me, you need to hold on to whatever time we have. Whether that’s a week or a year or fifty years, I want to enjoy it all with you. Isn’t that what you’ve been trying to tell me?”

  “I still have cancer. And your mom...”

  “The cancer is something you both had. But it never was and never will be either of you.” He caressed her cheek. “I see all of you, Page, and I’m in love with what I see. You are all about love and finding the strength for another day. Cancer won’t take that away from you.”

  “I want to be with you so much, but there’s something you should know.”

  That didn’t sound good. “Whatever it is, it won’t change that I love you.”

  “It’s Ruby. She and I are a package, so if you don’t think you can step up and be a father to her—”

  “She’s a part of my life as much as she is yours. How could you think that it would be a deal breaker?”

  Page smiled and leaned down to kiss him again, but Mateo heard the sound of someone clearing their throat. A nurse standing in the doorway with a portable blood-pressure machine said, “If you two are finished, maybe I can take Mateo’s vitals.”

  Mateo reached up and pulled Page’s face to his so that their foreheads touched. “I think we’re just getting started.”

  * * *

  THE NURSE CHECKED Mateo’s vitals as Page stood back and watched. His numbers looked good. Blood pressure. Temperature. Heart rate. He was going to be okay.

  But still, Page couldn’t believe her ears. He loved her. Her. After waiting and hoping for so long, he’d admitted he loved her as much as she loved him. Could this be happening? “Pinch me.”

  He frowned at her. “Excuse me?”

  “This seems to be too good to be true.” She stepped forward and put a hand on his face. “I’ve dreamed of this moment, but I never thought it would happen.”

  “Oh, it’s happening.”

  Page leaned in for a hug.

  Lulu entered the room, followed by Mateo’s dad. “Can we get in on that hug?”

  “The more, the merrier.” They nodded and opened space for them to join them.

  April arrived. “Is there room for a couple more?”

  They all laughed and opened the circle wider to include her and Ruby.

  Sherri entered the room and sighed. “Somebody scoot over and let me in.”

  The circle of arms opened, and the seven of them hugged each other, smiling into each other’s faces. Tears started to fall down Page’s cheeks.

  She’d always wanted to be part of a couple, but looking around at these faces she realized she’d been shortchanging herself. What she had was a family. Feeling their arms around her now, she figured she’d found herself a terrific one.

  It didn’t matter what happened after today. Never mind the cancer, never mind anything else. With a family like this, she’d never feel alone or unloved again.

  Mateo kissed her cheek. “You’re the luckiest woman I know.”

  “Me, too.” She looked at April, knowing it was the truth. “I think I’m ready to be happy.”

  EPILOGUE

  THE MID-OCTOBER SATURDAY sky threatened rain, but Page didn’t care. It could pour buckets, and it wouldn’t dim her smile. She was at the beginning of the annual 5K walk with the other cancer survivors, waving at the crowd, with April on one side of her and Sherri on the other. Dropping to check the laces on her sneakers, she took a moment to appreciate what they were about to do. This year’s 5K fund-raiser promised to be the most successful, if the attendance was any indication.

  When she’d checked in at the park entrance, she’d turned in her envelope with the pledge money. She’d hounded friends and colleagues until she’d raised almost eight thousand dollars. Multiply that by the number of people here, and Hope Center would be able to reach out to more cancer patients and their loved ones. There was even talk about opening a second satellite office on the west side of Detroit.

  April stretched her arms up and out as she glanced at the sky. “It better not rain.”

  Page replied, “It won’t. Hope Center needs every dollar we’re raising.”

  “I’d give the money to them even if we don’t make the full five kilometers.” Sherri pulled one leg behind her back. “I’ve been taking the kids on walks for the last few weeks to prepare them for today.”

  “How’s Nala fitting in with your family?” April asked.

  “Good. She’s finally sleeping through the night without waking up screaming.” Sherri shuddered. “I can’t even imagine what happened to her before she came to live with us. Dez accuses me of spoiling her, but I can’t help it. There’s so much of her previous life that I’m trying to make up for.”

  “And Marcus?”

  “He’s her protector and won’t let anyone at school bother her.” A wistful smile graced her face. “If you had told me two years ago that I’d be married to Dez and the mother to two adopted kids, I’d have laughed in your face. This was definitely not the plan.”

  “Cancer has a way of changing that,” April said, waving at Zach.

  Lynn blew a whistle to quiet the crowd. “We’re going to be starting the walk in a few minutes, but I wanted to thank all of you and your family and friends for making sure we exceeded last year’s total.” People clapped and whistled. “Okay, when the gun goes off, you survivors will start us out. Family and friends will meet you at the two-kilometer mark and will finish the course with you. We’ll have our celebration at the end with prizes and draw the winner for the fifty-fifty raffle. Any questions?”

  “Who raised the most money?” asked a voice from the back of the pack.

  Lynn smiled. “I know I saw her here. Where are you hiding, Page?”

  Page raised her hands and started jumping. “Yes!”

  Lynn motioned to a woman, who shot off the starting gun. “Let’s go!”

  Page started walking quickly, mostly to keep up with Sherri, whose long legs were giving her an advantage. “Hey, it’s not a race.”

  Sherri turned and smiled at her. “Sorry. I want to get to my family as soon as I can.”

  April looped her arms through Sherri’s and Page’s. “Maybe we can take this first kilometer together.”

  They walked silently along the cement path for a while. Page could hear birds chirping as well as the fallen leaves crunching under their feet. “April, who besides Zach is waiting for you at the next stop?”

  April smiled. “My mom and dad. They couldn’t make it last year, so this is going to be amazing. And Zach’s grandparents. We tried to get Zach’s mom to join us this year, but she’s had a rough couple of days. Her doctor felt it would be better for her to sit this one out. What about you, Sherri?”

  “Dez and the kids are here, of course. And my parents, brothers, sisters-in-law, nieces, nephews...” Sherri let out a chuckle. “When you ask the Lopezes to show up for one member, the entire family gets involved.”

  Page leaned over to look at her. “Same for me with Mateo and his family. We’re officially telling them today.” She fiddled with the diamond ring on her finger.

  Sherri nudged April. “How’s the weight of that engagement ring on your finger feeling?”

  They laughed and Page’s heart leaped. “Just fine, thank you very much.”

  “And what about Ruby?” April asked. “Has the adoption officially happened yet?”

  “Judge Bond had been reluctant to agree, b
ut after discovering that Ruby’s grandmother had died years ago, and with her father giving up his parental rights, he okayed it. It’ll be official in a couple of weeks. By the way, Ruby brought a couple friends with her today. She’s really liking high school.

  “You know, Sherri, what you said before about not picturing your life like it is now? I never realized how much I’ve gained because of cancer.”

  “Like Mateo?”

  “Yes, but it’s even more than that.” She paused to take in the people and beauty around her. “No, I mean that I’ve learned to accept what is rather than regret what isn’t.”

  “I feel the same way.” Sherri picked up the pace.

  April nudged them both. “The Boob Squad together again.”

  Page wrinkled her nose. “What about changing that name? What would you say to calling us Survivor Sisters instead?”

  April bit her lip and glanced at Sherri. “I like it. You?”

  Sherri agreed.

  “Survivor Sisters,” Page repeated, liking how it sounded on her lips. “I couldn’t ask for two better women to be by my side through this journey.”

  The three of them clasped hands and continued walking. They made a turn in the path and could see their families and friends waiting for them in the distance, cheering them on.

  Page stopped walking and the other two stopped with her. April frowned. “Are you okay, Page?”

  “I’m happy. No more Nurse Doom and Gloom.” She could feel the corners of her mouth twitch into a smile. “I love my life. I love Mateo and Ruby and the two of you.”

  April winked at Sherri. “Uh-oh. Here comes the waterworks.”

  Page shook her head. “I do have some news that I haven’t shared with anyone yet.” She looked at the ground, then up at them. “Dr. Frazier called a couple days ago. My blood work shows the chemo is working. I’m beating this thing.”

  “Yes!” April punched the air and then hugged her. “That’s wonderful news, Page. I knew you could do it.”

  “I couldn’t have done it without the both of you.” She hugged Sherri next. “Thank you for standing with me.”