“Mason has an arrhythmia—”
“That’s bad, right?” God, was my son seriously ill? And I wasted all this time on that bastard Simon.
“It can be but not necessarily.”
“So, what’s the problem, doctor?” my mother asked.
“Well, we noticed that he has longer limbs than usual for a child his age.”
I looked at my mother then the doctor. “So? His father was long and lean too.”
The doctor’s brow rose up. “Really. Do you know if he had marfan syndrome?”
“What?” I asked. Simon had always seemed healthy to me.
“What’s that?” my mother asked.
“It’s a connective tissue disorder that’s usually genetic. A parent with it or a carrier of it has a fifty percent chance of giving it to their child.”
I swallowed. “I don’t know.” And while I didn’t want to ask Simon, at this point, I’d do anything for my child. “Do you need his father?”
“Not necessarily. I’m going to run some tests, which will confirm or not.”
“What about his heart?” my mother asked.
“That’s the thing about marfan. I can impact the heart, joints, eyes…if he does have it, we’ll want to schedule regular checks on his heart and skeletal system. Eye exams. And he’ll need to avoid strenuous sports. No contact sports.”
I remembered how Simon said he never did sports. He only swam. Was this why?
“But he’ll be fine?” I asked.
“It’s not curable, but it’s treatable. He may eventually need surgery. I’m still looking at that for his heart. He will always be at risk, but many people with marfan live long lives. Let’s first see what we’re dealing with and then we’ll work on a plan, okay?” The doctor smiled reassuringly.
It occurred to me that Mason’s problem wasn’t something that a single treatment would fix. This was a life-long disorder and that meant regular medical intervention. I had health insurance, but it was the minimum. I closed my eyes as I realized that I’d need money to pay for Mason’s health care and the only one who would give it to me, didn’t want anything to do with my son.
“This is going to be costly,” my mother said.
“I think I have an answer.” God, that meant I’d need to be gone from Mason right when he needed me. But if that’s what it took to get my son the care he needed, I do it.
“What’s that?” my mother asked.
“I’m getting married.”
7
Simon
It wasn’t the fact that I was disappointed in Erica’s response to my proposal that bothered me. I was often disappointed when my plans didn’t go as I’d intended. What was bothersome was the level of disappointment I felt. It was so acute that I had to be grateful that she did say no because I clearly had too much emotional investment in her to be safe.
When I first saw her in Salvation Station, I’d been surprised. I expected that she’d gone home. But then I thought it was fortuitous. If I was a man who believed in destiny I might have said the meeting was fated. She clearly didn’t want
to see me, but she heard me out. She didn’t even consider my marriage proposal, which also surprised me. I was offering what she’d been after all those years ago.
I had my drink and went home, heading straight to bed. Her showing up in my dreams naked on my window seat was to be expected. I accepted that and even finished off the dream with a good jerk off. She couldn’t hurt me in my dreams and fantasies, so indulging in them wasn’t a problem. In fact, it was ideal. I could have the satisfaction without the betrayal.
I spent the next day at home taking my usual morning swim, having breakfast and then dealing with work. I’d need to go to Omaha soon to deal with some business, but for today, I could deal with everything I needed right here. I did some research on land and commercial real estate availability in the area, but didn’t see anything that caught my eye.
I spent the rest of the day reading and enjoying my solitude. I’d considered going for a walk but ominous clouds appeared.