Only One Chance (Only One 2)

“There you are,” he says to me. “We are all set up.”

“Rudy,” I say. “This is Layla. Layla, this is Dr. Rudy. He runs the children’s oncology wing.” I see her mouth hang open, and I don’t think she is ready for the rest. I don’t think she expected the rest.

Rudy puts his hand out to shake Layla’s hand, and she smiles at him. “It’s good to meet you,” Rudy says. “Let’s get story time with Miller started, shall we?”Chapter 19LaylaMy head is swimming, and I look around, not sure I heard the words properly. “Miller,” I say his name softly as we are ushered to the room. His hand rests at my back as he talks to Dr. Rudy.

“What are you doing here?” I ask him, and he smiles at me, stopping to look at me.

“On the first Sunday of the month, I read to the kids,” he tells me like it’s no big deal, and I swear to God this man gives me whiplash. “It’s something I’ve been doing for the past four or five years.”

I don’t get a chance to ask him another question because we stop at a room, and I hear Dr. Rudy talk. “Okay, everybody.” He claps his hands. “He’s finally here.” I stand with him at the doorway as the kids cheer and clap. He raises his hand to say hello to everyone. I stay at the door and watch him walk in. He high-fives some of the kids that he knows, calling them by their first name. I see a couple of the dads raise their hands to say hello to him.

He finally makes it to the chair set up at the back of the room, facing out to everyone. He is dressed in jeans and a Dallas shirt with a green bomber jacket on. He sits in the chair, taking off and hanging his glasses on his shirt. “Hello, boys and girls,” he says with a smile as the kids greet him back. “I’m so happy to be back again.” He smiles at them. “I see some old faces.” He makes eye contact with the kids he must know. “And then I see some new kids who I hope to get to know.” He points at a couple of them, and some of them wave enthusiastically.

They are all sitting on the floor in a circle, their parents are scattered around the room, and I’m blown away that not one cell phone is out and no one is asking him for a selfie. No one is filming; it’s just a man reading to a group of sick kids.

I wipe away the tear leaking out of my eye. “He really is a class act,” Rudy says, and I just nod. “For a couple of hours, these kids forget they are sick.”

I listen to him read at least five stories. He never rushes through them and always asks the kids questions. When he is done reading, he sits with them for some questions and answers, and he stays to sign whatever they bring to him. He smiles with them all and hugs them and jokes with them. He also chats and shakes hands with the parents. My heart is literally going to explode in my chest because nothing could have prepared me for this.

I turn and walk away for a second, looking for a bathroom to make sure you can’t tell that I’m crying. I follow the signs to the bathroom and look at my reflection in the mirror. My eyes look a little bloodshot, and my nose has just a touch of redness to it. I shake my head, walking out of the bathroom, and stop when I see Miller standing by a nurse. She has blond hair, and I hear her first.

“Don’t tell me you were going to leave without saying hello,” she says to him with a huge smile as she steps in closer to him.

He smiles at her, and my heart sinks. “Not a chance in hell, beautiful.” He puts his hand around her shoulder, and they walk away from me. This, I shake my head, this is not for me. Just when I’m about to turn around and head out the nearest exit, I hear him call my name. “Layla.” I look up and smile at him, game face on. “There you are. I was looking everywhere for you.”

“I just went to the bathroom.” I fold my arms over my chest so he doesn’t try to hold my hand.

“You can go ahead and finish your conversation.” I point at the blonde, who is just standing there. “I’ll wait over here.”

“I wasn’t having a conversation,” he says, and I want to roll my eyes so hard, but I don’t. “Are you ready to go?” he asks, and I just nod and then look around.