The Day He Came Back

“What’s this documentary called?”

“I can’t remember, but you can get it On Demand. Wanna watch it?”

“Yeah. Can we? I could use all the help I can get.”

For the next two hours, I sat on the couch, cradled in Gavin’s arms as we watched the documentary. It featured real-life stories of people who’d overcome amazing odds and attributed their recovery to things like meditation, healthy eating, and reducing stress. It gave me a newfound determination to do everything I could to help my mother adopt some of those things to help in her treatment. Most of all, it gave me something I so badly needed: hope. Even if it was false and misplaced, I needed it.

In just the few hours he’d been here, Gavin had done so much for me. He’d fed me, comforted me, and given me hope. He was beginning to feel like an important part of my life. No matter what we kept saying to each other, he was beginning to feel like my boyfriend.***The next week was a whirlwind. Mom found out she’d be starting her first treatment in a few days. Every day on the way home from work, I filled the fridge with organic foods I’d picked up from the grocery store. I read everything I could on how to make the healthiest green smoothies and downloaded some meditation apps for my mother to use. I planned to do a lot of the exercises along with her. Gavin was a huge help in sending me information he’d found about healthy living and holistic approaches we could try in addition to the chemo. I was determined to do whatever it took.

When my mother returned home from work one night, I could tell from her expression that something had happened.

“Hey. What’s going on?” I asked.

Looking exhausted, she plopped down on the couch and put her feet up. “Well, I sat down with Gunther and Ruth and told them I’d have to take some time off here and there for my treatments.” She looked at me. “I told them everything.”

“How did they take it?”

“Surprisingly, Ruth was very sympathetic and took it well. She told me to take as much time as I needed and that I’d always have a job, that I didn’t need to worry about losing my position regardless of how much time I needed to take off.”

Relieved, I said, “That’s good, right?”

“It is...” She stared off.

Something else is going on. “What aren’t you telling me?”

“Later on in the day, after Ruth left for the club, Gunther came to find me.”

“Okay...”

“Gavin had apparently told him already, and he admitted that my cancer announcement wasn’t surprising news.”

“I told Gavin not to say anything.”

“I know you did. And he meant well. He was just trying to get Mr. M to help me. He trusts his father, as he should.”

“What did Gunther say?”

“It was a very uncomfortable conversation.”

“Why?

“He wants to pay for everything, Raven. He wants to cover all of my medical expenses.”

My heart filled with hope. “That’s amazing. Why are you upset?”

“He doesn’t want Ruth to know about it. He’d be taking the money from a secret bank account and having his attorney handle the payments so she doesn’t find out.”

My eyes widened. “Wow...okay. You have to take it, though. You need to accept this help.”

“I know. It’s just...he’s such a good man, and I don’t want him to get into trouble for this.”

“What’s the worst she could possibly do? Leave him? That would be doing him a favor, if you ask me.”

She let out a long breath. “As much as I don’t like her, I don’t want to break up that family.”

“You think she’d be that upset? They have more money than God.”

“It’s not about the money. It’s that Ruth wouldn’t go for him giving it to me.”

“You think she’s that heartless, huh?”

“I know she’s that heartless. But there’s a little bit more to it.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I think Ruth has always suspected Gunther has feelings for me.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Over the years, he and I have developed a sort of rapport. It’s innocent, Raven, but I think she doesn’t like that he and I have connected. There have been times he’s opened up to me about certain things. He asks me to call him by his first name in private, which I do. But I use Mr. M around everyone else. Sometimes when she’s not home, he’ll come find me in the kitchen or wherever I happen to be. And we’ll just talk—about his problems, our childhoods, lots of things. But it’s a friendship, nothing more.”

“Do you think he has other feelings for you?”

“That doesn’t matter. Even if he does, he’s a married man and nothing could ever happen. I would never do that. But I do think Ruth has been wary of me for that reason. That could’ve impacted how poorly she treated you. I don’t know how I continue to work for a woman who treated you the way she did.”