Madison felt her heart sink. “Oh. And they’re just finding out?”
“Yeah. He didn’t have health insurance. Put off going to the doctor despite the health issues he’s been dealing with for the past year. He kept brushing it off as bronchitis, flu, smoker’s cough…”
“And now it’s too late.”
“Yes. If they’d come to me sooner, I could have helped him work around the lack of insurance. But he lives in Marshall, and Linda said she didn’t know he wasn’t insured or that he was ignoring health issues until he collapsed at home. The doctors they consulted this week gave them all the facts, but Linda wanted me to give her some reason to hope.”
“And did you?”
“I told her the truth. I told her there’s always reason to hope, but that the odds against him are extremely high.”
After a moment, Madison sighed. “That had to be a tough conversation.”
“It was. I would have preferred to talk to her face-to-face at a better time, but she insisted on talking to me right then.”
She remembered now how forced his smiles had been when he had rejoined the wedding party. How dark his eyes had been. She’d been so focused on BiBi’s hurt feelings that she hadn’t paid enough attention to those signs from Jason. “Why did she think you could tell her something different than the doctors they had already consulted? You aren’t even an oncologist.”
He shrugged. “She’s known me a long time. She’s a good friend of my mom’s, and Mom thought maybe I could explain things a little more clearly for her. I talked to Mom later, and she said she tried to convince Linda to wait until Monday to call me, but Linda was determined that it had to be today.”
“And you couldn’t turn her down.”
“Would you have?”
He sounded genuinely curious, so Madison took a moment to consider the question. Would she have been able to tell a grief-stricken old friend that she couldn’t talk about her dying son because she had to practice walking in and out of a church?
“No,” she said with a firm shake of her head. “I wouldn’t have turned her down, either. And neither would BiBi. She would understand if she knew the circumstances.”
“We’ll just let it go. Like I said, she’ll get over it, especially when I prove to be an exemplary groomsman tomorrow.”
She gave a little smile, as he’d obviously intended, but was still thoughtful as she studied his handsome, relaxed face. “Really, Jason—don’t you ever get tired of being everyone’s go-to guy? It seems like you’re on call 24/7, not only for your patients, but for your family and friends, as well.”
She could tell that his first instinct was to deny that implication, but as she had done a few moments earlier, he paused to consider the question before answering. “I like my life,” he said simply. “There’s not much about it I would change, even given the chance.”
“So you never feel like drop kicking that cell phone out the nearest tenth-story window?”
He laughed. “Every day. Doesn’t mean I’d do it, but I’m only human.”
She suspected some people might have cause to argue that. Jason seemed so darned perfect sometimes. She would probably feel quite flawed in comparison—if she allowed herself to go down that path.
Knowing it was their last, neither of them wanted the night to end. They lingered in the bed, kissing and talking softly about nothing in particular, and then took a leisurely shower together in preparation for Jason’s departure. The shower lasted a while longer than either had planned, concluding with Madison pressed against the tile wall, her legs around Jason’s waist, her arms locked around his neck. Both staggered a bit when they finally left the bathroom, knees weakened and rubbery, but Madison considered the past few hours worth every bit of the exhaustion she was sure to feel later. She could sleep when she got back home—at least when she wasn’t on duty or traveling from one interview to another—but she’d had only this one last night with Jason.
He procrastinated just inside the door, avoiding the moment when he’d have to turn the knob and slip out. “So I’ll see you later?”
“Of course. And I promise I won’t treat you like a stranger.”
His smile was a little crooked. “I won’t expect you to throw yourself in my arms, but maybe we can have a friendly conversation at the reception?”
“I see no reason why we couldn’t. Not at this point.”
Apparently, Jason had gotten through to her in some respects. She was beginning to wonder, herself, why she’d been so paranoid about BiBi, so worried about possibly upsetting her friend. Madison and Jason were both free and single, and they didn’t owe anyone explanations or apologies for spending time together. It had been unfair of her to treat him so coolly in front of the others. While she still preferred not to contribute to wedding gossip, she thought she and Jason could be on friendly terms without revealing too much of their history, brief as it was.
“I’ll look forward to it. You’re leaving right after the reception?”
“Yes. My flight leaves at nine tonight.”
“Do you need a ride to the airport?”
“No, that’s all arranged, thanks.”