Vincent Kinsington

I pulled out my phone and looked at again. There weren't any new messages. The last message I had received was from Chet asking if I had heard anything.

I took the bagel sandwiches to the table that had ordered them. They politely declined when I asked them if I could get them anything else.

The more time passed, the more my heart grew heavy and my stomach knotted. More than one coworker asked me if I was all right.

"If something is wrong, we can cover for you," Jessica said when I pulled out my phone again. I went back to making the latte.

"I don't know if anything is wrong," I said. "My brother said he was going to contact me today about my grandma, but I haven't heard anything. Hopefully that means everything is fine, right?"

"I hope so," she said. "If you have a family emergency, let me know. We'll work it out here."

"Thanks," I said. I took the latte to the table at the back where the student had her laptop open and was working on assignment.

"Thank you," she said without looking up at me.

My phone vibrated with a call. I immediately answered without looking at the caller i.d.

"Hello," I said. I didn't normally answer my phone at work which was why I had it set on vibrate, but this wasn't normal circumstances. I quickly made my way back behind the counter as I answered.

"Vincent," Aiden's voice was strange. He sniffed. Had he been crying? I couldn't remember the last time Aiden cried.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Dad didn't want me to call you, but I have to. She's asking to see you. She's dying, Vincent. I swear I didn't know." His voice hitched at the end and I knew he was crying.

I should ask where they were, what he meant by 'she's dying', but my entire being went blank. My brain stopped functioning. My body wouldn't move as if it had been turned into solid rock. Some part of me was aware of a hand on my shoulder of words being spoken to me, but I couldn't process any of that.

"You have to come," Aiden said. His voice was calmer, but still pained. "Come and bring Chet. She wants to see him too."

Something snapped in me at Chet's name and I was finally able to react. "What do you mean she's dying?" My voice lifted at the end almost hysterically. That was when I remembered where I was. I looked all around. Jessica and my other coworkers were around me watching me with concern. Jessica's hand was the one on my shoulder. My voice couldn't have been too loud because none of the customers paid us any attention.

"You should go," Jessica whispered to me. "I'll take care of everything here."

I didn't need anymore encouragement. I didn't even tell my customers I was leaving. I crossed the cafe and was out the door making my way to the shuttle stop to get Chet.

"Did you hear me, Vinny?" Aiden asked and I realized he had been talking to me at the same time as Jessica.

"No," I said.

"I said, grandma has cancer. I only found out today. She and dad and mom knew. It was why she retired. By the time they found the cancer, it was already terminal. The doctor says they don't expect her to live passed tomorrow." He was sobbing now.

My throat closed off and tears fell onto my cheeks. Students gave me strange looks as I got on the shuttle.

"Where are you?" I asked. "Home?"

"No. When I went to the house earlier, grandma was tired, confused and had a hard time breathing, but I still didn't know it was this bad." His voice was a little stronger again as he got control of his tears. "Then she collapsed and dad and mom panicked. Priscilla called the ambulance. They still didn't tell me even then. I only heard as they told the paramedics that she has terminal lung cancer and that it has spread."

"Which hospital are you at?"

He told me. It was the nicer one on the other end of town.

"I'm coming," I said. "I'll bring Chet with me."

Aiden breathed lighter. "Hurry," he said before he hung up.

I called Chet.

"Did you hear anything?" he asked.

When I heard his voice everything inside me broke because he was the one person I could be safe with. I bent over in the seat as a sob racked my being. My throat painfully closed off and I couldn't speak.

"What's wrong? Is it your grandma?"

"Yes," I croaked out.

"Is it bad?"

"Yes."

"I'm coming to get you," he said.

"No," I said and sat up. Now everyone on the shuttle was staring at me, but I didn't care. The shuttle pulled up to my stop. "I'm getting off the shuttle now," I said as I stood. The doors opened and I quickly stepped out. "Can you call Alex and ask him to give us a ride to the hospital?"

"Yes," he said. "I'll do it now."

I hung up and walked quickly to the apartment complex. When I got there, Alex and Chet were waiting for me at Alex's car.

"Which hospital?" Alex asked.

I told him as we got in the car. I sat in the back with Chet this time. I needed to be touching him. He sat in the middle seat and I put my head on his shoulder. He took my hand in his as we headed out.

We were more than halfway there before I said anything. "She has cancer. Aiden says she is dying."

Alex's eyes flashed to me in the rearview mirror before turning his attention back to the road. Chet didn't say anything, but his hand tightened around mine and his other hand came up to pat my jaw.

When we got there, Alex dropped us off at the doors. I was in such a rush that I would have wandered aimlessly in my search to find my grandma, but Chet pulled us to the desk and asked directly where we could find her. Then he led the way through the hallways until we reached the door.

I froze at the doorway. My parents sat side by side in the hospital chairs in the room. My dad was hunched over looking more ragged than I had ever seen him. His elbows were on his knees and his head was buried in his hands. My mom's hand gently rubbed his back.

Aiden sat on the other side of the room. He wasn't crying at the moment, but his eyes were bloodshot. Jasmine stood by his side. She had an arm draped over his shoulders.

Grandma was in the hospital bed. Her eyes were closed. Her skin was sickly pale. Her veins seemed to pop out from underneath her thin, sagging skin. Her wrinkles were more pronounced than I had ever seen them. It looked like she had hundreds of more wrinkles than the last time I saw her. And she had lost a lot of weight in the short timespan since I had last seen her.

I stood there hand in hand with Chet not sure what to do or how to make my presence known. I hadn't seen my mother since she kicked me out. It had been even longer since I had seen my father.

"What are you doing here?" my father's harsh voice crossed the distance. He stood and faced me. My mother was shocked to see me as she stood next to my dad.

"Leave," he said.

"She's been asking for him," Aiden tentatively tried.

"She's been incoherent. She doesn't know what she wants," my dad said.

"She's not always incoherent," Aiden said a little stronger, "and she's been consistently asking to see Vincent and Chet."

My father turned to me. "Get out," he reiterated with a wave of his hand.

"I want to see her," I said quietly.

"It doesn't matter what you want," he said. "She's my mother. I'll decide what's best for her."

"She's my grandma," I said.

"No, she's not," my dad said. "She was never your grandma. Not biologically."

That was the first time my father had ever said that out loud even though it had been implied many times. My mother flinched at his words and hid slightly behind him.

"Still my grandma," I said.

"Vinny," my grandma's weak voice cut in. She reached an arm out weakly towards me.

I walked towards her and pulled Chet with me, but my father stood in front of me blocking the way.

"Dad," Aiden started, but our father cut him off.

"You are not related to her in anyway," he said to me. "You shouldn't be here. You are not welcome here."

"Honey," my mom said as she entwined her arm in his, "just let him..." Her voice trailed off at the look he gave her. He pulled his arm away from hers.

"Vinny," my grandma's voice called out again. I started to walk passed my dad, but he grabbed my arm. Chet tensed as if he was going to jump on my dad and beat him to a bloody pulp.

Before anything else could happen a familiar voice said, "Greg." We looked at the doorway and there stood Nate Watakeekul. Behind him were a few nurses getting ready to intervene somehow if they needed to.

My dad looked to Aiden. "Did you call him?" he asked.

Aiden shook his head. "I only called Vincent."

"I told him," Chet said. My dad's grip on my arm loosened.

"Greg," Nate stepped into the room, but didn't get too close. "Let them have a moment with her. It's what she is asking for on her deathbed. Whether she is biologically related to him or not, Vincent has been her grandson. She has treated him and loved him as such and he has loved her as a grandma. It's just a moment to give your dying mother some peace."

My dad looked at my grandma and then back to Nate. "Fine," he said. He let go of my arm and took my mom's hand in his. He took her out into the hallway with him.

Aiden and Jasmine followed, but Aiden put a hand on my shoulder briefly before he left. Nate followed them and closed the door, leaving me, Chet and my grandma as the only ones left in the room.

I rushed to my grandma and took her outstretched hand in both of mine. My knees buckled and if Chet hadn't moved the chair under me at that moment, I would have collapsed to the floor. As it was, I sat heavily in the seat and bent over my grandma's hand. Tears spilled onto my cheeks as I kissed the back of her weathered hand.

"Vinny," my grandma said and patted my head with her free hand.

I took in a deep breath to collect myself and looked into her face.

"My Vinny," she said. "You are my grandson and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Not even my pigheaded son."

"You are my grandma, always," I said.

She reached out to Chet with the hand that had just patted my head. Chet took her hand in his and stepped closer so she wouldn't have to stretch her arm out so far.

"You remember our promise?"

"Yes," Chet said. "You don't need to worry about Vincent. I'll take care of him. Always."

My grandma smiled, but it quickly faded as a spasm of pain replaced it. She coughed and when she stopped she seemed even weaker.

"I'll be watching you from the heavens," she said to Chet, "if you don't keep your promise I'll haunt you."

Chet smiled. "It would be nice to see your face every once in awhile so I won't say no to being haunted, but I'm going to keep the promise."

Grandma turned her attention back to me. She squeezed my hand weakly. "I love you, Vincent. Remember that."

"I love you too, grandma."

She took in a deep breath, but that same pained expression crossed her face. "I'll be watching you from the heavens too and I expect you to start your own business and make it more successful than Kinsington Plastics. If you don't, I'll haunt you." She smiled.

"Like Chet, I think I wouldn't mind you haunting us, but more than that I want to make you proud."

"You always make me proud," she said. "You'd make your grandfather proud too. It's a shame you never got to meet him. You'd like each other." She sighed. "I'm tired now." Her eyes closed. Her grip on my hand slackened.

"Rest, grandma," I said. I stood up and kissed her on the forehead.