“Surprise!” The happy call rang out from the gathering in the living room. Practically the whole family had come over; Henry, Tyler, Lysander’s parents, even members of Betty's family. Charles was even there.
" we saw your cars outside" Betty giggled
“Next time, park on the other side of the lake.” Lysander joked.
“We wanted to give you a little warning.” Henry smiled. “Didn’t want to overwhelm you.”
" I just have a few stitches and a torn ligament" she said
“Still, after all that time in that hospital…” Henry pointed out. “It can be pretty stressful even though you're supposed to be there to heal.”
She raised an eyebrow
“What? I’ve worked in hospitals before.” Henry shrugged. “I know what it's like in there.”
“He has a point.” Lysander agreed.
Betty closed her eyes sighing "Okay Henry we get it but I've been going to hospitals constantly since I wass three or did you forget my childhood?"
“No, I didn't forget.” Henry assured her. “Sorry. I’m not trying to seem like I’m underestimating you.”
“Aside from your recent trip to the hospital,” Charles spoke up from his seat. “How do you feel now?”
" the lower half of my body hurts," she told her father
“But that's just from the stitches and being in the wheelchair, right?” Charles asked, hoping that what he had done for her had still worked.
" except for the leg tumor" she said
“Wait, what?” Lysander asked in deep worry as he knelt beside her.
“What tumor?” Charles furrowed his brow slightly.
"I have a leg tumor and It's slowly moving up to my heart " she said
“How long have you had it?” Charles asked, clenching his fist till his knuckles turned white.
"Dad," she said grabbing his hand.
Charles looked up at her. “Is it new or have you had this for a while?” he asked again.
"A while" she said
Charles opened his mouth but quickly closed it, remembering that there were children in the room. Instead, he sighed and shook his head. “I… I wanted you to be healthy. Not dying.” he admitted in a soft murmur.
“Maybe we should talk about this later.” Henry suggested, hoping to shift the mood.
" where's evan" she asked looking around bot seeing him
“He should be here soon.” Henry answered. “He’s just running a little late.”
"Oh…" She said
“Don’t worry, mon amour. He’ll be here.” Lysander assured her softly.
" just figured he should be here when his child sags his first word" she said
Lysander managed to smile softly at that and nodded a little. “Don’t worry too much about that. I don't think Adrian is going to stop any time soon.” he chuckled a little. Sometimes it was hard to forget that Adrian and Victoria were Evan’s kids and not his… But he still loved them as much as if they had been.
Adrian giggled a little, as if to prove his uncle's point. “Mama.”
" he should've been here Ly it's his first word that moments special to a father you should know" she said
He nodded softly as he remembered Laura-Beth's first word. “I do. I thought my heart was going to burst.” he agreed.
She smiled softly at him
Lysander smiled back and kissed her cheek.
"Oh… How late am I?" Evan's voice came from the doorway, sounding a little embarrassed.
Betty lowered her head