"Donald...I need a word with you in private" was the first words Angelina spoke when she entered the apartment following Hannah.
"Oh the joy" Don muttered and he let go of Jess as he stood up from the sofa
"Be nice" Hannah said as her dad passed her. She looked as though she had been crying a little as her eyes held water and seriousness aimed at Don who just remained puzzled at what was happening.
"We can talk out here" Angelina told Don and they stepped out into the hallway. She leant against the painted wall and took a deep sigh before she looked at Don who just shut the door to so that he didn't lock himself out.
"What's going on Angelina...you don't just show up out of the blue...you used to ask me and Emily a week in advance what days you were looking after Hannah so you could fit it around your schedule" Don told her and he looked at the old woman
"I'm dying Donald" she said simply and Don remained quiet. Normally he would always reply back to Angelina with a smug comment or a clever remark but at this moment in time he had nothing. He didn't know what to say to her about it.
"When did you find out?" Don managed to ask
"The other week...I've been getting headaches recently and so I went to the doctors who referred me to an oncologist. I have a tumour in my brain and it's too late for them to do anything. I came back here to say goodbye to Hannah...even though we never spent much time together I thought I owed her as much" Angelina shrugged and she adjusted the scarf around her neck as she sniffed in an attempt not to cry for herself.
"I'm sorry Angelina" Don managed to say
"Well there's nothing which I can do now, is there? I'm only staying for two days then I'm moving on to visit some friends in California...I don't want Hannah to remember me as a sick woman which I will be soon"
"How long?" Don managed to say but she knew what he meant
"A month...at the most. Maybe less depending on circumstances" she said
"Are you coming back tomorrow?" Don asked and she nodded
"Hannah is taking me out for a meal with her boyfriend. Mark I do believe he is called" Angelina raised a brow and Don instantly felt some form of sympathy for Mark and what he was about to go through.
"Yes. He's a good kid" Don said
"Funny. Emily's father said the same thing about you when you first came round. I care to disagree though" she spoke and Don couldn't help but laugh. The woman was staring death in the face and yet she still managed to hold the same snootiness which she always did.
"Thanks Angelina. Where you staying tonight?" Don asked her
"I called a cab earlier...I have a room booked in the Hilton...I had best be off. Tell Hannah to be ready at nine Donald" Angelina said as she looked at her watch and then turned on her heel and began to walk back down the corridor.
"I will do" Don muttered and he walked back into the apartment. Hannah was sat on the arm of the armchair whilst Jess was perched forwards on the sofa with a sympathetic smile on her face; by the looks of it Hannah had told her the news.
"Well" Don managed to say
"She told you?" Hannah asked him
"Yes...she did...it makes sense why she's here" Don said and he sat down "she said to be ready by nine for her to come and pick you and Mark up"
"I just text mark to tell him to be here by half past eight...grandma is normally early" Hannah smiled a little before standing up
"I'm off to bed" she pecked her father on the cheek
"I'll come in soon" he said and Hannah nodded. Wondering why he was going to come into her room. The days of him tucking into her bed had long gone.
"You okay?" Jess asked Don and he nodded
"I'm fine...I mean I still don't like the woman but I wouldn't wish her death..." Don said and Jess nodded
"I know what you mean. Because she is dying you think you should change your attitude towards that person but you can't and it wouldn't be true to yourself" she admitted
"True...god she is still a snobby cow" Don chuckled and pinched the bridge of his nose
"I don't know if this is the best time to tell you this or not now" Jess pondered and Don looked at her and she looked at the coffee table.
"You may as well tell me now to stop me from wondering" Don said
"My parents want you and Hannah to come around for dinner tomorrow night...they want to meet you and Hannah properly" she said and Don looked at her. He had seen her parents in passing when they were out and about and Hannah had met them once.
"Tomorrow night? I feel like a teenager again" Don said and he collapsed back onto the sofa and Jess rolled her eyes and nudged him in the stomach
"Get a grip Don" she laughed "you're a thirty five year old man and my parents aren't that scary"
"Jess. Your dad was a Detective Sergeant...babe...that makes him a legend" Don said
"And he already knows you and doesn't mind you...now you know how Mark felt" she said and he began to stand up
"I almost feel pity for the kid now" he said and walked off into his daughter's bedroom.
...
"Hey" Don said as he sat on Hannah's bed. She was sat up and leaning against her pillows as she read through a college prospectus before setting it on her bedside cabinet.
"What's up?" she asked
"You're okay, right?" he asked her and Hannah shrugged
"I guess. Why?" she asked
"Because you just found out your grandma is dying Hannah" Don raised a brow and Hannah looked at her brown duvet
"I know...and I am sad...but I don't really know her dad...she left and all that and so I'm not distraught about it. Just sad" she said "is that horrible of me?"
"No baby...I know how you feel" Don hugged her once and rubbed her back before letting her go and placing his hands on her cheeks before kissing her on her forehead.
"I hear she's taking you and Mark out for dinner tomorrow?" Don sounded slightly amused
"I hope he survives that's all that matters" Hannah leant back against her pillows as Don chuckled lightly
"And Jess' parents have asked us out for dinner too" Don replied
"She told me this morning...should be nice" Hannah said and Don stood up and silently disagreed with her
"Yes. Should be" he said before walking back out into the living room.
...
Next chapter should be interesting :D Two dinners which could go wrong? One shan't and one shall possibly :D Please review!
