Author's Note: I still don't own the characters, location, etc. And in
case you haven't noticed this part of the story is now purely fiction, as
there are no more spoilers left for this season.
Another hour had past and there was still no word from the Dr. Grayson. Emily paced the waiting area frantically as Lorelai just sat there. She didn't even have the will to flip through the assorted magazines from 1994 that lay on the table next to her. Lorelai couldn't believe this was happening again. The first time her father was in the hospital it had scared her. She never really thought of her parents as human and vulnerable until she saw it. Lately, it had seemed all she could see was how vulnerable and human they really were. It had terrified Lorelai then and it still scared her now. She remembered a comment her Dad had made after Trix passed away. "You only have one set of parents Lorelai," he had said. Lorelai wasn't a praying person, but she was silently chanting a mantra of good health for her father over and over in her head.
Even though Emily was only 10 feet away from her, Lorelai had never felt so alone. Her father was in surgery, her mother was a wreak and Rory was thousands of miles away oblivious to all this commotion. Lorelai sat alone with her thoughts thinking how isolated she felt.
"Lorelai," a familiar voice called emerging from the elevator.
"Luke?" Lorelai said slightly confused, but instinctively standing and rushing over to him. She immediately threw her arms around his neck and hugged him. A feeling of warmth washed over her as their bodies met. Lorelai had been terrified and scared and holding it together for her mother, but the sight and touch of Luke made her less terrified. Once again, as if on cue, her eyes started to well up.
"Luke, how did you know I was here?" she asked, still clinging to him.
"Sookie," he answered gently pulling away from her to look at her face. He gently brushed a strand of hair out of her face.
"You didn't have to come all the way here. I know you hate hospitals," Lorelai said starting to cry.
"There is no where I'd rather be right now," Luke said pulling her close to hug her again. "Can I do anything? Do you need me to pick up Rory or get you coffee or anything? You name it and it's done," he said powerfully.
"No, I'm okay," Lorelai said still hugging him. "You're here and that's more than enough." She pulled away from him and started walking back to the waiting area. "I haven't told Rory about my Dad. You know she's with Chris and I don't want to call her and ruin her last day of vacation. She's coming home tomorrow and I figure I can tell her then. Am I a horrible mother?" she asked Luke as they sat.
"No," Luke replied placing his hand on her leg for support. "You shouldn't worry her. There isn't anything she can do anyway," he reassured her. Luke caught sight of Emily pacing.
"Emily, I'm very sorry about Richard, but I'm sure everything will be fine," Luke said to her.
"Thank you Luke. I appreciate that," Emily said quietly, still pacing.
"She's barely holding it together Luke," Lorelai informed him quietly. "She thinks it's her fault that this happened because she left my Dad. She's done nothing but pace back and forth for the last hour."
"When was the last time you heard from the doctor?" Luke asked.
"About an hour ago," Lorelai responded playing with her fingernails. "He said my Dad was doing well and that he should be out of surgery by 5 p.m., but 5 has come and gone and they still haven't said anything."
Luke nodded. He was unsure of what to say. He just wanted to hold Lorelai and make all the pain and sadness she was feeling disappear. But he knew that he couldn't. He knew that no amount of reassurance in the world could help her until her father was safely out of surgery. All he could do was take her hand and gently squeeze it to let her know that he was there for her. Lorelai smiled feebly at Luke and squeezed his hand back. They weren't technically together and they weren't technically friends but Luke made Lorelai feel so safe and reassured. She almost started to believe that everything would be alright.
"I think I'm gonna go see if I can track down a doctor," Lorelai finally said. "Would you mind staying here with my Mom?"
"Of course not," Luke replied letting go of her hand. "You should go find out if they know anything more."
"Okay," Lorelai said standing up. "Mom, I'm gonna go see if I can track down Dr. Grayson. Do you need anything?"
"No, I'm fine Lorelai," Emily responded.
"Okay, I'll be right back." Lorelai walked down the hallway to track down someone who could tell her about her father's condition.
Emily grew tired of pacing and walked over to the chairs. She said down in the chair next to Luke. It was angled in an L shape so her profile faced Luke. Luke, never a man of many words, didn't know what to say. He knew what she was going through must be horrible. He had lost both his parents, his mother at a fairly early age, and he knew that no matter what anyone said things might not be fine.
"It was nice of you to come Luke," Emily broke the silence.
"Well, I figured Lorelai might need someone," Luke replied. "And maybe you could use someone too," he added.
"You always seem to know what my daughter wants and what she needs," Emily replied.
Luke was taken aback. He wasn't quite sure how to respond to Emily's comment. He wasn't sure if it was a compliment or an accusation. So instead of saying anything he just nodded.
"You're both damn fools," Emily said after a moment.
"What?" Luke asked incredulously. He knew that people dealt with stress in different ways but Emily's way sure was peculiar.
"You and Lorelai," Emily answered. "You're damn fools. You obviously care for each other, but you won't admit it."
"Uh, I don't see what that has to," he was cut off.
"It has everything to do with this situation Luke," Emily said coldly. "Do you know that I think you know more about my daughter than she knows about herself?"
"Just because I know what Lorelai likes to eat doesn't mean that I know her all that well," Luke said thinking about how Emily made a big deal about how he knew what Lorelai ate for lunch.
"Please," Emily dismissed him. "You know what she likes to eat, you know what needs to be fixed around her house, you knew she needed you here today and you came. I heard her say you hate hospitals and yet you're sitting here. Why?" Emily demanded.
"Because she needs a friend," Luke explained feebly.
"Lorelai has plenty of friends," Emily said. "I don't know what happened between you two, but don't you think it's time to get over it?" Emily was starting get upset. "Don't you see what a waste it is to be apart? Life is too short for such nonsense. I only wish I had realized it sooner. I only wish Richard had realized it sooner," Emily said starting to cry.
What was it about Luke and the Gilmore women? They always seemed to feel completely at ease crying in front of him. He never felt comfortable when women were crying, but he did is best to be comforting. Luke reached his hand across the chair and held it, just as he had held Lorelai's. He gave Emily's hand a gentle squeeze to let her know that it was going to be okay.
Emily looked at Luke apologetically. "I'm sorry, Luke," she said between sobs. "This isn't your problem. It doesn't have anything to do with you and Lorelai."
"It's okay" Luke replied. "But for what it's worth I care about your daughter very much."
Emily had started to compose herself again when Lorelai came back with Dr. Grayson. She noticed that Luke was holding her mother's hand. She only hoped that he was as comforting to her as he had been for Lorelai herself. Emily dropped Luke's hand and stood up when she saw the doctor.
"What's going on?" Emily asked her voice full of trepidation.
"Richard is out of surgery," Dr. Grayson replied. "He is in recovery now and after he's regained consciousness he'll be moved to ICU. The procedure went fairly well. We were able to remove the blockages, but he does have quite a road to recovery. He's going to have to overhaul his life I'm afraid. He needs to change his diet, his exercise regiment and, above all, he needs to cut out stress."
"When can I see him?" Emily asked.
"Not for another four hours at least," Dr. Grayson said. "You might wish to go home and come back."
"No, I'll wait here," Emily replied determined. She turned and sat back down. Lorelai, Luke and Dr. Grayson exchanged looks, but Lorelai knew full well that her mother wasn't going anywhere. Frankly, she understood how she felt. Lorelai didn't want to go anywhere either. It was going to be a long night.
Dr. Grayson left to check on patients and left Luke and Lorelai standing. Luke placed his hands on Lorelai's shoulders and gave them a squeeze. "He's going to be alright," Luke reiterated.
Lorelai let her head drop to one side and then to the other. She didn't know how stress could make you so tired but she felt exhausted. "I know," she said placing her hands over Luke's. "Is my Mom okay? You two looked kind of intense when I walked up."
Luke stole a glance over his shoulder at Emily. "She'll be fine. I think she just needed to hear that your Dad is gonna be okay. Look, I'm gonna leave you two alone for minute. Do you need coffee or food? When was the last time you ate?" Luke asked concerned.
"I could go for some coffee. I'm not really hungry though," Lorelai replied.
"Okay," Luke said. "I'll be back in a little bit." With that he walked down the hall to the elevator as Lorelai took a seat next to her mother.
"See," Lorelai said, "Dad's gonna be okay."
"Yes," Emily replied stoically. "Thank God for that."
"Mom, this isn't your fault," Lorelai continued. "Dad has too much stress and he doesn't exercise or eat right, but he will now and he'll be okay."
"I should have called him back Lorelai," Emily said. "He called me three, sometimes four times a day all week. Could he have known?" Emily asked Lorelai, her eyes questioning. "Could he have known his heart was bothering him? What if he was trying to reach out to me and I ignored him Lorelai?" Emily was frantic again.
"But, Mom, he's fine now," Lorelai tried to reiterate to her mother. "He's in recovery and then he'll wake up and you can talk to him. He can tell you what he was trying to tell you and you can tell him what you need to say. It's not too late."
"No, it's not, luckily," Emily conceded calming down. "It's not too late for you either Lorelai," Emily added.
"What are you talking about?" Lorelai asked confused. Lorelai hadn't been on the best terms with her father, but it wasn't as if they weren't speaking.
"I'm talking about Luke. He loves you and I think you love him too," Emily stated simply.
"Mom, Luke and I are," Emily took the liberty of cutting her off just as she had with Luke.
"You and Luke are perfect for each other. For Pete's sake Lorelai the man knows your every move before you do."
"So that makes it kismet?" Lorelai asked mockingly.
"No, Lorelai, the fact that Luke would come all the way to Hartford when he hates hospitals to make sure you're okay makes it kismet. Your father wouldn't even cancel a meeting to go with me to my friend's funeral."
Lorelai thought it about it for a moment and for once Emily was unequivocally right. She knew how she felt about Luke. She had wanted to tell him weeks ago, but he had wanted everything to go back to normal. Normal meaning they were just friends. She didn't want to upset the apple cart so she didn't tell him how she felt.
"I know you and I haven't always seen eye to eye. I know years ago when I asked you about Luke I thought you were crazy for even having such a strong friendship with him, let alone anything more, but I was wrong. Since I've spent more time in Stars Hollow I can see exactly why you'd become so attached to him," Emily explained. "If tonight has taught me anything, it's that you always think there's plenty of time. I ignored your father and he's lying in a hospital bed right now. I just pray that there will be enough time for me to talk to him again."
Lorelai sat there stunned. How did her mother suddenly become the Dali Llama? She was right though. Lorelai knew she was right. She hoped that her Mom and Dad would get the chance to say what they were thinking. But Lorelai knew one thing before the night was over she was going to tell Luke what she was thinking too.
Luke returned a half hour later with a coffee for Lorelai, muffins, bagels and tea for Emily. He knew how much Lorelai hated hospital food and he had set out to find a diner with food that was acceptable to Lorelai's refined palate.
Lorelai and Emily, although not hungry, were grateful for Luke's generosity. It had been hours since they arrived at the hospital. Richard was still in the recovery room, but the doctors kept insisting he would soon be conscious and moved to his own room. Emily had insisted on a private room considering her mother-in-laws name was on a wing of the hospital.
Finally, hours after they had arrived Dr. Grayson had come to tell them that Richard was in his own room. He had warned then that he would be extremely groggy. What he hadn't prepared them for was how haggard he would look. The rule was one visitor at a time and of course Lorelai let Emily go first. Lorelai waited in the hallway, but she couldn't resist peaking through the small window in the door.
Emily pushed back the curtain and walked closer to Richard's bed.
"Richard?" Emily asked as she quietly approached the bed. Richard's eyes fluttered open and he cleared his throat.
"Emily? Is that you?" he asked.
"Yes, Richard," Emily said softly. "I'm right here."
"Am I dead?" he asked half-joking.
"No," Emily said as she brushed the hair back on his forehead. "Although you nearly scared me to death today."
"So you're really here then?"
"Of course Richard," Emily replied. "I thought we agreed after your last episode that you weren't going to scare me like this again."
"I know. I'm sorry Emily," Richard said.
"It's okay," Emily said, her hand lingering on his forehead. Richard slowly picked his hand up and placed it on top of Emily's and pulled her hand down to his heart.
"No Emily," Richard said. "It is not okay. Do you know why I think this happened? Because you're my heart Emily. I can't do it without you. Without you I'm not a whole person. I was a fool. I was too wrapped up in my work and I forgot that you are the most important thing in my life," Richard finished, exhausted.
Emily tried to fight back the tears in her eyes. "Richard, it's okay. It's okay," Emily said gently patting his chest. "I'm here now and I'm not going anywhere."
Lorelai watched her mother rest her head softly on her father's shoulder and just sit with him. She hoped that her father had got to say everything he wanted. She also hoped that her mother said what she needed to say. Maybe things would be okay between her parents after all.
TBC
Another hour had past and there was still no word from the Dr. Grayson. Emily paced the waiting area frantically as Lorelai just sat there. She didn't even have the will to flip through the assorted magazines from 1994 that lay on the table next to her. Lorelai couldn't believe this was happening again. The first time her father was in the hospital it had scared her. She never really thought of her parents as human and vulnerable until she saw it. Lately, it had seemed all she could see was how vulnerable and human they really were. It had terrified Lorelai then and it still scared her now. She remembered a comment her Dad had made after Trix passed away. "You only have one set of parents Lorelai," he had said. Lorelai wasn't a praying person, but she was silently chanting a mantra of good health for her father over and over in her head.
Even though Emily was only 10 feet away from her, Lorelai had never felt so alone. Her father was in surgery, her mother was a wreak and Rory was thousands of miles away oblivious to all this commotion. Lorelai sat alone with her thoughts thinking how isolated she felt.
"Lorelai," a familiar voice called emerging from the elevator.
"Luke?" Lorelai said slightly confused, but instinctively standing and rushing over to him. She immediately threw her arms around his neck and hugged him. A feeling of warmth washed over her as their bodies met. Lorelai had been terrified and scared and holding it together for her mother, but the sight and touch of Luke made her less terrified. Once again, as if on cue, her eyes started to well up.
"Luke, how did you know I was here?" she asked, still clinging to him.
"Sookie," he answered gently pulling away from her to look at her face. He gently brushed a strand of hair out of her face.
"You didn't have to come all the way here. I know you hate hospitals," Lorelai said starting to cry.
"There is no where I'd rather be right now," Luke said pulling her close to hug her again. "Can I do anything? Do you need me to pick up Rory or get you coffee or anything? You name it and it's done," he said powerfully.
"No, I'm okay," Lorelai said still hugging him. "You're here and that's more than enough." She pulled away from him and started walking back to the waiting area. "I haven't told Rory about my Dad. You know she's with Chris and I don't want to call her and ruin her last day of vacation. She's coming home tomorrow and I figure I can tell her then. Am I a horrible mother?" she asked Luke as they sat.
"No," Luke replied placing his hand on her leg for support. "You shouldn't worry her. There isn't anything she can do anyway," he reassured her. Luke caught sight of Emily pacing.
"Emily, I'm very sorry about Richard, but I'm sure everything will be fine," Luke said to her.
"Thank you Luke. I appreciate that," Emily said quietly, still pacing.
"She's barely holding it together Luke," Lorelai informed him quietly. "She thinks it's her fault that this happened because she left my Dad. She's done nothing but pace back and forth for the last hour."
"When was the last time you heard from the doctor?" Luke asked.
"About an hour ago," Lorelai responded playing with her fingernails. "He said my Dad was doing well and that he should be out of surgery by 5 p.m., but 5 has come and gone and they still haven't said anything."
Luke nodded. He was unsure of what to say. He just wanted to hold Lorelai and make all the pain and sadness she was feeling disappear. But he knew that he couldn't. He knew that no amount of reassurance in the world could help her until her father was safely out of surgery. All he could do was take her hand and gently squeeze it to let her know that he was there for her. Lorelai smiled feebly at Luke and squeezed his hand back. They weren't technically together and they weren't technically friends but Luke made Lorelai feel so safe and reassured. She almost started to believe that everything would be alright.
"I think I'm gonna go see if I can track down a doctor," Lorelai finally said. "Would you mind staying here with my Mom?"
"Of course not," Luke replied letting go of her hand. "You should go find out if they know anything more."
"Okay," Lorelai said standing up. "Mom, I'm gonna go see if I can track down Dr. Grayson. Do you need anything?"
"No, I'm fine Lorelai," Emily responded.
"Okay, I'll be right back." Lorelai walked down the hallway to track down someone who could tell her about her father's condition.
Emily grew tired of pacing and walked over to the chairs. She said down in the chair next to Luke. It was angled in an L shape so her profile faced Luke. Luke, never a man of many words, didn't know what to say. He knew what she was going through must be horrible. He had lost both his parents, his mother at a fairly early age, and he knew that no matter what anyone said things might not be fine.
"It was nice of you to come Luke," Emily broke the silence.
"Well, I figured Lorelai might need someone," Luke replied. "And maybe you could use someone too," he added.
"You always seem to know what my daughter wants and what she needs," Emily replied.
Luke was taken aback. He wasn't quite sure how to respond to Emily's comment. He wasn't sure if it was a compliment or an accusation. So instead of saying anything he just nodded.
"You're both damn fools," Emily said after a moment.
"What?" Luke asked incredulously. He knew that people dealt with stress in different ways but Emily's way sure was peculiar.
"You and Lorelai," Emily answered. "You're damn fools. You obviously care for each other, but you won't admit it."
"Uh, I don't see what that has to," he was cut off.
"It has everything to do with this situation Luke," Emily said coldly. "Do you know that I think you know more about my daughter than she knows about herself?"
"Just because I know what Lorelai likes to eat doesn't mean that I know her all that well," Luke said thinking about how Emily made a big deal about how he knew what Lorelai ate for lunch.
"Please," Emily dismissed him. "You know what she likes to eat, you know what needs to be fixed around her house, you knew she needed you here today and you came. I heard her say you hate hospitals and yet you're sitting here. Why?" Emily demanded.
"Because she needs a friend," Luke explained feebly.
"Lorelai has plenty of friends," Emily said. "I don't know what happened between you two, but don't you think it's time to get over it?" Emily was starting get upset. "Don't you see what a waste it is to be apart? Life is too short for such nonsense. I only wish I had realized it sooner. I only wish Richard had realized it sooner," Emily said starting to cry.
What was it about Luke and the Gilmore women? They always seemed to feel completely at ease crying in front of him. He never felt comfortable when women were crying, but he did is best to be comforting. Luke reached his hand across the chair and held it, just as he had held Lorelai's. He gave Emily's hand a gentle squeeze to let her know that it was going to be okay.
Emily looked at Luke apologetically. "I'm sorry, Luke," she said between sobs. "This isn't your problem. It doesn't have anything to do with you and Lorelai."
"It's okay" Luke replied. "But for what it's worth I care about your daughter very much."
Emily had started to compose herself again when Lorelai came back with Dr. Grayson. She noticed that Luke was holding her mother's hand. She only hoped that he was as comforting to her as he had been for Lorelai herself. Emily dropped Luke's hand and stood up when she saw the doctor.
"What's going on?" Emily asked her voice full of trepidation.
"Richard is out of surgery," Dr. Grayson replied. "He is in recovery now and after he's regained consciousness he'll be moved to ICU. The procedure went fairly well. We were able to remove the blockages, but he does have quite a road to recovery. He's going to have to overhaul his life I'm afraid. He needs to change his diet, his exercise regiment and, above all, he needs to cut out stress."
"When can I see him?" Emily asked.
"Not for another four hours at least," Dr. Grayson said. "You might wish to go home and come back."
"No, I'll wait here," Emily replied determined. She turned and sat back down. Lorelai, Luke and Dr. Grayson exchanged looks, but Lorelai knew full well that her mother wasn't going anywhere. Frankly, she understood how she felt. Lorelai didn't want to go anywhere either. It was going to be a long night.
Dr. Grayson left to check on patients and left Luke and Lorelai standing. Luke placed his hands on Lorelai's shoulders and gave them a squeeze. "He's going to be alright," Luke reiterated.
Lorelai let her head drop to one side and then to the other. She didn't know how stress could make you so tired but she felt exhausted. "I know," she said placing her hands over Luke's. "Is my Mom okay? You two looked kind of intense when I walked up."
Luke stole a glance over his shoulder at Emily. "She'll be fine. I think she just needed to hear that your Dad is gonna be okay. Look, I'm gonna leave you two alone for minute. Do you need coffee or food? When was the last time you ate?" Luke asked concerned.
"I could go for some coffee. I'm not really hungry though," Lorelai replied.
"Okay," Luke said. "I'll be back in a little bit." With that he walked down the hall to the elevator as Lorelai took a seat next to her mother.
"See," Lorelai said, "Dad's gonna be okay."
"Yes," Emily replied stoically. "Thank God for that."
"Mom, this isn't your fault," Lorelai continued. "Dad has too much stress and he doesn't exercise or eat right, but he will now and he'll be okay."
"I should have called him back Lorelai," Emily said. "He called me three, sometimes four times a day all week. Could he have known?" Emily asked Lorelai, her eyes questioning. "Could he have known his heart was bothering him? What if he was trying to reach out to me and I ignored him Lorelai?" Emily was frantic again.
"But, Mom, he's fine now," Lorelai tried to reiterate to her mother. "He's in recovery and then he'll wake up and you can talk to him. He can tell you what he was trying to tell you and you can tell him what you need to say. It's not too late."
"No, it's not, luckily," Emily conceded calming down. "It's not too late for you either Lorelai," Emily added.
"What are you talking about?" Lorelai asked confused. Lorelai hadn't been on the best terms with her father, but it wasn't as if they weren't speaking.
"I'm talking about Luke. He loves you and I think you love him too," Emily stated simply.
"Mom, Luke and I are," Emily took the liberty of cutting her off just as she had with Luke.
"You and Luke are perfect for each other. For Pete's sake Lorelai the man knows your every move before you do."
"So that makes it kismet?" Lorelai asked mockingly.
"No, Lorelai, the fact that Luke would come all the way to Hartford when he hates hospitals to make sure you're okay makes it kismet. Your father wouldn't even cancel a meeting to go with me to my friend's funeral."
Lorelai thought it about it for a moment and for once Emily was unequivocally right. She knew how she felt about Luke. She had wanted to tell him weeks ago, but he had wanted everything to go back to normal. Normal meaning they were just friends. She didn't want to upset the apple cart so she didn't tell him how she felt.
"I know you and I haven't always seen eye to eye. I know years ago when I asked you about Luke I thought you were crazy for even having such a strong friendship with him, let alone anything more, but I was wrong. Since I've spent more time in Stars Hollow I can see exactly why you'd become so attached to him," Emily explained. "If tonight has taught me anything, it's that you always think there's plenty of time. I ignored your father and he's lying in a hospital bed right now. I just pray that there will be enough time for me to talk to him again."
Lorelai sat there stunned. How did her mother suddenly become the Dali Llama? She was right though. Lorelai knew she was right. She hoped that her Mom and Dad would get the chance to say what they were thinking. But Lorelai knew one thing before the night was over she was going to tell Luke what she was thinking too.
Luke returned a half hour later with a coffee for Lorelai, muffins, bagels and tea for Emily. He knew how much Lorelai hated hospital food and he had set out to find a diner with food that was acceptable to Lorelai's refined palate.
Lorelai and Emily, although not hungry, were grateful for Luke's generosity. It had been hours since they arrived at the hospital. Richard was still in the recovery room, but the doctors kept insisting he would soon be conscious and moved to his own room. Emily had insisted on a private room considering her mother-in-laws name was on a wing of the hospital.
Finally, hours after they had arrived Dr. Grayson had come to tell them that Richard was in his own room. He had warned then that he would be extremely groggy. What he hadn't prepared them for was how haggard he would look. The rule was one visitor at a time and of course Lorelai let Emily go first. Lorelai waited in the hallway, but she couldn't resist peaking through the small window in the door.
Emily pushed back the curtain and walked closer to Richard's bed.
"Richard?" Emily asked as she quietly approached the bed. Richard's eyes fluttered open and he cleared his throat.
"Emily? Is that you?" he asked.
"Yes, Richard," Emily said softly. "I'm right here."
"Am I dead?" he asked half-joking.
"No," Emily said as she brushed the hair back on his forehead. "Although you nearly scared me to death today."
"So you're really here then?"
"Of course Richard," Emily replied. "I thought we agreed after your last episode that you weren't going to scare me like this again."
"I know. I'm sorry Emily," Richard said.
"It's okay," Emily said, her hand lingering on his forehead. Richard slowly picked his hand up and placed it on top of Emily's and pulled her hand down to his heart.
"No Emily," Richard said. "It is not okay. Do you know why I think this happened? Because you're my heart Emily. I can't do it without you. Without you I'm not a whole person. I was a fool. I was too wrapped up in my work and I forgot that you are the most important thing in my life," Richard finished, exhausted.
Emily tried to fight back the tears in her eyes. "Richard, it's okay. It's okay," Emily said gently patting his chest. "I'm here now and I'm not going anywhere."
Lorelai watched her mother rest her head softly on her father's shoulder and just sit with him. She hoped that her father had got to say everything he wanted. She also hoped that her mother said what she needed to say. Maybe things would be okay between her parents after all.
TBC