"Well, now I know why he had to 'surprise' me," Luka said quietly as he folded his arms behind his head on the pillow. "He knows I would have questioned his reasons for wanting to come now."
"Well, I feel a wee bit used," Abby frowned as she slipped under the bed covers next to him. "I got all caught up in his 'surprise' too."
"Don't blame yourself, Abby, My father can be quite an artsy man."
"Crafty..." she corrected.
"Whatever..." Luka sighed. "What are we going to do now? Should we talk to him? Should I call my brothers?"
"What if they don't know either" she interrupted him. Luka sighed.
"I am not sure that I really trust him to tell us the truth," he said. "Not now."
"Maybe we could get the information from Oncology," she mused. Luka shook his head.
"Not if he's told them not to tell us." Abby propped herself up on one elbow and looked down at him.
"Then we're going to have to talk to him," she said whispered firmly. Luka turned his face to her's. Her eyes sparkled with tears in the light coming through their window blinds. He nodded slowly and then realized that he'd been crying as well. He reached up and ran a finger down her cheek and then drew her carefully into his arms. He held onto her tightly as pent up sobs forced their way from his chest and were muffled in her soft hair. Abby's arms sought their way around him and she held him close to her.
The next morning, Luka studied his father across the breakfast table from him. Laurentis was smiling as he looked over the gallery's program once again. He tapped the photograph of himself and shrugged happily.
"That picture guy," he grinned. "Made me look very handsome, eh?" Abby smiled as she set a plate of scrambled eggs and fruit in front of him. She kissed his cheek.
"You are very handsome, Tata," she said as she sat at the table with them. She glanced at Luka. He set his coffee mug down and took a deep breath.
"Greg Pratt pila te na Onkologija pod," he said. "Što je koje se zbivaju sa sa vašim?" Abby looked at Laurentis. She wasn't sure what Luka had said but she caught the words 'oncology floor'. It was a long moment before Laurentis looked up at them again. He shrugged.
"Što je koje se zbivaju sa sa vašim?" Luka repeated firmly and cocked his head as he waited for an answer.
"Umiješati... se za dva mjesec zatim," Laurentis said quietly. Abby cast a glance toward Luka, wating for him to translate.
"Interferon," he said without taking his eyes from his father. "For two months now. Why?" Laurentis' shoulders sagged for a brief second and then he straightened.
" Oštar Mijelitis Leukemija," he said carefully. They were both silent and Abby looked from one to the other.
"Luka?" she asked softly.
"Acute Myeloid Leukemia," he translated softly. Abby's eyes flew to Laurentis and she frowned slightly.
"That's treatable," she said. "'Interferon is usually used after chemotherapy to boost the immune system. Have you had chemotherapy? Why didn't you tell us?"
"Because he isn't getting treatment, Abby," Luka said, his eyes still on his father. "The Interferon is just to provide some immunities while he waits to die." Abby looked toward Luka and then back at her father in law with a questioning gaze.
"Imam je dobar ivot. ཉྭelim ici," he said. Luka tore his napkin from his lap and threw it on the table.
"What did he say?" Abby asked quickly. Luka stood up from the table and turned away in anger. He pulled his hands threw his dark hair and then turned around.
"He said he has had a good life and he wants to go," Luka spit. Abby sat back in her chair in shock. She looked at Laurentis and blinked back the tears that were welling in her eyes.
"JA motriteljica tvoj majka kocka borbeni opozvan," Laurentis said. Luka threw his hands up.
"Mati had breast cancer, Tata! That's something all together different. And the cure rate on that is even different than it was ten years ago!"
"You did not watch her die, Luka," Laurentis said. "You were here...in America." Luka face sagged in hurt. Abby thought. Ten years ago? Where had they been ten years ago? She had just started working in OB at County...as a nurse. They hadn't known one another yet.
"I didn't run away from her, Tata," Luka said. "Mati is the one that told me to come. She knew I had to get away from everything there." Laurentis looked down at his uneaten breakfast. Luka sat in his chair at the table again.
" Ona je borio internet, Tata," he said. "She fought it to the very end." Laurentis sighed heavily and looked up at him and then at Abby. She wasn't sure it was the right thing to do but she reached out for his hand.
"You're the only father that I have ever had that meant anything to me," she said as tears slipped down her face. "I'm not ready to lose you too. Not yet." Laurentis squeezed her hand and then drew her closer. Abby stood up and moved into his arms and hugged him. Laurentis looked across the table sheepishly and shrugged.
"Does she always get what she wants?" he asked in Croatian.
"Pretty much," Luka shrugged. Laurentis shook his head and rolled his eyes. Luka laughed and took a deep breath.