Chapter 352: Beaulieu Manor
Thursday, February 2nd, Morning (Eastern Standard Time)
Slowly, she walked through the galleries of Beaulieu Manor, on the upper floor of the East Range. Candi looked at the darkly stained door. She took in a deep breath and knocked on the door.
"Who is it?" Lucas yelled from behind the door.
"Candi," Candi said.
"Come in," Lucas replied.
Candi opened the door and entered Lucas's modest office. Looking over the room, she couldn't help but think about the smaller office than his old one at Leighton. The furniture here was nicer, well made, but seemed formal and cold compared to his old office at Leighton. Gone was the well-worn, loved, but functional furniture from his old office. The walls only had decorations that showed Brooke's tastes, not the usual coach's pictures, of the teams, players, and press articles.
"Hey Candi, what can I help you with?" Lucas asked.
Candi took a good look at her dad. This moment was the first time she took a look at him with a trained medical eye. Lucas looked tired, and his face was drained of much of its color. Another thing Candi noted was the office door spent more time closed than open now.
"A few weeks ago, I got a call from Sawyer," Candi said.
"That's good that you stay in touch," Lucas said.
"She calls quite often, but this call stood out," Candi said.
"So, what did she say?" Lucas asked.
"She asked if you called and talked to me," Candi said.
"I see; what was your answer?" Lucas asked.
"I said no and asked why," Candi said.
"What was Sawyer's response?" Lucas asked.
"She made some excuse and got off the phone after saying Oh," Candi said.
Lucas nodded, "That sounds like Sawyer," he said.
"The most important thing is why she was so interested in you and me talking," Candi said.
Lucas sighed, "I promised her I would talk to you about a health issue I'm having," he said.
"Okay, so the usual, have the doctor in the family consulted," Candi said.
"Yeah, a little, but not quite," Lucas said.
"What do you mean not quite?" Candi asked.
Lucas sighed, "I guess I should start from the beginning," he said.
"That would be helpful," Candi said.
"When you talk like that, you remind me of your mom," Lucas said.
"You're avoiding the matter at hand, and let's not talk about her," Candi said.
Lucas nodded, "You're not that teenaged girl anymore," he said.
"No, and haven't been for a long while," Candi said.
"I can see that clearly now," Lucas said, "Maybe, I should start calling you Candace now."
Candi shook her head, "No, and stop avoiding," she said.
Lucas sighed, "Fine," he said, "Last year, I started to feel more rundown and just off. I went to my cardiologist for my routine checkup and mentioned this. What followed was a lot of testing, and the results are I need surgery."
Candi nodded, "What did they say was wrong?" she asked.
"Other than the obvious, I'm not sure how to explain it," Lucas said, carefully opened a desk drawer and pulled out a file. He dropped it on the desk.
Candi walked over to the desk and picked up the file. She took a seat in one of the armchairs before Lucas's desk. As she opened the file, she noted the chair was comfortable.
Slowly, she read through the various test results. There were just pages and pages of test results, chemical, physical, and even imagery. Taking it all in, with her semi-trained eye, she started to understand what it all pointed to.
"The Beta Blockers aren't working anymore, are they?" Candi asked.
"If they are, not like they should," Lucas said.
"So, why haven't you had the surgery yet?" Candi asked.
"Basketball…" Lucas started to say.
"Damnit, Dad, basketball? You die tomorrow. Kiera will take over, and by next season you'll be replaced. But what about Sawyer?" Candi asked.
"The main reason was that Keith isn't home; I wanted you all home for my surgery," Lucas said.
"Sawyer?" Candi asked.
"Worse case, she'll be here or with Keith," Lucas said.
Candi nodded, "Do you understand what they're doing?" she asked.
"The gist of it is heart surgery," Lucas said.
"You have hypertrophic cardiomyopathy," Candi said.
"I know that; I've known that since before you were born," Lucas said.
"Well, they are suggesting a septal myectomy; basically, they want to remove some of your heart that's causing a blockage between your left ventricle and the aorta," Candi said.
"Really?" Lucas asked.
Candi nodded, "Yes, open-heart surgery, to be exact. I've researched this procedure, and it had a high survivability rate," she said.
"That's comfort," Lucas said.
"Long-term survival is also very good," Candi said.
"I just need two more years, then I'll slow down," Lucas said.
"Why two years?" Candi asked.
"I promised to retire when Sawyer graduates high school, move on to the next chapter," Lucas said.
"Why not now, at the end of the year?" Candi asked.
"I need something to do now," Lucas said.
"What is the next chapter?" Candi asked.
Lucas shrugged, "Five years ago, I know," he said.
"Then four years ago happened," Candi said.
"Yes, and now I don't know," Lucas said.
"Be a granddad, if Sawyer cheers, follow her games. Spend a long summer in Cali with me, hell, write another book," Candi said.
"Mhmm," Lucas said, "It sounds simple."
"Of course, you're Lucas Scott, and nothing is simple," Candi said.
"You sound like your Aunt Brooke," Lucas said.
"Well, she knows us too well," Candi said.
"Us?" Lucas asked.
"Of all your children who inherited your habit of over-complicating things, it's me," Candi said.
Lucas nodded, "I understand," he said.
"If you want, I could come back out for your surgery, or I can arrange for your surgery out in LA," Candi said.
"Thank you; I'll take that in mind," Lucas said.
"No problem, let me know," Candi said.
Lucas nodded, and Candi handed Lucas back his file.
"So, when are you going to tell Ellie and Kay?" Candi asked.
"Before they leave, I'll get them together, do it once. I just have to get them together," Lucas said.
"Well, Kay is leaving Sunday, as am I," Candi said.
"I'll make sure; it's before they leave," Lucas said.
"One more thing, Dad," Candi said.
"Okay, what is it?" Lucas asked.
"I'm going to take fawn and Madyson to walk the gardens of Leighton, is there any security I should know about?" Candi asked.
"No, just the house is alarmed," Lucas said.
"Okay, Thanks," Candi said.
"You're welcome," Lucas said; Candi nodded, stood, and left the office. Lucas walked over to the door and closed the door behind her.
