On the way back from the airport after dropping off Irene, Cristina thought it was the perfect time to broach the touchy topic. "Owen, I heard from my dad and he said he would like us all to visit South Carolina so he can meet you and also see the girls," she said. Owen looked across at his wife. He knew she didn't really like going to South Carolina because of her step-mother, so for her to make this suggestion, it had to be a big deal.
"Are you sure?" he asked. She nodded. "Yes, my dad is ill and he wants to see the kids," she said. "I thought that since you were home, we could make a trip across the country to see them. Also, Josh's parents haven't seen the girls in a year, not since the funeral. I mean they have seen them over Skype but they want to see them in person, too."
At the mention of Josh's parents, Owen felt a little wary. He knew that his and Cristina's marriage so soon after Josh's death was probably very odd to them. He wasn't even sure what he could say to them. Meeting Cristina's father was something he could not put off, any longer. After all, he and Cristina were now married about a year and he had never met the man. They were now family and it was appropriate to meet Dr Yang and his wife. "Okay," he said. "How long do you want to go for?"
"Well, I was thinking about four or five days, depending on how it goes," Cristina said. "My stepmother is not the most welcoming person, so it all depends on how much we can tolerate each other." Owen could tell that this was not going to be a lovey-dovey family reunion.
"When do we leave?" he asked. "I was thinking two days from now," Cristina said. "Is that okay?"
"Yes," he said. He had hoped that his vacation at home would be peaceful and non-confrontational. Possibly, it was not going to be so.
Two days later, the Hunt family found themselves in South Carolina. Since Cristina's dad was ill, they decided to just take a taxi to the Yang home. When they pulled up in front of the plantation estate, Owen was more than a little shocked. "You never said that you lived in a plantation house," Owen said. "It is just gorgeous."
"Yes, it is," Cristina said. "But it is a fake plantation house. It is just built in the style of a plantation house. It was built in the 1950s." Owen took the luggage out of the trunk, while Cristina helped the two girls out of the back seat of the taxi. He paid the driver, who left soon after. Cristina let out a breath before she said, "Well, here goes nothing." She took her daughters' hand into her own and went straight to the front door and rang the door bell.
An older woman opened the door, "Cristina!" she shrieked. "Bertha," Cristina shrieked back. The two of them hugged. "And these are your babies," Bertha said. "I have seen pictures of them. They are so pretty, Cristina. It has been too long, Cristina."
"Thank you," Cristina said. "This is Iris and this is Laurel. This is my husband, Major Owen Hunt." Owen put out his hand for Bertha to shake. "Oh, come now," she said to Owen. "You are a member of the family." Bertha gave Owen a hug.
"Bertha has been our housekeeper since we moved to South Carolina when I was sixteen," Cristina said. "I am 25 now. So that means Bertha has been working with our family for about nine years."
"The best years were when Cristina was here before she got married to Josh," Bertha said. "So come on in. I have prepared two rooms. One for the girls and one for you, Cristina and your hubby." The Hunt family followed Bertha into the house. Owen could not help but admire the architecture. The house was amazing, he thought. As Bertha led them to their rooms, Cristina asked her, "Where's dad?"
"He is in his room," Bertha said. "And Beatrice?" Cristina asked. Bertha rolled her eyes, before she spoke. "Your stepmother is in town, doing some shopping. You can go see your dad after you put your luggage in your rooms. I will leave you to it. Now, Cristina, I hope I don't have to remind you that this is your home, too, no matter what your stepmother says." Owen put the girls' luggage into the bedroom with the two beds, while he placed his and Cristina's luggage in the larger room with the queen sized bed.
"Let's go and see dad," she said. They all went to the bedroom at the end of the hall. Cristina knocked on the door. "Come in," they heard a voice say. It was frailer than from the last time she had heard her father's voice. They all trooped into the bedroom. "Cristina," her father called out, with the biggest smile on his face. Cristina could not believe how weak her father looked.
"Dad!" she said, as she ran into her father's open arms. It was clear to Owen that Cristina loved her father very much, despite the very contentious relationship over the last few years. As father and daughter hugged, everyone else was quiet. Harold Yang wiped away his tears before he said, "Let me see my grandkids." Laurel and Iris climbed up on to the bed and gave their grandfather a hug and a kiss.
"You two are such beauties, just like my baby, Cristina," Harold said. He looked across at Owen, who was still quietly standing to the side. He beckoned to Owen, "So you are my son-in-law, Owen?"
Owen nodded and came forward to shake the older man's hand. "Yes, sir. Major Owen Hunt," he said.
"Dr. Harold Yang," Harold said. "I hear you are a doctor. So we have that in common."
"Yes, I am," Owen said. "An army surgeon. I did my fellowship training at Maryland's Shock Trauma Center after I did my residency at Mass Gen."
"Mass Gen. So am I right that you went to medical school at Harvard?" Harold asked. Owen nodded. "And my pre-med at Northwestern."
"Those are all great schools, Owen. So why did you decide to go into the army?" Harold asked.
"Well, I thought that they would need my skills on the frontline. I wanted to serve my country and this is the best way that I know how," Owen said, firmly. He was aware of his father-in-law's bias against Cristina marrying a serviceman but he wanted it made clear why he had joined the armed forces.
"Hmmm," Harold said. "So how are you feeling, dad?" Cristina asked. "Is the chemo getting you sick?"
"Well, it wouldn't be chemo if it didn't get me sick. Never smoked a day in my life and to end up with lung cancer," Harold said. Owen was taken aback. Cristina never mentioned that her dad had cancer. She had just said he was ill. No wonder it had been so important for her to make the trip to South Carolina.
"You're going to get better, dad," she said, a tear rolling down her face. Her father stroked her cheek. "I don't know, pumpkin. I am fighting it but I don't know," he said. Cristina rested her head on her father's chest, as he stroked her head. Her father looked so frail and pale, since she had last seen him. The two little girls were quiet. They knew their mommy was sad. "Come on, girls," Owen said. "Let's give Mommy and Grandpa some private time." He took the two little girls off the bed and led them out of the room. He carried them downstairs to the kitchen, where Bertha was, and asked if she had anything for them to drink.
"Major Hunt, you are family. Just go into the refrigerator and take out whatever you want. Glasses are in the far right cupboard," Bertha said. Owen did as he was told and poured out some orange juice for his children.
"Where is Cristina?" Bertha asked. "She is with her dad," Owen said. "I thought we could give them some private time." Bertha sighed.
"Can I ask, Bertha, how bad is it?"Owen asked.
"It's bad, Major Hunt. Dr. Yang is fighting really hard but it is really bad. He had to stop his practice to take care of himself," Bertha said. "I am in great fear for him."
"Bertha, stop making these statements to strangers," said a woman with a sharp voice, as she entered the kitchen. Owen glanced at the woman, with the chestnut brown hair and light grey eyes. This was Cristina's stepmother, Beatrice, he guessed.
"He is not a stranger, Miss Beatrice," Bertha said. "He is Cristina's husband, Major Owen Hunt." Owen got up to shake Beatrice's hand. "Good to meet you, ma'am," he said. Beatrice shook his hand. "Likewise, Major Hunt," she said. "One thing about Cristina – she certainly has taste in good-looking men."
Owen wasn't sure how he was to respond to that, so he turned to the children. "Laurel and Iris, say hello to your gran…" He was cut off from saying grandmother as Beatrice interjected, "No, no. They call me Miss Beatrice. I am not their grandmother."
"Okay, say hello, girls," Owen said. "Hello, Miss Beatrice," Laurel and Iris said in unison.
"Hello, girls. You are both very pretty girls but I just want to remind you that I don't like mess and noise around here. Just remember that and we will get along," Beatrice said. Owen cringed. He didn't like hearing how Beatrice spoke to his babies. No wonder Cristina didn't want to come to live here.
"Where is Cristina?" Beatrice asked. "She is with her father," Owen said, quietly.
"Well, I guess that I knew she would be," Beatrice replied. "Bertha, when will dinner be ready?"
"In about 30 minutes," Bertha replied. Owen took that as his cue to say that he was going to take the girls to their room to wash their hands. As he walked away, he knew that Cristina was right about her stepmother. That woman could suck the joy out of the room in an instant.
He took his daughters to their room and washed their hands. He put on the television for them and told them that he would be back, as soon as he checked on their mommy. He went to their bedroom and he could already hear the sobs coming from it. He opened the door to find Cristina in total despair, lying on the bed. He kicked off his shoes and got in next to her. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, waiting for her sobs to diminish before he spoke. When she got quiet, he asked, "Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because you already had so much on your plate, being across there in Iraq. You're risking your life and saving other people's lives," she said. "I didn't want to add more to it. I thought it was something that I could deal with by myself."
"Oh, Cristina," he said, burying his face into her hair. "You are more important to me than anything else in the world. Don't you know that?"
She sniffled. "I just didn't want to burden you," she said, softly.
"If you are hurting, I want to know about it," he said. "So tell me about it." She told him that her dad had found out about the lung cancer, eight months ago. Since then, he had undergone surgery, as well was undergoing chemotherapy and radiation. The fear was that the cancer was spreading.
"My dad may be dying, Owen," she said, the tears filling her eyes, once again. He hugged her until she stopped crying. There was a small knock on the door. "Papa, Mommy," they heard Iris say. "They are calling us for dinner."
"Okay, baby," Cristina said. She wiped her tears away, went to the bathroom and washed her face. They headed down to the dining room, where Bertha had already laid out dinner. Bertha had already set out a tray of food that she was carrying up for Dr. Yang. She was heading up the stairs when the phone rang.
"Would you be a dear, Cristina and get that for me?" Bertha asked. "I just want to carry this up for your dad."
"Sure," Cristina said, as she ran to the living room and picked up the receiver. In the meanwhile, Owen, the girls and Beatrice all sat down at the dining room table, awaiting Cristina's return. She came back, looking a little flushed.
"Well, who was it, Cristina?" Beatrice asked. "Was it for me?"
"No, it wasn't," Cristina replied. "It was for me. It was Josh's mother, Lillian. She wanted me to bring the girls over, tomorrow to their house. Owen, she also said to make sure that I bring you across, too. They are very interested in meeting you."
"Oh," was all Owen could say.
A/N Please leave your thoughts and comments. Thanks for leaving your reviews. I do appreciate them.