Chapter 9
Sophia and Ivan were silent during the drive to the hospital, both lost in their own thoughts. The last time Ivan had seen David, Sophia's father, was during his mother's funeral. Ivan had known that he had cancer but that was two years ago. He had even witnessed how the man bravely fought and drove the disease into remission.
"What happened? I thought he was already okay." Ivan asked Sophia.
"We thought so too but a few weeks ago I got a call from Michael saying that Dad was starting to complain about some pain and was always exhausted. I told Michael to get him to the hospital for a check-up. That's when the doctors found out that the cancer had come back and it was spreading fast." Sophia explained.
Ivan didn't know what to say other than, "I'm sorry." Sophia just nodded to him as her eyes watered again.
Ivan hadn't been to the hospital since his accident and walking down the quiet pale corridors gave him chills. He followed Sophia into a room and found Michael sitting beside his father's bed. David was smiling at his son as they held each others' hand. Michael, however, was crying.
"Ivan!" A little boy called from the other side of the room. Ivan smiled at him. He looked exactly like Michael when he was five. The boy ran to him and hugged his legs. "I missed you." He whispered to Ivan's jeans.
"I missed you too buddy." Ivan looked down at him as he ruffled the boy's brown hair.
"Hey Junior, come on. Let's go and get something to eat." Michael called to his little brother. Ivan looked at Michael and nodded, his silent way of expressing his condolence.
"But I'm not hungry. I want to talk to Ivan." Junior whined. Ivan could see the impatience on Michael's face so he tried to help convince the boy.
"Tell you what? We'll hang out later after you go with your brother." Ivan said while Michael watched him.
David Junior exhaled sharply and let out a prolonged, "Okay." Michael nodded a thank you to Ivan before leaving the room with Sophia and his little brother.
Ivan directed his attention to Michael's father who was watching the entire interaction. "You two used to be inseparable. But now all you could do is nod at each other." He frowned.
Ivan didn't know how to respond so he just sat down at his bedside and looked at his hands folded in his lap.
"How are you doing?" The man asked in a lighter tone.
Ivan tried to smile. "Okay." He looked at David. He looked so thin and fragile. The handsome features that his children had gotten from him were now almost unrecognizable. Silence enveloped the two of them, making Ivan feel awkward. He didn't know what to say to the dying man. But as he remembered how he had always wished that he could have at least been granted the opportunity of talking to his mother when she was dying, he regained composure. This man was like his second father. He may not be Ivan's blood father but he had always been there for him since he and Michael had met. Ivan tried to imagine what he would have said if this was his mother lying on the bed right now.
"I'm sorry." Ivan's voice cracked. David looked at him, his eyes questioning. "For not staying in touch. I didn't even check on you."
David smiled and said, "It's okay."
Not trusting his voice, Ivan just shook his head okay.
"I know my son did a pretty stupid thing but," David paused and coughed. "But you know he still cares for you."
