“Yeah, I know.” Jarrett had called to say he was having a biopsy, since the CT scan showed a spot in his lung. How could Finn complain when Jarrett was facing this trial? “The oncologist isn’t wasting any time, is he, scheduling the biopsy on Monday? I’m going, even though Jarrett told us not to. So is Cole. What about you?”
“I’ll be there, but I can’t stay. I’m flying up for the day.”
“Maybe we can all fly up together, then. Leave at the crack of dawn.” Finn was already calculating how early he’d have to get up to complete his CF therapy before they left.
“Sounds good.” Branson sighed. “Back to the subject at hand—what’s Laurie doing that’s so terrible?”
Finn wondered how much he could say. After all, Laurie’s best friend was married to Bran. He didn’t want anything to get back to her. “Just between the two of us… she barely speaks to me.”
“She’s giving you the silent treatment?”
“No, nothing like that. She’s perfectly polite. And she’ll discuss anything having to do with the fundraiser. But when I bring up any other subject, she shuts the conversation down, cold.”
“I don’t see what the problem is. You only started working together on Tuesday, and you swore then the two of you couldn’t get along. Three days later you’re having civil discussions about your work project—I’d say you’ve made good progress.”
“That’s because you weren’t there on Wednesday night, when we went out to dinner.”
“You went out? On a date?”
Laurie must not have discussed their dinner with Stephanie, or else Stephanie hadn’t shared the details with Branson.
“Not a date, exactly. We went to eat with my mum and Katie—it’s a long story—but it went really well. In fact, while we were out, I realized Laurie and I could be friends.”
“At least you’re being civil with each other.”
“We can be more than civil. If I handle it right, I think we can be good friends, just like you and me.”
“You plan to interfere in her private life and trick her into marrying someone?” Branson teased, referring to Finn’s actions that resulted in his own marriage to Stephanie.
Finn chuckled. “I’m talking about the kind of friend who’s there for you when you need help.”
A ding came from Bran’s Braille-enabled smart phone, and he moved his fingers to trace the incoming message. “Nothing important,” Bran commented as he slid his phone into his pocket. “So this big friend revelation happened during dinner with your mom and sister?”
“Right. Laurie and I discussed it on the way home, and she was all for it. When I first mentioned it, she was kind of sarcastic, like ‘Guess I should feel honored you want to be my friend.’ But then I told her what I meant, how I’d be there for her like she was for me. I could give her some money if she ever needed it… stuff like that.”
“Maybe she was offended you offered her money.”
Finn sat up and covered his face with his hands. “You’re making it sound bad, but it wasn’t. All I did was offer to help her out in a crisis. I’ve said the same to you, and you weren’t offended.”
“I also wasn’t offended when you belched the entire alphabet, but that doesn’t mean Laurie would like it.”
“I was fourteen.”
“I’m sure I can come up with more recent examples.” Branson’s fingers returned to his keyboard, scanning something from the maze of moving dots.
“You’re such an expert on women since you’ve been married for an entire year,” Finn jibed.
“I don’t claim to be an expert, but I have to say, you make me look good in comparison.”
Bran laughed and, after resisting for a few seconds, Finn joined in.
“You really think that’s it? She’s mad because I offered to give her money if she was ever hard up? I wasn’t trying to insult her.”
“Why do you care, anyway? It doesn’t matter if you’re friends or not as long as you two get the fundraiser done, right? Unless you want to start dating her?”
Finn heard the hope in Branson’s voice. His friend had been after him to date for years, just like his mum and sisters.
“You know exactly why I can’t date. Nothing’s changed.”
“I don’t know, Finn. On Monday you didn’t want to spend a minute with Laurie. Now it’s Friday, and you’re upset that she won’t talk to you about the weather. I’d say something’s definitely changed.”
Finn’s heart plunged into his stomach with a thud. Why hadn’t he seen it before? Being friends with Laurie was like a scarecrow playing with fire. He was lucky she’d been resistant to him. Just think—I was about to invite her over to play the Steinway. “You’re right. Thanks for warning me, bud. That could’ve been a disaster.”
“On the other hand, I don’t want to discourage you if you’re starting to like her. I want you to have what I have. I’m the luckiest man on earth.”
Finn watched as Branson opened his thermal coffee container and painstakingly poured some into a mug, using his thumb to feel when the steaming liquid neared the top. In all the years they’d known each other, Branson had never complained about his blindness. But claiming he was the “luckiest man on earth” was new—something that started because of Stephanie.
“I’m happy for you, Bran. I really am. But I don’t need a woman. I have my friends and my family, and that’s all I need.”
“That’s like me saying I don’t need sight because I have ears and I can read Braille.” Bran shook his head. “You and Cole and Jarrett are awesome friends. I wouldn’t be where I am without you. But if you think having friends is as good as having a wife who’s committed to do life with you, for better or worse, you’re blinder than I am.”
For a moment, Finn let himself imagine how it would be to have a woman by his side. Someone who would be with him during his lonely hours of cystic fibrosis treatment. Someone who would sit by his side when he had to go into the hospital. Someone who would share his frustration when he had to keep a PICC line in for an extra three months.
But what did he have to offer such a woman? The inconvenience of hours of CF therapy. Constant worry about exposure to respiratory infections. Little chance of biological children, even with medical intervention. An almost certainty of being left behind as a young widow.
“I’m happy for you, Bran. But I’m afraid that’s not in my future.”
“Look, I know you’re always living your life like you could die tomorrow. But the truth is, you’re wasting it. If you’d gotten married when you graduated from college, you would’ve already had ten wonderful years of marriage.”
