Senses 03 - Love Comes Home (DA) (MM) (15 page)

“Never. You’re my son and you’re going to stay with me. I’m not sending you off to Florida or anyplace else. This is your home, right here.” He hugged Davey tight. “I have a pretty good idea why your mother decided to come for a visit now, and I want you to be nice because she’s your mother. But you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. She’ll probably be waiting for us, if I know Joyce, so we’ll talk and find out what she wants. I’ve said she can go to dinner, and she’s welcome, but after that it’s up to you. If you don’t want to see her anymore, just say so.”

“But what if she gets mad at you? The kids in class said she’d blame you for turning me against her,” Davey said.

“I can take care of that. Don’t worry about what your mother thinks of me. You’re old enough to start making some decisions for yourself. So you get to decide what you want and who you spend your time with.” Greg hugged Davey one more time. “Now, I’m going to call Tom and ask him to come for dinner, and then we’ll go home and face
your mother
.” He exaggerated the last words, and Davey giggled.

Greg called Tom, and he and Skip agreed to meet them at the house at five thirty and then go to the Rainbow Rocks Diner. With that done, Greg drove the rest of the way home.

There was a car waiting there, as expected. Greg pulled into the drive and told Davey where they were in relation to the front door. He got out and began walking up the walk using the cane he’d just received to search around him. Greg stayed back and let Davey do it on his own.

“What are you doing?” Joyce said, hurrying up the drive in heels. “He’ll fall and get hurt.”

Greg turned to her, his gaze shooting daggers. She quieted almost instantly. “He’s learning to make his own way,” he said softly to her. “You’re doing great, Davey. Just a few more feet and then you can turn toward the front door. Don’t forget that there’s one step.” Davey had stopped, but he slowly began moving again. He made the turn and took the single step to the landing, reaching for the front door. When Davey touched the doorknob, he let out a little whoop. Greg released the breath he’d been holding.

“Come on inside,” Greg offered and began walking toward the door. “You did great,” he told Davey, ruffling his hair before unlocking the door. Davey went inside, and Greg waited. Joyce turned back toward the car she’d come in, and a man got out and strode up the walk to join her. Greg held the door and let the two of them inside.

“Davey, say hello to your mother,” he said gently.

Davey moved forward from where he’d been standing, following Greg’s voice. When Davey stood next to him, he moved close.

“Davey, it’s me,” Joyce said. She held out her arms, and Greg rolled his eyes.

“Who is that?” Davey asked, turning toward Greg.

“I’m your mother,” Joyce said, visibly shaken.

“Hi, Mom,” Davey said without moving away. “Dad said you were coming.” He sounded as though he were talking to a stranger, which Joyce mostly was to him.

“Who’s this?” Greg asked, indicating the man with Joyce.

She brightened. “This is Dr. Sanjay Patel. He’s a noted neurologist from Tampa.”

From the way Joyce looked at the doctor, Greg knew instantly that they were sleeping together. Obviously her current marriage was on the rocks and she was trolling for greener pastures.

“He’s a friend, and he agreed to come with me to try to help you.”

Greg extended his hand, and Sanjay shook it. “It’s nice of you to come all this way, but Davey has seen ophthalmologists and neurologists already. His optic nerves have nearly stopped functioning. We’re working together to help him learn how to cope and flourish with his blindness.” Greg put his arm around Davey’s shoulder.

“There are some treatments that could be tried to restimulate the nerves into action. We’ve had some remarkable successes.”

“Are these treatments experimental?” Greg asked as Joyce shot daggers at him that Greg ignored.

“In this country they’re considered experimental, yes, but in other parts of the world, they’ve been used with some success. Joyce asked me to examine her son and determine if he’d be a candidate for the treatment. If he is, she’s given her permission for the treatments to be performed,” he said levelly, and Joyce looked smug.

“No,” Greg said. “Joyce has no authority to give permission for anything as far as Davey is concerned.” Greg’s anger rose to the surface. “Davey, please go to your room. I need to have a talk with your mother.”

“Does it involve me?” he asked defiantly.

Greg leaned down. “Please go, for me? We’ll talk later, I promise.” This was not the way he’d hoped this visit would start, but he needed to lay down the ground rules for Joyce’s visit. He’d honestly hoped that Davey could build some sort of relationship with his mother, but that was not going to work while she was under any delusions. Davey nodded his agreement and slowly made his way down the hall. Once the bedroom door closed, Greg motioned toward the chairs, to be civil.

“He’s my son too, and I want the best I can give him,” Joyce said as soon as she sat down.

“Yes, he is your son, but I dispute the second part of your statement,” Greg said as evenly as he could. “I don’t know why you’re here all of a sudden with a doctor in tow, since you haven’t been part of Davey’s life in years.” He paused, trying to figure out how he wanted to handle this.

“That doesn’t make her any less Davey’s mother,” Sanjay said, reaching over to take Joyce’s hand.

A low rumble reached his ears, and Greg stood, looking out the front window. Tom’s red sports car pulled to a stop right behind Joyce and Sanjay’s rental. Sanjay looked as well, and his eyes widened. Greg walked to the door and pulled it open, allowing Tom and Skip to come inside. He made introductions. Davey came out to greet them, giving Tom a huge hug. Tom settled in the chair next to his.

“Davey, would you like to show me your backyard?” Skip asked. Davey looked confused, but after a few seconds, he seemed to get the idea. “Have you ever been to New York?” Skip asked as the two of them made their way toward the back.

“No,” Davey answered.

“Well, then, maybe you, Tom, and your dad should come for a visit. We could do some really fun things.” Their voices trailed off as they got farther away, but Davey seemed entranced with Skip.

“They’ll get along great. They’re both at the same maturity level,” Tom whispered with a wink.

“What does he have to do with this?” Joyce asked derisively.

“I’m only here for moral support,” Tom said, and he took Greg’s hand the same way Sanjay still held Joyce’s.

“Is Davey going to be okay alone with him?”

“Davey is very self-reliant around the house. Tom and I have worked with him for hours both inside and out so he has markers that he uses as reference points. Everything has been paced. Sure, he still gets frustrated and angry sometimes, but he’s coping, and I’m not going to allow anyone to give him false hope.” Greg squeezed Tom’s hand, glad he was here. “So, as I was saying, since Joyce has provided no support, like the courts ordered, and has not been part of Davey’s life for more than two years, I filed suit, and your visitation and custody rights have been terminated.”

“What!” Joyce practically screamed. “You did what?”

“Certified letters were sent to your address, notifying you of the action. You never responded, so a summary judgment was entered against you. Basically, it means that your ability to make any sort of decisions as far as Davey is concerned has no validity whatsoever.” Greg paused for breath and saw Joyce getting up a head of steam.

“Is that why you came? To assert some sort of authority?” Tom asked. “Greg said you were here to see Davey.”

“What is it to you?” Joyce snapped.

Greg knew another insult was just around the corner and opened his mouth to interject.

“I care for Davey and Greg,” Tom said.

“You’re not part of his family,” Joyce retorted.

“Joyce, that’s enough,” Greg said firmly. “I did what I had to do for Davey’s protection. You had no time for him and you were never around. Years of no visits, few phone calls, no help or support, and almost completely ignoring him wasn’t endearing to the court or to me. He deserves people in his life who care about him and you obviously don’t. You were notified and didn’t respond,” Greg said.

“You should have called when you found out he was going blind,” she said firmly. “I am his mother. You should have called.”

Greg took a deep breath to keep his voice under control. There were so many things he wanted to tell her, and they all seemed to want to tumble out at the same time. “Joyce,” Greg began, “you said you came here to see Davey and spend some time with him. Instead, you bring a doctor with you and try to take over his medical care. That doesn’t make any sense.” Greg felt empowered with Tom sitting next to him. Joyce was an in-charge person, and he’d rarely stood up to her in their marriage. But it was easy now. He knew part of that was time and a change in his attitude, but having Tom next to him made it easier. “If you want to spend time with Davey, then go on out there and get to know him.”

Joyce shifted uncomfortably. “I want to talk about how we can help Davey get his sight back.” She sounded like a broken record.

Tom squeezed his hand, and Greg released the breath he was holding and forced himself to relax. “Do you want to know why we never called you?” Greg asked, and he found he had Joyce’s full attention. “We never thought about it. It didn’t occur to either of us. You aren’t a part of his life in any way.” Greg stood up. “I’ll be right back.” He left the room and went to his own, then returned a few minutes later. “These are the glasses Davey wore a year ago. These are the ones three months after that.” He handed each pair to her. “Three months later, he wore these.” Then he placed a final pair in her hands. “These were the ones he wore just before he lost his sight. He went through tests and pair after pair of glasses to try to correct his failing vision. During that time you never called, not once. You weren’t a part of our lives and haven’t been in a long time.”

Joyce held the glasses and didn’t say a word.

“Look, you have more important things to worry about than what kind of medical care Davey is receiving. When I told him you were coming, he made it clear that he didn’t want to see you. He’s hurt that you’ve ignored him all these years. Hell, he’s in the backyard with someone he just met because he doesn’t want to be in here with you.”

“You turned him against me,” she accused, and Greg could tell she was seconds from tears.

“I did no such thing. You did that on your own,” Greg said and he felt Tom shift a little closer. It was nice knowing he was supported. “I might not be the perfect father, but I’m here and I try. As far as Davey is concerned, you have quite a mountain to climb to be a part of his life. He feels like you abandoned him, and now, because he can’t see and you feel sorry for him, you want to show up and be part of his life. Well, Joyce, he isn’t buying it, and neither am I. I’ve never been heavy-handed, you know that, but if I think you’re going to hurt him in any way, I will make sure you are not part of his life any longer.” Greg stared hard at his ex-wife. “But if you want to be part of his life, then as long as you’re sincere, I’m happy with that.”

Joyce smiled slightly and nodded.

“However, you have to win Davey over, and that is going to be akin to climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro. He doesn’t want to see you and has made it clear to me that he has no intention of going anywhere with you. So if you want a relationship with him, then you’re going to have to show Davey that’s what you want, and you’re going to have to earn his forgiveness.” Greg shook his head. “I can’t imagine that will be an easy task. He’s hurt, and that hurt has been festering for a while. He’s been through a lot in the past year, so you’re going to have to be gentle.”

Joyce stood and stared through the windows into the backyard. Davey and Skip sat at the table with Davey waving his hands and talking what looked like a mile a minute. “What do I do?” she asked, and then she swallowed hard. “You know I was never very good with kids.”

“Davey isn’t a kid. He’s a young man who’s done a lot of growing up in the past year. It’s up to you, Joyce. If you decide you don’t want a relationship with him and are only here to somehow take over decision-making so you can seem like you’re doing something, then go now, because that he doesn’t need. Otherwise, he’s out there.” Greg pointed, and Joyce seemed unsure of what she was going to do. “Those are your only choices.”

“I don’t know what to say to him,” Joyce said.

“I can’t help you there,” Greg said. “Just talk to him.” He waited, and Joyce turned and walked toward the sliding glass doors. When she slid it open, Greg could hear Davey’s animated voice drift inside. It cut off instantly, and Joyce shut the door. Greg turned his gaze to Sanjay, who shifted uncomfortably.

“I can’t believe you’ll stand in the way of possible help for your son,” Sanjay began, and Greg threw him a gaze that froze him midsentence.

“You don’t get to say anything like that to him,” Tom said. “Greg is an amazing father.”

Greg patted Tom’s hand. “Davey has a doctor, and whatever you propose would be coordinated through him. I’m not allowing my ex-wife’s fling to be a direct part of Davey’s health care. That isn’t going to happen. If Davey’s regular ophthalmologist believes what you propose has merit, then he’ll contact you and make any arrangements.” Greg’s anger was starting to get the best of him. How dare this guy insinuate that he didn’t have Davey’s best interests at heart?

“Are you even licensed to practice medicine in this state?” Tom asked.

“No. The procedures would be completed in Florida,” Sanjay said.

“Well, you can forget that,” Greg blurted and then forced himself to calm down. “But like I said, if you truly believe you can possibly help Davey, then I’ll give you the name of his doctor and you can speak to him. If he believes the idea has merit, then I’ll consider it.” That was all Greg was willing to do. Sanjay gave him the creeps. If the treatment did have promise, then they’d find someone else to perform it.

The glass door slid open, and Skip came inside.