Medical Center. Ward.
"Mrs. Cooper?"
Adam couldn't help but blurt it out when he saw that familiar face. "What are you doing here?"
"Mrs. Cooper?"
The middle-aged woman on the hospital bed looked at Adam, confused. "You know Mary Cooper?"
"You're not Mrs. Cooper."
Adam caught on and nodded. "I'm good friends with a few of Mary Cooper's kids. And you and Mrs. Cooper…?"
"I'm Mary's cousin, Beatrice," the woman said with a faint smile. She looked almost identical to Sheldon's mom, but it was clear the illness was taking its toll on her. 😔
Adam grabbed her chart and skimmed it. Beatrice Forbes, 45, admitted for breathing difficulties. A malignant tumor in her lung, with cancer cells already spread to her bronchi and chest cavity.
"Ms. Forbes…"
"Miss Forbes!" Beatrice cut in. "Since you know Mary, we're kinda like friends. Tell me the truth—do I have any hope?"
"Well…" Adam hesitated.
"Be honest," Beatrice said, her face paling as her voice trembled.
Adam was about to answer when someone walked in. Beatrice quickly waved him off with a look, signaling him to hold off.
"Mom, I'm not eating that cafeteria trash—it's awful! I'm starving here!"
A tall, stunning teenage girl sauntered in, whining playfully. Adam's eyes lit up—she was a mixed-race beauty, with features leaning more toward East Asian. It was the first time since he'd crossed into this world that he'd seen a face like hers, and it felt oddly comforting.
But then he remembered her mom was in the late stages of cancer, with little time left—and she was Sheldon and Missy's aunt. His mood sank. 😞
Yup, at this stage, there was no cure. The best they could do was remove as much of the tumor as possible to ease her symptoms and buy some time. But with Beatrice's condition, even that time was limited—she could go any moment.
Few things hurt more than life-and-death farewells.
"I'll have a nurse grab something for you," Beatrice said with a forced smile. "Doctor, this is my daughter, Emilia."
"Just call me Adam," he replied.
"Alright, Adam," Beatrice nodded.
"Mom, you know him?"
Emilia, the mixed-race girl, plopped down next to her mom, eyeing Adam curiously.
"Emilia, remember how I told you about an aunt who looks just like me?" Beatrice said, stroking her daughter's shoulder with a tender smile.
"Did you?"
Emilia tilted her head, thinking, then gasped. "Oh! You mean that cousin you never got along with growing up, right?"
"Yeah," Beatrice said with a weak chuckle. "She's a bit of a fool—fell for some motorcycle punk who swept her off her feet. She's been stuck in little ol' Galveston ever since, so you've never met her. It's been almost twenty years—I wonder how she's doing?"
"Mr. Cooper passed away," Adam said. "They had three kids: one boy and a set of boy-girl twins. The oldest, George Jr., is a business whiz. He started a tire shop called Tire Doctor, and now he's got three locations.
The middle one, Sheldon, is my classmate and good friend. Total genius—high school at 9, college at 11, PhD by 15. Now he's working on his second doctorate at Caltech.
The youngest, Missy, is super smart too. She's studying at Wharton Business School.
Mrs. Cooper works at the church—you know how devout she is—so she's doing pretty well for herself."
"That's nice, that's nice," Beatrice murmured. "She's doing better than me…"
"Whoa! I've got super cool cousins like that?" Emilia exclaimed, wide-eyed.
"Wharton's in Philly, not far from here," Adam said. "I could call Missy and have her come over. Wanna meet her?"
"Can I?" Emilia perked up, clearly excited.
"Wouldn't that be too much trouble?" Beatrice asked, though her eyes sparkled with hope.
She knew her time was short and was already thinking about her high school daughter's future. As a single mom, she only had friends and family to lean on. Her first choice had been her friend—Emilia's Aunt Sue—but they didn't get along great. It wasn't that Sue didn't care; their personalities just clashed.
With no better options, she'd planned to ask Sue. But now, realizing she had a cousin with such accomplished kids—and a devout believer to boot—she felt a spark of relief. Sure, she and Mary had their spats growing up, but that was decades ago, a lifetime away. If Mary could take Emilia in, Beatrice could leave this world with some peace.
"No trouble at all," Adam said with a grin. "Missy'll love Emilia, and Emilia'll think Missy's the coolest. She's awesome."
"Really?" Beatrice's gaze softened with longing.
"Yup," Adam nodded. "Growing up, Mrs. Cooper focused most of her attention on Sheldon because of how… unique he is. Missy's always wanted a little sister to hang out with."
"Dr. Duncan," Dr. Burke interrupted, walking in for rounds with Christina and the others trailing behind.
"You know each other?" Burke asked.
"Yeah," Adam said. "Miss Forbes is my friend's cousin."
"Oh," Burke nodded. "In that case, you take care of her."
"Got it," Adam agreed without hesitation.
"Alright, Dr. Duncan, fill us in on Miss Forbes' condition," Burke prompted.
"Doctor!" Beatrice raised her voice, turning to her daughter. "Emilia, go grab something to eat."
"Mom, I'm not a kid anymore," Emilia pouted. "I wanna hear this."
"Be good!" Beatrice said sternly.
"Fine," Emilia huffed, getting up and heading out.
"Lina, take Emilia and get her something she likes," Adam instructed a nurse.
"Sure thing, Dr. Duncan!" Nurse Lina replied with a cheery smile.
Once Emilia was gone, Beatrice's face grew heavy. "Okay, tell me now."
"…Right now, we can only remove as much of the tumor as possible to ease things," Adam explained. "But there's no cure."
"Miss Forbes, any thoughts?" Burke asked.
"How long will I have after surgery?" Beatrice asked, her face pale.
"It depends on the surgery and your body," Burke said carefully. "Best case, maybe a year."
"And worst case?" she pressed.
"It could be any time," Burke admitted honestly.
"Is the surgery risky?" Beatrice turned to Adam. "Can I see Mary and the others before it?"
"I'll call them right now," Adam said, pulling out his phone.
Burke gave Adam a quick nod and left with Christina and the team to check other rooms.
When Sheldon's mom, Mary, got the call, she was floored. Without a second thought, she said she and her mom were coming right over. Adam booked the earliest flights for her and Sheldon's grandma.
Missy was on her way from Philly too.
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