“Miss Gold?” Leo called out snapping her out of her thoughts and back into reality. She turned to look at him.
“Hmmm?”
“I asked if you can handle the distribution chains or will it be too much for you? I can get the marketing department on it if you want.” Leo was looking at her intently.
“That sounds great.”
Leo raised an eyebrow at Amelia.
“Which part exactly?”
“The outsourcing it to the marketing department part. I will be too buried in the creative and design to do a good job on the distribution,” Amelia pointed out. They were now standing right outside her office. “But I will be happy to look in on the progress and report back to you and Ava.”
“Great. We will be in touch,” Ava said as the two of them walked away. Amelia dashed into her office and grabbed her bag before she stuffed her tablet in. She grabbed her keys and quickly made it to the elevator. She could hear someone talking to her but she was not really paying attention. All she wanted to do was get away from the workplace and be at her grandmother’s side. She had made it a point not to mention what had been going on in her life to her bosses. She had just been at Dalton Wear for just a couple of months and she didn’t want to give the company a reason to think she could not handle her own. And even though she was leaving work a whole two hours earlier than she was supposed to, Amelia was convinced she had done more than her fair share of the eight to five workday. She was a nervous wreck throughout the half hour drive to the hospital. Her grandmother’s doctor had been very clear when he told her she should consider the fact that Grandma Leila would not live to see Christmas. It was definitely a hard thing to think about but she could not very well ignore the fact that the doctor might have been giving her a warning.
When she finally got a parking spot, it was almost ten past four. She was half walking half running to the wards, cursing the hot heels that made her look ever so sexy. When she got to Grandma Leila’s room, her boyfriend Chad was waiting for her out of the door. She could immediately tell that all was not well.
“Hey,” Chad said forcing out a smile when he saw her.
“What is it? What happened?” Amelia asked as he looked at him. Chad shook his head and pulled her into his arms. He kissed her cheek softly and stroked her honey hair.
“Nothing happened, baby. It’s okay. Everything is okay,” he said in a soft voice.
“But why do you look so worried?”
“Doctor Van Der Heusen is in there with her, that’s all. We can’t go in right now.” Chad was still stroking her hair as he talked softly.
“I’m scared…I don’t know how much longer I can take this,” she said as a single tear began rolling down her cheek. She looked into his eyes as he brushed the tear off using his thumb.
“I know,” he said in a soft voice. “I know.” He took her hand and led her to a bench outside Leila’s room. “Come on, have a seat. You look exhausted.”
“I am,” Amelia started as she exhaled loudly, again. “I gave the presentation today.”
“Really? How did it go?”
“Leo loved it. And Ava too. Guess this is the next big thing as far as fashion is concerned,” she said with a smile. “Leo said so himself.”
“Well, I’m glad,” he said just as Amanda, Amelia’s sister and her boyfriend Mark walked up to where they were.
“Hey,” Mark said as he gave Amelia a long tight hug. “You okay?”
“Honestly Mark, I’ve been better,” Amelia said before she gave her sister a hug.
“What is going on? Why are you both out here?” Amanda asked.
“Doctor Van Der Heusen is in there with grandma. Tests, cleaning, the usual.” Amelia interlaced her fingers with her sister’s. “He should be out in a few minutes.”
“Are you alright?” Amanda asked. “I mean, you were always so close to Grandma Leila, more than anyone.”
“I’m okay, I guess.” Amelia tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “I think I am officially numb from all this and work and…” her voice trailed off and then she turned to look at Amanda. “I’m just tired, sis,” she finally said, forcing out a smile.
“It’s a lot for everyone,” Amanda said.
Just then, the doctor walked out of Grandma Leila’s room. As if on cue, Amanda and Amelia walked
up to him almost immediately. They were looking up at him, their eyes full of hope that Doctor Van der Heusen would give them some kind of good news.
“Ladies,” he started with a soft sad look in his eyes. “I know I have suggested a hospice over and over again…”