Wanting to put the brakes on this very obvious matchmaking attempt, I brought my own brand of crazy to the table. “Hey, Wenton, how do you work this thing? I think we should get a chance to sing too.”
“Right, right.” He walked over to the console and showed me the ropes, and I found a few rousing hits that we could all sing and dance to. I also cracked open a beer, because if I was going to do this — which was far outside of my comfort zone — I needed to be inebriated or at least a little lit. I asked Caitlyn to look over the songs and she picked a few, looking like she was having fun. Then I did something I swore I’d never do… sang my fool ass off.
Off-key and tone-deaf, I still belted them out. I appeared to be massively hilarious as Wenton and Caitlyn were nearly crying with laughter. I didn’t care. This was fun. And I realized I’d do just about anything to see her smile.
When it was Caitlyn’s turn for the stage, she quickly ducked into the dress-up pile and came out wearing a purple wig and Superman cape. She looked fantastic as she belted out an Adele classic. She, unlike me, had an incredible voice, and it felt like I was watching a private show with a rock star. Was there anything this woman wasn’t capable of?
She and Wenton did a few duets, and I picked a couple of rock ‘n’ roll classics to lower the bar because there was far too much talent in this room. After I’d massacred a few more songs, we all got on stage and sang. Even I dove into the dress-up pile a few times, and we spent hours having the best time of my life.
Score one for Wenton.
By the time we were done, and he was showing signs of fatigue, Caitlyn and I had genuinely and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. And through the fun, something else was happening too. Something powerful I hadn’t expected so soon, if at all. There was a new softness in the way she looked at me. There was no denying it. Something was there, something was happening.
I was genuinely happy. My little brother was basking in his glory, something that had been intentionally denied him for most of his life. And Caitlyn, my elusive Prince Slayer, was smiling radiantly. Even the Oscar win hadn’t produced this warm, fuzzy, magical feeling. That win was hard, visceral excitement. Heart pounding stuff. But this, this melted me… infused me with something beyond comprehension.
Wenton was still basking in the afterglow of his great performance, but I could tell he was overly tired.
“Do you want to save the painting for another day?” I asked him.
He snorted. “Nah, I’m fine. Stop being a bigger brother.”
While he was still very much in the mood to have his picture painted, and Caitlyn seemed eager to get to work, I sat and answered some emails on my phone. I kept an eye on Wenton though; there was something off about him. I feared he’d overexerted himself more than I thought.
While the two of them created a special kind of magic for a couple of hours and the painting was slowly transforming into a masterpiece, it soon became evident that Wenton couldn’t handle anymore. He looked pale and unwell.
“How about a break,” I suggested. “You guys have been at it a long time.”
Caitlyn caught on, worry in her eyes. “Do you mind, Wenton? I’m getting pretty tired. We can come again and do this next week.”
Wenton seemed sad to be ending the day, but he just didn’t have the strength to object too much. “Okay.”
I laid a hand on his shoulder. “Do you think I should call the doctor?”
He brushed me off, but I felt I needed a second pair of eyes so I texted the on-call doctor, who came to Wenton’s cottage within minutes. Dr. Wells saw what I did and transitioned him from his painting activity to his bedroom.
“Alright, friends, it’s time for Wenton to get some rest. Next week, we have the annual family picnic, so you’re all welcome to come back and join us,” Dr. Wells said as he ushered us out of the room.
“Bye, Wenton,” Caitlyn called out.
“Love you, buddy,” I added.
The doctor escorted us to the front office while a nurse arrived to attend to my brother. As we walked, he updated us on Wenton’s condition.
“I asked my secretary to set a meeting up with you just this afternoon, so please accept my apologies if you have a message from my office tomorrow. If you can, I’d like to speak with you about my concerns now.”
My heart thumped hard before falling into the knot of nerves in my stomach. “Now is good.”
He nodded. “His latest battery of tests pointed to a rapid deterioration in his arteries, leading to diminished heart function. I know you love your brother and have always been great at encouraging his progress, but I must ask you to slow it down. I’d also like to admit him to the main hospital for further testing, and possibly long term.”
Wenton’s doctors were paid well and had known him most of his life. Every one of them was like family to us.
“But that would kill him. He loves his house,” I protested as Caitlyn walked along with us silently.
“I know he does. We can have someone move down to the cottage with him, but it really isn’t a great space for that. I believe he will soon be wheelchair bound, and the hills and walkways around the cottage aren’t well suited for that kind of device. The main hospital is better equipped to suit his needs.”
“We aren’t there yet, are we? This is just a precaution, right?” The shock of this news seemed to have stopped my brain from functioning correctly.
“We may not be there yet, but for the moment, he needs some better resources and more hands-on care. His body needs to rest.” Dr. Wells seemed very serious and emphatic.
“I think moving him will kill him,” I confessed.
“I’m pretty sure not moving him will speed up the deterioration.” Dr. Wells stopped and waited for me to look at him. “Mr. Preston, he won’t live forever. He needs twenty-four-hour care.”
“But putting him in a stark hospital with noises, intrusions, and none of his stuff? How is that better?” I was trying not to lose my temper in front of Caitlyn, but I felt heated and enraged.
This was my brother he was talking so casually about. He wasn’t spoiled milk that was about to expire. He was my life, the only family I was close to. Not just some patient who was dying.
I shook my head. “I’m sorry, I can’t agree to the move, not right now.”
I needed to live in denial for a while longer, I couldn’t handle anything else at the moment.
Dr. Wells sighed. “I’ll have my assistant email some information over to you. If you need additional time to consider this, that’s fine. Technically, Wenton is still in charge of his own care, with your approval, so we’ll be discussing this move with him.” The last part felt like a threat.
I gritted my teeth. “I prefer that you don’t speak with him.”
“I wish I didn’t have to,” was his only response.
Dr. Wells excused himself and walked up the hill as Caitlyn and I made our way to the car. We were silent for a moment as I let the information the doctor shared with me sink in.
“I’m sorry,” Caitlyn said, stroking my arm.