Chapter 2 - The Green Smoothie
Vivian was waiting with a green smoothie. "I made your favorite," she said sweetly. "You missed it this morning."
I took the glass. I pretended to drink. The liquid tasted bitter underneath the ginger. I spat it into a napkin the second she looked away, then acted weak the rest of the afternoon.
Thirty minutes later, I collapsed onto the living room rug.
Vivian didn't scream. She didn't call for help. She nudged me with the toe of her shoe and whispered, "Wake up, old man."
When I stayed still, she laughed. Then she called Paige. "It's done. He drank it. Bring the binder — we need the medical power of attorney and the DNR ready before anyone calls paramedics."
Soon after, Marcus came in. "Dad!" He dropped beside me. "Call 911!"
For one second, hope flared in my chest.
Then Paige snapped, "Don't touch that phone. He's supposed to die."
Marcus sobbed, but Vivian told him I'd already signed a DNR.
I had not.
Still, Marcus let go of my arm. "Okay," he whispered. "We wait."
That was the moment something in me stopped being his father. Not because he wasn't my blood.
Because he chose not to save me.
They started arranging their story. Paige opened the binder. Vivian told Marcus what time to write down. He signed it.
Then I coughed.
The room froze. I rolled onto my back and blinked up at their faces.
"What happened?" I rasped.
Their expressions were priceless.
Vivian recovered first and tried to pull me into an embrace. "Oh my God, Franklin. You're alive."
"Of course I'm alive," I said weakly. "Takes more than a dizzy spell to kill an old trucker."
I let them believe I was confused. Then I told them the scare had made me want to get my affairs in order.
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"Next week," I said, "we'll have a family meeting. Pastor Silas, the lawyer, the board. I want everyone to get exactly what they deserve."
They smiled. They thought they'd won.
