“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be rude,” she said in a low voice, directing her words at Nathan, “but this is a private matter. I don’t think it’s appropriate for you to be here, whoever you are.”
Nathan nodded rapidly, whispered, “I’m sorry, you’re right.” He took a step back, toward the door, his hand still entwined with Lorelei’s.
“Hold on,” Lorelei said, drawing Nathan back. “I asked him to come. We made plans to spend the day together, and then Grandpa started dying again.”
Sunali and Lorelei stared each other down as Nathan squirmed.
Finally, Sunali sighed heavily. “Just stay back here, and don’t talk,” she said to Nathan, then wheeled and returned to Kilo.
Veronika had no idea what help she could possibly be in this situation. Family dynamics were definitely not her thing. Although she was back to exchanging awkward, carefully worded texts with Jilly a few times a week, her own family was anything but tight. But the dollars were adding up as the timer ran, and she was curious to see what happened, so she kept quiet and watched.
Lorelei squeezed Nathan’s hand, then let it go and went to join her stepmother.
“Hello, Grandpa,” she said in a sugary child voice.
“Go to hell,” Grandpa managed. He was straining to breathe, fluid rattling in his lungs. He looked at Sunali. “What are you smiling at?”
Sunali shook her head sadly. “Oh, I don’t know. Just enjoying a warm family moment.”
Kilo’s eyes rolled up until the pupils were almost out of sight. “You were a terrible mother,” he muttered. “Terrible.”
“I was a terrible mother. I agree.” Sunali folded her arms. “Terrible.”
Oh, what the hell. Veronika couldn’t resist. Jump in, she sent to Lorelei. Point out that Sunali is here for him now, that has to count for something.
I’m not saying that! Lorelei shot back.
Fine, just play out the same old patterns. Remind me why I’m here again?
“You know, she’s here now. That should count for something.” Lorelei gave it a harsh, accusatory edge.
Kilo blinked, trying to clear his vision. He stared up at Lorelei as if trying to place her. “She’s a vulture waiting for me to die, so she can spend my money.”
“Oh, is that it? Don’t you remember? You showed me your will,” Sunali said.
For a moment Kilo looked terribly confused, as if he didn’t understand what she meant. Then he nodded.
Ask her why she is here, then, Veronika sent. That would give Sunali a chance to express some kindness.
“Then why are you here?” Lorelei asked, making it sound like an accusation.
Sunali studied her. “Honestly, I have no idea.”
Veronika threw her hands in the air. These people were hopeless. It reminded her so much of her own family. Tell your grandfather you love him, she sent. What the hell. Let Lorelei try to put an acid tone on that one.
What? No. Fucking. Way.
Veronika let out a frustrated growl. You want drama? You want to be a star with a million followers? Step out of your comfort zone of petty grievances and snarky comebacks and say something truly surprising. I guarantee you, Nathan will make sure your viewers know what happened as soon as you get outside.
Lorelei’s face shifted through half a dozen emotions. She craned her head forward, as if about to expel something foul.
“Come on, sweetie,” Veronika said aloud to her empty living room. “Say it. You can do it.” She sent Lorelei a good, hard nudge: Or are you happy staying a small-time player?
Lorelei cleared her throat. “I know we haven’t always gotten along, but I want you to know, I love you, Grandpa.”
Veronika raised her fist as Kilo and Sunali gaped at Lorelei. Veronika knew exactly what Lorelei was thinking at that moment: she was wishing her viewers were watching this. This was platinum.
“Why would you say something like that?” Kilo finally managed.
“Because I do. Sunali loves you, too; she just can’t say it. That’s why she’s at your side every time you go through this. She’s trying to show you she loves you.”
Nice! Very nice! Veronika sent.
Sunali was gaping, openmouthed, at Lorelei.
“Well, it’s true, isn’t it?”
Lorelei reached out tentatively, as if gathering the courage to touch something that might bite, and stroked Kilo’s head once, then again, clearly not comfortable, but soldiering on.
Kilo was trembling, appeared to be holding his breath. With a squeal, he finally inhaled. Lorelei was looking at Sunali. She opened her eyes wide for an instant, urging Sunali to say something.
“I don’t like to see you suffer like this,” Sunali said tightly. “I know what it feels like to die. Doing it over and over…” She shook her head. “It’s got to be hell—”
“It is hell,” Kilo moaned.
“Then why don’t you let it go? You’ve squeezed everything you can out of this life. Rest now.”
Kilo was trembling, his lips drawn back from his expensive white teeth in a snarl. “You’re just saying that because you want my money—”
“I know I’m not getting your money.” Sunali leaned forward, her triceps tensing as if she was about to shove Kilo’s head under the surface of the goo. Then she relaxed.
“That’s right,” Kilo said. The filmy, drugged quality left his eyes for a moment, and he added, “I left it to my favorite charity.”
“Tell me this much,” Sunali said, leaning right over Kilo, her face six inches from his. “When do you plan to stop the revival order? When you get one lousy day before you die again? When the doctors can only squeeze out an hour each time? When will it be time?”
“It’ll never be time,” Kilo whispered.
Sunali leaned back into her seat, nodded. “Fair enough.”
They glared at each other. Kilo struggled; his eyes kept crossing, his breathing growing wetter, more labored. He looked like a giant wrinkled salamander. Veronika was so caught up in the moment she was barely breathing herself.
They stood, and sat, silently, until Kilo stopped breathing. No one shed any tears.
When the techs came in to prepare him for revival, Sunali stood, looked from Lorelei to Nathan and said, somewhat sarcastically, “Well, thanks for coming.”
41
Veronika
As she paced from the bedroom to the living room and back, the walls kept shifting to expand the room she was occupying. She should stop it, but the back-and-forth of the wall gave the illusion that her apartment was breathing, and somehow that was both cool and soothing.
The guilt was eating a hole in her. Every time she saw Nathan, she came close to blurting a confession, but if she did she’d lose her license for violating client privacy. On top of that, she was having so much fun, and that was probably why she felt so guilty. It felt like fun at Nathan’s expense.
The thing was, she’d done some genuine good while coaching Lorelei at her grandfather’s deathbed. She’d brought three people closer together, had helped heal some very deep wounds. She could be proud of that. Maybe she should pursue it further; if she genuinely focused her efforts on helping Lorelei, she could feel good about what she was doing, instead of feeling sleazy. Lorelei didn’t need a dating coach, but her other relationships were a mess—especially her relationship with Sunali.