Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Telling Aaron: Mema's cancer is terminal


Aaron arrives home this evening.  He is dirty and tired from work.  I feel more of an urgency to tell him about Mema now.  Word is spreading quickly throughout the family and Brenda has already told her kids as well.  I cannot let Aaron hear the news from a Facebook post.  He’s about to jump in the shower and I ask him to come into his room with me.  He follows but moans, “Can it wait?”

“Sure” I reply.

“Is it about Candice?” he tries to clarify.

“No.”

“Is it about Mema?”

“Yeah.”

“Alright.” He enters the room to hear my report; I tell him that Mema’s cancer is terminal now. She has already had another recurrence and it is likely traveling throughout her body. They expect her to live anywhere from 3 months to a year. My voice cracks and I try to regain composure.  I’ve got to be strong for my family.  Aaron wipes under his eye with his finger. I can see the reality is sinking in slowly and he is not sure how to process the information. I assure him that the has some time and that Roy and I are going to visit her this coming weekend if he and Candice would like to go with us.

He takes a long shower and I know that he is crying in there, then leaves to get Candice.

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