I had had a hard week. Everyone could smell a promotion coming for one of the senior VPs and I was considered among the favorites. That meant I had to watch my back. The pressure was so fierce that we had lost one of the VPs this week. Someone else had been given the open senior VP position but that person was inconsequential to the promotion proceedings. He just hadn’t put his time in like the rest of us.
I left work at six on Friday, about two hours before I usually went home. I had called Anne to let her know I would be coming today instead of tomorrow. She had been calling since Wednesday telling me she needed to talk to me right away. It wasn’t one of my planned weekends to visit but any break was welcome at this point.
I took the train to the suburbs and slept for most of the ride. Anne would pick me up at the station. I tried to clear my mind for the last fifteen minutes before I got to the station but I couldn’t. I still had so much work to do and my model girlfriend was unhappy that I was not going to see her two weekends in a row. The train finally pulled into the station and I spotted Christine standing outside the car door as soon as I exited the train. She looked bored.
“Hi Uncle Jake. You look horrible. What did you get me?”
“Well thanks for the complements. Real nice of you. And I didn’t get you anything. Since you turned fifteen you seem to change your mind every twenty minutes,” I responded as I got in the front seat. Anne gave me a kiss hello.
“Well then can I have some cash?”
“Sure. First thing you need to do is get a job—”
“No. Come on, Uncle Jake.”
“Christine, Uncle Jake is tired. Let’s feed him and let him rest. He’ll probably be more responsive after that.”
I smiled at Anne. The woman knew me inside and out. She knew I would cave in to her daughter and give her some money eventually.
The ride home was quiet. Anne was usually chatty so I knew something was on her mind. Christine was in the back seat sulking. I was too exhausted to start a conversation. When we arrived, Anne made me a plate of leftover meatloaf and mashed potatoes and sat with me while the food heated in the microwave.
“You dating anyone?” I asked.
“No. You?”
“JoAnna Quinn.”
“The model? No way. I would have thought she had higher standards,” Anne joked.
“Now I see where Christine gets her sense of decorum. As I see it I’m the standard on which other men are judged.”
“Yes, and you’re so modest too.” Anne was giggling as she stood up to get my dinner from the microwave. She set the plate in front of me and I ate a couple of bites before we continued the conversation.
“So why am I here, Anne?” I asked. Her smile faded from her face and she looked down at the table for a couple of seconds. I waited patiently for her response. She finally looked up at me with a very serious face. I could see her eyes welling up.
“You have to promise me you’ll take care of Christine as if she were your own.”
“Of course I will, always.”
“Jake, I mean it. No matter what, even if something happens to me. You have to promise me.”
“What going to happen to you? What are you talking about Anne?”
“Promise me,” she said as she raised her voice.
“Okay, I promise. I’ll take care of Christine as if she were my own daughter, no matter what happens. So, what is happening?”
“My doctor diagnosed me with pancreatic cancer. She gave me a year to three years, but she said some people go faster. I haven’t told Christine. I thought maybe you could help me.”
Now it was Anne turn to wait for me to respond. I took a deep breath. So many things ran through my mind but I didn’t know what to say first. It took about ten seconds before I finally said something.
“Okay, well I assume you’re going to fight it, right?”
“Yes. The doctor said I can start chemotherapy next week. And then we’ll do some radiation.”
“Alright so if you don’t mind I’ll move in right away. I mean, just until you get better and are on your feet again. I’ll take Monday and Tuesday off and get things packed and moved.”
“I think that’s going to be a good idea. I’m not sure if I’m going to be able to take care of anything after my treatment starts.”
It was late and I was tired but we still spent the next hour and a half making plans. We would tell Christine tomorrow morning after breakfast. I went to bed at close to one in the morning but tossed and turned for an hour before I finally fell asleep. I was awake at six.
I read the paper and drank some coffee until about eight thirty when the girls finally woke up. I made scrambled eggs and toast for them and we ate quietly. I smiled weakly at Anne but she didn’t return the favor. I could see the bags under her eyes. I figured I should take charge of this one and so I did.
“Christine, I was talking to your mom last night and we have decided that I am going to move in.”
“Really? When? Why?”
“I’ll probably be in here by this Tuesday. Your mom is sick and it’s going to be easier for her and you to have another adult around.”
“Mom?” said Christine as she turned towards her mother. Anne looked up at her daughter and smiled weakly but offered no explanation.
“Christine, honey?” she turned to look at me. “Your mom has an aggressive form of cancer. Now she going to fight it but it’s going to weaken her a bit so we are going to need you to be helpful, okay?”
She just nodded her head gently at me. A couple of tears were beginning to form in her eyes. This was going to be harder than I anticipated.
“Were also thinking of getting a maid to help around the house. This will take a lot pressure off of all of us. Now your mother’s illness changes very little for you. She is still your mother. The one thing that does change for you is that as an adult in this house you are going to have to listen to me too. Okay?”
She nodded again. Now she was crying. Anne moved over to hug her daughter and that pretty much opened the flood gates. I took the plates into the kitchen and started cleaning up the mess of breakfast.
I spent most of the rest of the day looking for a realtor to sell my apartment and movers to help me move my stuff. I also emptied a part of the garage so I could store some of my stuff there. While I was outside I met the next door neighbor.
“Are you Jake?”
“Yes, that’s me.” I went over to the low fence to shake hands with my neighbor. I couldn’t help to look her over. Brown hair in a bob, a slim face with high cheek bones, a radiant smile and she was fit for a mom, or at least I assumed she was a mom. Most people in this neighborhood were young couples raising kids.
“Hi, I’m Karen. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“Really? Anne talks about me?”
“Are you kidding? You’re better than any soap opera. Half the neighbors know about you. All the wives have been dying to meet you. So you’re visiting for the weekend?”
“Actually I’m preparing the house to move in with Anne and Christine. I should be in by the middle of this week. Now you got a bit of gossip to spread around the neighborhood.” She smiled at me as she moved towards her porch door. “Hey Karen, can I ask you two questions?”
“Sure,” she responded from half way inside the door.
“Were you dying to meet me?”
“Yeah.”
“What does your husband think about that?”
“I’m divorced.”
And with a smile she walked into her house and closed the door behind her.
After I finished out back I went back in the house where Anne was sitting on the couch reading a magazine. She looked up at me.
“Christine is up in her room. I think she’ll be okay. What were you doing out back?”
“I met Karen. We were chatting. By now she should be spreading the rumor that I’m moving in.”
“Great. What else did she say?”
&nbs
p; “That all the ladies here are dying to meet me. We probably should have a party and invite them all.”
“Calm down, stud. Almost all of them are married and let’s not forget you have a girlfriend.”
I went up to see Christine to see if she was okay. I knocked but she didn’t answer so I peeked in. She had her mp3 player playing and her headphones on. She got startled when I walked in.
“What are you doing tonight?” I asked.
“I had plans but I’m not sure I’m in the mood to go out anymore.”
“You know going out might help you. Staying in will get you more upset. Go do something with your friends. It’ll be good for you.”
“Okay but I need some money.”
I handed her some bills I had folded up in my hand. I smiled at her and winked before moving towards the door.
“Uncle Jake?” She said, as I turned around. “Thank you.”