Revenge of Cornelius by Tanya R. Taylor Read Free Book Online Page B

hugged her mother again. "I'm
not mad at you or Dad, Mom. I know you would never go against his
wishes. I'm so sorry."
    "Don’t be, honey." She cupped Mira's
face. "Now look. We'll all get through this together as a family,
all right?"
    Mira nodded. "This must have been so
hard on you."
    "Your father's the one who's had the
toughest time. On top of dealing with the illness, he had to keep
up with his 'tough guy routine' to pretend that everything was
normal. Yes, it was difficult going along with that, but as I saw
how hard he was trying, I couldn't allow myself to be weak, sweet
pea. I had to be strong just like him."
    Thinking back, Mira couldn't remember
admiring her mother more than she did that day. Her mother's love
for her father reminded her so much of Karlen Key's undying love
for Andy. She didn’t believe there was any possible way she could
love her mother any more than she did already, but in that moment,
it proved that she could — and she did.
    Sara took Mira's hand and they sat
down again. "On the way here, your father told me that it was time
to let you guys know what was going on. I can't tell you how much
of a relief that was. I felt a huge burden lift up off my
shoulders, though simultaneously, a new one was descending because
I had to break the terrible news to you and your
brother."
    Mira squeezed her mother's hand. "So
when will you tell Wade?"
    "I'll call him when I think he's home
from work," Sara replied.
    "What about chemotherapy? How's that
been going?"
    "No chemo. Your father absolutely
refused. He says he's not going out feeling sicker than he already
feels sometimes. After the prognosis and having been told by Dr.
Leo that it was a one percent chance that he could survive the
disease, your dad decided that he wasn't going to do the
treatments."
    "You didn't try to convince him
otherwise?" Mira asked.
    "I did, but he totally rejected the
idea. Dr. Leo couldn’t persuade him either. You know how stubborn
your father can be."
    "Yeah." Mira got up again.
    "Where are you going?"
    "For a walk."
    "When are you getting Rosie?" Sara
asked.
    "In a while. You think Dad's
asleep?"
    "Yes. He took some of his prescription
meds - one of them tend to make him a bit drowsy."
     
    Mira went to the bathroom and washed
her face, all the while feeling like she was in a bad dream.
"Rosie…" she uttered softly, looking into the large, oval mirror.
"How could I ever tell her that her Pops is dying? How could I?"
She covered her face with both hands as tears streamed vigorously
through the spaces of her fingers.
    "Are you all right, honey?" Sara was
at the door.
    Mira patted her face dry. "Yes. Yes,
I'm fine." She opened up and Sara could see the sadness on her
face.
    "Are you going to be okay?"
    "Yes, I will. Right now, it's Rosie
I'm worried about," Mira revealed.
    "You don’t have to tell her anything
right now, Mira."
    "You know she's very intelligent, Mom.
With Dad not feeling well and looking the way he did when he walked
through that door a while ago, Rosie would know that something's
not right."
    "I understand, but listen… your father
doesn't want Rosie with this information just yet. He doesn't want
to spoil her trip—the precious moments he has left with her. Just
be strong for her, please. When it's time for her to be told, we'll
all know."
    Mira considered her mother's plea. She
ultimately agreed.
     
    * * *
     
    The sky appeared completely starless
as the moon gave off its light. An eerie stillness had found its
way there once again. Lying next to her husband, Andrea Benjamin
gazed outside through the open window at the blackness which seemed
better to her than closing her eyes to sleep. She glanced over at
Theo who had drifted off long ago into a welcoming dreamland or
perhaps a dreamless sleep. How unlucky Andrea felt as night-time,
as of late, had proven to be one of her greatest
adversaries.
    She felt a cold brush of wind sweep
past her, then another, then another, but she knew it was no
ordinary