“I wish I could punch the cancer and make it go away,” Lucas said through his tears.
“Me too,” Geeta said in a choked voice from behind us.
“Punch,” Emma repeated innocently, her tiny voice echoing the word.
I glanced at Jiya.
She was holding Emma while gently rubbing Lucas’s back, her own eyes filled with tears.“I know, sweetheart,” she said softly. “I wish I could do the same.”
“I’m sorry,Bhaiya,” Geeta said through her tears. “I’m really sorry.”
“It’s okay, Geeta,” I said, looking at her. “Thank you.”
“Bhaiya, do you need anything?” she asked, wiping her cheeks.
“I’m alright for now,” I replied. “Might need your help later on.”
“Anything,” she said quickly. “Just ask.”
I watched as Jiya stood and moved toward her, comforting her while still holding Emma.
“I’m sorry, Dad,” Lucas said quietly.
I turned back to him.
“I love you so much.”
My chest squeezed.
“I love you too, Lucas,” I said. “Remember that always.”
That night, I lay beside him and read until his breathing slowed and he drifted off to sleep. I stayed there a little longer than usual, watching him, memorizing the peaceful look on his face.Afterwards, I tucked Emma into her bed. She had fallen asleep in Geeta’s arms, her small body curled up, completely unaware of how much had changed.
When I finally returned to the bedroom, I asked Jiya to call Jack and Liam.
“Invite them over for lunch this weekend,” I told her. “I want to tell them in person.”
She nodded silently.
I couldn’t sleep that night.I lay there for hours, staring at the ceiling while Jiya slept beside me.Eventually, I slipped out of bed and walked downstairs to the basement.The moment I sat down in the corner, the weight of everything crashed over me.
A few seconds later, I heard the soft click of paws on the stairs. Milo appeared at the doorway, his head tilted slightly. He trotted toward me and settled beside me, as if he knew I should not be alone.
My chest tensed.
My vision blurred.
And then I broke.
Strangled sobs tore through me as I buried my face in my hands.
Milo let out a soft whine, nudging me gently as though trying to pull me back together.
My body shook as everything I had been holding in finally surfaced.
The words.
The diagnosis.
