Page 62 of Housekeeping

She shook her head. Some part of me was relieved but also shocked that she didn’t tell Emily. Relieved knowing that I wasn’t the only person that she’d shut out and disappointed at the idea that Laura wanted to do this alone.

“You can tell her if you like?”

I was surprised about her offering for me to tell her friend, so I pulled out my phone. I didn’t know if Emily had received any updates on her friend after the last time she and I talked, but she’d sounded genuinely worried when I asked her about Laura going off the grid.

Besides, I needed someone to be my help on the outside while I focused on being with Laura in that moment.

First of all, I looked up other doctors. Whatever result Laura got, I was going to make sure she got a second, maybe third or fourth opinion, just in case. I saved their contacts to my phone book. I’d be seeking them out later, but not with Laura right there or she might complain.

Next, I sent texts to my sister. I explained as much as I thought I could, that Laura was sick, that she’d done tests and was getting her results today. I also added that it was possibly cancer. Then I directed her to find out what Laura might need, in spite of the outcome of this appointment.

Last but not least, I sent messages to Dad. I would have sent them to his secretary, but as far as I knew he still wasn’t going to the office, and I wondered if he’d just let Trent take his position full time. Dad and I set up an appointment in his home office.

It was time. I needed to tell my dad about my intentions because I wasn’t going to put it off after this. I’d put myself through the ringer worrying about what could possibly happen to Laura, and what our future could possibly be like when she was hiding from me. After my little cry at the house meant to be ours, I’d made a few resolutions, and I meant to stick to them.

Laura was the woman I wanted, and while we hadn't been dating all that long, I knew I wanted to marry her, ill or not, if she’d have me. After all the shit she’d had to go through, twice, I wanted the rest of her life to be magic, and I would definitely make sure of that. Her kind of magic, not mine.

I wasn’t about to give up my money. Not only did I earn everything in my bank account, it wasn’t my fault who I was born to, and I wasn’t just going to reject it. I wasn’t going to give up the job I did for Dad either, because not only did it help the family business and earn me a lot of cash per deal, I sometimes found it enjoyable, like a game where getting the deal was what determined a victory. I hadn’t failed yet, and I planned to keep that up. But other than that, I’d give Laura whatever she wanted, even if all she ever wanted from me was my love and my presence. I had plenty of both to give her.

“Laura?”

I’d been so preoccupied, it took hearing my girlfriend’s name being called to snap me out of my daze. I looked up to see a woman who was probably around the same age or slightly older than Laura, dressed in a lab coat, standing in front of the open office door and gazing at us.

“It’s time,” she said.

Laura stood up, keeping my hand in hers, and I followed immediately. We walked into the office, the doctor looking down at our hands in interest, but not mentioning anything. She closed the door behind us and went around to sit behind her desk, gesturing us to the two seats on the opposite side.

“Dr. Matthew, this is Mason,” Laura introduced as we sat down.

“It’s good to meet you, Mason,” she said bluntly, picking up some papers from her desk. “I’m going to assume since you brought him along, that you don’t mind him hearing the news?”

She looked to Laura with an arched eyebrow, and Laura nodded. I hadn’t even realized I was worried, but I definitely relaxed when she didn’t just ask me to leave the room.

“He’s my boyfriend,” she admitted.

That made my heart soar.

Dr. Matthew glanced at me. “In that case, I’m very glad to meet you. I’m going to need you to stick close to Laura for a long while because she’s going to need you.”

Laura’s hand tightened around mine. “Then… is…”

The doctor smiled as she held one of the papers for Laura to take. Slowly, without releasing my hand, she reached for the piece of paper. She trembled, but no one in the room mentioned it, and she brought it closer so we could read it.

“You got lucky,” Dr. Matthew declared before we could see the contents. “What you have under your arm is a benign lymphoma. The symptoms of a benign lymphoma are very similar to the cancerous lymphoma, but there is a huge difference.”

“And by your smile, I’m assuming this is good news?” Laura hesitantly asked the question we were both wondering about.

“That is correct, Laura. Their symptoms are similar, but their effects are different. The benign lymphoma, for one, is not as deadly. The number of patients dying from it is so much less, as long as it’s treated early. And the good news for you is that they are easily cured.”

There was a long silence as everyone in the room let those words sink in. Then I felt Laura’s hand tighten around mine, and when I glanced over at her, I noticed her lips were trembling.

“You are going to need surgery,” Dr. Matthew continued. “It’s a good thing that it was found pretty early as you’ll need to have it removed. Just like cancerous lymphoma, it can spread. At the moment, from what the tests say, it’s small enough that you won’t even need to have to undergo radiation therapy again. You will still be coming for checkups in the weeks afterward, but after the surgery, you should have a clean bill of health.”

I didn’t know how much more strength Laura could have, but she took my advice from before to heart, and absolutely strangled my hand. I let her, reaching with my other arm to pull her to me because I could see she was about to lose it. She sunk into me, and I absorbed her into my arms readily, glancing over at the doctor.

“Thank you so much, Dr. Matthew,” I said fervently. “How soon do you think she can have the surgery?”

“I wanted to clear it with Laura before I set a date.”

Laura pulled herself together just long enough to talk to the doctor, and she also left me with some instructions. We waited for the surgery appointment, and once we had that, we left.

The whole way back in the car, it was me holding her hand tightly.

“When we get back,” I said, my voice low. “I am taking you to your room and I am going to make love to you for the rest of the day. No getting out of bed, Laura. Any objections?”

I glanced over at her, to find her beaming at me.

“No objection at all.”