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It sounded awful, but did the trick because he laughed.
“So did everyone hear I have lung cancer? I don’t want it to be the pink elephant in the room.”
The lamentations went around the room, and he thanked them for their kind words.
“I’m really okay right now,” he said, attempting to calm their sadness. “In shock, but okay.”
Everyone had a story to tell about someone they knew who had had cancer and the cures and treatments.
“We’re lucky to live on the sea,” Ryan said. “The air is cleaner here.”
“Yeah, too late for me though,” Jake said. “There goes that theory.”
“Sorry,” Ryan said, mortified. “I guess I’d better stop talking.”
“You’re fine, Ryan. If you’ll excuse me, I think I’ll go lie down.”
“It’s getting late,” Pam said, reaching for his plate. “We need to rest up for tomorrow.”
Lisa pushed her chair back. “Why don’t you let Miranda come home with Ryan and me? Megan will go nuts when she sees her.”
“Grannie, can I go?” Miranda asked Nelda.
“Of course, my dear. You go have a wonderful time. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
They kissed, and Miranda left with Lisa, pulling her suitcase along.
The conversation among the guests gave Pam and Jake the opportunity to leave for the bedroom.
“Jeez, those boyfriends of my mother and mother-in-law are too much. I’m really sorry I said they could stay here in the house. I feel like we need to watch the silver.”
“In the morning, I’ll run a report on them,” Jake said. “I’m in a situation here where I’ve got cases to cover and limited time.”
“Jake, don’t get ahead of yourself.”
“I’m not. I did a quick search on my phone, and it looks like I might not last the year.”
She sat on the bed next to him. “What did it say?”
“Even with treatment, it doesn’t have a great prognosis. Less than a year.”
“Oh, Jake, I’m so sorry.”
Pam felt numb. She was hearing that her companion for nearly a year was fighting for his life. What could she say? She felt nothing. In retrospect, seeing Jack dead because she didn’t get to the hospital in time, and hearing that Randy had died after the fact might have been easier than this was, sitting next to him, looking at his face. Why hadn’t she noticed before how gray he was, and thin?
“How much weight have you lost?”
“I have no idea. Enough to buy new clothes. Everything was falling off me.”
“I could see you lost weight, but I thought you were trying to, and it’s rude to comment about it.”
“Do you have a scale?”
“In the bathroom,” she said, pointing.
He got up, and she watched him. He was terribly thin now that she really looked at him.
“Jesus,” he said, his voice echoing out of the bathroom. “I’ve lost twenty pounds.”
