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The front door opens, and I call out, "Hey babe, what would you like for dinner tonight?"
"Whose babe?" my dad says from the doorway.
"Dad, your home. Whoo, what's wrong?" I ask, seeing him and Krista's dad standing in the doorway.
"Come sit down, Son," dad says, and I noticed he has lost a lot of weight, his face looks grayer.
I hear the door open again, and this time I know it's Krista.
"Hey." The smile falls from her face. "Dad, what are you doing here. What's going on?"
"Come sit down hunny, you should hear this too," her dad says, and she comes to sit beside me.
Both our dad's giving each other knowing looks, but then my dad drops the bomb.
"Son, I haven't been away on business. I've been at the Cancer Treatment Center in Chicago."
"What?" I whisper.
"I was diagnosed with prostate cancer, it's an aggressive stage, and that's why I had to go to Chicago for treatment."
"Why didn't you tell me?" I ask.
"You were having your own issues, and you didn't need mine. You needed to focus on your recovery, and if you were worried about me, then you wouldn't have focused on you," he tells me.
I feel Krista take my hand and squeeze, showing me support. I squeeze back letting her know I appreciate her.
"What about now? Are you okay now?" I ask.
"I've completed all the treatments that I can for right now, so we will have to wait and see."
"You were with him?" Krista asks her dad, and he nods. “That’s why you were at the hospital that day I ran into you,” Krista muses, and her father nods.
“I wasn’t going to let me best friend go through this by himself. He called me from the hospital, and as much as I hate them, I knew he needed me,” Mr. Strauss says nonchalantly.
At least I know my dad wasn't by himself going through treatment alone. That's a plus, I wish he would have told me sooner.
"Seems we have all missed something," dad says, looking at me and Krista.
I look over and smile at her, and then say, "Yeah,"
Then I look back at dad. "When will you know more?"
"I'll go back to the doctor in three weeks and have some more tests completed. We will see then if the treatment worked or if I may need more."
I nod. "Okay, then we enjoy each day. What would everyone like for dinner, since it seems we have a lot to catch up on," I say to the room.
I get up and go to the kitchen, and Krista follows me.
"Hey, look at me," she says, and I do as I feel the sting of tears in my eyes. "It will be okay. We will get through this together, no matter what happens. We are stronger together."
"You are right," I tell her, pulling her in for a hug. "He's my dad, and I don't know what I'll do if I lose him."
"I get it, but you are not alone. I am here, and I'm not going anywhere."
"I love you," I tell her and watch her eyes widen in surprise.
"What did you say?" she asks in a whisper.
