“Miles, while I appreciate Sheila having someone here to look out for her, I’m going to have to ask you to come back tomorrow as we don’t allow overnight visitors.” “Oh,” he looked over at Sheila, not feeling too comfortable about leaving her. “It’s fine, baby. I’ll be okay; they’ll take great care of me, I promise.” Sheila said, hoping she sounded confident. “Okay, well, I’ll be back first thing in the morning.” Still not wanting to leave, he stroked Sheila’s hair for a few moments and then bent down to kiss her forehead. He made sure to leave the pistachios with her so she could snack on them later. “I love you,” he said. “I love you too,” Sheila responded in almost a whisper. Miles barely made it out of the room before she broke down crying. She knew her doctor had nothing but bad news for her as she never cared about the rules when it came to visitors. That let Sheila know she had to tell her something she wouldn’t want Miles to know right away. “Okay, give it to me straight doctor,” Sheila had allowed herself some time to calm down. “Is it like before?” Dr. Stevens sat down. “It’s worse, sweetheart. We haven’t gotten your bloodwork back yet, but it’s your CT scan that put us on alert.” She put up the scans, and Sheila’s stomach tightened. “You see, the tumors are not just in your lungs this time, they’re showing up in your brain. Mainly in your frontal lobe, and if they get any bigger…” “I know,” Sheila put her hand up. “I pretty much lose function of my body,” she said disappointedly. Dr. Stevens nodded. “But we’re not going to let that happen, we’re going to monitor your activity and do everything we can to get rid of the tumors just like we did for the ones in your lungs.” “Okay,” Sheila gave in. She was at the point where she was just ready to accept defeat, but she trusted her doctor, and besides, Dr. Stevens had pulled through last time, so why not give her one more chance. The next day Miles showed up first thing in the morning just like he said he would. Sheila was thankful for the time alone because she was able to explain to him everything that was going on with a straight face. She knew if her voice cracked or if she showed even an ounce of uneasiness, Miles would be trying to take her to different doctors around the world for multiple opinions. Luckily for her and Dr. Stevens, he handled the news well, and when it was time to check Sheila out with the instructions that she come back for chemo in a week, he didn’t put up a fight. *** “Sheila, this is not a game to me, you’re moving in, and that’s final,” Miles threw up his arms, he was done arguing. “How many times do I have to tell you. I do not need, nor do I want you to take care of me.” Sheila fussed, equally as frustrated. It had been six months since Miles found out about Sheila’s condition. In that time, she had two back to back surgeries, three rounds of chemo, and amazingly, a new set of clear scans to match. What should’ve been a celebration had turned into suffocation for Sheila, because Miles turned into precisely what she was trying to avoid in the first place; overbearing. “If I was your husband, I would be taking care of you, but you won’t let me be that for you either. I don’t know what you want from me.” He yelled.“I want you to stop trying to placate me!” Sheila took a deep breath. “I did want to marry you, Miles, before all this happened. This is the reason I didn’t want you to find out about my illness, all we do is argue now. You want to know why I won’t marry you? Because you can’t handle it, you cannot handle what I have. You think you’re supportive and loving, but you’re not, you’re making this whole relationship about what’s wrong with me and how I have to get better.” “This is my better Miles. And if you love me like you say you do, then it will be okay with you.” Present Day: April 5,2020 Sheila toyed with the scans in her 37
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