Chapter 16
He sighed and turned away from the
window. It was snowing again for the third straight day. Grace had said it
never snowed in Lexington, but they'd gotten nearly an inch this morning and it
looked beautiful covering their lawn and falling out on the lake. He walked
over to the bed where she lay and knelt down beside her removing the cloth from
her forehead and wiping her mouth with it before tossing it onto the growing
pile of dirty laundry in the corner. He covered her gently with the sheets
careful not to disturb her sleep and stood, grabbing the emesis basin from the
nightstand. He took it into the bathroom, emptied its contents into the toilet
and flushed it quickly away before rinsing it in the sink.
He sat down on the side of the tub and
took deep breaths in and out trying his best to keep his own stomach from
betraying him. He could feel the tears sliding down his cheeks as he leaned
forward, his head in his hands and sobbed.
He found himself asking the same
question he'd asked a million times since all of this had started... how had
this become his life?
Yesterday had been her final
chemotherapy treatment. It was supposed to be a day of celebration but instead
she'd been too sick to even lift her head up off the pillow. He'd lost count of
how many times she'd vomited out the car door on the way home and it had only
gotten worse since they'd arrived. He'd spent hours last night rubbing her back
as she knelt on the bathroom floor and told him she couldn't take it anymore.
He didn't know what to do. No words he could say, no medicine he could give
her, nothing he could do could take away what she was going through. He knew
this was the last time she'd have to do this, at least for now but he'd had to
admit he was scared that she wouldn't make it through.
She'd finally fallen asleep about an
hour ago after vomiting for what felt like the hundreth time that night. She
didn't even have anything left in her too throw up. She'd fallen back exhausted
against the pillow and closed her eyes while he rubbed her feet and continously
changed the cool cloth on her forehead. He knew he needed a shower and he
needed something to eat but he hadn't dared leave her side until he was sure
she was asleep for good.
He climbed into the shower and let the
hot water wash over his aching body. He leaned up against the wall of the tub
and prayed to God to get them through this. He only stayed in a few minutes,
afraid that she would wake up and need him. He climbed out quickly and dried
his hair with the towel before slipping into some jeans and a polo and stepping
back out of the bathroom.
He smiled at the sight before him. She
was still sound asleep, curled up on her side now and she finally looked
peaceful. Kahlua had jumped up on the bed with her and staked out her spot right
in the curve of her back where she'd slept everyday since she'd started
treatments the week before. Nick couldn't help but be amazed by their dog.
She'd followed Grace around since the day Nick brought her into their lives.
She sat by her feet while she ate in the kitchen or watched tv in the living
room and she had slept at the foot of their bed every night. That is, every
night until this week when she'd swiftly moved in closer to Grace. Nick
couldn't help but wonder if Kahlua sensed more than he knew.
Nick looked up at the clock on the
wall, 7:30 am. They should be arriving in a short while. He walked over and
tucked the blankets up around Grace once more, kissing her forehead gently and
reaching across to give Kahlua a scratch behind the ears. "Good
girl," He said as she licked his hand before curling back into a ball and
closing her eyes.
He took in the sight of the two of
them laying there one more time before flipping on the baby monitor on the
dresser and walking out the door and down the stairs. He went to the kitchen
and pulled some frozen waffles out of the freezer popping them into the toaster
as he turned on the pot of coffee. He definitely needed it this morning. He'd
probably gotten about two hours of sleep last night. He grabbed the syrup from
the pantry and poured it over his waffles before sitting down at the kitchen
table with the morning paper.
***
