Page 19 of Never Leave Me
“Something I’m planning to do in a few hours.” His hand slid from her hip to the small of her back.
Just the slight pressure somehow ignited her skin and made her want to arch against him. “What are you planning?”
“It’s a surprise for you.”
“For me?” She could hardly think of anything past the sensuousness of his fingers at the dip of her spine. She needed to pull away. She wasn’t sure why he was affecting her this way. But sheguessed the kissing had something to do with it. Had she ruined their friendship by instigating those kisses?
“I’ve planned a marvelous surprise for you.” He swayed to the music, drawing her along, his presence enveloping her.
She extricated herself from his hold and took several steps away from the strange feelings. “You didn’t need to plan anything for me.” She clasped her bathrobe tighter even though she was entirely too warm.
“Of course I do.” His voice wavered with a new kind of excitement. “It’s not every day blood tests come back completely clean.”
At his statement, her gaze snapped to his. There in the depths of his shining eyes she saw the news she’d come searching for. The cancer was gone from her body.
For a second, she couldn’t register his words, couldn’t make herself believe them. After living with the knowledge that with VHL, her body would always have cancer, how could she accept that she was cancer free?
“The CBC?” She couldn’t keep the tremble from her voice.
“The complete blood count of both red and white blood cells is within the normal range.”
Her throat constricted. She couldn’t remember a time when she’d been normal in any sense of the word.
“I had the doctor run a battery of tests including the BTA and cancer marker tests.”
“And?” The one word was breathless.
His grin widened. “And not one of them picked up a single abnormality.”
“The BTA didn’t show any problems?”
“None.”
The BTA was a computerized device that measured blood, saliva, and urine for the amount of electrons present, pH balance, and minerals in the fluids. It showed the health of cells, whether thecellular environment was too acidic, if there were too few electrons to combat free radicals, or if there were too few minerals to buffer the acids. Surely if she still had cancer, the BTA would indicate it.
Harrison watched her face expectantly.
“Did the doctor do a dark-field microscopy or DR-70?”
“Yes. Both. And there’s no sign of cancer, love. The TK-1 and antigen tests were clear too.”
With so many tests showing her free of cancer, how could she doubt the news? The giddiness she’d felt earlier pushed for release. Could she set it free?
“Maybe I should have PET and CT scans just to make sure.”
“The doctor said they weren’t necessary. But if it would prove to you that you’re healed, then we can do them this morning before we leave.”
“And what about VHL?”
“We won’t have the results of the genetic tests for a few more days, perhaps a week. But I think we can safely assume it’s gone too.”
She stood silently in the middle of the bedroom still shadowed by darkness. Out the window, the sky was turning a light blue tinted by faint hues of pink, orange, and yellow, reminding her of the tulips that blossomed in the gardens on the front lawn.
Did it matter if the cancer or VHL was completely gone? Hadn’t she decided long ago to live each day as if it were her last, to enjoy every moment, to revel in the beauty of life as long as she could?
Whether the cancer or VHL was gone or simply in remission, she had to rejoice in every victory, big or small. She grabbed Harrison’s hand and tugged him toward the door. “Come with me.”
He allowed her to drag him along, out the door and down the hallway. “What are we doing?”
