Page 7 of The Virgin's Baby
“You think I don’t know that?” he asked. The force of his reply started him coughing.
Turning to look at him, I waited for the coughing fit to subside before asking, “This is more than a stroke, isn’t it?”
He nodded. “This is lung cancer.”
I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know how to feel.
The man wasn’t dead. Mourning him wouldn’t be the right thing to do. But every fiber of my being told me I should be doing just that.
“What are they doing to treat it?” I finally managed to ask before I staggered to take a seat in a chair, so I wouldn’t fall down.
I’m going to be all alone!
“Chemo.” His eyes went to stare at the ceiling. “Radiation. No surgery can be done. The mass is inoperable. It’s slowly closing off my trachea.”
Getting up, I rushed over to his side, taking his hand in mine as I could hear the fear in his voice. “The chemo and radiation will fix it, Grandad. You’ll see. You can beat this.”
The way his eyes clouded told me he didn’t share my desperate optimism.
“I hope so. My biggest fear is that the tumor will close off my windpipe and I’ll suffocate. I don’t want to go that way, Ransom. I don’t.”
I couldn’t take this. I was about to burst into tears. But my grandfather had always been strong for me, and now it was my turn to be that for him.
“I wouldn’t worry about that, Grandad. Give the medicine time to heal you. You’ve got the money to get the best medical help in the whole world. If these medicines fail, then we’ll go alternative. I don’t want you to worry.”
“I don’t want you to be alone, Ransom.” He gripped my hand. “That’s why I’ve done what I’ve done. Not because I hate you. Not because I’m trying to ruin your life. It’s out of love I’ve done this.”
Confusion riddled me. “What are you talking about, Grandad?” I really had no clue at all what he was going on about. “What is it that you’ve done?”
“My will. I’ve made a change to it.” He had to take a second to catch his breath, and the sounds his throat and chest were making were scaring me.
“Grandad, are you okay? Should I get that lady?” I asked as I watched him carefully as he gasped.
Finally, he closed his eyes then his breathing became normal again. “Damn tumor.”
I had no idea what had just happened, but I knew it didn’t feel good to him at all. “So, what is it that you’ve done?”
“I’ve added a stipulation to the will. If you don’t produce an heir before I pass on, then my entire estate will go to charity instead of you,” he said with no qualms at all.
Fuck my life!
Chapter Four
Aspen
Lubbock, Texas – May 15th
The job search wasn’t going well at all. I tried to do what Mrs. Pepper had suggested: I looked for jobs in all the fields my degree in petroleum engineering touched upon. Unfortunately, all those jobs were outside of Lubbock, and I needed to stay in Lubbock to finish my grad work.
I couldn’t believe that with just one more semester to go, I’d hit a brick wall. I couldn’t find a job that would pay enough for me to continue going to school.
Margo and I sat at the small dining room table, slurping our Top Ramen while discussing our bleak futures. A noodle slapped the side of her mouth as she sucked it in. “God, I hate this!”
“Me too.” I put my fork on the table and stared into the puddle of colorless noodles in the bottom of the bowl. “What did I do to deserve this?” I’d been a good person. I’d worked when I had to.So, why me?
Margo got up and put her bowl in the sink. “I’ve applied everywhere I can within walking distance. Later on today, I’ll take my bike and apply at any places within riding distance. But shit, I’m tired!”
Sucking down the remainder of the noodles, I thought about where else I could look for a job. In the end, it wasn’t a matter of finding one that could pay enough for school, I had to find one to pay the simple bills of living.
