Page 62 of His Forever

She was waiting for the doctor with her parents. A routine physical for soccer had the doctor ordering all kinds of tests. Her mother sat off to the side not saying a word, but her daddy was there holding her hand in his and talking softly about anything and everything to distract her. The doctor walking into the room had him holding her hand tighter as they waited for him to open and look over her chart.

“Mr. and Mrs. Cross, your daughter has cancer. From what we can tell, it’s confined to her right kidney, which will need to be removed. We’re also going to do radiation and chemotherapy. This is somewhat rare in someone her age, but we have every confidence that it hasn’t spread.”

“What is the prognosis, doctor?” her daddy asked.

“The prognosis is good; however, there may be some long-term effects.”

“What kind?”

“There’s a possibility that the radiation and chemotherapy could impact Marleigh’s ability to have children.”

Her daddy looked at her with tears and said, “While it breaks my heart that you might never experience the joy of being a parent, I’m selfish enough as your dad to want you to live more.”

The surgery was grueling and the recovery was long and was compounded by the radiation and chemotherapy. She remembered the days spent throwing up, her daddy or her nurse sitting alongside her wiping her brow. Her mother? She had to work. The radiation caused burns that eventually healed, but her self-consciousness about the scars and damaged skin remained.

***

“Mi siempre hermosa? Talk to me,please,” he whispered, his heart breaking in two watching the tears pour down her face. He couldn’t keep up with them and finally gave up, pulling her close so her head was cradled on his chest.

“I…I’m sorry, Zeus, I got lost in the memories. I…I had cancer when I was a teenager and had one of my kidneys taken out. The doctors aren’t sure with the radiation and chemotherapy I had if I can ever have children. Um…Colton didn’t want kids, so it was something he didn’t really care about one way or another, but Zeus, I can tell how much you love kids and I can’t in all good conscience keep you from being a daddy!”

He wasn’t able to get in a word before she completely broke down in his arms. He continued holding her close, uttering nonsensical words to try and calm her down. She cried until she fell into an exhausted sleep. Carefully, he lifted her in his arms and carried her into the house and to his room. Gently laying her on the bed, he prayed hard while he put a T-shirt over her head before pulling her bathing suit off, then he pulled a pair of his basketball shorts up, being careful not to wake her. Once he had her covered up, he texted Paulie to let him know they would be back later and he laid down beside her and pulled her into his arms.

***

She woke up slowly unsure of where she was, but she could feel an arm around her waist. Turning carefully, she saw Zeus laying quietly just watching her and softly said, “Hey.”

“Mi siempre hermosa, do you feel better?”

Taking a mental inventory, she realized that she did in fact feel better. Nodding her head, he leaned down and kissed her softly. “Te amo, mi siempre hermosa, te amo. I, too, got sick as a teenager. I had the mumps and the side effect for that was a lower than normal sperm count so there’s a good chance I cannot father children. Does that change how you feel about me? Because I feel no differently than I did earlier today, Marleigh.”

She looked at him and saw the truth behind his words. “You mean…it doesn’t matter?”

He leaned down to place a gentle kiss on her lips before saying, “Not to me, mi siempre hermosa. If we are blessed with children, so be it. If not, there are many who need a home and we can provide that, si?”

A deep sigh came from her before she replied, “Yeah, that’s very true. Please don’t tell Paulie he was right.”

“What do you mean?”

“He’s known, of course, and he asked me earlier if I had told you and then said I might be surprised at your reaction.”

“Mi siempre hermosa, I would hope you would know me better than that by now.”

She blushed slightly because she did know him pretty well by now. Then she thought of something else. “But…what about the scars? They’re so awful, Zeus!”

“Marleigh, would you feel differently about me if something happened that was outside of my control and it caused scars?”

“What? Of course not!”

“Show me,” he said, using the voice she had grown to love, all growly and raspy.

“What? Now?”

“Si, now. I think they are nothing like you have them built up in your head, so show me.”

She sat up as a blush covered her face. He waited as she slowly pulled the shirt up. Head down, barely breathing, she waited to hear the disgusted tone in his voice.

***

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