“I have been, all this time, in every way I could. We’ve exhausted every single option. I’ve come to accept it.”
“No,” I said. “Daddy, you can’t stop fighting. I need you. I can’t live here without you. I already lost Mom. You can’t leave too.”
“Your mother is in Heaven, waiting for me, and I’m tired of fighting a war I’m not going to win anyway.”
“But that goes against everything you’ve ever taught me! You’re a fighter, a survivor. You told me that yourself, and right now, I need you to fight for your life.”
“I did, for a long time. I have a choice as to how I will spend my remaining months, and I don’t want to spend them sick from pointless treatments and hooked up to machines. I want to have a big bash for my little girl and dance with her, just like I’ve always dreamt of doing.”
I was n
umb as he gently held my hand.
“I’ve had a wonderful life, Julia. I’ve done so much, more living than many people do in their lifetime, and now I want to face death on my own terms.”
“You can’t possibly expect me to accept this,” I said. “I love you way too much to just let you go.”
“And I love you, Julia.”
“Then fight, Dad!”
“It’s over, and we both have to come to terms with that.”
I let out a long sob, and my dad hugged me. I cried into his shoulder as he rubbed my back. “But you seemed so happy today,” I said. “I-I thought it was good news.”
“I’m not going to spend my last days hating life and being bitter. I’m going to smile until the day I die.”
“You’re so brave,” I said.
“You know what my biggest regret is?” he asked.
“What?” I asked, my voice quivering.
“That I won’t get to walk you down the aisle.”
“Oh, Daddy.”
I talked to my dad for the next hour, but most of it was a blur. When we were done talking, we went back to the taxi, where Ed was still waiting for us. We tipped our patient driver well.
At the nursing home, I helped my dad back to his room, then called the doctor. Unfortunately, he gave me the exact same grim news: “There is really nothing we can do. I’m sorry, but I’m sure any doctor would agree in light of your father’s condition.”
I drove back to my apartment and fed my cat. When Kate came home, I lost it and cried in her arms. She tried to comfort me, but I was impossible to console. Grief-stricken, I called off work. Days went by, and everything remained an intolerable blur, like I was caught in some kind of horrible nightmare I would never wake up from.
End of sample.
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Addictive Collision – Part 1
Addictive Collision
Part 1
by
Chrissy Peebles