Safe and Sound

On Sunday after my match, I went home to my parents' for dinner and to spend time with them.  It was only my parents, my brother, and me.  I was expecting my brother's girlfriend, but she couldn't make it, apparently.  My family was expecting Luke, but I just didn't invite him.  I didn't give him a reason, and I didn't give my family a reason.  I just told him I was going to my family's for dinner and that was it.

My parents had come to my match, but they left immediately after and I had waited for the team to finish, of course, then gone to my apartment and showered and changed clothing.  My dad and brother were in the living room when I got home watching ESPN.  No surprises there.  There was no sign of my mom, so I figured she was in the kitchen cooking or something.  My dad turned and smiled at me, greeting me.  I walked over to him and kissed him on the top of the head.  "Hi pops!" 

My brother yelled, "What up?" as his greeting.  Charming.

Tom was lounged on the couch, facing the tv, not paying attention to me.  I lightly pranced over to my brother, to quickly sneak up on him and shout-sung "I CAME IN LIKE A WRECKING BALL" and I jumped on him.

"Oof," he grunted as I pushed the air out of him, landing on his stomach.  "Aleee-aaah."

I started laughing and bouncing up and down, trying to crush him with my love (aka my body).

"Get off!"  He whined and then heaved me up and dumped me on the floor.  I clung on to his arm and he rolled off the couch on top of me.  I started wrestling him, trying to get on top of him to pin him and he held me down.  His face was red from the struggle of picking me up, and he didn't look pleased.  "Just let me watch tv!"

"Oh Tommy, calm your panties down," I giggled and kept trying to wrestle him.  He pinned my arms on the floor, and I started kicking, trying to free myself. 

"Children!" My dad snapped.  We both immediately stop.  I saw Tom look at our dad, who was behind where I was, but in perfect sight line with Tom.  He slightly raised his eyebrows.  He appeared as shocked as I felt that dad had snapped like that.  It wasn't usual.  I frowned and got off the floor, smoothing my clothing down as I headed to find mom.  I exchanged a look with my brother before leaving the room. 

I found my mom in the kitchen slicing strips of kernels of corn off the cob.  I saw she had a bag on the counter next to her that still needed husking.  I pulled the trash can closer to me and started husking the corn so my mom could continue cutting off the kernels.  "What's for dinner?"

"Fried chicken.  Mashed potatoes.  Gravy.  Corn off the cob."  She turned her head to me and smiled, leaning over to kiss my forehead before going back to cutting.  "Welcome home, baby girl."

"Is everything okay with dad?"

"Oh, I'm sure, dear.  Why?"

"He seems grumpy.  Or something.  He snapped at Tommy and I when we were wrestling."

"Hmm."  My mom seemed to go back to her own world, distracted by something.  We kept working like that in silence, me husking corn, her slicing rows of kernels off the cob.  When I was husking the last piece, my mom looked over at me and said, almost as what seemed an afterthought, "So, what's been going on with you and Luke?"

I furrowed my eyebrows and focused extra carefully on the corn.  "Oh, I'm not sure.  We're just dating, you know?"

"No.  I don't.  Is it serious?"

"We're exclusive, if that's what you're asking."

"Sure, we'll go with that."  I looked over and saw she was smiling since the first time I had entered the kitchen.  I set the last piece of corn on the counter for her and asked what else I could help with.

I finished helping my mom make dinner and we all sat at the table, like we used to when I still lived at home.  It felt refreshing.  It tugged at a part of my inner being that made me realize what I didn't know I was missing.  I just felt safe and sound.

But as dinner ended, that sense of safety and security came crashing down.

"Kids, we need to talk to you about something," my dad seemed to hesitantly broaching a subject he clearly didn't want to discuss.  He was wringing his hands, and watching them intently, as if never seeing something so intricate.

I sat up a little taller and leaned forward, instantly concerned.  I saw my brother shift uncomfortably, in his seat.  He didn't appear to want to have this conversation.  The men in my family didn't like confrontation, whether it was good, bad, or uncomfortable.  I looked over and my mom and she was giving my dad a small smile, as if to encourage him to continue.  I glanced back over at dad, and he looked up at my mom, locking eyes.  He seemed to visibly relax slightly, and continued.

"In the past several months, I'd been having a lot of headaches and have been really exhausted.  I chalked it up to just getting older.  But as the time went on, and the headaches weren't eased by my trusty Advil, so I sought out other methods.  They were so intense at times it became hard to focus on a few of the surgeries I was doing."  He shifted his weight and sighed.  My brother was staring at a random, blank spot somewhere on the ceiling beyond my dad's head.  I was frozen, scared of what was coming.  Dad said, "Don't worry, I didn't botch anything and we aren't being sued."  He smiled weakly.  "But, nothing worked.  I finally went to the doctor at your mother's insistence, and ended up being referred to Mayo Clinic."

I immediately tensed up, knowing what Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota was.  I peered at Tom and saw he hadn't changed positions or facial expressions.  I stole another quick look at my mom and she was solemnly staring at her wedding band, playing with it.  In turn, it caused me to unintentionally start spinning the beautiful Aquamarine on my right hand ring finger. 

Dad stated, "On April 8th we had an appointment at Mayo Clinic to get the results of the MRI, CAT Scans, and blood work, among other things."  At this point, he gravely looked up and he pointedly looked each of us in the eyes, before finishing.  "I have brain cancer.  A tumor."