What Can You Not Buy With Money?

“What are you doing here, Burgess?” I asked as I sat up, my body tense like the prey of a hawk.

“I was invited directly from Matthew Walker. But I can see you simply hitched a ride with your friend here.” Burgess sneered as he took a sip of his wine.

“Burgess, we don’t want any trouble,” Walker impressed me by not showing any malice in his face or in his words. “Please, just go.”

“You’ve got a lot of nerve,” Burgess’ eyes went cold and he tossed his glass aside. I watched as it shattered, the spray of dark nectar soaking up the polished floor.

People all around turned to stare at the scene. A few of the staff who was catering the party quickly went to clean up the mess. Even the orchestra had halted their performance to observe the next series of events.

“Burgess, stop. Please.” I got up, hoping to walk away from the mess. I was planning to take Walker and just leave if Burgess wouldn’t end his confrontation.

Burgess narrowed his eyes. “So you’re seriously just going to stay with him?”

I felt my lips tremble slightly as he intimidated me. But I stayed strong. “Yes, I’m happy with him.”

Everything ended in slow motion, as Burgess’ face contorted in a scowl. He pushed me with such force that I fell to my knees out of balance. I turned and watched as Burgess grabbed Walker by the collar, pulling him up to his feet.

“What are you going to do, Big Ben? Huh?” Walker spat in Burgess’ face as his turned red. There was a husky taunt in the way Walker spoke to Burgess that held no fear. Only rage and anger was radiating from the two men.

Burgess shoved Walker against the wall, his hand pressed tightly onto his throat.

“Stop it!” I cried out as I ran up to try to physically break them apart. Of course I was much smaller than either of them, so my interference was in vain. I was weak and powerless.

Walker drove his knee up to Burgess’ groin, causing the teenager to gasp and collapse in the agony.

Walker had blood escaping his lips, and he wiped his mouth before spitting again onto the floor. “You’re pathetic.”

Burgess suddenly revived, tackling Walker hips down. The two men went flying, and they landed upon a snack table. Food and drink were everywhere. I watched as a sea of journalists and photographers began to record the scene, flashes from cameras blinding me.

Walker suddenly head butted Burgess in the forehead. While Burgess fell on his back Walker straddled his enemy and began punching him in the jaw.

But when Burgess swung his elbow and struck Walker in the chest, Walker went down. The man began to cough violently, having rough spasms run through his body.

I quickly rushed to Walker, shielding him from Burgess. “Just leave us alone, Ben! For fuck’s sake, just leave us alone!” I was sobbing as I gently touched Walker’s cheek. His face had gone red, his eyes were watering from his chokes, and he clutched his chest. He couldn’t breathe. I quickly turned to the rest of the crowd. “Someone, call an ambulance!”

I could only kneel by Walker as the paramedics came. When they took Walker onto the stretcher, I quickly followed. I turned to see Burgess watching me, his face empty. I gave him a stare that held anger and sadness but then I looked away to care to Walker. At the corner of my eye I saw him turn away and leave.

>

“Well, why am I not surprised?” The doctor came in to see us. I was sitting next to Walker’s bed as he lay there with bruises and an oxygen mask securely strapped to his mouth. I recognized him as Dr. Hawkins, and I sat up in attention. Now it made sense why he got along so well with Walker—he always saw him.

“Hell, just another asthma attack, sir.” Walker winced as he coughed again, gingerly touching his collar bone. It seemed that his attacks were becoming more violent.

Dr. Hawkins shook his head, a grim frown on his face. “Walker, there’s something I need to tell you. Alone.” He looked at me, and I became afraid when I saw that moist glimmer of sadness reflecting in his eye.

“No, you can tell me in front of her. What’s wrong?” Walker sat up, his eyebrow raised.

“I know you’ve been trying to deny it for a while Walker, but the latest CAT scans have confirmed what I’ve believed for a while. I’ve noticed that you’ve been coughing blood lately, and it's increased in rate.”

“Yeah…” Walker looked ashamed as he wouldn’t meet either of our stares.

“We’ve found a collection of cancer cells in both your lungs.” Dr. Hawkins held a clipboard, and he flipped through it. It seemed like a comforting distraction than directly looking at his patient. “And I can only suggest surgery to remove the tumors. But it’s… expensive. And the chance it will work is minimal. You are too far in the stages for chemo or radiation.”

Walker took in a deep breath then slowly exhaled, coughing slightly as he cleared his throat. “How long do I have?”

Dr. Hawkins shook his head, disappointment etched on his frown. “We aren’t sure. You’ve been hiding this from us for a long time, Walker. But the closest estimate would be less than a year. Eight months the most.”

I covered my mouth with my hands, anguish clawing at my heart.

“Damn. That short?” Walker held his forehead as he tried to collect his thoughts. “What should I do?”

Dr. Hawkins shook his head, uncertainty clouding him. “Like I said, the surgery is expensive, and your medical insurance doesn’t cover it. All I can suggest is getting your affairs in order and spending as much time with your loved ones as possible.”

“How much is the surgery?” Walker persisted, as though trying to deny the doctor’s cynicism.

“It’s estimated at around two million dollars overall.” The doctor shook his head. “Since you’re in a late stage, and since this operation is very complicated…” The man trailed off, knowing it was useless to explain anything. That was too much money.

“How… could this happen?” I looked at Walker to the doctor, my jaw clenched as I tried to swallow the news myself. And Walker must have felt agony compared to me.

“From Walker’s medical history… his family has little to no history with cancer. Still, it could have been genetic. Or Walker could have come across something carcinogenic in his life. But it’s obvious that his sensitive asthma was a warning sign.” The doctor put his glasses on as he looked through the clipboard’s contents. “I’m sorry. I’ll leave you two alone.” He turned and abandoned the room.

Walker was staring down at the sheets he was under, his hands free. He shook his head and after a few moments of silence tore his mask off. “Shit.” He looked at me, his eyes starting to redden and shine with tears. “Mary, will you hold me?”

I nodded, without hesitation and sat on the bed next to him. I put my arms around him and buried my face into his shoulder, kissing his cool skin.

Walker’s posture had collapsed, and he was leaning against me. It was tragic to feel him trying to hold back sobs as he rested against me. “It’s going to be okay,” I comforted him as I rubbed his shoulders. “I’m going to be here for you through this.”

“I don’t want to die,” was all Walker said to me before continuing his mourning.