Seize the Day
April
April
There’s no putting it off any longer. He’s shaved his head. He figures it looks alright, pretty normal. He decides this is when he has to tell her. She has to know something is off. He hasn’t been feeling very well. He tries to hide the bags under his eyes and his ever paling skin. He wants to give a bogus excuse about shaving his hair for charity but he doesn’t. She comes over to his apartment one night. He’s going to tell her, he has to, she has to know.
“Ali, there’s something I need to tell you.” He says reluctant to finally tell her.
“You shaved your head?” she tells him, a quizzical look in her eyes. There’s something else there. She knows something’s wrong he can read it in her eyes.
“I don’t really know how to say this… I don’t want to upset you or for you to think any differently of me.”
His voice is betraying him, it’s cracking. He’s going to start crying, he can feel it welling up inside of him. He notices the same look on her face. She knows this is bad. “I have a brain tumor.” He finally manages to get out.
And once it’s out there, it becomes too real. Realer than going to the hospital every week for treatment, realer than puking and getting dizzy. The first sob escapes her lips as she hurdles herself into his lap and envelops him into a hug. He grabs onto her and hugs her back fiercely not willing to ever let go, as the tears start to descend from his eyes. Who knows how long they stayed locked into that embrace, unwilling to let the other go as emotions exploded from them?
There’s no putting it off any longer. He’s shaved his head. He figures it looks alright, pretty normal. He decides this is when he has to tell her. She has to know something is off. He hasn’t been feeling very well. He tries to hide the bags under his eyes and his ever paling skin. He wants to give a bogus excuse about shaving his hair for charity but he doesn’t. She comes over to his apartment one night. He’s going to tell her, he has to, she has to know.
“Ali, there’s something I need to tell you.” He says reluctant to finally tell her.
“You shaved your head?” she tells him, a quizzical look in her eyes. There’s something else there. She knows something’s wrong he can read it in her eyes.
“I don’t really know how to say this… I don’t want to upset you or for you to think any differently of me.”
His voice is betraying him, it’s cracking. He’s going to start crying, he can feel it welling up inside of him. He notices the same look on her face. She knows this is bad. “I have a brain tumor.” He finally manages to get out.
And once it’s out there, it becomes too real. Realer than going to the hospital every week for treatment, realer than puking and getting dizzy. The first sob escapes her lips as she hurdles herself into his lap and envelops him into a hug. He grabs onto her and hugs her back fiercely not willing to ever let go, as the tears start to descend from his eyes. Who knows how long they stayed locked into that embrace, unwilling to let the other go as emotions exploded from them?