Even Now by Karen Kingsbury

Author:Karen Kingsbury [Kingsbury, Karen]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

It’s all through his body, honey. It’s very aggressive.”

Emily went to Bill and stood near his chair, her hand on his shoulder. “But, Papa, you

look so good. You — ” she gestured toward the CD player — “you can sing and dance and laugh.”

Her eyes found Angela again. “Maybe there’s been a mistake.”

Angela understood the hope in her grand daughter’s voice. Hadn’t she felt the same way

when the doctors told them the results of the tests? But like the doctors, she had to be honest. “There’s

no mistake. From the first test they told us this was possible.”

Emily shook her head. “What about surgery? What about chemo or radiation or

something. I mean — ” she shot an anxious look at Angela — “we can’t just take a death sentence and

not fight it, right?”

“Honey, MRIs don’t lie. We had the tests read by three doctors. The reports came in

Thursday and Friday, but we wanted to wait until after Christmas to tell you.” Her eyes met her

husband’s. “That was your papa’s wish.”

He reached for Emily’s hand, and she leaned down, hugging him even as the tears broke

free. “No, Papa, no. I still need you.”

His arms closed around her. “I still need you, too, honey.”

That was all Angela could take. She covered her face with her hands and wept. And

across the room she could hear Bill and Emily weeping too. From somewhere in the midst of her

pain, Angela heard her granddaughter mumble something about God being in control, and miracles,

and how quickly everything would have to come together now. And her sweet Bill was saying

something about strength and prayer and feeling healthy enough to fight the cancer. Angela wasn’t

getting all of it, but she understood why. She couldn’t hear it over the loudest sound of all.

The sound of her breaking heart.

It was some horrible nightmare. It had to be.

Even after she finished helping her grandma with the dishes, and after her grandparents

had gone to their room for an early nap, Emily still couldn’t believe it.

Papa had cancer? Okay, he looked a little pale and maybe thinner than usual. But that

could be a good thing, couldn’t it? Maybe the doctors were wrong. Everyone’s MRI couldn’t possibly

be the same. Maybe her grandpa had the sort of blood and bones that tricked machinery like the MRI.

She went to her room, sat on her bed cross-legged, and tried to concentrate. Suppose the news was

true and her grandpa had only a few months to live. If that was the case, she couldn’t wait another

day. She couldn’t take her time sorting through the box her mother left behind.

They were in a race now. And time wasn’t going to win.

The miracle she was praying for wasn’t just to find her mom and eventually her dad, but

to help her mom make peace with her grandparents. Which meant if it didn’t happen in the next few

months, it might not happen at all.

She pressed her hands against the sides of her head, shutting out everything but the

problem at hand. The cardboard box sat near the end of her bed.

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