Noah

I sit on my bed, with Jamie laying her head on my lap.

I listen as she cries her heart out, explaining to me why the world is so unfair.

"I don't get it," she exclaims, "why is this happening? How could the universe let this happen? Why him? Why not someone else. If anyone deserves to live it is that man, my dad. Why is this happening Noah?"

I stroke her soft hair, running my fingers through the knots.

"I don't know baby, but I do know that everything happens for a reason. I do know that there is a reason for this, even if it's not clear to see now. I know, more than anything, that you have to be strong for him. Your dad needs you to be strong for him, for you mom, for your family. Just know, that I will always be here. Always through everything you have to face, I'm with you."

"But what is the reason for this?!" She cries out, wondering about my first statement.

"I don't know Jamie. But soon the reason will appear. It will come in the least expected time. But it will come."

She sighs loudly, "what am I supposed to do Noah?"

I furrow my brows, confused. "What do you mean?"

She sits up, wiping the tears from her face frantically.

"I mean, what am I supposed to do now? I know that I can't change the inevitable. I can't change what will happen, but I can do something to help him through it. I need to do something for him, make the time he has left, last." She asks me, her eyes wide and pleading as she sits facing me.

My heart swells with pride and I can't help but smile at her. I love that even though this crushing thing has happened to her, she is taking it well. She is determined to help as much as she can. She isn't going to cry and close herself off. She is going to make her last few weeks with him something to remember. In that moment, I fall in love with her all over again.

"I agree with you one hundred percent. You can't dwell on this, you need to make the time you have worthwhile." I say and she smiles sadly at me, "you have to do his absolute favorite things with him. Try out new things. Take him to places that he has never been, but he has always talked about going. But overall, just be there for him. Its all he has ever wanted. Your dad is a simple man, he doesn't need big exotic things. All he wants is for his family to be with him, be there for him. All the way until the end."

She smiles at me, and leans in to kiss my lips softly.

"You're right," she says when she pulls away from the kiss, "I need to be there for him. But I also want to make his last few weeks memorable for everyone, for all of us. I want to do something big for him." She tells me, and lays back down on my lap.

My hand goes straight back to her hair instantly, "I think that is a good idea."

We sit in silence for a while. The only noise is the sound of our breathing. She closes her eyes, letting a few stray tears slip out from under her lashes.

I know she is in pain, I know she is hurting. I also know Jamie. She doesn't want pity, she doesn't want prying. She just wants someone to listen, someone to be there. It is just one more way that she is exactly like her dad. That makes my heart ache even more for her.

I occasionally wipe her tears away from her cheeks and then proceed to let my hand run all the way through her silky brown hair again.

We lay in silence for another good fifteen minutes before she speaks again, "you knew didn't you?"

I intake a sharp breath. My heart rate goes up.

If she knows that I knew about this tragic thing involving her family before she did, I don't know how she will react. She will probably be mad and not want my help. I can't have her pushing me away when I know she will need me most. But I also can't lie. I need to be honest with her.

"I did." I say with a shaky voice as I wait impatiently for her response.

She breaths heavily, "thank you."

Wait... what? This is the last thing I would have thought she would say. I did not think she would thank me. I thought she would be absolutely furious. Why is she thanking me?

"Huh?" I ask dumbly.

"Thank you," she repeats, "for not telling me, but for still being here for me. I don't think I could have heard it from anyone else. Thank you."

"Jamie, you're welcome. I'm always here for you."

She smiles up at me again, "I know."

"Will you come with me?" She asks, "I have an idea for my dad and I need to talk to my mom about it. Will you come with me to my house?"

I nod, "for sure."

************************************

"Hey mom." Jamie greets as we enter her house.

"Hey sweetie," Amanda answers pulling Jamie into a hug, "is everything okay?"

"Yeah, actually. I had an idea... something that we could do for dad before he, well... you know."

"Oh! Okay, well what is it honey?"

"I know it might be a little big but Noah really helped open my eyes. He said that instead of dwelling on the inevitable, I need to specialize this time with him and make it memorable for everyone. Dad has always been proud of his heritage. He said that Italy was always one place he needed to go before he died. Well, how about we take him there? All of us, in Italy. I think he would like that."

Amanda's eyes swell with tears, but it's not out of sadness. Well, actually there might be a bit of sadness in there, but its mostly pride. I can see how proud she is of Jamie. How proud she is that her daughter wants to make her husband's last few weeks memorable for him.

"Well, we would have to run it by all the doctors and specialists, but you know what? I think it's a really good idea. I think we should do that Jamie."
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-Maxine<3