Halfway to forever by Karen Kingsbury

"Okay" Ty didn't hesitate, and a small wave of relief splashed against Tanner's taut body. Why tell the boy now, when they didn't know
anything about the monster they were about to battle? The
72 bad news could wait until tomorrow Ty's tone was light. "Give her a kiss for me, all right?" "All right. Be good." "Okay, Dad. I love you."
"Love you, too." When Tanner hung up, he was reminded, as he always was, of how many times he'd missed out on telling his son he loved
him. Eleven years. Even now it was impossible to imagine that while he'd spent all those years pining away for jade, wondering why she'd
married someone else, Ty had been growing up with out his father. It was a tragedy Tanner could only withstand because of the close bond he
and the boy shared now. In the nearly two years since they'd found each other, Tanner had taught Ty how to throw a spiral using the laces of a
football, and how to perform the crossover in basketball. He had pitched him a thousand baseballs in the field across the street from their
house, and he jogged with him three times a week. Despite the constant blur of motion he generally made in their home, Ty had a sweet side
as well. That semester at school he befriended Karl, their neighbor. The boy didn't have a father. When Tanner and Ty played catch or hit
balls, Ty often asked if Karl could come, too. "Karl reminds me of me back before I knew you," Ty would say when the two of them were
alone. "I wish he had a dad like you. You and Mom are the best parents in the world." Tanner shuddered again. Telling Ty that his mother was
seri ously ill was more than he could imagine. And so he focused his gaze on jade's beautiful face, and sometime around midnight, after the
night nurse had made her final rounds, Tanner fell asleep. At ten o'clock the next morning, Dr. Layton appeared again. He was holding a file,
and this time the gravity of the situation was etched in the lines on his forehead. H A L F W A Y T O F 0 R E V E R "It's cancer, jade. I'm
sorry." Tanner stared at the doctor, his eyes unblinking. What had the man said? Cancer? The word screamed at him from every wall in the
room. Jade couldn't possibly have cancer. It was all a nightmare. He was going to wake up at home in their own bed, jade beside him, smiling
at him, assuring him everything was all right, and promising him that she and their baby were perfectly fine. No, God, not cancer. NotJade...
Tanner hung his head for a moment, his hands clenching into fists. Then just as quickly, he realized he hadn't said a word to Jade. Ignoring his
pounding heart and uneven breathing, he lifted his chin and reached for her hand. She had been watching him, her eyes filled with too many
emotions to sort. Sadness, regret, disbelief. And fear, of course. But... Tanner frowned. He saw guilt, too. As though somehow she felt
responsible for the doctor's awful news. Her eyes welled up. "I'm sorry, Tanner." "No." He forced a partial smile and uttered a single
desperate laugh. "It's not true, jade. Tests can be wrong." His gaze shifted to Dr. Layton. "Isn't that right? Can't the tests be wrong?" The
doctor's mouth formed a straight line, and he looked from Tanner to Jade and back again. "Not this time." Tanner stared at the man. He
wanted to scream or punch a wall, shout at anyone who would listen, insist the diagnosis wasn't true. His gaze shifted back to jade and he saw
quiet tears streak ing down her cheeks. He tightened his grip on her hand. "We'll fight it, Jade. People beat cancer all the time." She nodded,
smiling as her eyes filled again. "We'll beat it." She swallowed a single sob. "God's...not finished with me yet." Tanner nodded, his mouth dry
with the blasting winds of hot, 73 I
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merciless fear. "We'll fight it together." He wove his fingers
between jade's and leaned against her arm as the doctor explained their opponent in detail.
`Jade has a glioblastoma, a fairly common type of brain cancer." Tanner forced himself to concentrate. He still had hold of
Jade's hand. "It's curable, right?"
The doctor leveled his gaze and his voice fell a notch. "Yes. In
about half the cases." He hesitated. "It depends on how fast the
tumor's growing. Of course, there's no way to tell how long it's
been there." Dr. Layton let the file fall to his side. `Jade's pregnancy
seems to have compromised her immune system and sparked
what looks like aggressive growth."
The words were like something from a nightmare.
Tumor... cancer... aggressive growth. Tanner massaged his left
temple with his free hand. The doctor might as well have been
speaking Russian for as much sense as it all made.
"I'm recommending two weeks of intense radiation therapy
followed by removal of the tumor. At that point we can implant
radioactive pellets and begin chemotherapy until-"
"Stop." Tanner held up his hand, and jade and the doctor
looked at him. "Radiation? Removal of the tumor? That's surgery,
right? Brain surgery?" He alternated his gaze from Jade to the doctor.
Dr. Layton sighed. "Yes."
Jade opened her mouth to speak, but Tanner wasn't finished.
He let go of Jade's hand, stood, and paced three quick steps
toward the door and back. "What's that mean for the baby?"
"I know what it means." Jade's tears spilled onto her cheeks and she turned her attention to Dr. Layton. "I won't terminate." Terminate? What
was she talking about? The baby? Their
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baby? Tanner tried to breathe but he couldn't. The air around him
had turned jagged and sharp, cutting at him as he struggled to drag it into his lungs.
"I'm... I'm lost." Tanner crossed his arms and managed to grab a quick breath. "If someone would clue me in here." He sat back down and
leaned over his knees, his eyes locked on Dr. Layton's.
The man uttered a tired sigh. "The treatment I'm recommending would require terminating the pregnancy, Tanner. There's no way a fetus
could survive the radiation and chemotherapy Even the surgery holds considerable risks."
"And if she terminates the baby, you think the treatment will... that she'll be okay?" Tanner's heart skipped a beat. He was wandering toward a