***Later that night***
Jennifer had gone to bed after dinner, and had fallen asleep almost immediately.
Jonathan had stayed up watching the news and then came to bed. He wrapped his arms around her, and nestled his head next to hers.
After laying there not able to fall asleep, he rolled over and looked at the clock. 12:04 a.m.
He started kissing her and pulled her closer to him.
"Darling…darling…"
She slowly woke up.
"What is it?"
"It's after midnight".
"Thanks for the update".
"Jennifer, I am serious."
"About what?"
"Darling…it's tomorrow. Officially".
She rolled over and put her head on his chest.
"Jennifer…it's tomorrow".
She slowly started to connect the dots, and then got a huge smile on her face.
"So it is".
She leaned up and kissed him, while they furiously tried to take their clothes off.
After making mad, passionate, love 4 times in a row, they collapsed together and fell asleep.
Jonathan fell asleep first. Jennifer laid there, trying not to cry, wondering if that was the last time she would ever make love to her husband.
***The next morning***
Jennifer managed to get through breakfast with Jonathan, and then as soon as he left, she broke down in tears. She allowed herself to cry for about an hour, and then decided to pull herself together and stop wallowing. She reminded herself that she could be worrying over absolutely nothing, which was exactly what she promised Susan she wasn't going to do.
She decided to have a Jennifer day.
She got up and got dressed and went to get her nails and toes done, and then she went shopping. She came home and watched a movie and lounged on the couch.
Her movie ended and the next one started, and she was too lazy to change the channel so she just decided to watch that one too.
It was about a lady who was a caregiver for her best friend. Her best friend had a terminal illness, and she stayed with her till the very end, and then fulfilled her wishes on how she wanted to be buried and what kind of service she wanted, etc. At the will reading, her friend had left her a very large sum of money, and she left her specific instructions to spend it crossing things off her bucket list, so that she wouldn't die with regrets.
Jennifer started thinking. She decided to make a list of 101 things to do in 1001 days.
Her list came together very fast.
Kiss Jonathan every day.
Make him his favorite meals at least twice a week
Show him I love him more than I tell him.
Take a weekend trip with him, where we have no distractions.
Let him pick the restaurant the next 4 times.
Buy him a love gift-something he really wants
Plan his dream vacation and take it with him
Organize the house so that when I am gone, he won't be lost.
Plan my funeral so he doesn't have to.
Not complain, or show him that I'm in pain.
Surprise him at work one day with his favorite lunch.
Write him love letters for him to read when I'm gone
Visit London with him one more time
Dance with him as often as I can
Take a hot air balloon ride with him
Take him to the ranch for a few days
Get a map and mark the places we have been
Put our photos into albums
Wear his favorite lingerie to bed every night at least 5 times.
Have a candlelight dinner just because
Be more understanding when he has to work late
She suddenly came to a standstill. She finally decided to shorten the list to 30 things, and then the ideas started flowing again.
Give other people gifts on my birthday. Make him a photo album of my favorite moments with him. Pamper him one night like he pampers me. Take him on a trip, anywhere he wants to go. Organize the bills so he won't be overwhelmed. Buy him sideline tickets to a football game and don't complain or take a book. Get him season tickets to the Dodgers. Write an obituary that praises him as much as it talks about me. Take him to our special spot overlooking the bluff.
She decided to get to work on this right away.
She went to the grocery store and stocked up on all kinds of groceries, and then came home and made several of his favorite meals. She put 5 of them in the freezer, and saved one for them to have that night.
She decided they would do the candlelight dinner that night as well, and then she would pamper him with a massage and a back scratch, and whatever he wanted, while wearing his favorite lingerie. She was excited when he came home, and ran to him and kissed him several times.
"Hi darling".
"Well hello. You are sure in a good mood".
"I missed you, and now you are home".
They went and sat on the couch. She covered the list with her notepad.
"Did you have a good day?"
"I suppose. We closed a couple of deals, which is always good".
She got up and made him a cocktail, and brought it to him. She had made herself a glass of water.
"Darling…this weekend, do you think you could get away for a bit?"
"Most likely. Where do you want to go?"
"The ranch. Just you and me and the mountains and horses".
"Well, I have a meeting Friday morning. But I could leave around lunch time, and we could go then and stay till Wednesday, would that work?"
"Perfect".
She kissed him a few times.
"I made dinner, it should be ready soon."
"What are we having?"
"Caprese chicken, sautéed zucchini, and brown rice".
"I love that dinner". He kissed her.
"I know. I did it just for you".
The timer went off about 5 minutes later and she went to the kitchen and got everything ready.
He came in and tried to help her but she wouldn't let him.
She came over and put the candles on the table and lit them, and then brought their dinner.
"Babe, you really went all out. Am I forgetting something?"
"No, nothing like that. I just wanted to show you how much I love you, is all".
They did the dishes together after they finished eating, and then went to the couch to have a brandy.
She turned on the radio, and pretty soon he asked her to dance. She readily accepted and they danced all over the living room.
About an hour later, they headed upstairs to bed.
She put on his favorite lingerie, and then when he came to bed, she looked at him and said "turn over".
She straddled his back, and gave him a deep back rub for almost an hour, and then a long back scratch. She got him totally relaxed, and then climbed off him and snuggled up to him.
As he fell into a deep sleep, she kissed his cheek and whispered "I love you so much".
***The next day***
Jennifer was at home, working on an article, trying desperately to keep her mind off things. The phone rang around 12, and she absentmindedly answered it.
"Hello?"
"Jennifer, it's Susan".
"Hi. How are you?"
"I have your test results. Can I come by in about an hour?"
"Sure, I'll be here".
"Ok, great. I will see you then".
They hung up, and the knot in Jennifer's stomach grew.
She was sitting on the couch when Susan buzzed the gate.
She let her in.
"Hi, come on in".
"I wanted to do this here at home, so that I could spend as much time with you as you needed me to. I hate being rushed".
Jennifer nodded. They went and sat on the couch.
"Ok, doctor. Give it to me straight".
"Well, the test results indicate that you have a uterine tumor. So, I am referring you to an oncologist in my medical group, and they will devise a treatment plan for you."
She nodded. She felt numb.
"What stage?"
"By all indications, early stage 2, which is good, but tricky".
"Tricky how?"
"Well, it's good because in stage 2, it's still controllable. Once it hits stage 3, that's when it seems to go crazy. And it's tricky because we don't know how close to stage 3 it really is".
"So, this is curable?"
"I don't see why not".
Jennifer nodded.
"Well, I guess I need to make an appointment."
"Already done. Tomorrow at 1".
"Thank you".
"If you need anything else, let me know. You got this, ok?"
Jennifer nodded and sucked back the tears.
She hugged Susan and then showed her out.
She immediately went and did research the rest of the day on the different stages of Uterine cancer, and on the doctor she had been referred to.
She researched all afternoon, and then resolved to not think about it while Jonathan was home. She was determined that she would do whatever it took to treat this without him knowing. She didn't want him to see her at her worst, no matter what.
She went and got out one of the freezer meals, and got it ready. She was waiting on the couch for him with his cocktail, when the phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Darling, hi. Listen, we are up to our eyeballs in this Schultz deal, and we are going to be here for a couple hours yet. I'm sorry, darling. I'll be home as soon as I can".
"It's ok. I will keep your dinner warm for you".
"You're the best, babe. Love you".
"Love you more".
She blew him a kiss as she hung up the phone.
She grabbed the list and crossed off the ones that she had fulfilled.
She whispered out loud to herself, "I hope I can do this".
***Friday***
Jonathan got off work at lunch time like he promised, and they drove up to the ranch. Jennifer was excited to get to spend some time away from everything just the two of them. He had given his secretary their number at the ranch, but only in case of emergency. Otherwise, nobody else knew where they were.
She was quiet on the way up, thinking about what the oncologist had said.
"I concur with the lab results, that you have middle stage 2 cancer. I recommend an aggressive course of chemotherapy". Those words replayed in her head over and over. She had opted for the oral chemo, and was staggering it, so that the side effects didn't hit her all at once. She was still keeping it from Jonathan, and keeping up all appearances that everything was fine.
He was the sweetest, most loving, romantic man in the world, he didn't deserve to have his heart ripped to pieces because she was sick.
They were holding hands while they drove. She looked over at him.
'Gosh I love him so much', she thought. 'I am so lucky to have been able to spend this time in my life with him'.
"Darling, you are awfully quiet, are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine".
She kissed the back of his hand.
"We should probably stop at the grocery store and fill up before we get there. You up to that?"
"Sure. We can grill out tonight if you want".
"And lay in the hammock, afterwards?"
"Absolutely".
They stopped at the grocery store about 40 minutes before they got to the ranch, and filled up. Jennifer grabbed a paper so they could see what was going on in town that weekend.
They got to the ranch and unloaded the car, and Jennifer put the groceries away while Jonathan got the grill set up. They decided on steaks, grilled veggies, and baked onion rings.
They did the dishes together, and then Jonathan went outside and lit some candles, and got their hammock all set up. He came and found her in the bedroom. She had just changed into her yoga pants and a long-sleeved shirt and flip flops.
He grabbed her hand and pulled her to him for a long kiss.
"I love you, Red".
"I love you too, Jonathan Charles".
They went and laid in the hammock under the stars. He cradled her and wrapped his arms around her, and kissed her head a few times.
She turned to face him and kissed his cheek.
"Darling, thank you for dropping everything and coming here with me. I appreciate it".
"No thanks necessary, darling. I love to spend time with you, you know that".
She snuggled against him and put her head on his shoulder.
They stayed like that for a couple more hours and then went inside to bed.
***Saturday***
Jennifer was up reading the paper she had bought when Jonathan woke up.
She jumped up and got him some coffee.
"I made your favorite-orange cinnamon rolls".
"Well, good morning to me".
He came over and kissed her.
"Darling, I was just reading about a festival they are having in town today-they have hot air balloon rides. I really want us to take one. What do you think?"
"Sure, sounds great".
She brought him a plate of cinnamon rolls, and kissed his forehead.
After a lazy breakfast, they got ready and drove into town for the festival.
***Strawberry Festival***
Jonathan and Jennifer walked around the festival, looking at the booths. They bought a few trinkets and keepsakes, and then stopped and got a few bottles of water. They made their way to the hot air balloons, and signed up for a 3 hour ride.
Jonathan got them the Ultimate package, and paid extra for them to be able to go by themselves.
They waited about an hour and then it was their turn.
Jonathan helped her into the gondola, and then climbed in after her.
He popped the champagne, and they filled two glasses, and toasted each other. Jennifer was taking tons of pictures. She was too excited to even finish her champagne. She leaned over and looked at Jonathan. "Thank you, darling". She gave him a big kiss and then they took a few pictures together.
He wrapped his arms around her waist, and held her as they enjoyed the rest of the hot air balloon ride.
In this moment, their lives were absolutely perfect. Jennifer was determined to keep it that way.
