The next morning, Jonny woke up early, before Jac, to make breakfast. He walked back up to the bedroom, carrying a tray with a coffee mug and toast.
"Rise and shine…" he whispered softly, as he sat down beside Jac lying in bed, with the tray in his hands.
"What is this?" Jac asked, as she saw him with the tray, and sat up in bed.
"I made you breakfast, go on," he said, handing her the tray.
"I don't need anyone's pity or anyone feeling sorry for me," Jac snapped, before she sipped some coffee. Although she quite missed the morning coffee Jonny used to make for her before they left for work.
"I'm just caring for my wife," Jonny said, as he sipped his coffee.
"Caring? You didn't give a damn about me, up till yesterday…" Jac uttered, because of the fact they weren't exactly speaking at home, so seeing him the next morning, bringing her breakfast in bed, felt quite odd.
"Jac that's not true, just because I was angry, doesn't mean I didn't care," Jonny added.
"Oh, so what's changed now? you're not angry with me anymore, because I'm going to die?" Jac said, before she took a bite of her toast.
"Don't say that! And besides… I thought instead of wasting time arguing, maybe this is like a wakeup call, to put the past behind us and be here for you…" Jonny tried to explain.
"Spare me pity," Jac snapped as she got out of bed, and opened her dresser.
"What are you doing?" Jonny asked confused, as he saw her choosing clothes.
"Getting ready for work… what does it look like I'm doing?" Jac said casually.
"Don't you think, you should be thinking about some leave and taking things a bit easier," Jonny suggested, still sitting on the bed.
"Jonny I don't have dementia, and I'm not dead yet, I'm perfectly fit to work… oww…" she uttered, as she held her side for a minute.
"What's wrong?" Jonny stood up, and ran to Jac's side.
"Nothing it's just… it's my kidney okay… just leave it?" Jac tried to move away from him but Jonny stopped her.
"Wait, wait! What's this?" he asked, something underneath her top caught his eye. He lifted it up a bit to reveal a mass bulging on her side. Jac didn't say anything. She arranged her top properly and moved away.
"How could you hide something like this?" Jonny couldn't believe Jac was getting worse by the day and didn't whisper a word to anyone.
"I didn't want to alarm anyone, stop fussing!" Jac snapped as put on her boots.
"Jac if you could just let me…" Jonny added, as Jac ignored him and walked out of the room. Jonny sighed.
…
After a whole argument in the driveway, about Jonny not letting Jac drive her own car, Jac was finally convinced to let Jonny drive all of them to work.
"Hey watch it!" Jonny snapped at Jac, who slammed his door, as she got in the front seat, and Amy got in the back.
Jonny started driving, Jac leaned against the window looking outside, no one saying anything.
"Mum, you know, I was thinking, how about I get myself tested and see if I'm a match donor?" Amy said, from the back of the car.
"What?! Who gave you that idea?!" Jac snapped, "did you tell her this?" she said, looking at Jonny.
"No! but if she wants to, I respect her decision…" Jonny uttered, his eyes on the road.
"What? No, I'm not going to let you do that…" Jac told Amy.
"Oh come on mum, it's just a test…" Amy whined.
"No!" Jac snapped.
"But mum, what if I am a match? Wouldn't it be great, that you have one of my kidneys? And it wasn't some stranger's?" Amy tried to convince her mum.
"I said no!" Jac snapped again. With Amy's words, her mind went back to the time when she gave one of her kidneys to her mum. Up till this day, she still couldn't believe what convinced her to do it. Her mother was the same woman who left her when she was twelve… so why did she do it? And look what it got her into… if she had two kidneys, she would have removed the cancerous one and she'll have the other. Jonny snapped her back to reality.
"You know Amy has a point, she could at least get tested… even I could…" Jonny added, as he parked the car in the hospital car park.
"For the millionth time, no! I'm not going to let anyone do anything for the sort!" Jac snapped as she got out of the car.
…
"Come in!" Jac called out, as she heard a knock at the door. She looked up to see Joseph and then down at her notes again. She hadn't talked to him after the big scene in her office the day before.
"I came to apologise… about yesterday…" Joseph told her, as he stood In front of her desk, "it was wrong of me to assume…. I had no idea what was really going on…" he added.
Jac stood up "there's no need for an apology," and walked around the desk, to get some notes from the meeting's table behind Joseph, and put them on her desk, but remained standing in front of Joe.
"It was a normal thing to do, to worry… but you didn't need to…" Jac added.
"Why?" Joe said slowly, as he looked at her.
"Because if I was… pregnant… with your child, I would've told you sooner…" Jac tried to explain. Silence filled the room.
"I wish I was you know…" Jac added.
"What?" Joe asked confused at Jac's words.
"I wish I was pregnant… rather than having… this cancer thing…" Jac was finding it really hard to confess. Joe was surprised at her speech. They stood in front of each other.
"I mean… having a baby with you… would be amazing… just not under these circumstances… you know, our age, us having our own families…" Jac confessed.
"Yeah yeah, of course, um…." Joseph replied awkwardly, "you know, the thought that you could've been pregnant was quite a shock for me, but deep down I realised it could've been something beautiful for you and me…."
"No, it wouldn't have… I mean, not the fact that you and I would share a child, but unfortunately it's not just us now… we're just twenty years too late…" Jac uttered.
"Right… so… what's going to happen? Are you… okay?" Joseph wasn't sure if these were the right words to use regarding her cancer.
"Well… I am on the transplant list…its stage III renal cell carcinoma…" Jac uttered.
"Oh… I'm sorry to hear that…" Joe said slowly, as he held out his hand and placed it on her arm.
"We had our time… Jonny and Amy are here now…" she uttered, she wasn't implying Jonny and her were back together as a couple, even though their relationship improved, but at least they were back together as a family.
"I understand…" he replied, his hand still touching her.
Jac took one step forward and hugged him tight. Joe was confused, but he hugged her back. A tear rolled down Jac's cheek.
"Listen… my family is by my side now… but whatever happens, just remember you always meant so much to me, and I'm sorry for everything I've ever done to hurt you…" she said in tears, as she hugged him tighter. Still embraced in each other's arms, Joe also shed a tear. He feared this might be the last time, he ever held her in his arms.
"Ohh.." Jac exclaimed, suddenly leaning over Joseph.
"Jac?" Joe uttered, as he let go of her embrace slightly, to see she has gone pale and was about to pass out. "Jac?" She moaned in pain, holding her abdomen, "okay I got you…" he told her as he lifted her up in his arms and walked out of the office.
"Can I get some help here please?" he called out to the porter in the corridor.
to be continued...