Chapter Twelve

Rebecca led him past the rows of office supplies, makeup, and whatever else was on the shelves. He was focused on her hand in his as she tugged him through the aisles. She did this more in the way a little girl eagerly hurries her dad to see the new toy mommy got her from the store that day.

Finally she came to a halt and dropped his hand in front of the furniture section, saying, "Bean bags, leather couches, and two massaging chairs… the world of relaxation."

And without further ado she went straight to the massaging chairs, which sat right smack dab in the middle of all the rows of furniture. Plopping herself happily one of them and gesturing for him to follow suit and sit on the one next to her, she closed her eyes and pressed a button on the remote control without even looking.

"It looks like you know these chairs pretty well," Aaron said, reclining in his chair and pressing a few buttons, feeling the chair's reactions. His own custom massage, right at his fingertips.

"Ruth and I used to come here all the time to sit in these chairs, especially when we were bored. Nobody comes back here to this corner of the store, especially in the evenings. Sometimes we both would fall asleep and wake up a half hour later to my sister's friend who works here shutting off our massages."

Aaron laughed and opened his eyes, looking over at her to see that she was looking back at him. "I never knew this side of you."

Rebecca smiled. "You also never knew that I am quite a chatterbox when I want to be. I could sit here and tell you stories all night and in the morning I would still have more words to say. You also never knew that I had cancer. And still now you have many things to find out about me. One thing that you don't already know is that I have already started some more tests, and my next treatment is going to be next week."

"How many days will you be in the hospital?" asked Aaron with a frown. He tried to take this confession in stride, but he heard his voice crack and knew she would see through it.

"A few days," she replied with a shrug.

"I am going to be there right with you," he told her, and when she started to protest he said, "And you're not going to say or do anything to make me change my mind. I've already decided that I'm going to take this with you."

Rebecca was relieved when she looked over at Aaron this time to see that he had closed his eyes again, as if ending the argument. Tears were gathering in her eyes and she was glad he couldn't see them. Wiping them away shakily, she told him, "Aaron, I never expected you to be so kind to me. In a way I was waiting for you to back off, every day I kept thinking that your calls would be getting shorter bit by bit. I also did want you to just leave me alone and forget you even were my friend because it's going to make it all the more painful for me and for you.

"But deep down I wanted you to be true to your word and be there the entire time, through all the chemotherapy and everything, playing board games with me like you said when I didn't feel like going out in public. Aaron, I know too that I cannot let you be my friend. I can't let you go through the same pain Ruth went through, because I now know that you've got a soft heart. I can't bear to break it when I leave."

To her surprise, when she ended this sentence, Aaron didn't speak for a full few minutes, but instead picked up her hand with a gentle touch. He touched the tips of her fingers with his and pressed his palm into hers before weaving their two hands together. It was as if she were made of porcelain or that she might shatter if he touched her too roughly, so soft he picked up her hand and squeezed it.

"You know that I can't do that, just let you forget me like that, because I know I won't ever forget you," he said softly, and for a few seconds Rebecca thought she was dreaming.

"You're not real," she whispered, and she leaned her head back and relaxed fully.

"Rebecca!" she heard her name being called gently.

She wanted to tell the voice to go away, that she wanted to sleep more. She wanted to tell the hand on her arm that it was a dream and that she was in her bed.

But then Rebecca became more aware of her surroundings and realized she was not in her bed but sitting slightly upright and her eyelids slowly opened groggily.

Aaron stood there smiling into her face, saying, "Rebecca, you fell asleep. Wally World is closing and they want us out of their massaging chairs. Ruth's friend let us know that before they kicked us out or got us in trouble for loitering."

Rebecca wanted to hit her head to make herself wake up. She forced herself to keep her eyes open as she looked up at him and said, "I'm tired."

"I understand."

He probably knew what she was going through. Being exhausted was one of those things that came along with it, and she couldn't help it.

Instead she felt herself being pulled up by Aaron and having his arm slipped around her shoulders and leading her to his car. The minute he turned on the heater and she felt the soft leather seats she knew she was going to fall asleep again.

Aaron parked the car next to Rebecca's driveway and smiled over at her. He'd been glancing over at her throughout the entire drive home and his heart warmed at the sight of her.

Out cold with her head lolled to the side and facing him.

It wasn't to be helped, and although he didn't know what her reaction would be to her odd wake-up, he couldn't resist.

Leaning forward and taking her cheek in his hand, he gently pressed his lips to hers, but only for a few seconds. It was a soft kiss, and she woke slowly, her eyes lifting open just as he planted another kiss on her forehead.

Rebecca was confused at first, but as her mind started working again she realized what had happened. Aaron was looking at her as if she might blow a gasket with anger, and he looked almost repentant.

The look vanished when she smiled.