Chapter 33 – Hard Truths:

"Mama! Mama! We had so much fun today!" Annabelle bounded over to Jane, eager to tell her mother all about her day. "Keke, me, Dembe, Zuki, Jima and the others all played Cowboys and Indians and then British Bulldog and -"

"Say you little monkey!" Archimedes interrupted before Annabelle could notice her mother's tearstained face, "Why don't we go outside and play before dinner? I have fixed your swing you know?'

"Okay," Annabelle replied, still oblivious to her mother quickly trying to compose herself. "Can we also decide where we are going to build the playhouse Grandpa?"

"I see no reason why not," Archimedes smiled at his granddaughter before giving a quick glance at Jane to reassure her that he and Annabelle would be out of the way for a while so that she and Tarzan could talk.

"Bye bye Mama," Annabelle quickly gave her mother's waist an affectionate squeeze, "it wasn't the same without you. Love you!"

"Love you too," Jane's lips made a smile, deeply touched by her daughter's sweet, caring nature. She kissed the top of Annabelle's head and Archimedes coughed as a sign to his granddaughter that they'd best be going.

"See you later Papa," Annabelle added as she passed by her father as she and her grandfather were leaving the treehouse.

"See you later scamp!" Tarzan chuckled and ruffled his daughter's long brown hair. Annabelle protested at first but was soon giggling in delight at her father's affections.

"Belle's right," Tarzan noted after the front door closed behind Archimedes and Annabelle, leaving him and his wife all alone in the treehouse, "it wasn't the same without you." There was a long, awkward silence and Tarzan could sense that Jane was very nervous, like an animal backed into a corner, not knowing whether to fight or flight.

"Tarzan…." Jane paused and took in a long breath, "we need to talk." Those four words, those four simple words that should have sounded innocuous but Tarzan felt his heart begin to beat a little faster.

"Please Tarzan… sit," Jane waved her hand at the dining table, motioning for both of them to sit down. Tarzan felt his palms start to become a little clammy and he sat down properly on the chair rather than crouching on it as he usually did. This seemed too an important conservation to sit in a casual manner. He wondered what could be so wrong that deemed them to have this meeting.

Was his wife sick? She still looked very rundown but she didn't seem to have a cold or anything like that. Was something the matter with Belle? No, she was a perfectly healthy, happy girl and was coming into her own especially since learning jungle skills. His father-in-law despite getting on in years was still as spritely as he was as when he first met him all those years ago. Jane couldn't possibly be telling him that she was child again either.

They hadn't had sex at all since William's birth, as Jane still needed more time to heal than she did after having Annabelle. She experienced bleeding for the first 3 weeks and her libido was none existent. Even though Tarzan sorely missed making love to his wife he could understand her clear lack of interest. William's disfigurement had knocked them both for six and his son's needs were clearly top priority. He would have been seriously worried if Jane wasn't concerned over their son's health and wellbeing. "It must be about William," he thought to himself, "we're going to talk about William."

"It's about William," Jane finally said and Tarzan saw that he was right. They were going to talk about their son.

"Is he alright?"

"Well... he has got another ear infection, Daddy has given him some ointment so it should go in a few days."

"Another one? I thought he'd just got over the last one? I suppose that's good news though, that your father has sorted it out I mean."

"Tarzan he is going keep getting ear infections if we don't do something. I'm worried about his weight too, he is so much smaller than Anna was at this stage -"

"Your father is making that new bottle isn't he? That will help him drink more milk and gain weight won't it?"

"It's more than that," Jane replied and Tarzan noticed that she was twisting her fingers together, which she often did when she was nervous. He tried to take her hands in his to comfort her but she abruptly pulled them away. "William is going to face serious problems when he gets older."

"Like what?" he asked, his heart beating faster at the idea of his beloved son suffering even more.

"He will have problems eating solid food, problems with his teeth, he might have trouble speaking -"

"And what?" Tarzan asked fearfully as Jane tried to hold back the tears welling in her eyes.

"There is a good chance that William might become partially or fully deaf," Jane managed to say in a mere whisper.

"Deaf?" The thought of his son not being able to hear was like a knife piercing into his chest. He knew that his son was different to other humans and thought that his mouth just looked a little odd, but he had no idea that it could cause problems like this.

"Well… I suppose we will adapt," Tarzan eventually replied with hope in his voice. It was the only reaction that he could give, not only for his wife but also for himself. "Didn't your father once say that humans who cannot hear talk with their hands?"

"Tarzan a deaf child cannot survive in the jungle, you and I both know that and we will not always be there to protect him. I cannot take that risk. I cannot let him live here whilst he has this disfigurement."

"Jane…" Tarzan took a deep breath as he could see what she was trying to say. "Are you saying that you want to leave?" Asking this question made his stomach sink and his heart throb in panic. Apart from the chance of any of his family getting sick or hurt, he always feared that one day that Jane would want to leave the jungle and return to England.

"Jane," he jumped in before she could reply, "we don't have to do this. I promise I will help out more, look after William more, do more chores. Whatever it takes so that we can stay… please Jane please." He pleaded desperately as his wife turned her head away to try to stop herself from crying. "This cannot happen," he thought, "I cannot loose my wife, my family, my home."

"No," Jane eventually replied, "I don't want to leave Tarzan, the jungle is just as much as my home as it is yours, you know that. There is a doctor; an amazing surgeon that Daddy believes can fix William's mouth and lip. I want to take William to see him and get him an operation."

"Great!" Tarzan felt his heart flip in relief and excitement at the idea of his son getting his mouth fixed.

"The doctor is in Harley Street…" Jane replied apprehensively, "in London… in England." Tarzan's elation quickly turned to shock at this piece of information. So they were going to leave after all! A trip to the port or a town further along the coast was one thing, crossing the ocean to the other side of the world was another thing entirely. He recalled how Jane said it would be difficult for them to come back when she asked him to come to England with her all those years ago.

"I will go to England with Daddy and the children," Jane quickly spoke before Tarzan could try to dissuade her. "Once William has had his operation then we will sail back and then everything can go back to normal, to how they should be."

"You, your father and the children," Tarzan's brow furrowed in confusion, "I'm not coming?"

"You will stay with the gorillas," Jane explained, trying to keep her voice calm, "They need you Tarzan, if you came too then it's not as if we can write to them. You are an amazing leader and I cannot let you give that up."

"Jane, I cannot be leader forever. One of the males will want to be leader at some point. I can be challenged at any time."

"I will not let you sacrifice your place as leader," Jane was insistent, "I will not let you leave your family."

"But Jane… you are my family."

"I know," Jane took his hands in hers, "but they need you here. Besides think about, Anna will get to see where I come from, see London and the sights. It can be a sort of holiday and Daddy can use the visit to organise all sorts of paperwork and business." Seeing her husband's crestfallen face, Jane put her hand down her blouse and fished out her heart shaped pebble necklace. She had worn it ever since their wedding day and regarded it as valuable as a diamond ring. "Tarzan… darling. I love you with all my heart and soul just as much, in fact even more since we got married. I promised to stay with you and even though I will be far away, wearing this my heart will be always with yours no matter how many miles are between us."

Jane nodded at her head at Tarzan's necklace that he also always wore his neck. "I don't want to leave, far from it but I need to do this. Not just for William, but also for us, for our family and also for me, for my wellbeing. I am not coping and I feel that things will get worse if we don't get help. I think this will be the answer to our troubles but I cannot go with your blessing."

Tarzan looked down at his necklace and then looked up at his wife. He knew that she was struggling to look after William and it pained him to see her so down and upset. All he wanted in his life was for his wife and family, both gorilla and human to be happy and healthy. He would walk the entire jungle for a blade of grass that she wanted and if crossing the ocean and getting their son this operation would not only make him well but also her then he had no choice but to let her go.

"Jane," Tarzan squeezed her hands and looked into her blue, apprehensive eyes, "if this is what you want, if this is what you need then you may go to England, you and the children."

"Really?" Jane couldn't help but be surprised. She knew that Tarzan always wanted the best for them but she still felt an inkling that he would say no.

"Yes… when do you plan to go?"

"As soon as possible," Jane replied honestly, "it will take us a couple of days or so to pack I suppose. Then we will go to the port and find a ship going to England. I will tell Anna in the morning."

"We will tell her, together," Tarzan replied and Jane made a grateful smile at that. "This man is a saint," she thought, "I truly have the best husband in the world."

"Thank you," she took her hand and tenderly stroked his cheek, "for understanding how much this means to me."

Tarzan smiled and kissed her soft palm, still resting on his cheek. Jane leant over the dining table and caressed him softly on the lips. It was a bittersweet moment, filled with such love but also sadness too. The couple had barely spent any time apart and here they were, now embarking on a great separation. But despite the miles of land and water between them, they would always be husband and wife. They would always be in each other's hearts.