All Apologies
James looked at the couple seated before him in his office, middle-aged and watching him expectantly, the man anxious yet hopeful, the woman seeming to brace herself for the worst.
He found himself reminded of his second wife, of the expression she'd worn as she stopped him at the front door of their house one night. She had stared at him, eyes bitter and resigned, an empty glass of wine in one hand, and demanded to know the truth.
James cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, but... At this point, it looks like the cancer has metastasized too far."