Set in March-July 2027
CHAPTER 1:
At about 4 a.m., on the morning of March 14th, Aubrey was looking out at the Saddle River when she had a surprise visitor.
"Aubrey?" Denise asked as Aubrey turned around.
"Denise? What are you doing out here?" Aubrey asked. "I thought I was all alone."
"I just got off work. I was just on my way to my car. What are you doing out here all alone?" Denise asked.
"It's too awful," Aubrey said, looking away.
"Come on. It can't be that bad. You can tell me. I'll understand," Denise assured her.
Aubrey let out a deep sigh before getting to the point, "Okay. This afternoon, I got a call from my dad. He asked me to stop by, and of course, I said yes. He never calls out of the blue like that, so I knew something had to be wrong. He sat me down and told me has stage 4 prostate cancer," she admitted sobbing.
"Oh no - come here," Denise said, offering a hug that Aubrey accepted
"How do I tell Chad? Or Finn? It was hard losing my mom. I don't know if I can go through the emotional pain of losing my dad too. He was one of the very few things that got me through my mom dying," Aubrey explained, still sobbing.
"You mean Chad doesn't know yet?" Denise asked, shocked.
"Well, to be honest, I've been in a sort of daze ever since I found out. I'm still trying to process it myself," Aubrey explained.
"Aubrey, you need to tell them. They love you and can help you get through this. And don't forget, you have the love of the Bellas too," Denise said, just before Aubrey's phone rang.
Aubrey noticed on the caller ID that it was Chad calling and thought before answering, "Speaking of which...hey babe."
"Where are you? I got up to use the bathroom, and then I come back to find out you vanished?" Chad asked, concerned.
"I'm sorry. I got some news today, and I didn't know how to tell you about it. I couldn't sleep and just need to try to clear my head a little bit," Aubrey explained.
"I'm sure I'll understand. Just get back to the house before Finn starts to worry about you," Chad urged.
"Okay. I'm on my way back. Later," Aubrey said, hanging up. "I guess I better get back home."
"Listen, just call me if you need anything, okay?" Denise offered.
"Will do. I'll keep you posted. Later," Aubrey said before the two Bellas parted.
Four hours later, back at Aubrey and Chad's house, the family was having breakfast,
"So, what happened last night?" Chad asked.
"Yesterday afternoon, I saw my dad. He informed me that he has stage 4 prostate cancer. Last night, I couldn't sleep and I didn't want to wake you..." Aubrey began to recap.
"What?! Why didn't you tell me?" Chad asked.
"I wasn't sure how to tell you," Aubrey admitted.
"Honey, I'm your husband. We tell each other everything. It's so not like you to hide things. Especially something as serious as that. I'm sorry you're going through this. It must be very hard for you since you've been through this once when your mom died," Chad said.
"Yeah. I just didn't know what to say," Aubrey admitted.
"It's going to be fine. Tell you what, after breakfast, we'll go and visit him. When we do, we'll make the most of our time with him," Chad suggested.