19th March 2025

This morning, I received an out-of-the-blue invitation from Beck to meet up for coffee, just the two of us.

Now don't get me wrong, I love Beck and we have been friends for a long time. We are practically family at this point but it is very unusual for us to hang out without either our friends or spouses there. But he told me he really needed to talk to me alone. Luckily, Jade already had plans with Cat and the kids today - Olivia and Jake are only a couple of years apart so they often have playdates together. Which meant I managed to slip out without my wife's knowledge.

Beck and I agreed to meet in JetBrew at 4 p.m. Beck met me at the door and gave me what could only be described as an intense hug when I got there.

"Oh no, you look worried," I noted the glum expression on his face. Beck looked away but nodded sadly.

"What do you want to drink, I'm buying?" I offered, rubbing his arm gently.

"Just a black coffee would be great," Beck said solemnly.

Whilst Beck secured us a table near the back, I ordered our drinks and racked my brain what this could possibly be about. I noticed the glimmer of recognition in the barista's eyes as she handed over the drinks but I just smiled politely and walked over to our table.

"Alright, what's this about?" I placed the hot mug of coffee in front of Beck and took a seat opposite him. Beck looked at me with tears in his eyes. I never would have guessed what he was about to tell me.

"Mom has cancer."

My stomach dropped as I processed that information.

"Oh, Beck. I'm so sorry." I reached out and took hold of his hand in support. He took a breath and recomposed himself.

"How is she?"

Beck shrugged. "She's putting on a brave face but she is afraid. I can tell."

"What are the doctors saying?"

"She had surgery to remove the tumor from her breast a few weeks ago and she's started chemo but it's still too soon to know whether it's working or not. The doctors don't think it's spread yet so she has a really good chance of beating this."

"Of course she does. Your mom is a fighter."

"It's just really, really shit you know? After what happened to Jade's mom. She watched her best friend die from the same thing. She doesn't deserve this."

"She really doesn't." I agreed sadly.

"Obviously, we need to tell Jade about this." Beck ran a hand through his hair nervously. "Mom asked me to speak to you and see what you think."

"I think Jade can handle it," I assured him. "She's in a really good place. She's the most stable she's ever been mentally."

"But what if it triggers her?" Beck asked in concern.

"Beck," I sighed and squeezed his hand again. "If it doesn't trigger her then I will be extremely shocked. This hits incredibly close to the bone. It will bring up a lot of emotions."

Beck nodded ominously. I didn't need to tell him how much Jade loved his mom. But just because I knew she would be upset doesn't mean she would fall back into old habits and coping mechanisms.

"But neither of you should be worrying about this right now," I told him assuringly. "Let me worry about my wife okay? I've got her, I promise."

"Thank you," Beck replied.

"Have you told Sam and Charlie?" I asked delicately. The twins had had a rough year, to say the least. And they were still really close to the Oliver family so I knew this news was going to affect them as much as it would Jade.

"No, I think Mom wants to tell them all together at dinner tomorrow."

"Alright," I nodded. "We'll be there. I'll see if Trina can take Olivia for the night."

I could tell Beck wasn't in the mood for a catch up so we kept it brief and both of us went our separate ways shortly after.

I really hope Jenn is okay. Beck is right she does not deserve this. This is so unfair.

20th March 2025

Today was such a tough day. I tried to push the dinner to the back of my mind all morning as I didn't want to alert Jade to something being wrong. Unfortunately, Jade is extremely perceptive and definitely picked up on some weird energy from me. But it was hard to hear her talking about how excited she was for tonight when I knew it definitely wasn't going to be the night she was expecting.

"Why are we not bringing Ollie again?" Jade queried for the third time that day as we pulled up in the driveway of the Oliver residence.

"It's normal to have an adults-only dinner from time to time." I tried to brush her off as I stepped out of the car.

"Yeah, but not with your family. Her uncles are going to be here and you know Jenn sees her as a granddaughter." Jade pointed out, following me towards the house.

"Of course she does." I sighed, "I just think it would be best if Olivia spends the night with Trina and her cousins tonight."

Jade frowned, obviously still suspicious. She followed me as I hastily made my way up to the house and quickly rang the doorbell. Luckily, Beck's wife Kitty answered the door only a few minutes later and provided a diversion.

Kitty is a total sweetheart and one of the few girlfriends Beck ever had that Jade actually liked. She even encouraged him to propose to her. Kitty was in a rock band and still only ever wore black and had several piercings in her face and bleached white hair. Her appearance reminded me of teenage Jade but her personality was quite the opposite. She is a soft and gentle soul.

The three of us chatted in the entrance for several minutes until Beck approached us nervously.

"Hi Beck," I reached out and gave him a gentle hug.

"You alright?" Jade frowned, picking up on his negative emotions instantly.

"I'm fine, c'mere." Beck nodded, putting his arms out to her. Jade hugged him back but I could tell she was onto him. Beck gestured us to follow him into the living room.

Sam and Charlie were already here and both of them stood up and greeted us warmly. The twins are nineteen years old now and both of them are working on building careers in the music industry. Sam wants to be a DJ whereas Charlie opted to take the classical route. Both are musically talented but in completely opposite styles.

"Where's Ollie-wollie?" Sam asked in confusion, looking around for his two-year-old niece.

"Good question," Jade raised an eyebrow in my direction but didn't bring it up again, much to my relief. The nerves were really starting to set in now as it dawned on me how oblivious all three of them were to what was coming.

"Hi, gorgeous girl," Jenn appeared in the doorway and put her arms out to Jade who immediately stopped her conversation and turned to her aunt who held her arms out to her.

Jade walked over and greeted her with a hug. I couldn't help but notice Jenn wince in pain at the contact, but she covered it up quickly. She then went on to ask Jade all her usual overprotective mother-figure questions and Jade rolled her eyes with a smile, letting her fuss over her. I could tell Jenn was nervous, but she was hiding it better than Beck was.

"And Tori, you look beautiful today." Jenn turned towards me. I smiled back sadly as she met my eyes. She took my hands into hers and squeezed them reassuringly.

"Sit down, Jennifer." Mark appeared at her side a few moments later. He placed a protective hand on the nape of her back as he guided her over to the large couch. I sat down next to Beck and Kitty, who had her arm around her husband protectively. Jenn sat down, seemingly in some discomfort.

"Are you alright?" Jade asked suspiciously. It was impossible not to notice how weak Jenn seemed compared to her usual self. She winced in pain again as she readjusted the cushions on the couch before meeting Jade's worried eyes.

"Come sit next to me, sweetheart." Jenn cut straight to the chase, gesturing to Sam and Charlie, "And you two as well, come on."

Jade glanced worriedly in my direction before taking a seat next to Jenn on the couch. Sam sat on Jenn's other side and Charlie sat next to Jade. All three of them were silent as it was obvious now that something was very wrong.

Jenn took hold of Jade's hand and squeezed it tightly, meeting her concerned eyes.

"This really isn't easy for me to tell you this my loves," Jenn started to explain. "But I'm not very well."

"What's wrong?" Sam asked worriedly.

"I have cancer," Jenn replied, taking in all their reactions. Jade and Charlie both seemed stunned. Sam took the lead of the conversation on behalf of his siblings.

"We are so, so sorry to hear that, Jenn." Sam wrapped an arm around her, "Is it treatable?"

"The doctors hope so. It's early days and I don't have all the answers but I assure you I am getting the best care."

"Are you going into hospital?" Sam asked worriedly.

"It depends how the cancer responds to the treatment. I've already been in for surgery that went well so hopefully I can remain outpatient during chemotherapy."

"We love you so much if there's anything we can do.."

"I love you too. And just you being here is already enough for me." Jenn looked between them with tears in her eyes. I gulped back tears of my own, this was so sad to watch. My focus was on Jade though who was still completely silent, but I could tell she was trying not to cry. She looked heartbroken

"Hey, Mrs.." Jenn hadn't let go of Jade's hand, not even for a second throughout this. It was obvious she knew how hard Jade was going to take this. Jade looked away, not meeting anyone's eyes as she let the tears fall for real this time. Her breathing laboured.

"Breathe, Jade." Charlie put his arm around his sister concerned.

"Look at me," Jenn said firmly, "I'm getting treatment. I'm going to be okay."

I knew Jenn couldn't possibly know that at this stage and she was only saying it to calm down Jade. Sam was crying silently and so was Beck. Mark stood up to fetch a box of tissues and passed them out to everyone diffusing some of the tension.

"Just close your eyes and breathe for me," Jenn coached Jade through the panic, "Everything is going to be okay."

Charlie caught my eye and I signalled to him just to calm her down. He whispered something into her ear and she nodded following his lead on this. Jenn waited until Jade wasn't on the brink of panic before continuing.

"I wanted to tell you about this because you three are so important to me and I owe you the truth. I know after what happened with your mom that this is scary but I promise you the doctors are doing everything they can to make this go away."

"We really appreciate you telling us Jenn, If there's anything we can do to help just let us know and we will do it," Charlie replied with a sad but hopeful tone.

"Thank you, my love." Jenn reached over and stroked the nineteen-year-old on the head. Finally, Jade turned back to face Jenn.

"I love you and I'm so sorry." she croaked, tears welling in her eyes.

"I love you too, sweetheart but I'm okay," Jenn reassured her again. "I'm going to be okay."

"Can I take a minute?" Jade asked desperately, tears still falling down her cheeks.

"Of course you can," Jenn assured her, letting go of her hand. The expression on her face worried as she watched her adopted daughter leave in tears. Beck stood up and went and sat next to his mom in support.

My nerves got the better of me and I followed Jade out of the room. She was headed upstairs to the main bathroom and I had to run to catch up and stop her from locking me out.

"Let me in," I insisted firmly. Luckily, she didn't put up much of a fight. I stepped inside and locked the door behind us. Jade walked over to the sink and gripped the counter tightly, bursting into tears.

"It's alright," I tried to comfort her but she flinched away from me.

"You knew about this?!" Jade accused me harshly. Or at least she tried to be harsh. It came across as upset more than anything.

"Beck gave me a heads-up yesterday," I admitted guiltily.

"Where was my fucking heads up?! Why would you keep this from me?" Jade questioned me.

"They were just worried about telling you.." I sighed.

"I'm a thirty-year-old goddamn woman! And you're my wife! You're meant to tell me if someone tells you something massive like this."

"I'm sorry," I apologised stepping closer to her. She couldn't stop herself. She pressed her forehead to my chest and cried. I wrapped my arms tightly around her and held her, hushing her pained sobs.

We ended up sitting on the bathroom floor for several minutes while Jade recomposed herself. A place not unfamiliar to us as we had spent hours here during the depths of her bulimia recovery.

"I don't expect you to be okay after this. It's a horrible situation and everyone knows this might affect you differently. That's why they were worried. They weren't trying to blindside you."

"I'm a mental-case that's why." Jade shrugged.

"No, because you already have a lot of trauma when it comes to cancer." I rubbed her arm gently. "Jenn is going to fight this and she is going to be okay."

"That's what they said back then too," Jade replied in a small voice.

"This is different," I disagreed. "You have to think positive for Jenn. She needs your support and she needs to know you aren't going to let this news affect your wellbeing otherwise she's going to worry about that instead of herself."

Jade thought my words through for a few more minutes before drying her eyes on a tissue. She sniffed and took a deep breath.

"Do you think you'll be alright to stay for dinner?" I asked seriously. Jade nodded.

"I'll be fine. None of you need to worry about me okay? I'm not the vulnerable person I used to be."

"I know," I squeezed her hand supportively. "But I just want you to know that it's okay if this brings up some feelings. Talk to me if they come okay? Please don't bottle it up."

"I don't deserve you." Jade pecked me on the lips softly. I stroked her hair away from her face and tucked it behind her ear. A few seconds later there was a tap on the door. We both stood up and Jade unlocked the bathroom door. It was Charlie.

"You all good?" Charlie checked in with Jade protectively.

"I'm alright," Jade wrapped an arm around him, "Are you?"

Charlie nodded and held her back. The two siblings hugged it out for a couple of minutes and I stood back and tried to give them space.

Charlie has sadly had his own mental health battle this past year which honestly felt like it came from nowhere. But given the family history, it's not all that surprising.

The three of us headed back downstairs where the conversation had changed to a much lighter topic. Jenn looked relieved when Jade rejoined the group. Almost everyone had slightly red eyes but they were doing their best to stay positive which is typical of the Olivers. They are some of the sweetest people I know and I hope with all my heart that Jenn beats this horrible disease.

Jade has already promised to accompany Jenn to her next chemotherapy session and wants to care for her if she gets sick. I think on some level Jade feels like she owes it to her as Jenn was the one who looked after her mom when she had it. She took care of her through the good, the bad and the ugly, all the way up to her death.

At the end of the night, Jade pulled Jenn aside and apologised for her initial reaction to the news. Jenn told her not to be so silly and she was proud of her for handling it as well as she did. They had both lived through what happened to Olivia West and both of them were scarred by it in one way or another. There was no use sugarcoating it. But Jenn is determined to fight this as hard as she can and Jade reassured her she would be by her side for it all.