To Death Us Do Depart

©INKENT August 2024. Published by the author solely on Literorica.com. Please report any works found elsewhere, regardless of format.

There was an Englishman, and two Americans sitting at a virtual bar.

"I've a story to tell, and I'd like to see it published", said one of the Americans.

"That's cool" said the Englishman "I love writing stories, maybe I can write it for you!"

"You can try", said the American, "but it isn't set in your backyard, it's based around my backyard."

"Sounds like a challenge!" said the Englishman.

"Hey, don't forget me! I love to tidy up the work behind the English guy!" said the second American.

And voila! A story was born and duly edited. The story comes from an idea by Frankfiredawg06 that was provided as an outline. I put my brain in gear to write around the outline, and it's written is US, and not my native English. My good friend Tim1135 followed along behind, tidying and nudging the work in the right direction where required, as did Frank.

This story could sit within the Loving Wives category, my last piece of work,

Shaken by the Hand of God,

drew criticism because it was published there, where some felt it belonged in Romance. I think this has a foot in both categories, our three opinions are, it should sit in Romance, where we only have a single choice to categorize. Any errors, caused by me just prior to publishing!

So here we go, we hope you enjoy

Till Death Us Do Depart

********

Mary sat in the waiting area; she knew they would call any minute now. It started around a month ago. Pains she couldn't quite pinpoint since the last bout of Covid she'd, unfortunately, picked up a month or so ago. The odd thing was, she had symptoms that weren't typically listed as Covid; her urine had become darker with a slight unpleasant odor and her stools had become a lot lighter in color. Then there was her weight. She had always moaned to her husband, Dave, how hard it was to keep the pounds off. It felt like she only had to smell a damn fine pizza and the pounds started accruing! Now she seemed to be shedding weight like there was no tomorrow.

Her doctor had sent her for some scans at James Cancer Hospital. It worried her although, she knew that science had come on in leaps and bounds. If she had some form of cancer, caught early, they were nearly all treatable.

Being called, she went into the consultant's room and there was doctor Adam Redding and a nurse. He was young, he looked to be a similar age to her own children, Tammy at twenty-four and Mark, at twenty-six. She smiled at him, she found it perversely humorous that someone so young was going to talk about a possible cancer.

The doctor welcomed her, then sat looking at the PC screen. She noted his brow furrowed as he read the content on the screen. He turned and smiled at Mary. She could already tell the smile was hiding news she may not want to hear.

"Good morning, do you mind if I call you Mary? I'm doctor Redding and this is nurse Thomas. It's nice to meet you. Is there someone out in reception who came with you? It would be good if they came in."

"Sorry, no doctor. I came alone as I didn't want to worry my family as they do worry easily. It'll be far easier to go home and tell them what the issue is and the treatment that's needed."

The doctor and nurse glanced at each other, the nurse got up and came and stood behind Mary. Doctor Redding continued.

"I'm sorry Mary no matter how I try, I cannot dress this up in any way other than the truth. Your scans and biopsies have revealed you have pancreatic cancer. I'm sorry to say, the only help that can be provided is palliative care."

He sat with a weak smile, the nurse pulled up the second chair in the room, sat next to Mary and held her hand as Mary's brain processed the information.

"Is there some trial doctor? I'll gladly participate in it, despite the risk. It doesn't matter if I'm going to die, right? Doctor Redding, I mean are you absolutely sure that it's my problem...and how long, one, two, three years?"

The doctor lost the weak smile. He tried to carefully mask the news he was about to break with an expressionless face.

"I'm really sorry, Mary, there's nothing that can be done, in terms of trial-based treatment. At your current stage, based on our statistics, you've probably got between three to four months. I'm sorry...so truly sorry."

She sat in the room for another thirty minutes. She looked at the doctor and the nurse, as their lips moved. Words and sentences filled the air around her. But she could hear nothing, her brain could not take in, or comprehend, what they were telling her. She hoped it was simply a bad dream and the alarm would wake her. She knew it was not the case, it was her new reality.

During those thirty minutes, the doctor booked her an appointment to come back and discuss a care package that was going to be suitable for her. However, she struggled to remain focused. Although young, the doctor had sat through this scenario enough times to understand how it could play out. He deduced that Mary was going to be one of those that would simply go away, carry on as normal while plans were made for her eventual demise.

Instead of getting into her car and driving back to work, she made her way out of the hospital and walked down to the Olentangy Trail and followed its parallel path next to the river. She came to the Side-by-Side Park, with its floral garden, and found a bench. She sat, looking at a young mother watching her children play. She remembered those glorious days with her own children and had thought that one day she would be able to do the same, as a grandmother. She started to sob, her life would soon be over and she felt lost.

Eventually, she regained her composure. She had a pack of tissues in her handbag and had just about exhausted the supply when she started to think about her family, in particular, her husband Dave. The gravity of not telling her family about the doctor and hospital visits was not going to be an easy story to tell, she just hoped that they would forgive her for that grave error of judgment. She suddenly remembered her thoughts, when she had been sitting in reception, at the hospital.

'Now she seemed to be shedding weight like there was no tomorrow.'

How apt. There now wasn't going to be that many tomorrows for her.

{(****)}

She left the park, returned to her car and drove home. The next thing she had to do would be the hardest thing she was going to have to do, in what was now going to be, her short life. Break the news to her family.

Her mind had wandered as she traveled up the 395 back home and found herself sitting in the car on Chatham Road at their home in Clintonville. She had no recollection of the drive back; her mind was on autopilot as she considered the best way to break the news to her husband. Getting out of her Kia Sorento, she stood on the driveway and closed her eyes and listened. She could pick out the gentle rustle of the leaves in trees, the flag on their lawn lazily flapped in the breeze. In the distance, the sound of a mower, cutting grass.

This morning, those sounds meant nothing. Now, they were part of life itself and she planned to savor every opportunity to enjoy the remainder of her now short life, regardless of how minor the event.

Opting to not drop the bomb as soon as Dave came home from work, she prepared one of his favorites. Lamb cutlets, asparagus and baby potatoes with a butter and parsley sauce. After preparing the food, she thought about how many times was she going to be able to do this before she would succumb to the fate we all face eventually? Going upstairs, she picked through her wardrobe, laying clothes on the bed before taking a shower and shaving her intimate parts bare for the first time in her life.

When Dave arrived home from work at six thirty his olfactory receptors immediately picked up on the familiar smell of his favorite meal, lamb cutlets. Walking through into the kitchen, he was surprised to see his wife dressed to go out. Out as if it was one of their special 'date nights' they occasionally had. A tight blue dress hugged all the curves of her body and the deep plunge of the neckline showed off her ample assets. As he leaned over her shoulder to kiss her cheek, he noted the frilly pale blue bra that was, like the meal, a pleasant treat. He considered this part of the sexiest lingerie set his wife owned. He whispered in her ear;

"I'm

very

confused Mary, you're dressed like we are having a date night. The dress, hair, makeup, shoes and I have just had a peek at your lingerie and yet you are cooking my favorite meal? Are you trying to charm me with the food so you can sneak off to have a date with a 'fancy man'?"

She turned to face him, wrapping her arms around his neck, gently kissing his neck then trailing the kisses to his lips for a light kiss, before continuing to kiss across his cheek, until she was close to an ear.

"You are very perceptive, husband and have seen through my dastardly plan. After dinner, I need you to load the dishwasher while I go and get myself ready for my 'fancy man'. I'm expecting him after dinner and I don't want to keep him waiting."

She stepped back and he looked at her, cocking an eyebrow in surprise at the turn of events. He decided to play along.

Over dinner they talked about Dave's day at work. How he had picked up a nice monthly order of fliers to print, the fact he needed to start to plan to upgrade one of the printers and some general tattle regarding the holiday Susan, his left-hand woman in his printing business, was planning to tie in for her twentieth wedding anniversary. Dave wasn't sure but he felt that Mary had winced talking about the holiday plans.

After dinner, Dave set about clearing the table and loading the dishwasher while Mary went upstairs. Once in her bedroom, she reapplied parts of her make-up, making sure the glossy pink lipstick that Dave loved glistened on her lips. She kicked off the shoes she had been wearing and stepped into some high stilettos, the sort that doesn't often go any further than a bedroom. She stood, hands on her hips, facing the bedroom door. A few minutes later, she heard Dave coming up the stairs and he pushed the bedroom door open.

"Here he is, my fancy man. I want you to take me, make me yours, now."

She spoke in a sultry tone. If a texture could represent her voice, it would be velvet. The sound of her voice, calescent, as each word left her luscious mouth. He walked across, placed his hands around her waist and leaned in for a soft kiss but found Mary's kiss aggressive. Her lips, warm and sticky, opened to press voraciously against his. Her tongue eagerly sought to explore his mouth, as her hands reached up to pull him in tightly against her. When they finally broke for air, her eyes were laden with lust, as she spoke again.

"Take me

now

" as she stepped backwards towards the bed pulling him towards her. He pushed her back so she fell to the bed and she scooted up to lay completely on it. He knelt on the end, shuffled on his knees, pushing her legs as far apart as they could go within the dress before dropping down, using his arms to support his weight by her shoulders, with his lip's mere inches from hers.

"I'm not sure where my wife is but, I will admit, I like this woman that seems to have taken control of her body and mi.."

He never finished his sentence as her arms yet again pulled him in for a deep, meaningful kiss. Shifting her arms, she wiggled so they were between them, attempting to undo the buttons on his shirt. He broke away from the kiss and knelt back upright, undoing the remainder of the buttons himself before sliding it from his body. His hands then cupped her exposed flesh, sliding his hands inside the bra to massage her nipples. They reacted to his touch. She cooed at his caress and murmured, showing her satisfaction as his hands and fingers moved across her body. Stimulating her flesh.

Shifting back and down, his hands started to glide down her body until they reached the hem of her dress and pushed it upwards, revealing the pretty blue lace trimmed briefs which matched the bra. He dropped his head down into the vee of her legs, inhaling the intoxicating smell he loved so dearly; his wife's arousal.

For the next hour, they made love as if it was the first time all over again. Whilst he didn't complain, Dave felt sure that something had driven Mary to act like this. But what?

{(****)}

As they lay in bed, post coitus, she lay still, looking up at the ceiling as her breathing slowed to regain its normal pattern. This was the time, the time to do it, hoping some of the endorphins that had been released would soften the blow of what was about to come. It was a stupid thought but, desperate times means clutching at straws. She then uttered those infamous four words, dreaded in any relationship.

"Honey, we need to talk."

"That sounds ominous, what have you done...or is it something you plan to do?"

When Mary looked at him, his slightly humorous grin began to fade. Being married so long, words are not always needed to portray news that would be unpalatable. Dave read Mary's face and he knew immediately that bad news was about to follow. Surely not...not an affair? Before he could speak, Mary made a simple statement that would change their lives forever;

"I'm so sorry Dave, I'm dying. I have cancer and nothing can be done."

Dave lay on his side looking at his wife, stunned, as his brain tried to process the words that had just slipped from between her lips. She must be wrong; how can she be right? When he went to work this morning, she was fine, they've just made love...and now she's dying? It can't be... Why? How? Before he could find the words he needed to say, further words slipped from her lips, adding substance to the devastating statement she had just made.

"I didn't say anything before. The doctor said I needed to have some tests about having cancer. I didn't want to alarm you. I was expecting them to say I needed something like chemotherapy. I looked it up online. Many cancers have far better survival rates than they did ten years ago, people are surviving that didn't. I didn't expect to be told there's no hope for me. Only the certainty...maybe three months then...then...the certainty of dea..."

Despite willing herself not to let the emotion of what needed to be said get to her, the words broke down her defenses. As she tried to finish the sentence, the tears began to well up in her eyes. Rolling over, she buried her head into her husband's naked chest as his arm wrapped over her, trying to console the person he held so dear, so important to him. As his wife cried, her chest heaved as the gravity of the truth meant all of the pent-up emotions of the day were let loose. Dave could not help it, realizing what this meant, he started to sob with her. He couldn't even remember the last time he cried.

{(****)}

They lay like this for almost ten minutes. There were so many pieces of the puzzle Dave didn't know or understand. Mary explained how she had left this morning, expecting to come home with bad news but, bringing the good news it was fixable. She did not want to burden Dave or the kids with something that may have actually turned out to be trivial. They discussed what the doctor had said, she dismissed getting a second opinion, after all, the hospital is one of the best in the world when it comes to cancer. There was no error in the diagnosis. No experimental treatment. Only a countdown to what fate had decided was in store for Mary.

They didn't sleep much that night, they ended up going downstairs to cuddle up on the loveseat. Pouring some wine, they pulled out some family albums, rekindling fond memories as their family grew and matured. Two fine children whom they had brought up as proud parents and had flown the nest to start the cycle of raising their own families.

{(****)}

The following weekend, they invited Mark and Tammy to lunch on Sunday. They had both moved out of the family home. Tammy had left university the year before and was now working as an underwriter for a large insurance company, specializing in the commercial property and liability market. She already had some well-known brands within her portfolio. She had elected to move out at the start of the second year of university, sharing a house with a couple of friends. She had yet started dating as far as Mary and Dave were aware. That would come in time, when she was ready.

Mark worked in telecoms, developing and designing complicated IT networks for various large corporations. He had already risen to be a lead designer and it paid him well. He often traveled as part of his work but it didn't seem to leave him short of female company. When Mary had asked him when he was going to settle, he replied when he found the one, just like his dad had. He also added that there were so many women out there enjoying his company, he didn't want to miss the fun of it all.

He asked if he could bring his latest girlfriend, it wasn't an unusual request. Dave and Mary, for once, declined the request stating there was a family matter that needed to be discussed between the four of them.

Immediately after the call, Mark rang his sister to see if she could shed any light on the fact there was a family matter to discuss. She knew nothing...they would have to wait.

They arrived on the Sunday running through all of the usual family pleasantries. As usual, Tammy bought flowers for her mom. Mark arrived with some expensive French wine he'd picked up while working in France for a couple of weeks and had put aside for the next family get together.

As much as their parents put on a show of normality, they could both see that something was badly amiss at home. At one point, Tammy and Mark were left alone at the dining table. Tammy spoke with a hushed voice.

"Oh my god! What's happened? Do you think one of them is having an affair...are they splitting up...do you..."

She stopped as her mom came back into the room with the desert. A few seconds later, Dave appeared with a jug of water.

As soon as they were all seated again, Mary spoke.

"To answer your question, no, neither of us is having, or has had an affair. I'm afraid it's more serious than that. You are both clever adults and can see something is wrong. I won't beat about the bush. I have cancer and it's, unfortunately, incurable."

For the remainder of the afternoon a cascade of emotions was set free. Anguish at the news, despair that there was no hope of recovery and anger at being kept in the dark, they were frustrated that they had been excluded. When Dave chipped in to explain that he too, had been left in the dark, Mary asked them to stop. There should be no anger, she needed their love, which had always been there, she now needed it more than ever.

They talked long as day turned into night, they both opted to stay in their old rooms overnight. Mark promised he would make arrangements to work locally for the next couple of months, he made it clear his company would support him. They both offered to move home but, both Mary and Dave had already agreed, they should continue to lead their own lives, although they were always welcome to stay the odd night and they would see how things would pan out, as the unknown landscape of life unfolded in front of them all.

{(****)}

Life continued to move on. It still seemed like it was unreal, other than some pain meds that had been prescribed, nothing had changed. Maybe the doctors had got it wrong? It still left a feeling of doubt and to a lesser degree, self-denial, as to the fact the end was inevitably going to come. When they discussed it with their doctor, he pointed out this was not uncommon and suggested they contact the Hospice Foundation of America. They organized self-help groups for other people treading the same unknown path. Many that had previously trodden down that path, felt they had benefited from it. They agreed to give it a try.