Graham and I come up with an arrangement. We’re going to have a contract drawn up by a lawyer to make it all official, but we hashed out most of the details:
Graham will keep the house. I don’t want to stay in one place anymore, anyway.
Graham will make sure the restraining order against Harry is dropped, as well as the current charges against him from last night.
Graham will remain CEO of My Home Spa and keep it running while I’m gone. As much as I loved it, I’m not capable of running it anymore. And that’s not how I want to spend my last months. When I’m gone for good, the company will be his.
Camila will get a generous severance package. Ziggy will stay with me.
As soon as I’m done packing, I will leave with Harry and never return.
Graham is on his phone with his lawyer right now, eager to get the papers drawn up today. He says that his attorney can email him the documents and we can take care of it right away, although I feel like it can wait till tomorrow—now that tomorrow will exist. But I also feel like it will be good to get it done with. I want to leave this house and start living the rest of my life. Now that I know how little is left, I don’t want to waste any time.
While Graham is in his office, my father kisses me goodbye while Harry and I relocate to the kitchen. I get some coffee brewing, then we go to sit at the kitchen island, waiting for it to be done. While we wait, Harry holds onto my hand like I’m his life preserver.
“Hey,” I say. “What’s with the beard?”
He rubs the stubble on his chin. “Do you like it?” “I can’t decide. When did you decide to grow it?”
“Right after you contacted me.” He grins at me. “It’s kind of my disguise.”
I laugh. “It’s a good one. I almost didn’t recognize you.” “Yeah, I was considering an eyepatch too. And a fake
scar. But then I was like, maybe too much.” “I prefer being able to see your face.”
He rubs the beard again. “I’ll get rid of it then.” “Just like that?”
“Sure. Why not?”
I raise my eyebrows. “Is this what it’s going to be like?
Anything I ask, you’re going to do it without question?”
He smiles at me, but a bob of his Adam’s apple betrays his true feelings. Everyone else has had a long time to deal with the reality that I’m dying. Harry found out today, just like me. For a moment, it looks like he’s fighting back tears. He wins the battle and his eyes stay dry. “What can I say? I’m crazy about you. I always have been.”
“Always?”
He squeezes my hand. “I don’t know if I ever told you this, because I thought you might find it weird. But the second I saw you at that computer store, I thought to myself, ‘This is the woman I’m going to spend the rest of my life with.’ I’m glad I was right.”
“Well,” I say, “the rest of my life.”
And now it’s my turn to be blinking back tears. I never wanted to end up like my mother. I never wanted to have that feeling like the end is in sight—at least not for another forty or fifty years, when I’m old with a pile of grandchildren and maybe great-grandchildren. But that’s not my fate. Yes, I’m back with the love of my life. But my time with him is limited. Just a few short months.
The smell of freshly brewed coffee fills the kitchen. I glance at the stairwell and drum my fingers against the
table. “I wonder how long it will take to get that contract drawn up.”
The sadness vanishes from Harry’s face and is replaced by a sneer. “I can’t believe you’re agreeing to this. I can’t believe you’re letting that asshole run your company.”
I lift a shoulder. “The company isn’t what’s important. I don’t want to waste another second on it.”
“But Graham is not a good guy.”
“He was just trying to protect me,” I remind him. “He knew I couldn’t handle my diagnosis back then. He wasn’t doing anything to hurt me. He’s been taking care of me all this time.”
“No.” Harry shakes his head. “I don’t buy that. Graham doesn’t have your best interests in mind. Do you really want him to get your company and everything you’ve worked so hard for?”
I frown. “If this is about the money, I can change my will to leave some of it to Dad and to you…”
“I don’t want your money, Tess!” Harry bursts out. His face is pink. “Is that what you think? Jesus Christ…”
I don’t think he wants my money. But it’s not like I have any children I need to make sure are taken care of. I want my dad to get something to have in his old age, but I don’t care what happens to the rest of it. Maybe I’ll donate it to charity. And I don’t mind if Graham keeps running the company. It seems like he’s doing a good job.
“This is what I want.” I look into Harry’s eyes so he knows I mean it. “I don’t want to fight with him about the company. I want to sign the papers and be done with it.”
He opens his mouth but shuts it again at the sound of footsteps on the stairs. It must be Graham. That was quicker than I thought—we haven’t even been down here an hour yet. Despite everything, I appreciate Graham is hurrying this process along. I just want to get out of here with Harry.
Graham comes into the kitchen, brandishing a sheaf of papers in one hand and a ballpoint pen in the other. Harry’s
brown eyes darken at the sight of him, but all I feel is relief. This contract will let me sever ties with Graham—I won’t have to deal with this stranger anymore and my company will be taken care of.
“I got done as quickly as I could.” He places the stack of about a dozen pages on the kitchen island and slides them across to me. “Feel free to look through it, but everything we discussed is covered in here.”
“Thanks for getting it done fast, Graham,” I murmur.
The typewritten lines swim before my eyes.
He places the ballpoint pen on top of the papers. “I know you don’t have much time left.”
The reminder stings—it’s still all so fresh. I wonder how I’ll feel about it tomorrow. It will get easier each day—I’m sure of that much. I don’t want to go back to forgetting again. I’ve lost so much, and I don’t want to lose my mind too.
I flip through the pages, skimming the legal jargon. On the last page, there’s an X next to the line where I’m supposed to sign. I pick up the pen.
“Aren’t you going to get your own lawyer to look it over?” Harry speaks up. He shoots Graham an accusatory look. “You don’t expect her to sign it right now, do you?”
He shrugs. “You can bring it to a lawyer if you want, Tess. But it’s going to take weeks to sort through it all if you want to make changes.” He pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “I’m your husband. I’ve been taking care of you this last year. I’m not trying to cheat you. I wouldn’t do that.”
Harry lets out a loud snort. “You’re so full of it, Graham.
Tess, you need a lawyer to look at that.”
I grip the pen so tightly, my fingers tingle. “It looks okay to me. I just want this to be done with.”
“Tess…”
I raise my eyes to meet Harry’s. “Please. If I sign this today, we can leave now. We can get on a plane tomorrow.”
Harry just shakes his head.
“Graham is right,” I remind him. “I don’t have much time. A few weeks… That’s a big chunk of what I have left. I need this to be done. Please understand.”
Harry’s shoulders sag. “I’m just trying to look out for you.”
“I know. And I’m okay now.” I add, “Really.”
He looks miserable, but he nods. “Fine, Tess. Do what you need to do.”
I start to scribble my name on the contract just as the doorbell goes off. At first, I assume it must be my father, having forgotten something at our house. But then I remember. Lucy was coming to visit. We were going to have a girls’ afternoon at the mall. We were going to have a makeover.
That was before. Before I knew the truth. “It’s Lucy,” I say.
Maybe I’m imagining it, but Harry’s eyes seem to darken again. Graham nods in understanding. “I’m sure you want to talk to her. Why don’t you sign the contract, and I’ll give you some privacy so the two of you can chat?”
But I’m not in the mood for Lucy. It’s strange because she’s my best friend, but she’s not who I want to be around right now. In fact, the thought of seeing her gives me a foul taste in my mouth. I can’t remember ever feeling anything but warmly toward Lucy, but now I feel a flash of anger.
Lucy did something to me. Something bad.
Did she do something to hurt me? Or has my tumor- ridden brain manufactured this memory?
I abandon the contract on the kitchen island, and without another word, I sprint over to the door and fling it open. I hardly even notice that Graham has been following at my heels. Or that he picked up the contract from the table and he’s got it in his hands again.
The woman standing at my front door is very recognizably my best friend. Harry looks older and scruffier
and more tired than he did the last time I remember, but Lucy looks great. Even better than my last memory of her. Her red hair is glossy and her figure is perfectly trim, like she’s been working out. The only thing that isn’t perfect about her are the light purple circles under her eyes.
“Tess.” She squeezes her red purse in her fists. “It’s so good to see you. Are you okay?”
Graham’s hand drops onto my shoulder. Harry hung behind in the kitchen, but Graham is hovering over me protectively. “She’s okay. We had a long talk this morning. She knows about her diagnosis.”
“Oh.” Lucy’s face falls. “Tess, I’m so sorry…”
“It’s fine.” It’s not true, but I hope it eventually will be. “I’m fine. I… I appreciate you being there for me over the last year. You’re a good friend.”
Lucy’s eyebrows bunch together. Graham gives her a look.
“Lucy works at the company too,” Graham says in a strangely slow voice. “She’s a big part of the company. When you’re traveling with Harry, she’s going to be helping me out a lot to run the company. I’ll probably have to promote her.”
Lucy and Graham running my company. Huh. She never even thought the company would get off the ground. She warned me about starting it. The whole thing makes me sick to my stomach, but I don’t want to think about it.
“Tess…” Lucy says.
“I’m okay,” I say for what feels like the hundredth time. “I promise. I’m fine.”
Lucy is still squeezing her purse for dear life, her fingers digging into the expensive material. I watch as her eyes fill with tears. “Tess…”
“Lucy,” Graham says firmly. “Don’t you think it would be better for Tess to be with family right now? Maybe you should go, and the two of you can talk another time. And
later we can discuss what your role in the company is going to be.”
Lucy bows her head. “Okay.”
She starts to turn around. Graham has his hand on the door, ready to close it behind her. But then, quick as lightning, Lucy’s hand shoots out, stopping the door before it can swing closed. “I can’t do this, Tess,” she says.
“Lucy,” Graham growls.
“Graham was stealing from you.” Her chest heaves with the confession. “That’s what you told me before you got sick. You said he was filtering money into foreign accounts, and you were going to confront him and kick him out. But then the next day, I heard you had a seizure while you were driving. And then they found the tumor and…”
“Lucy!” Graham says sharply.
Lucy’s eyes fill with tears. “When you got sick, you forgave him. And after you started getting those shots, you also forgot everything he did to you. But you deserve to know what he did before you make any decisions about the company.” She pauses. “I want you to know.”
I stare at her, stunned by the revelation. Graham was stealing from me. He was embezzling money from my company.
“You’re out of your mind, Lucy.” Graham’s blue eyes are bulging out of their sockets. “I would never do that to Tess. Why would you lie like that?”
Lucy ignores him and turns her gaze on me. “He gave me a job at the company so I wouldn’t say anything to you.” She drops her eyes. “I’m so sorry. You’re my best friend. I’ll never forgive myself.”
I turn away from her, my head pounding. Harry has come out of the kitchen and is standing behind me. He looks as stunned as I feel. He never trusted Graham, but he didn’t know about this.
“You asshole.” Harry’s right hand balls into a fist. “What have you done to her?”
“Go to hell.” Graham lifts his chin, folding his arms across his chest. “You act so goddamn self-righteous, but you don’t know what this last year was like. Every morning, Tess wakes up and she doesn’t know what the hell is going on. She wakes me up screaming. I’ve been taking care of her—doing everything for her like she’s a child. Before that, I took her to every goddamn doctor’s appointment. I was there through chemotherapy treatment. I cleaned up the vomit. I deserve the company after what I’ve been through.” Now Graham turns to me. He reaches out for my hand,
but I wrench it away. “Tess, you know what I’ve done for you. You wouldn’t even be alive right now if not for me. And I kept your secret, because I know how much it scared you to end up like your mother.”
I blink at him. Of all the things he’s said, this is the only one that gets through. He knows my biggest fear. And he did try to help me.
“This is bullshit,” Harry spits at him. “She’s not going to give you her company after what you’ve done. Right, Tess?”
I open my mouth to answer him, but my throat is too dry to get any words out. Maybe it’s a side effect of the medication. Harry and Lucy are both watching me with equally worried expressions on their faces.
“I’ll take care of your company, Tess,” Graham pleads with me. “Just sign those papers and I’ll keep it going for you. And then you can do whatever you want with your boyfriend here for the last few months of your life. You don’t ever have to hear from me again.” There’s a mildly threatening edge to his voice as he adds, “You don’t want to drag this out in court, do you?”
He knows I don’t want that. I don’t want to spend my remaining time fighting this man. If I sign the papers now, it will be done. You don’t ever have to hear from me again.
Graham holds out the papers to me. I could sign those papers. I don’t want to give him my company, but I also don’t want to spend the last months of my life fighting him.
And I can tell from the look in his eyes that he will fight me until I’m dead. What’s the difference if he gets the company? I won’t be around to see it, anyway.
“Don’t do this, Tess,” Harry says.
I take the contract from Graham’s hand. It’s still open to the page that has the X, waiting for my signature. He holds out the pen and I take it from him.
“You’re doing the right thing,” Graham says. “I know I am,” I say.
I take the contract and I rip it in half. I let the pieces flutter to the floor.
