Words of Art

*This is based on a character I've written, but this part of the story I haven't gotten around to telling*



The kids were enjoying the summer in the mountains. It'd been so long since we'd been to the family cabin. There was always something else to do. Work. Car pool. Sports. More work. Dry cleaners. Shopping. An extra hour at the gym because of that damn donut. Work again.

But here we were. Four months into my year long countdown. The kids didn't know it. Sometimes I wasn't even sure if Dave knew it. Of course he'd been there with me at the doctor's office when I'd gotten the knews but our love was such a tale that I don't think he could believe what he heard. So instead of facing facts he put it out of his mind completely.

I sat there slathering sun screen on, wondering why I was even bothering to begin with, but I had to keep up appearances for the kids. As much as I warned them about SPF they'd likely notice if I skipped on the coverage. Then I would have to explain myself to them.

And I just couldn't. Not then. Not before. Not before one last summer as a family. Not before I could spend this time with them. Watch them laughing and playing without a care in the world. The last thing I wanted for them was to spend their summer thinking about the day in the near future they'd lose their mother.

Sometimes I was most worried about the girls. They weren't mine biologically, but I loved them like they were. And with their mother so emotionally unstable, they'd jumped at the chance to move in with me and their dad. So there they were on the dock jumping into the water and showing off their swimming skills.

So easily we had meshed into a family. Me and my son. Dave and his four children. We'd even had one of our own together almost a year to the day after our first anniversary. Our lives were perfect. And now, our family would be ripped apart. Luke would go live with his father. Dave would keep his children and our son. Would my boys even grow up to know they were brothers? Would Dave be able to handle all of their emotions and his own when my time was finally called?

I thought about all this as I lazed back in the garden chair watching my family. This was not the day to think of such things.