Taste of Wolves

Chapter 18

After her afternoon stream was done, Aria headed upstairs to see what her aunt wanted for dinner. "How about some chicken fried steaks, mashed potatoes and gravy, and some corn on the cob?" Linda suggested. Aria laughed and said it sounded perfect. As long as her aunt would eat at least a little bit of her dinner, she was satisfied. Her aunt had lost weight according to the scale that afternoon and she'd noticed her aunt not wanting to eat a whole lot during meals. It concerned her greatly and she had brought it up with her doctor. It was just another symptom of the illness she was told and then was suggested that Linda start drinking something like Ensure to make sure she was getting all the nutrients and vitamins she needed.

Aria always made things from scratch and that night's dinner was no exception. She was in the middle of preparing the chicken fried steaks for cooking as she already had the potatoes on the stove to boiling when there came a knock at the door. She shouted to her aunt that she'd get it as she wiped her hands on a rag. Opening the door found their two guests both with smiles on their faces. Seeing Aria made Quinn instantly on guard. Her smile didn't reach her eyes and she didn't greet them in the usual fun way she always had. She told Chibs her aunt was in the living room and awaiting their arrival. Quinn greeted Linda before making his way into the kitchen.

"I'm so glad you two could come this evening." Linda told Chibs as soon as Quinn had left them alone.

"We'll never turn down a 'omecooked meal, lass. And we love yer company." Chibs smiled.

"Well...there's a reason I asked you over. This is the last time I'll be able to host you over. I'll be going into the hospital the day after tomorrow to start my hospice care." Linda explained.

"Oh love!" Chibs exclaimed, "Did the doctor say 'ow long?"

"Weeks to maybe two months. She's trying to stay strong but she's taking the news hard even though we both knew this was a distinct possibility if the treatments didn't work." Linda said.

"Is there anything we can do?" Chibs reached over to grab her hand.

"Just look out for her. That's all I ask. As I've said before, after losing her parents and then her grandparents, and now me, she's going to take my death hard. She doesn't really have anyone left except my son and she can't stand him." Linda replied before taking a deep breath.

"We will. You know Quinn will take extra care o' 'er." Chibs told her.

"Thank you. Both. Your friendship has meant the world to me." She smiled at her friend.

"Me too, lass. Me too." Chibs gave her hand a squeeze.

"Aria, what's wrong?" Quinn immediately asked when he entered the kitchen after greeting Linda.

"Nothing." She quickly responded.

Too quickly for Quinn's liking. He could tell when someone was lying to him and she was definitely lying.

"Don't lie to me. What's going on?" He asked as he moved closer to her.

"Nothing, honest." She repeated not wanting to explain.

"Aria...you can tell me anything. I'm not going to judge you. I just want to know what's going on so I can help you." He said.

She sighed as she relented.

"After her treatment, Aunt Linda had a doctor's appointment." She stated, "He did more bloodwork and (she paused briefly) he said things aren't looking good. She's got... (she began to tear up as she spoke making him move to pull her into his arms) ...I'm sorry. He said she's got weeks to maybe two months to live. She's making her arrangements to go into the hospital's hospice care unit in a few days."