Standing By

Kirstie

Seeing Avi so broken makes me dread what will happen next. I take his hand and walk him back home. He hangs his head low and drops his duffel bag on the floor of the living room. I take his chin in my fingers and make him look to me. I caress his cheek and kiss him softly. He pulls away, tears streaming down his cheeks. I let his head rest on my shoulder and stroke his hair as he sobs.

"We should probably go to the hospital," I whisper in his ear. He nods, and we lace our fingers.

"I don't want her to be gone."

"I know babe," I kiss his cheek, "but she will never truly be gone."

"Yeah yeah, she'll always live in our hearts and memories," he rolls his eyes.

"I'm just trying to help."

"I know, but, have you ever been through something like this?"

"Well, my dad died of pancreatic cancer. You knew that."

"Oh," Avi facepalms, "I knew that."

"C'mon, babe, lets go."

I pull him into my Prius, and we drive to his mom's hospital.

"Shelly Kaplan," I ask at the reception desk. They tell us the room, and we go down the cancer ward. We knock on the door and see his two siblings. His mother is hooked up to far too many machines to count. Her hair is nonexistent, and even in her critical state, she smiles at the sight of us. Her voice is a raspy whisper.

"Hey Avriel," Shelly giggles, "hey Kirstin. Thank you for coming."

"We wouldn't miss this for the world."

"I need to tell you something, Avi. You have been a true blessing upon my life. I love the girl you love and how you love. You always make sure that no one feels left out. I will always love you, even when I'm gone. I talked to Michael about what to say to you, and he didn't know. I would love to see my grandkids, and I know I will, but just not in this life. I will always stand behind you no matter what. I'm not always going to be here, and I want you to know I will alway stand behind you. You are the kindest man I have ever met, and I want one thing to stand out: I will never stop loving you," she finishes, and coughs. Her heart rate monitor slows, and a nurse comes in.

"I'm sorry," the nurse starts, "but her vitals are rapidly dropping."

The slow, steady heart beat monitor slows until the monitor hums a monotone beep. She's gone. Avi sobs, and I take him into a hug. His cheek rests on my shoulder, and I stroke his hair soothingly. I look over, and Darien and Esther are in a similar position, except the roles are reversed. I shrug at him, and he smiles at me weakly. We leave the room so Avi, Esther, and Michael, his father, can have a moment.

"So do you want to go to lunch sometime?" Darien smiles at me.

"How about right now? They probably want to have a family moment, and I'm really hungry!" I giggle, and we walk into the room. I tell Avi where we are going, and they nod and let us leave.

"So, how's it going with Esther?" I ask after we order food from Panera.

"She's great. She's been handling it really good. She has her moments, but who wouldn't."

"Yeah. Avi's been okay. Sometimes he cries and has his moments, but I make sure he's okay."

"So, are you guys trying to get pregnant?"

"No!" I laugh. "Not yet. We kind of want to get our lives together. I don't want kids yet. Someday."

"Yeah. Esther has her hands full planning the wedding."