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i dressed myself in all black and put a black headband into my hair. i was going to the church today to see my father. our school gave us the monday off for a teacher work day and there was no way i was complaining.
i walked into the front doors of the church and searched for someone i could speak to. a large room full of pews and stained glass windows surrounded me. in the front of the room was a wooden stage that had a glass podium and a table fitted with a purple and white quilt. my father stood by the glass podium with his eyes closed as he prayed to his god. i sat in front of him on one of the many pews and waited for him to finish. he looked down to me once he was done and smiled. "hello my child." he walked down the stairs that led up to the stage and came to sit beside me.
"i haven't been here in a couple years," i confessed and admired the building. he sighed and nodded his head.
"yes. i was quite upset when your mother stopped coming to sunday service and our church's other services." i turned toward father and took his hand into mine. "what is it?"
"two things." he nodded and furrowed his brows. "you and mom... tell me about that." he swallowed the saliva that built in his mouth and looked to the ground.
"we've simply fallen away from each other. there's nothing to say, adeline." everyone knew it was coming to an end but i didn't think it was possible.
i deeply breathed in and exhaled. "i need you to take me to the doctor. i'm getting worse, father." he acted like what i said was impossible. "i know you're scared of the truth, father, but i'm dying."
"now?" he asked and titled his head. i bobbed my head yes and looked away to the flowers that lined the stage.
"soon." we both stood and he spoke to the others in the church about his urgent need to leave. of course they understood even though it was against his vowes. "i'm sorry to do that."
"it's quite alright, daughter." we got into the car and headed to the doctors office without making an appointment. my father glanced over to me as we stopped at a red light. his eyes became a bloodshot as he tried to calm himself and rid the tears that brimmed in his eyes. he was panicking because he knew that i wasn't going to live much longer. 5-7 years was a bullshit lie that they told us in hopes of it actually being true. i wouldn't last another year and we all knew it.
once we got to the office my doctor saw me right away. he left the room for a moment and went to see some information out. i stared at the ceiling and smiled as i thought of tate. my doctor came back into the room with a clipboard and sat on his stool across from me. "well adeline... i'm afraid i have some bad news." i mentally prepared myself to listen to the sentence where he tells me i would only live to be 20. "your condition has rapidly increased. as you know, there is no cure for CF other than a lung transplant."
"yeah..." he smiled softly and looked back down at his clipboard then back up to me. my eyes concentrated on him as she struggled to tell me my life expectancy.
"an estimated guess on how much longer you have is 3-5 months." i pursed my lips and looked back down to the ground. "i'm sorry miss valkit."
"no need to be sorry," i chuckled. "i knew i wouldn't live much longer..." he sadly smiled to me and walked toward the door. "thank you." i walked out of the room with my tank and met with my dad in the waiting room. we walked out to his car and began to drive back home.
"so? what did he say?" the urge to answer the question with a lie was strong but i couldn't do it. i bit the inside of my cheek and drew blood as the pain finally started to engulf me.
"i uh... well he said an estimate of 3-5 months." my father looked to me with worried eyes as we pulled into our driveway. "i'm serious." the car turned off as he pulled the keys out of the engine with shaking hands.
"at least we have those last couple months, my child." he climbed out of the car and came around to open my door for me. "what do you want for dinner tonight?" he opened the front door and closed it behind me.
"i thought you'd go back to the church?" he shook his head and went straight for the kitchen. he was acting weird but i couldn't understand why. "okay." he pulled out some pots and pans and filled one with water so it could boil.
"why don't you invite that boy over. tate?" i nodded and quickly switched out my oxygen tanks. "will you?"
"i think i will." i left the house and walked over to mrs. langdon's house. tate came running out from the the backyard as addie chased him.
"can't catch me!" tate laughed and tricked addie into running the other way. he came and grabbed onto my shoulders, pretending i was a shield so addie wouldn't see him. "what're you doing here?" he whispered in my ear.
"inviting you to dinner." he kissed my cheek witch casted a rosy color to cover my freckled face. "come on, bring addie too. we'll make some cake." we walked back over to my house as tate and addie still played a small game of tag.
