He nodded. Took in a breath, and released it slowly. “Ten years, cancer free. I turned thirty a few months ago and I haven’tquite figured out how to celebrate twenty years of being cancer free.”
My hand went to his thigh and gripped hard enough to make him wince. “What? H-how… w-when? Alex…” I clamped down on my shock and banished it to the desert. This was not how someone should react to receiving this kind of news. I called on my better half, my conscience, that guided my next words. “I had no idea but thank you for finding the courage to tell me. Is it all right if I ask more? Are you comfortable sharing that?”
He rolled his eyes, but not in a way that conveyed annoyance—more like bewilderment. I saw tears form, though they didn’t fall. “How on earth are you such a gentleman?”
I dismissed the compliment. The moment was not about me. “Just being polite. Alex, I am so, so sorry to hear about this. Twenty years? That’s amazing.Incredibleeven.” I muttered a praise to God under my breath.
“I was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma when I was eight. Devin was twelve at the time.” The way he said his brother’s name. Like his personal hero. “High survival rate for kids with Hodgkin’s and I was lucky enough to be included in that bunch. Children’s Hospital in Boston is amazing. We did chemo and radiation. And by ten, they declared I was cancer free.”
I had loosened my grip on his leg the more he spoke. I kept my mouth shut and let him continue but conveyed with my eyes how much I appreciated him sharing this with me.
“I survived. But… my parents…” He shook his head. “They stayed together until I was ten, but the cancer wrecked their marriage more than it did my body. They couldn’t handle the stress of it. I had no idea, but every day was torture for Devin and all three kept it from me.” He let out a long puff of air, then took a careful sip of his hot coffee. “The divorce was awful. My medical bills were insurmountable and that came into play during the hearings. Things got nasty.Reallynasty. Suddenlymy well-being meant nothing to them.” He shrugged, as if that could shove away the scars that must have formed during his most formative years. “Devin took care of me. While Mom and Dad battled it out in court, Devin made me dinners, made sure I got to school. Hell, he even made lunches for me.” He smiled while he spoke, like he peered into a past memory that played out before him. “He’s the one who got me into running. Told me to join track and just…go.”
He finally turned to look at me. Something passed between us. A newly formed cord, perhaps. Something to tether us closer. “They died within six months of each other. Both from alcohol. Both from drunk driving. I was in high school and Devin was in college.” He looked down and away from me. “I don’t like talking about it. Neither does Devin. In fact, I almost never think about it. Not my parents. Not the cancer. My thirtieth came and went before I realized it had been twenty years.”
Alex sighed and I felt the weight of something drift into the wind. “I want you to know because it feelsrightthat you should know. There’s a piece of me in that bit of knowledge that I want you to keep. To have.”
I wanted to kiss him. To hold him. To press our bodies together. To lock him at my side with a sword in my hand and vanquish anything that dared try to hurt him.
“Thank you for telling me. I have to admit I wondered about your parents. You never mentioned them.” I tutted and rolled my eyes at myself. “Once again, all I do is prattle on about myself and my family. Jeez. I hope that didn’t sting whenever I talked about them.”
“No. Oh, Rome, no.” His hand was on my arm. “It’s whatattractsme to you. I don’t have what you have. It’s amazing to hear about your family.” He smiled and gripped my bicep. “I would love to meet them one day. Your folks, your siblings. The rest of your cousins.”
I took his hand in mine and kissed it. “Done. But what are we going to do about this twentieth anniversary? You’ve got tattoos. Piercings. What else?”
Alex laughed and looked away. “I really don’t know. If I do something at twenty years cancer-free, what am I going to do at thirty? And forty?”
“Well, you don’t have to do anything, but I think you should.” I snapped my fingers as a thought sprung into my head. “Can I take this one? Can I think of a way to celebrate?”
He readjusted our hands so he could now kiss mine. “Best idea ever. I would love that.”
I nodded. “Great. I’ll start thinking about it.” He kissed my hand once more. “Thank you so much for telling me, Alex. Really, it means a lot that you can open up and share something like that with me.”
He chuckled and shook his head. “I’ve never had someonethank mefor telling them about my cancer.” He pressed his lips together as I saw the mist renew in his eyes. “You really are something else, Number Sixteen.”
I kissed him like I couldn’t get enough. We left our breakfast half finished and found our favorite corner spot on the couch to start out the day the best way we knew how.
Chapter Sixteen
Alex
ROMEINSISTEDWEtake his car and I didn’t put up an ounce of resistance. I knew he preferred the luxury of his Mercedes G-Class and I didn’t mind sharing in that, but I requested that I drive. Besides, I figured he needed the tinted windows to conceal the MLB star who dwelled within the vehicle.
I drove us into Boston a little earlier than needed, mostly due to the constant traffic that the city accumulated like a string of bad habits. I was no stranger to city driving, but apparently Romewas. At one point he squeezed his eyes shut and grabbed the Oh Shit handle when I barreled into the exit for Storrow Drive. I zipped around the city streets that I knew well enough to navigate with closed eyes. Which I did at one point just to throw Rome into a fresh tizzy.
Rome remained blissfully unaware of our destination. As I drove down a familiar route, I felt a tightness form in my stomach. Would he like the surprise? Would he be angry at me for overstepping? I suspected he wouldn’t, but the lizard part of my brain feared losing him.
We pulled into an underground parking garage. There was a subtle sign along the way that I don’t think he caught since hewas busy checking something on his phone. (Yes, I made sure he didn’t look at a map that would reveal where we went.) I found a spot near an elevator and put her in Park.
“Still no idea where we are?” I asked Rome as I hit the button to turn off the car.
He lowered his head and gave me a sly grin. “Pretty sure we’re at a hospital. Kept seeing blue H signs…”
I smiled, blew him a kiss, and got out of the car. From the trunk I pulled a backpack that I had surreptitiously stuffed with specific items unbeknownst to Rome. He shot me a curious glance as I shouldered the bag. “You’ll see,” I told him.
We walked to the elevator and the moment he stepped inside, he looked over at me. “Children’s Hospital. This is where you said you were treated?”
I nodded and hit the button to a familiar floor. “Yep. Lots of memories in this place.”
