Chocolate Umbrella

Chapter 7 - Chocolate Umbrella

CHAPTER 7

Alena was shocked with the news that she found herself trembling. She held Mark's arm tightly so that he would not collapse in her arms. She tried to utter a word of comfort but nothing came out. What ran through her minds was the dying image of her own father years ago. The once rounded belly man rapidly withered as cancer engulfed his whole body, and became a man with only skin over bones. She shook her head, trying to shake off that image from her head.

"Dad, are you sure? Come in and sit down first." Alena finally managed to whisper these words. She grabbed Mark's shoulder with both of her arms, and guided him to the sofa in the living room. Mark sat down and wept silently. Candy was so scared seeing her grandparents crying. She ran to Alena, hugging her leg tightly as if she was her source of security. Her eyes were wide and fear was written all over her face. Alena held her in her arms, sat her on her laps and kissed on her cheeks. "It's alright. Mama's here." Alena whispered to Candy, assuring her the comfort she sought.

Emile was so shocked with the news that his face went pale. His heart began to race. "Not possible. He could never have lung cancer. He never smoked a cigarette in his entire life." Emile quietly thought. He took a deep breath, trying to calm his heart. He gently patted on Rhonda's back, who was gasping for air in between her sobs.

"It's alright mom. Don't worry. It must be a mistake." Emile whispered in Rhonda's ear. He needed these words to be true. Saying them out helped to lessen his panic. Rhonda looked up to him and shook her head. She tried to speak but failed. No words could come out now, she could only sob. Emile hugged Rhonda tightly as if to assure her that everything would be alright. He guided Rhonda to the living room and sat her on the sofa.

"Dad, what happened? What makes you think you have stage-3 lung cancer? " Emile walked to Mark and sat beside him. Mark's weeping was now slowing down. Seeing that Candy was so frightened on Alena's lap, Mark tried hard to compose himself. He did not want Candy to see him like this.

Alena quietly waited for Mark's response to Emile's question. It was a good question. Why would Mark think that he had cancer? She bit her lips and absent-mindedly stroked Candy's hair. She wished too that was a mistake. However, she had seen cancer in full action with her own father. It took his life within a month of diagnosis. This time, she would not get her hopes too high. She quietly prayed that God could lead them through this very horrific journey, if it were due to come.

Mark took off his glasses, reached for his handkerchief in the pocket and wiped his tears. "I went to see Dr. Stewart today", he paused, "to go over... the annual check report", he continued. "He saw... a shadow... in my... right lung. It's about... the size of a... tennis ball." His tears began to flow again as he recalled the conversation he had with the doctor. "There is... also a shadow... at my right hip... as big as... a golf ball." He finally finished what he needed to say. He wiped his tears again with his handkerchief.

Candy snuggled closer to Alena. She had never seen Mark in such a condition. She whispered to Alena, "Mama? Grandpa okay?"

"He is just a bit sad, sweetie. You want to go and finish the hamburger?" Alena quietly asked. Alena definitely wanted to spare Candy from this traumatic episode. Candy nodded as Alena quietly carried her back to the kitchen and watched her eating the meal.

Emile watched Candy tenderly and nodded to Alena as she passed by, agreed that Candy did not need to witness such an event. He looked back to his father, waiting for more details to come. But as soon as he realized Mark had nothing more to say, he huffed out a small breath and asked, "so did Dr. Stewart tell you that you have cancer?" Emile narrowed his eyes and looked attentively to his father. Though he now knew that Mark was definitely having health problems, he did not want to jump to the cancer conclusion so quickly. In the back of his mind, Mark and lung cancer just did not belong together.