Six - Twelve Months

Six to twelve months. Fifteen different doctors around the world and they all gave the same diagnosis. Some tried to give me treatments but when they obviously weren’t working I decided that if I’m going to die, it’s not going to be in a hospital bed. Six to twelve months was the estimated timeframe. So I spent most of that time traveling and enjoying good food. Then came the massive parties filled with drugs, alcohol, and tons of people that I didn’t care about. If my accountant saw how much money I wasted in those months alone, he’d have a heart attack.

 364 days later and I can feel my body failing. It’s been getting harder to get up in the morning, I get tired easily, and I barely have an appetite, but I can’t give up. There are a couple things I still need to do. Things that I’ve been putting off for far too long.

After having a coughing fit in the bathroom and spitting up a bloody glob of phlegm, I got dressed and hopped into my convertible. First stop was an old friend of mine, one I thought I would never see again. Simon Marx, former co-founder of my company, Verley Enterprises. Simon and I started the company together. We built it up from scratch and watched it turn into its own little empire. Then I stabbed him in the back and took full control of the company. We haven’t spoken in years. Hopefully he’s had some time to calm down since then. Simon’s got a helluva right hook and It’d be a shame to waste a day in the hospital. I rang the doorbell and clutched a brown envelope in my other hand. Simon opened the door shortly after, and as soon as he registered who I was his lips pressed into a thin line and his hands clenched into fists. Thankfully there was still a screen door separating us.

“What part of ‘I never want to see you again’ didn’t you understand?” asked Simon.

I put my hands up in surrender. “Easy Simon, I didn’t come here to start anything. I just want to talk.”

“I’ve got nothing to say to you. Now get off my property before I call the police.”

“I’m stepping down from the company!” I yelled.

Simon stopped short of slamming the door in my face. When he pulled it back his face was a combination of anger, confusion, and disgust.

“Is this some kind of joke?” he asked.

“You know I don’t tell jokes,” I said. “Can I come in?”

Simon nodded and let me in. His house was on the small side but had a nice, quaint interior. He led me to his dining room and we sat across from each other.

“So, what’d you do?” asked Simon. “Run the company into the ground and now you’re looking for someone desperate to pick up the pieces?”

“No, the company is doing great. This year was our best year in five years actually.”

“Then why are you stepping down? Ten years pass and you finally grew a conscience?”

I chuckled. I forgot how blunt he used to be. “No. I’m still the same scumbag that betrayed you. But some things have come up and I want to spend more time with my family.”

“Bullshit! The company always comes first for you, it’s always been that way.”

Fucking Simon. He’s too smart for his own good.

“I don’t have much of a choice in this Simon.”

He raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything further.

“Look, this company is like a baby for me, and I know it was like that for you too. Sure I could promote some hard working schmuck that’s been making good numbers, but you are the only person in this world I know that has the passion and drive to not fuck this company up or turn it into something it’s not.” I placed the brown envelope on the table and pushed it closer to him. “Everything you need to know is in there. The position is yours if you want it.”

 I stood and headed toward the door but stopped when my hand reached the handle. 

“I’m sorry for cutting you out Simon. Worst mistake I’ve ever made.”

 I didn’t wait for a reply.

***

The next and final stop was my ex wife’s house. Donna and I split up just a couple years back. It was mutual, things weren’t healthy; for us or the kids. When I pulled up to the driveway my gut twisted and my hands started to shake. Not sure if that was from my nerves or the sickness. I walked up to the door and rang the doorbell. It quickly swung open and two adorable smiling faces greeted me. It was my kids Charlie and Chloe. They wrapped their arms around my waist and nearly tackled me over. They're growing so fast, I swear they grew at least half a foot taller since I’ve been gone. 

“Hey dad! How was your vacation?” asked Charlie.

“It was fun, but it’s good to be home,” I said.

“Where did you go? Did you take your jet?” asked Chloe.

“I did take the private jet, and I went to lots of places. Tell you what, I’ll tell you all about it later, but first I want to speak with your mother. Where is she?”

“Right here.” Donna turned the corner with a warm smile and the kids scurried past her. 

Her hair was tied up in a messy bun and she wore a simple t-shirt and sweatpants. It didn’t matter if she was lounging around or in an elegant dress, she was always the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen.

Donna, it’s so good to see you.” I outstretched my arms and embraced her. It was an awkward hug, she was clearly caught off guard by it and it lasted far too long. But it felt nice regardless. 

“It’s good to see you too.” She put the back of her hand to my forehead. “Are you feeling alright? You look a little pale.”

I made this so much worse by keeping this a secret. It’ll only get worse if I keep it going.

“Can we talk inside?” I asked.

“Of course, come in,” she said.

I took her to the bedroom, hopefully far enough away from the kids.

“Have a seat,” I said.

“Ok… Dan, what’s going on? You're scaring me.”

“I’m not going to dance around this anymore. Donna, I’m dying.”

“Don’t make jokes like that, it’s not funny.” 

I couldn’t stop the tears from filling my eyes. Once she saw them, her face shifted to concern and she stood.

“You’re serious? What’s wrong?”

“I have a rare disease that is slowly but surely eating away at my insides.”

“We’ll go to the hospital then, there’s got to be something—”

A pang of pain exploded in my chest and I wrenched forward in a coughing fit. When it was done, my hand was coated in dark blood. Donna screamed and reached for her phone but I grabbed her arm with my clean hand.

“Donna, I’ve been to some of the best doctors around the world. They all said the same thing. There’s no cure, and I have at most a year to live.” 

“What… how long has it been since you’ve been diagnosed?”

“364 days.”

“Holy shit. Dan what the fuck? Why did you wait so long? What the hell am I supposed to tell the kids?”

“We tell them the truth. We can’t hide it from them.”

Donna wrapped her arms around me and we sat on the bed in silence for a few moments. 

“There’s one more thing,” I said. “I made a trust entitled to you. Once I pass, everything goes to you, the money, the estates, everything. You guys will be taken care of.

“I don’t care about the fucking money Dan,” she said. “The kids deserve to have their father.” 

“I know.”

Her mouth opened to say something else but her eyes flickered to something behind me and she stopped herself. As I turned I saw two shadows quickly duck behind the door. 

“It’s ok kids, you can come out,” I said.

Charlie walked out with his head down like he’d done something wrong. Chloe flanked him and tried to hide behind him.

“Are you guys fighting again?” asked Charlie

“No, we aren’t fighting. This is something else, something important.” I patted the space next to me on the bed. “Come, sit. We need to talk.”

And we told them. There was a lot of crying but they understood, Charlie more so than Chloe. We had dinner after and I decided to stay the night with Donna. It didn’t matter if we had one hour, one day, or one year left. We agreed that we would spend the time I have left together. We killed a bottle of wine and talked about random shit for hours like we used to when we were younger. Eventually we fell asleep curled up next to each other.

 Another burst of pain in my chest woke me up in the middle of the night. I stumbled into the bathroom and had another coughing fit but this time it didn’t stop. My legs collapsed beneath me and I fell onto my back unable to move. It’s funny, I thought I’d be more afraid when this moment came. Even though the back of my throat was filling with blood, I was calm. In just these last few hours, I felt happier with my family than in any party I had in those past months. My eyelids grew heavy and memories flooded my mind. I thought of Donna and the time we shared together, from when we started dating in college to now. I thought of the kids and the few amazing moments I was able to experience with them, even though they were few and far between. I even thought of Simon and the hard work we did together to build the company. As the darkness enveloped me, I couldn’t help but smile.