Author’s Note: My apologies for not updating sooner, but my father died last week. As you can imagine, I did not feel like working on the story immediately after that. Someone suggested showing Valo and her nephew bonding. Well, this chapter is pretty much for that, and to honor the memory of my father.

Sean peeked into his aunt’s study. She was not sitting at her computer as she usually was, typing at the keyboard rapidly, as though she had to get the words out of her mind and into the computer before she forgot them. No, today, she was sitting on her sofa, staring silently at one of the framed pictures nearby. Occasionally, she would heave a great sigh and shake her head ever so slightly. Frowning with concern, Sean entered the room and slowly approached Valo, with the same care with which one might approach a wild animal.

“Aunt Jess, are you okay?” he asked softly.

Valo smiled weakly at her nephew. “I’m fine,” she replied. “I was just looking at this picture of my dad and me.”

Sean peered at the photograph, which depicted an adolescent Valo and a man she greatly resembled. They were laughing together and generally appeared to be enjoying each other’s company. “He looks nice,” he remarked.

“He was,” Valo responded. “I miss him so much.” Here, her shoulders slumped a little. “He died when I was in college.”


“Really?” Sean asked. “Tell me about him. What was he like? Was he as good a dad as mine was?”

“He was a wonderful father. Even though I was unplanned, he never once made me feel unwanted or unloved. All throughout my life, he was there to encourage and support me. All he asked was that I tried my best, and believe me, I did my very best. I was an excellent student, stayed out of trouble, was reasonably well-mannered, and generally was the kind of kid most parents wish their kids were like. When I was involved in theater, he came to the plays, even though they were absolutely dreadful, with barely talented preteens mumbling their lines with about as much emotion as a delivery person telling you the amount owed. Even when I was in college, he still encouraged me to do my best, and I know that he bragged about me to pretty much everyone he knew. He was so proud of me.” Valo wiped a tear from her eye.

“He’s probably still proud of you,” Sean remarked. “Look at how much you’ve accomplished!”

Valo smiled wanly. “When I was ten, almost eleven, my dad was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. It’s a type of cancer that originates from the lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell. It spreads from one lymph node to another, and it’s one of the few cancers that has a high cure rate. My dad had been having some health problems that various doctors attributed to allergies and other minor problems, until one of them finally realized that all of his symptoms were indicative of Hodgkin’s lymphoma. My dad spent the summer in the hospital, receiving treatments. I even had my birthday in the hospital that year, so he could be there.”


“You must have been so worried about your dad.”

“Oh, I was. He was the one who had raised me; my mom had wanted as little to do with me as possible, since I was pretty much the opposite of what she wanted. She wanted a cutesy girly-girl to dress up, and I was a nerdy tomboy who hated parties and most social situations. But my dad… like I said, he was proud of me. When I was six, he helped me to get my first library card, and he bragged about how many books I read and how much I liked to read. He taught me to throw a football and brought me to various sports games. He allowed me to develop into the kind of person I wanted to be, rather than the kind of person my mother wanted me to be.”

“Wow, I wish I had known him,” Sean murmured.

“You would have liked him. You’d have gotten along so well.”

“So, what happened after that summer?” Sean asked.