The Law of Second Chances

36

Pat was doing even better when Jack arrived at the hospital that afternoon.

“Hi, honey,” she said as he walked in the door. “You’re here early. How’d it go in court today?”

“It went very well,” Jack told her and Charlie.

A smile cut across Pat’s face. Charlie’s too. “Really? You got Henry a new trial?”

“Better than that,” Jack offered teasingly.

“Better?”

“Yup.” He turned to look at the doorway where he had just entered. “Come on in.” He gestured to someone in the hallway as he spoke. “I want you to meet some people.”

Henry walked into Pat’s private room, which immediately got a lot smaller.

“Wow!” Pat exclaimed when she saw Henry. “This is unbelievable. You have to be Henry. I’m Pat, and this is my best friend, Charlie. You’re actually free! I’m sorry, Henry, I feel like I know you already.” Her words came rapid-fire, a combination of the medication and her true happiness for Henry. She extended her hand, and Henry took it in his.

“I feel like I know you too,” he said. “And I’m so glad you’re feeling better.”

“Yeah, the doctor is coming in soon. I feel great. Jack, come over here and give me a kiss, and then the two of you can tell us all about this absolutely remarkable day. Henry, I still can’t believe you’re here.”

“I can’t either,” Henry said, his smile widening.

Jack sat on the edge of Pat’s bed and, holding her hand, proceeded to fill her and Charlie in on the events in the courtroom. “I wasn’t surprised when the judge granted Henry a new trial. I can’t say I expected it, but I wasn’t surprised by it. I was absolutely floored, though, when the state dropped the case.”

“So it’s completely over?” Charlie asked.

“Yeah,” Jack replied. “It’s completely over.”

“Where do you go from here, Henry?” Pat asked. “Do you have any family or anything?”

Jack answered before Henry could say anything. “I’ve invited Henry to come home and stay with us for a while until we figure things out.”

“Absolutely!” Pat replied. “We’ve got plenty of room.”

“I don’t want to be a bother,” Henry told her. “With your illness and all.”

“Nonsense, Henry,” she scolded. “The world isn’t going to stop because I’m sick. Besides, Jack and I could use the company. We’ve worn poor Charlie out.”

“Yeah, I’ve got to go home soon,” said Charlie. “And somebody has to look after these two.”

While they were talking, Dr. Wright came into the room.

“It looks like there’s a party going on in here,” she said.

“Of sorts,” Jack replied. “Do you have anything to tell us?”

“I do. Do you and Pat want to talk to me in private?”

“No,” Pat said firmly. “Charlie here is my best friend, and Jack and Henry have just been through a life-and-death struggle together. They can hear whatever you’ve got to say.”

Dr. Wright looked at Jack, who nodded his head in agreement. “Okay,” she said. “The news isn’t good. The tumors have not shrunk. In fact, they’ve grown a little. That explains why your pain has increased. We can try a different chemotherapy regimen. At this point, that is all I can offer.”

“Will a different regimen shrink the tumors?” Jack asked. He was trying to concentrate on the facts rather than his emotions. Once his heart processed what his brain had heard, he wouldn’t be able to talk. He tightened his fingers around Pat’s hand.

“It’s possible.”

“What’s the percentage?” Pat asked.

“Less than ten percent, I’m afraid,” Dr. Wright replied.

“What are the other options?” Pat wanted to know.

“There aren’t any.”

“When can we start this new regimen?” Jack asked, clinging to that last bit of hope.

“Today, if you’d like. It would only take an hour, and Pat has rebounded very well from her last treatment.”

“No,” Pat said. She said it in a low tone but it was a firm no. The firmest no Jack had ever heard. He could feel her words as well as hear them.

Dr. Wright didn’t quite grasp Pat’s statement so clearly. “I’m not sure I understand,” she said.

“It’s very simple, Doctor,” Pat told her. “I want to stop treatment. I want to go home. And I want to enjoy every minute that I have left. I don’t want to spend my last days being poked and prodded and ravaged by chemotherapy.”

Nobody said a word. Jack could hear himself breathing. And he could feel his heart breaking.