Dr. Helm sat close to me, his knee touching mine in a comforting way. He took my hand between his and looked at me with an expression of sympathy.
"I'm afraid I have some bad news," he began. My heart leapt into my throat and I could hear it beating in my ears. "Unfortunately the mass we removed last January was in fact cancerous. You have what is called a differentiated thyroid cancer of the papillary carcinoma variety. The good news is that the tumor was completely encapsulated, which means it most likely didn’t spread. But because we took half of the thyroid out, we need to make sure we didn’t disturb another encapsulation and increase the risk of the cancer spreading. It's unlikely, but I'd rather be safe than sorry, right?" He gave me a small smile as I nodded, unable to say anything. "Honestly, if you were to choose cancer this is the one you would want to choose. The five year survival rate is excellent and most people only need minimal
I woke up to dull rumbling pains in my stomach. I hadn't eaten all day and I suddenly felt dizzy and light headed. I rummaged through my bag looking for a night gown to slip into before heading out of the room. Gabriel was sitting on the couch with the TV on mute, he was absentmindedly watching while strumming his guitar. I watched him, smiling, then he began singing in a deep melodious voice that sent chills down my spine."Ain't no sunshine when she's goneit's not warm when she's awayAin't no sunshine when she's goneAnd she's always gone to longAnytime she goes awayWonder this time where she's goneWonder if she's gone to stayain't no sunshine when she's goneAnd this house just ain't no homeAnytime she goes awayAin't no sunshine when she's gone, gone awayAnd this house just ain't no home
After being cared for by Gabriel for two weeks, the two of us became a little stir crazy. He suggested we start going for walks every night, and drove me around to various little hikes that were suited for my level of activity. The walks we took probably helped increase my activity tolerance but that nagging voice at the back of my head made me dwell on the breathlessness I was feeling. I worried incessantly that my thyroid hormones were below normal levels and I obsessed about whether the cancer had spread elsewhere.Finally, Gabriel brought me to see his family doctor who ran a series of blood work on me and checked to see my levels of thyroid stimulating hormone. Everything was normal but she prescribed some medication to help with my anxiety. Gabriel had a few questions he wanted to ask the doctor and the two of them dismissed me into the waiting room.I picked up an old Canadian Living magazine from the coffee table that was set up in a corner
After spending a long weekend away we returned to Gabriel’s house where I planned on gathering my things and going to my rented room for a few days before starting work again.A black Toyota corolla was parked in Gabriel’s driveway when we arrived and I felt Gabriel tense next to me. Unsure who the car belonged to, I felt it safest not to question him for the time being. As usual he helped me down from the truck and placed me gently on the ground before kissing me. He made two trips to bring all of the bags inside. Chrissy was standing in the living room when entered and I felt the tension leave my body momentarily. I hadn’t asked Gabriel how far along she was but I assumed she was in her third trimester, judging by her basketball sized belly. I had never given pregnancy much thought but seeing Chrissy in all her pregnancy glory got me to thinking about it.“I’ve been trying to reach you all weekend!” sh
Gabriel was already gone when I woke up and I cursed him out for running away from the discussion he had promised. I got ready to go to work and as I was calling a cab, Gabriel pulled up in the driveway. Grumpy, I hopped in his truck and did not look at him when he handed me a coffee. We didn’t speak on the way to the diner but he pulled me in for a kiss before I hoped out. I was in a sour mood all day and snapped at the waiters a few times when they tried to cheer me up. I was officially going to be known as the bitchy chef. I didn’t bother calling Gabriel at the end of my shift but walked to the room I was renting, slumped down on my bed and burst out crying. My landlady was gone for the week so I wasn’t expecting to hear anyone knocking gently at my bedroom door. Before I could answer, the door slowly swung open, revealing a puffy eyed Gabriel. “Harper, I’m sorry” he started, avoiding my eyes, “I can’t… I don’t want kids”
It was mid May when Gabriel and I made out for the work camp. I was to share accommodations with him in his makeshift bedroom/office of a cabin. It was small but I had very little personal belongings and neither did Gabriel. I got a tour of the camp and of the dining hall, then Gabriel went over all of the details and things the previous cook had done that had worked well, but encouraged me to do whatever I thought would be best. I met with the new crew of three women slightly older than me and I did not fail to notice the flirtatious look they all gave Gabriel. I had never been a jealous type of girl, but it made me wonder what their history with him was. He knew all three of them by name: Jenna, Leanne and Ria and spent some time chit chatting with them, clearly enjoying being flirted with.Though Matteo was not working at this campsite, I saw him frequently enough as he and Gabriel wen
At the beginning of August, shareholders came to the campsite to meet with the higher up staff to go over financial details with Gabriel and Matteo. I was asked to plan an outdoor barbeque and set my team to work with specific tasks. There was a lot to do and although I should have requested more staff to help, I figured we could pull it all off if we worked a little bit harder. Gabriel had gone all out with the budget for this important meeting that would either make or break next year’s contract. It was important to him that I impressed our guests with my culinary skills. I woke up extra early that morning to get things started and hardly saw Jenna, Ria or Leanne, but I trusted that they had gotten to their tasks as assigned. I spent hours wrapping potatoes in foil, making salad dressings, and marinating meats. While I was doing that the girls were meant to be making salads, trimming and cleaning green beans and setting up the outdoor tables. I was pleased to see t
“Alright Ria, I need you for sandwiches today, Leanne you’re going to take care of the vegetables and Jenna you’ll be with me. I put a list of all the things I need you to do before lunch at your stations.” I ordered, trying to keep my emotions in check. I was not there to be friends with them and if they felt that my poor life choices were up for debate then I planned on letting them debate it on their own time. As soon as lunch was done I left the kitchen and let those girls clean up. I was done being nice and charitable with them. I went to my cabin where Gabriel was working on his laptop, his hair standing on ends, he had clearly been pulling at the roots in frustration. He looked up at me curiously as I entered the cabin. I walked over to him and sat on his lap smoothing out his disheveled hair, planting kisses along his jawline. “Baby,” he groaned, his hands working their way down to my bottom. “Do you have time f
I had blood work and an ultrasound booked in October. My endocrinologist called to announce that everything looked good and that so far it appeared I would not be needing radiation, however he wanted to run more tests in 6 months to concretely rule out the possibility. It was just the news I needed as we headed into the cold winter months.Sally left me in charge of her diner while she headed down south for the winter. The place felt like home and I looked forward to going to work each day. The staff was friendly and the customers were a delight. I liked to take time to talk with them when it wasn’t too busy and soon enough I developed a regular crowd that would come in for late breakfast and insisted that I eat with them once their orders were ready.Gabriel was still very busy during the off season with paperwork, meetings with account
Lane and her boyfriend Alexy, along with Matteo and his wife, were joining us on our vacation, having rented the cottages next to ours for the week. Lane, who was 33 weeks pregnant and glowing, had been visiting us at least every 2 months for the first three years after Emily was born until she met one of Gabriel’s employees one summer and fell madly in love with him. Since my mom had also met someone back home and was living with him, Lane felt less guilt about moving out to New Brunswick. Her and her boyfriend were living in a beautiful home only 10 minutes drive away from Gabriel and I.Matteo’s kids were all grown now and rarely followed their parents around anymore. He and his wife were enjoying their first solo vacation in years, but had decided to spend it with our family. Being godparents to Felix, they tried to be as present in our lives as they could.
“I. don’t. Want. to. Go!” Emily shouted, clearly exhausted by our little family vacation. We had pulled up to the Champlain Mall in Dieppe to pick up a few things I had forgotten at home before we made it to the cottage we had rented by the ocean another 45 minutes away.“I can stay with her while you get what you need, baby,” Gabriel offered, the most patient out of the two of us. With a lump in my throat and trying to keep the tears at bay I nodded. “You can leave Felix in the truck too if you want” he offered looking over to our 4 year old with a grin. Felix looked so much like Hendrix it was freaky and the two, despite the age difference, were thick as thieves.“Do you want to stay with daddy or come with mommy, Fee?” I asked.“Daddy!” he exclaimed.“Okay I will be back as soon as possible” I said, unbuckling my seat belt. Ga
I watched the people milling about from the dining room window, there were 30 or so people waiting in the backyard while rock music played on. I couldn’t see Gabriel from where I was standing but I could just imagine what he looked like in an outfit similar to Hendrix’s. I could hardly contain my excitement at seeing him.I admired Lane’s beautiful set up and hoped it wasn’t going to rain, as the skies were grey with clouds. Lane had strategically hung white sheer linen in some of the trees and placed lanterns as decorations. There were rows of white chairs occupied by the guests and white flower petals down the would-be aisle. I spotted a makeshift bar with huge ‘Beer and Whiskey’ signs hanging above it and laughed. Of course Gabriel would make sure the guests were well ‘watered’. The backyard had a very magical feeling about it. 
With everyone’s help and support the first week of Emily’s life went on without a hitch. I went on a few emotional roller coasters and woke up soaked in sweat a few times at night. But in all I couldn’t ask for a better baby. Emily was easily content, sleeping most of the day and only waking for feeds and diaper changes.My mom took on the role of grandmother very well, she rocked, washed, and cooed at Emily every chance she had. Janice cooked up a storm for everyone staying with us and froze several meals for when we were on our own again. Lane and I spent most of Emily’s feeding time in my bed going over wedding details and ideas.“I trust you, Lane” I told her for the millionth time, “do whatever you want!” Lane took a deep exasperated breath and let it out slowly, gently stroking Emily’s head. 
At 40 weeks, I was exhausted, cranky and swollen all over. I went out for walks with Axel and Gabriel every morning while Lane had been sending Janice new recipes to induce labor for the last two weeks and each day, Janice brought me some new miraculous concoction guaranteed to work. At night Gabriel gave me mind shattering orgasms to stimulate contractions, and I felt bad that his fiancé was now the size of a beached whale. Not that he would say such things, but I was disheartened by the way I looked and felt. I knew it was temporary but I was getting anxious to meet my baby. Sam, Janice’s boyfriend, was helping with some projects around the house and cottage to keep Gabriel occupied while the four of us waited impatiently for the stork to drop by.Finally one night as we lay in bed after an ordinary day, I felt a distinct popping in my lower belly before a rush of liquid squirted out of me. As fast as I could, I rolled out of bed and waddled
“Gabe I know you’re going to hate this idea, but I booked myself in for a maternity photoshoot and I would love for you to be there” I said, bracing myself for the inevitable rejection.“Sure,” he said, not taking his eyes off his laptop screen.“Were you listening?”“Yes, you have a maternity photoshoot and you want me to be there”“In the photos though”“Yes, that’s fine” he said as he placed his laptop on the coffee table and grabbed my foot to massage it.“You're sure?” I asked, stifling a groan of pleasure as he massaged my calf.“Yes Harper, I will be there in the photos with you and your belly. It’s fine” he said with finality.“Oh, well thank you”“When is it?”&
By December Gabriel and I had fully returned to our old routine. Though the pain of losing a baby never quite goes away, it becomes a little more bearable as the days go on.Sally had asked me to return to the diner for the winter, but I got an even more enticing job as an instructor at the community college. I would deliver a certain amount of theory content during the fall and winter semesters and in the summer I would take on the students at Gabriel’s work sites in order to give them hands-on practice. After a long and thorough conversation with Gabriel I sadly declined Sally’s offer and took on the college job. I loved having a 9-4 job that allowed me to be at home in the evening. Gabriel had secured a few building jobs around town and was also home every night. He frequently assured me he didn’t find life with me dull and always looked forward to coming home and seeing me each night.Our new house was everything I co
*Warning, this chapter deals with traumatic subject matter that could upset some readers*We had made it to the last couple of weeks of the summer with very little excitement at the camp. Everything seemed to be running smoothly and Gabriel proudly announced this was his most successful season so far. The house had sold and we had slowly started to move into our new house, though we spent most of our time at the cottage to enjoy the lake on our days off.“Why are you making a bagel?” Gabriel asked one morning as he filled his plate with bacon and eggs.“To eat…” I said with a frown.“You don’t eat bagels” he said looking at me curiously, “Is this a pregnancy thing?”“No, I don’t, and no it’s not”“Who are you specially making bagels for?” he asked, annoyed.&ld
I had my follow up ultrasound and blood work done during March and awaited the results impatiently. I knew Gabriel was just as anxious about it as I was but he was better able to mask his anxiety as he kept busy with work.Luckily, the ground began thawing and construction on our new house began. This gave me a brief moment of respite as I focused on the blueprints, choosing paint and flooring. It was an exciting process to watch, one day there was a huge hole in the ground, then there was a foundation and soon walls were being put up.Matteo had come down to help Gabriel get ready for the season. He was staying in Chrissy’s old room while he was with us and went home on the weekend to see his family. Gabriel and Matteo were away most of the day and I took those opportunities to pack up the house and deal with the realtors. Since our new house wasn’t going to be ready until the fall Gabriel had rented a storage unit as I had su