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Chapter Sixty-Four
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2024-10-29 19:42:56It’s been almost one year since Emery found out cancer returned and claimed her life. We had to move back closer to home to where her doctors practice so that she could complete her chemo and radiation treatments again. It was so hard to watch her go through that, knowing how much pain she was in and how much I wish I could’ve taken it all away, but I couldn’t.
There was nothing I could’ve done to help her except hold and love her as much as I could. She kept fighting and trying to stay strong, but it seemed the disease took her from me no matter how hard we both fought it.
We did get to see another snowfall together. As she watched from our bedroom window, I made a snowman for us like the ones we used to make together. I had a feeling that would be the last time we would both be present for the yearly tradition of building the snowman. Too many memories would tear me apart with that scenario to continue
Ugh, too many tears with this ending :(
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A soft breeze rustled through the window, making the white curtains wave about. Emery stood back and took in the scene. Not everyone would notice the birds that were gliding through the sky, the bees that were buzzing about the flowers, the gentleness and smells the summer breeze brought, but Emery did. She always tried to appreciate and experience as much as she could in life, as one never knows how much time they have left.“Live life to the fullest.”Those were words that Emery Warden had lived by. She wanted to be the best person that she could be, even if it meant being the loneliest. It wasn’t that she was always by herself or that no one liked her, she had her parents and the friends she’d made with every charity and volunteer group that she did. But, the kids at her high school weren’t the friendliest or the best at being courteous to others, so Emery was always picked on regarding what she wore, what she did, and every ot
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Emery found herself more refreshed the next morning after getting almost fifteen hours of sleep. It was nine in the morning when she made her way down to the kitchen. Her mom was just finishing up putting all the plates away after the dishwashing cycle.“Hey, honey,” Mrs. Warden greeted her daughter as she sat down at the table. “How are you feeling this morning?” She’d been worried all night that Emery was overexerting herself once again with all the volunteering she was doing.“I’m good.” Emery drank the orange juice her mom had brought over to her. “I have to be at the hospital at noon, then leave there to do my afternoon walks with the dogs at the animal shelter at four.” She was telling her so she wouldn’t worry when she wasn’t home at the usual time.Mrs. Warden brushed back Emery’s hair from her forehead, out of her eyes. She didn’t feel any type of fever brewing that Emer
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. The next few weeks flew by for both Emery and Austin. They met each other every day at the hospital and made sure to spend a little time talking to each other whenever they could. They even exchanged cell phone numbers and texted each other when they had spare time from doing all the other things they had going on in their lives. *** “How come I’ve never seen you at school?” Austin sat down beside Emery at their hangout, the ice cream shop that only they went to. They’d decided to eat dinner before going their separate ways to practice and walking the dogs. Emery took a small bite of her cheeseburger and swallowed before answering. “You have.” She looked at Austin, waiting for his response, as she took a drink of her soda through the straw. “Oh yeah, how’s that?” Austin was dumbfounded. He didn’t think he’d seen her before in school, but maybe she’d only seen him because of football and all that. He needed her to expl
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The sound of her cell phone buzzing alerted Emery to the incoming call. She’d spent almost two hours playing and walking the dogs at the shelter, which was enough to exhaust anyone. After that experience, she ate, got a shower, and laid down for a quick nap. The number that showed was Austin’s. Emery assumed he was making good on his promise to call after practice. “Hey.” She sat up on her bed and brushed the hair back off of her face. It wasn’t like he could see through the phone or anything, but as a natural instinct, she wanted to look semi-normal and not have her hair flipped out in all different directions. “Hey,” Austin repeated Emery’s greeting in the same soft tone she’d used. “Sounds like you were already sleeping.” He looked at his clock once more. It was only nine o’clock. There was no way a seventeen-year-old girl was going to be sleeping this early during the summer. “Almost. It was a busy day at the shelter.” Emery stood up and walked around a b
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Austin was already gaming with Brian when Emery finally got to the department. She snuck in without him seeing and went straight over to where Anne was helping another little boy. “Has Molly made it down here yet?” She looked around but didn’t see her red-headed friend anywhere. Anne shook her head no. “I think her mom was in this morning and they were watching movies today.” “Okay, that’s cool. She was looking run down, so this will give her time to rest.” Emery glanced at Austin out of the corner of her eye. He was still occupied with Brian. So she was still safe from having to give him an answer just yet. “Sounds like advice someone else could use.” Anne patted Emery on the hand and went back to helping the little boy with his painting. Emery had looked more exhausted the past couple of weeks than she had in a long time. But, the girl refused to give up anything and seemed like she wanted to take on everything and save the world. Eme
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“Who the hell is that?” Dylan, one of Austin’s good friends, nudged him as they got closer to the field. He nodded his head in the direction of Emery, who was still seated where Austin had told her she could sit. “That’s Emery, she came with me.” Austin kept his eyes on her. As if she could feel him watching her, Emery looked up from her cell phone and saw him walking toward her. She gave him a small wave and he held up his helmet to show that he’d seen her. “Isn’t that like fairy girl or whatever your girlfriend calls her?” Dylan thought he recognized her from around school and all the times that Apryl and the other girls had said shit about her. Even though they were good friends, Austin was ready to flatten him out right now. “First, don’t say shit about Emery. Second, Apryl isn’t nor will she ever be my girlfriend again.” Austin walked away from Dylan and headed over to where Emery was. “Having fun yet?” He sat down on the be
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Emery began to walk over to where Austin had parked his truck. It was taking him a little longer than he said, but she needed to get up and move around before she was permanently stuck in that seated position. She heard someone coming up fast behind her and turned to see who it was. Austin was jogging across the field like he had endless energy. He finally caught up with her and reached for her hand once again. She didn’t pull away but instead enjoyed the warmth and crazy feelings she got when he was around. “You look much cleaner,” Emery commented on the fact that he was no longer covered in sweat and dirt. Austin just shook his head and smiled. Leave it to Emery to comment on whether or not he was clean. Any other girl, well, the ones who followed the players, would be questioning if there was a party, whose house they were going to, and by now they’d be running their hands all over him. He opened the truck door for her and helped her in. Once she wa
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“Emery, are you sure you don’t want to go?” Mrs. Warden wanted to give her daughter one last chance for the dinner and play, but she knew that she would probably say no. “I think Austin and I are just going to hang out.” Emery hadn’t told her mother about the party he was taking her to. Why have her mom worry when she needed some time out. She slipped on her sneakers and glanced at the clock. It was almost seven-thirty, so she knew Austin would be calling soon. “That’s great that you two have hit it off so well. You’ll have to invite him over soon.” Mrs. Warden held out her arms as her husband slipped her light jacket on her. “I’m not sure what time we’ll be back, but have fun with whatever you and Austin decide to do.” She gave Emery a small peck on the cheek, then took her husband’s arm as he led her outside. Emery waved to them as they walked out the door, then sat down to wait for Austin’s call. Finally, ten minutes later, her cell rang wit
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It’s been almost one year since Emery found out cancer returned and claimed her life. We had to move back closer to home to where her doctors practice so that she could complete her chemo and radiation treatments again. It was so hard to watch her go through that, knowing how much pain she was in and how much I wish I could’ve taken it all away, but I couldn’t. There was nothing I could’ve done to help her except hold and love her as much as I could. She kept fighting and trying to stay strong, but it seemed the disease took her from me no matter how hard we both fought it. We did get to see another snowfall together. As she watched from our bedroom window, I made a snowman for us like the ones we used to make together. I had a feeling that would be the last time we would both be present for the yearly tradition of building the snowman. Too many memories would tear me apart with that scenario to continue
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“Austin,” Emery yelled once more at her boyfriend, who was always taking forever to get ready. “I have a long drive and you, dear, have to be at work in thirty minutes.” After graduation from nursing, they both passed the mandated state board exam to get their nursing license and landed jobs at a children’s hospital near Lake Erie.“I’m coming.” Austin bounded down the steps of their townhouse and kissed Emery when he reached the bottom. He grew to love her more and more with each passing day and couldn’t wait until the next year when she said they could finally become legally wed. “So,” he wrapped her in a tight hug, “you’ll be careful driving to your doctor’s appointment and promise to tell me everything as soon as you get back, right?”Emery kissed him once more before stepping out of his embrace. “I will, sir.” She saluted him.“I just want to know eve
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Emery didn’t know what to say. They’d talked about this a few times before, but as of lately it hadn’t been mentioned at all. She’d told him last year that she would never get married to leave her husband all alone if cancer ever came back and overtook her. But now that she felt better than ever, she was having a change of mind. “I don’t know what to say.” After a minute delay of him asking and still being on one knee, Emery finally gave him an answer.“I’d like for you to say yes, but that decision isn’t up to me.” Austin stood upright and kept the ring in his hand.“I thought we had talked about this before. You know my reason why. It’s not that I don’t love you and want to spend the rest of my life with you, but I can’t promise you forever.” Emery knew she was only supposed to cry at a time like this out of happiness, and she was happy, but also so confused and upset.
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Emery heard the lock on the door being undone. She quickly covered her and Austin up even more with the additional blanket at the bottom of the bed. A girl stumbled in and relocked the door. She looked as though she’d had a few too many of whatever alcoholic drinks she’d been drinking. With her blonde curls bouncing along, she tried to quietly stumble to her bed. She glanced over at Emery’s side of the room and her eyes went wide when she saw eyes looking back at her.“Hey, sorry if I woke you. I’m Kristy” Emery’s roommate turned on her own lamp. She pointed and squealed when she noticed Austin beside Emery. “You already brought one back. I’m glad to see we’re alike in that way. I was so afraid that I was going to get stuck with some roommate who didn’t like to party and all they ever did was study and be like the biggest nerd on campus.” Kristy’s mouth kept running more than Emery wanted to hear at
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“Do you have everything?” Emery’s mom was helping her carry down some of the stuff that she needed to take to the dormitory. The past three weeks since graduation had passed in a blur. Mrs. Warden was trying hard to control her emotions, but this was the first time her daughter would be away from home for a prolonged time.Emery looked around her room and the suitcases she’d packed. “Yep, I think so.” The main things she would need in her dorm room were already there. The bed, dresser, and desk had all been provided. She just had to bring her own things to put on or in them. Emery noted that her mom had tears in her eyes and was trying hard not to cry. “I’ll miss you too.” She pulled her mom into a hug as they both wept about her leaving.“I guess we better get going.” Mrs. Warden finally let go of Emery after they had their big cry fest. Both their eyes, nose, and cheeks were now red. She grabbed a tiss
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Two days later Austin found out he’d passed his history course with almost a B. He contributed that success to all of Emery’s help with studying. He took her out to dinner for a celebration and also learned that she’d gotten her letter of acceptance into Case Western. Their plans were moving right along and each was excited to get started on the next part of their life and relationship.“Guess this is it.” Austin stood with Emery in their caps and gowns in the designated part of the stadium. It was graduation night and it was going to be a long process with over nine hundred kids in their class. His last name was in the middle and hers was at the end of the alphabet so they had a good while to wait. “Are you happy that you decided to wait this all out?”Emery nodded yes. She was going to just get her diploma in December, but once she and Austin got serious she went ahead with the normal graduation. “Just ner
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“I can’t believe we graduate next week.” Emery tossed her backpack on the floor and sat down in the chair next to Austin.The library was buzzing with seniors as they all tried to get in some last-minute studying before the last exams the next day. Prom had been the week before and the excitement from that had finally dwindled down. Austin had been nominated Prom King and Apryl had been elected as his Queen. Of course, they had to do their couple’s dance together, but Austin made it comical as he held her at a twelve-inch distance away from him at all times. When the song had finally ended he dropped her like a hot potato and went back to Emery’s side.The couple along with Laney and Brandon went to an after-prom party together, but neither couple stayed out until the wee hours. They’d broken the news to their two friends about leaving in June. They seemed genuinely upset, but then announced they were also going to coll
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“Do we really have to go back?” Emery knew she sounded whiny, but they were almost back home and she really didn’t want to go back to their normal life and routine.Austin laughed and pulled her closer to his side. “We have to now, but just think we can leave all of this in another two and half months.” He had to start football camp at Case Western at the end of June. Although it was a long shot, he hoped Emery would be accepted and be ready to go by then.“That’s if I get into school and if my parents don’t throw too much of a fit knowing I’ll be that far away.” She laid her head on Austin’s shoulder and continued to watch the towns fly by.“School isn’t going to be the issue, telling our parents what we’ve decided to do is the problem.” He knew both his mom and dad would probably be disappointed in what he’d chosen, but it was time for Austin to ta
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The bed squeaked as they both collapsed onto it. Austin regained his breath, then rolled off of Emery’s back. She was flattened out, with her arms spread wide and her face buried into the mattress. “Are you okay?” He hoped he hadn’t hurt her. How would he explain that to her parents?Emery gathered enough strength to roll herself over. Austin was laying there in all his naked wonderment, looking at her as if he was sorry for what had happened. “That was awesome.” She slowly crawled up and lay down beside him. Austin pulled the blanket that had fallen to the floor over the both of them. He wrapped her in his arms and pulled her as close as he could.“I love you.” Austin kissed the girl who had stolen his heart on the cheek. She made him feel things that no one else had ever done before. Emery had become his life and he couldn’t imagine a day going by that she wasn’t part of it.Instead of repeating the s
