How Do I Love Thee by Lurlene McDaniel Page A

Steve.”
    “Is that hard for you?”
    “Not really. Believe it or not, this is as close as this family's been in years,” Bobby confessed. “We've circled the wagons around Steve to protect him, and I feel like part of a team.” He gave a mirthless laugh. “Doesn't seem right that my brother has to be dyingbefore I become a member of the family, does it? “
    Bobby remained out of school, and at midweek, Steve's coach flew in from Florida, which also made the news. The coach held a brief news conference at which he expressed his deepest regret and asked the media to back off and give Steve and his family some space. He also revealed that Steve had decided not to return to FSU and that he would be sorely missed by the team and the university, Dana was frantic to see Steve, but she knew she couldn't rush over to the house as soon as he came home from the hospital. She bided her time. Her opportunity came one sunny October afternoon a week later. Steve's parents were at work, and Bobby, who had returned to school, was staying late because he was on the team chosen for the annual high school Brain Bowl battle. The contest would happen in March, and the physics teacher wanted Jackson High to make a good showing, so he held practice rounds after school twice a week.
    Dana drove to the house, parked in the driveway, and rang the doorbell. No one answered. She screwed up her courage and wentaround to the backyard. Steve was sitting on the patio, staring into the cool depths of the pool. She took a deep breath to calm herself and opened the gate. As she came toward the patio, her footsteps crunched over the fallen leaves.
    Steve looked up; his tortured expression softened. Shaking with emotion, she walked toward him, stopped in front of his chair, and dropped to her knees. Dana took hold of his hands and kissed them. Wordlessly, he reached out to cradle her cheek in his palm.
    She closed her eyes as he laced his fingers through hers. She felt the warmth of the sun on her back, the familiar touch of his hand on her skin, and for a moment, time stood still. She longed to stop the world from spinning, longed to hold autumn captive, push away tomorrow, and live forever in this slice of time. She could not. She could not hold on to him, and she could not let go. Gently, tenderly, she laid her cheek against his lap and wept.

Seven

    teve pulled her up onto his lap, held her close, and rested his head against the hollow of her throat. “I knew you'd come.”
    “As soon as I could,” she told him. “I've been going crazy.”
    “Don't cry.” Steve brushed tears from her cheek. “Not for me.”
    “Then who else? Myself?” She nestled in his arms. “Talk to me. Tell me your doctors are doing something—anything to help you.”
    “I'm starting radiation treatments, which are supposed to shrink the tumor, but my type of tumor grows fast and is almost impossible totreat. Plus the MRI shows that the cancer's already spreading to other areas of my brain.”
    “How about chemotherapy?”
    “It wouldn't help with my case.”
    His doctors had robbed him of hope, and that made her angry. “What about the headaches?”
    “I have a potent painkiller for when they get really bad.”
    “Tell me what to expect, Steve. Please. Tell me everything.”
    “They expect me to go blind.”
    She shuddered in his arms.
    “After a while, I won't be able to stand up or keep my balance. I'll start forgetting things, like how to feed myself, how to breathe. Eventually, I'll go into a coma and die. Which sounds better to me than being some kind of human vegetable.”
    “Oh, Steve …. it's all so cruel.” Her voice caught. She couldn't imagine his muscular body wasted away and bedridden. She couldn't accept that his smile would no longer light his face.
    “I'm glad they've been honest with me. I'm glad they didn't lie and give me false hope.That would have been worse for me. It's like a game plan in football,” he said. “Once you know the