Taking Conleigh’s hand in mine, I placed a kiss on her set of rings.
Thankfully, that next morning had been a good morning for her. However, she was worried about Collins’s latest scans. We had to have them every month and then after a year that would transition to once a year and then after seven years, hopefully, she would be declared cancer-free.
I had just dropped Collins off at school while Conleigh worked on a new program. We needed a few things for the house and since I wasn’t needed anywhere, I went ahead and got that taken care of.
I fucking hated grocery shopping. I would pay someone to do it if I knew that whomever I paid wouldn’t be laying in my bed naked when I got home. Ask me how I know that? Yeah.
The last time I paid someone to get my groceries for me, they were laying naked on my bed. And that was all before Conleigh came into my life.
However, now I wasn’t complaining. Not when my eyes landed on three Nerf guns, oh this was going to be fun.
In fact, it was going to be so much fun, I was smiling wide when I loaded them up in my cart.
Just as I was approaching the checkout counters when my phone rang and after I answered it, had I not had my fist clenched on the handle of the cart, I would have taken my anger out on the wall to my right.
The tone from Conleigh’s voice had me thinking the worst. “What’s wrong, baby?”
“The doctor's office just called me with her latest scans. Can you go with me?” I could hear the tremble in her tone, and I knew in addition to that, she had tears in her eyes.
We talked about this. We knew this would be hard, so we tried to keep our minds from it.
And even though Collins had made a complete one-eighty after receiving the transplant, nothing was guaranteed.
Realizing that I have yet to answer her, I said, “Yeah, baby. Be home in ten.”
With that, I pocketed my phone, checked out, loaded up everything in the back of her SUV, and then headed home.
Twenty minutes later, with my girl's hands in mine, we walked into the doctor’s office.
The moment we sat down in the chairs, he pulled his tablet closer to him and smiled.
And if I wasn’t mistaken, this was the same smile he had given us when he told us that the bone marrow transplant had worked.
Noticing that, at the same time my eyes locked with Conleigh’s, and I could see the apprehension in those beautiful haunting eyes of hers, and at the same time, excitement.
“Well, I've got good news. Better news actually.”
Clearing my throat, I asked, “And that is?”
“Her white blood cell counts are normal.”
“That means?” Conleigh asked, hope flaring out of every pore from her body.
“Means according to these scans, she is as healthy as any normal seven-year-old child. I would like to do one more test in a month's time, and then every three months for a time. We don’t want to stop testing her too early that we miss something. So, this will give her some breathing room in a sense and it will still allow us to stay on top if something should arise.”
Neither of us had any words as we walked out of the hospital, hand in hand, and with a look, I nodded.
We were headed to check Collins out of school to celebrate.
And the elation I felt when Collins ran through the office and barreled to me when she told everyone in the office that I was her dad?
If you ever wonder how a seven-year-old girl can bring a grown man down to his knees. Well, that’s how.