The World of Myth Magazine

It is a good thing that I am working from home these days, thought Danny, I sure wouldn’t be much company in an office right now.

It is true; she would not be good company in an office or any other group of people just now, for. 32 year old Danielle (Danny) Smith was informed by her longtime boyfriend last night that he was moving on from her and the life she thought they had together.

Jack Spivey, or Jake as everyone called him, had been over to her apartment for dinner last night. Upon arrival, he was nervous, but after joining her on the small living room sofa, got immediately to the point. “Danny, I want to break our relationship off. I have to be truthful; the passion for me is just gone. I know this is a complete surprise, but I have been thinking of this for quite some time.”

It was as if she had been slapped hard in the face. Later, she would lament that her first thoughts were dinner is ready. Don’t you want to eat first? But, her reply was even more absurd, saying, “Huh? What?” Jake made no effort to continue. After a long awkward moment, he said, “I want to break up.” Pausing for a moment, he continued, “This is as hard on me as it is you.”

Only after he was gone, would she consider how unthoughtful this was. He shows up for dinner and doesn’t want to eat; he tells me that this is just as hard on him as it is me. But, in the right now, he finished without further explanation, saying, “I’m sorry. I should have indicated to you in some way that I was thinking of this, but how do you tell someone that you are thinking about ending a relationship?”

“Well, you could have started by telling me what you are unhappy about.”

“Yeah, I know. Look, I’m sorry, but I can’t stay and there is nothing more to say.” He picked up the small package he had brought with him and handed it to her. Inside of it was a single red rose. Before she could react, he reached over and kissed her, saying, “I have to go. I hope you will be OK.”

And then, he was out the door and gone.

So Danny had a restless night of little sleep. Thankfully, work on this Friday morning was light and, around mid-morning, decided to call her gal pal, Barbara Rhodes, or Bab, as her friends called her. Bab worked from home, too, but was taking some time off this week.

“Bab, its Danny,” Bluntly, she added, “Jake has left me.”

Bab was as shocked as Danny was the night before, but managed to control her surprise, saying, “My gosh, that was unexpected! What happened?”

Danny started to go blank, as she had the night before, but caught herself and replied, “He just left me, said that he was tired of the relationship and apologized. He was only here about ten minutes.” She added, bitterly, “How nice of him to let me know before I cooked a special dinner for us.”

Bab had suspected something was a bit off with Jake when she saw him with Danny a few days ago, but for the sake of their friendship had not said anything to her friend, and she hesitated to now. She asked, “So, how are you this morning?”

“Still in shock, as you might guess.”

“Are you working today?

Yeah, but there’s not much going on.”

“Well . . . see if you can be excused this afternoon and let’s have lunch.”

The invite seemed to improve Danny’s spirits and she eagerly agreed. “That sounds like a life saver. How about Fast Eddie’s for lunch at noon? You can treat me to a margarita.”

“Sounds like a plan, see you there.”

On the other side of town, at this moment Jake was walking into a clinic for an appointment with his oncologist.

Jake would soon be told something he already knew. Sitting in Dr. Wentworth’s small but nicely decorated office, the doctor did not mince words. “Jake, like we have previously discussed, you have inoperable cancer. Things do not look good for you. But, there is a chance that chemotherapy will help you, but the odds are about one in four.”

Jake was not expecting the chemotherapy option. He said to the doctor, “Tell me more.”

“With your type of cancer, treatment will be off and on for about a year, providing we see that it is working. We can control the side effects, but we cannot do anything about the severe fatigue you will experience. There will be days that you will barely be able to get out of bed.” Before Jake could reply, he asked, “Do you have somebody who can help you through this?”

“Yes, my mother. I hoped this would be an option, so I have already spoken with her.”

The doctor nodded and asked, “So, you are good with trying the chemo plan?”

Without hesitation, the answer was, “Yes.”

At lunch, Bab treaded her friend’s emotional waters carefully. She knew the shock of the unexpected breakup was not yet 24 hours old. Bab and Danny wisely waited until halfway through the margaritas before addressing the issue. Finally, Danny blurted out, “He just walked in, basically just said goodbye, and was out the door.” A tear was already forming in her eye when she added, “I think I should have meant more to him than that.”

Bab patted her hand and answered, “I think so, too.”

“There really isn’t much more to say. He was uncomfortable and apologetic in his way, but this is the man I was expecting a marriage proposal from. I just don’t get it.”

Bab ordered two more drinks. “I think we had better stop at two, and then have some lunch.” Danny agreed, and then Bab added, “Did you see this coming at all? Anything out of the ordinary with him lately?”

“He’s seemed a bit distracted. I wonder if he met someone else.” Danny was becoming distraught, so they quit talking for a few minutes and ordered a light lunch. After a few minutes, Danny told Bab, “We don’t have any mutual friends. We met at a fundraiser at work; he’s in another department where I do not know anybody. There is nobody I can call to see if they know anything about what is going on with him out of my eyesight.” Wiping back tears, she flashed a bit of anger and said, “I just don’t believe this!”

Bab wisely wound down the conversation about Jake, and both women just picked at their salads. As they ate in awkward silence, Bab considered what, if anything, she could do for her friend. Before finishing their meal, she formulated a plan. She paid for lunch and, as they rose from the table to leave, she was feeling a little bit better, for she had decided there was something she could do, and Bab thrived on action. But, she hid this from her unhappy friend, for she did not know where her plan would lead her, if it led anywhere at all, or what she would do if it did.

At home, Danny felt worse than she had before meeting her friend for lunch. The tears flowed until she fell asleep into a restless nap. But, upon awakening, she felt better. She not only had almost a full day to absorb the shock of what she felt was Jake’s betrayal, but the lunch visit with her best friend had given her strength. For the first time since yesterday evening, she was able to think clearly.

That is not to say she was no longer emotional. Over a post nap cup of coffee, she thought, I can think straight, but I am still mad. I don’t think I will ever see him again, but what if I do? What will I say to him? Will he want to speak to me? I am hurt, mad, upset. But, I will get through this. I just would like for him to explain why he treated me this way. But, she had no confidence this would happen. Soon, she was crying again, but it would pass.

Jake walked out of Dr. Wentworth’s office as low as he had ever been. The dreaded cancer had a 75% chance of taking his life in a year or so, and he had voluntarily given up the love of his life. Jake performed a self-check before starting his car and asked himself, am I calm enough to drive? The answer to the question was yes, so he backed out of the parking spot and headed to the exit. Still, he would have to be careful, because his mind tended to race when he was emotional, and he had never experienced emotion like this before.

Although he was the same age as Danny, Jake was currently living at home with his mother. Jake had recently been scammed by an unscrupulous real estate agent and his finances had taken a hit, so to build his savings back up, his mother invited him to live back at home temporarily. As Jake’s father had passed suddenly of a heart attack a couple of years ago, she was pleased to have him around, at least for a while.

At home, Jake went over the doctor’s visit in detail with his mother. He had explained his health situation, as he knew it then, to his mother a few days ago, pulling no punches, and now he had the chemotherapy option. But, a mother’s love is stronger than anything else and Mrs. Spivey was up for whatever may pass. Jake thought, and to think I was planning on that house being a rental someday after Danny and I were married, but now I will probably be back with Mom for the rest of my life. Jake said to his mother, “I promised myself that I would not ruin Danny’s life with my medical problems.” It is why he did not mention to her the cancer, which he had only found out about a couple of weeks ago after his last blood test. At least, he thought, I made the right decision on that. I will not marry this wonderful woman just to have her nurse me for the year, maybe two, we would be married. I will not burden her with this, in any way.

Jake excused himself and went to his room to be alone for a while. He, as Danny across town in her now lonely apartment, could no longer fight back the tears.

Bab’s plan to help her friend was simple, but not everyone would possess her skill in executing it. The plan was to do online searches into Jake’s background. What made Bab uniquely qualified for this was her skill in computerized networking. Bab was a pro, one of the best, and earned a pretty good income in solving her employer’s problems with it as a senior member of the IT team.

Bab didn’t waste any time, she began her search shortly after arriving home from lunch with Danny. For the remainder of the day, she used all of her skill and experience in seeking out and finding everything there was to find on Jack Spivey. In the middle of her advanced searches – full background checks on Jake and Danny, (Bab felt a bit guilty in snooping on her friend, but it was for a good cause, to assist Danny in a positive way), utilizing search sites most people were not aware of, much less able to gain access to. Bab recalled her friend making an off-hand comment she almost missed, that Jack had moved back in with his widowed mother temporarily because of a financial reversal. That sounded an alarm in her head, so she decided she would speak with Mrs. Spivey very soon.

Bab found the scam real estate deal. Sipping coffee, her mind was at work. This explains his moving back in with his mother, but is it enough to break up with the woman you love? Bab doubted it, and she knew Jake loved her very much. Something just did not fit. She also found a few traffic tickets, most them from years past, a disorderly conduct citation from law enforcement back in his college days, a civic award from a local service club a couple of years ago, and that his credit rating remained good even with the hit it took during the bad real estate deal. Something just doesn’t make sense, and I’m tired of saying this to myself, thought a mildly frustrated Bab.

But, she found some checks made out to a medical test lab and a doctor’s clinic. Digging deeper, she saw some medical charges assessed to him by a local health care provider. Bab began to get a picture of what was going on. She did not want to think of it, but muttered to herself, I have to speak with Mrs. Spivey as quickly as possible. I hope she will see me.

Wasting no time, she called Mrs. Spivey. She was nervous, as she was very aware she was butting into business which she had no right to. But, for Danny, she would do anything. She gulped hard as her call was answered with female voice and a familiar, “Hello.”

“Mrs. Spivey?”

“Yes.”

“I am Barbara Rhodes, a friend of Danny Smith. I am hoping we can visit about something which includes your son.” Bab feared Mrs. Spivey would get defensive and, possibly, angry, but was very surprised when she very cordially asked, “What do you wish to speak about?”

For once, Bab was caught off guard. Awkwardly, she answered, “Well . . . I think something is wrong between Jake and Danny. I know, it’s none of my business, except Danny is my best friend and I think something is . . . well, just doesn’t fit.” Stepping out on a far limb, she asked, “I’m wondering if we could speak in person?”

Bab was surprised for the second time in just a few moments when Mrs. Spivey said, “I, too, share a concern. Would you like to come to my house? We can have a private discussion.” Although Jake had not shared his decision to break up with Danny with her, she suspected he had said or done something to cool the relationship. Mrs. Spivey knew he loved Danny, and also knew he was capable of doing something very rash, given the emotional state he was in.

A bit more composed now, Bab said, “I would love that, Mrs. Spivey, and I really appreciate the invite. When is a good time?”

Mrs. Spivey, as concerned as Bab, calmly replied, “Call me Ruth, and how about right now? Jake has been staying with me and he went out a few minutes ago, said he would be home later this evening. So, come now. I think we both know time is important.”

Quite a day this has been, Bab thought, as she waited for Ruth Spivey to answer the doorbell. She soon arrived and invited Bab in. She immediately sensed Jake’s mother to be a warm and kind-hearted woman. Odd, I barely know her, yet I feel like I’ve known her a long time. Standing in the formal living room, Ruth asked, “It’s getting late on. Would you like a sandwich?” Smiling, she added, “nothing fancy here.”

Over sandwiches and iced tea in the parlor, the ladies got right to the point. Bab began, “Jake broke up with Danny yesterday. It was totally unexpected and Danny is heartbroken. I know it is also very much out of character for Jake to handle something this sensitive in this way. Do you know anything about this? Please believe, I’m not being accusatory, but I feel something is going on we’re not aware of.” After a short pause, she added, “Danny is like a sister to me. We have been best friends for a long time.”

Ruth took a moment to respond, and then she said, “No I didn’t know, but I’m not surprised. Yes, there is something going on, and I appreciate your hesitation to believe the worst. Truth is, Jake has been diagnosed with cancer. He will start chemotherapy soon, and he was told he may have a year to live if it does not work, and there is a 75% chance it will not.”

Bab was shocked, but not really surprised. Still, to hear it out loud was unnerving. She said to Ruth, “Well, I’m stunned but not surprised. Have you known about this for long, Mrs. Spivey?

“Call me Ruth.”

Smiling, Bab answered, “Yes, I forgot, and please call me Bab.”

“Jake told me just a little while Ago, Bab.” Pausing to think, she added, “I think . . . Danny needs to be told. And I also thing I need to have another chat with Jake.”

The ladies shared with each the few more details they knew. They agreed to stay in touch. Ruth would speak to Jake, and Bab would talk to Danny. The goal was to get Jake to realize that not opening up to Danny was wrong, that he could not leave her hanging like this. Finally, Ruth said, “You had better go. Jake may come home early.”

At the door, Bab said, “Thanks, so much for inviting me over. I will call you soon.”

Ruth smiled and simply answered, “Thanks for coming. I think we can help in getting this straightened out.”

Bab, after a stressful but productive afternoon and evening, felt much better while driving home.

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