The Reunion

“How long do you have, Dad?” asked Matt looking a bit uncomfortable.

The statement took the older man by surprise. He hesitated. Julie looked confused, then frightened, then hurt. She obviously hadn’t known, but the looks on the faces of his two sons told him that they both knew.

“Two weeks to a month,” he answered Matt’s question.

“Daddy, what’s Matt talking about?” asked Julie. “I don’t understand. What does he mean how long do you have?”

Ray felt heartbroken watching the fear in his daughter’s eyes. He didn’t consider himself a coward, but this was a meeting he hoped he would never have. He watched his daughter’s face as the realization of what they were talking about sunk in. Tears started down her face. She stood and raised her hand to hit her older brother. Jon moved quickly between the two and took the slap intended for Matt.

“You bastard,” she said trying to reach around Jon to get at Matt. “How dare you! How dare you not tell me! You son-of-a-…”

Julie buried her head in Jon’s shoulder and began to weep. Jon gently stroked his sister’s hair. “Don’t blame Matt, Jules. We both found out by accident and were told not to tell anyone. We wanted to, but also knew Dad wanted to tell us all together.”