Chapter Six:

 

                It was two in the afternoon on a hot July day. Chance looked at thermostat. It said that the temperature outside was ninety seven degrees. That meant it was too damn hot to be outside. What would they do today? It was hot as a country day in hell. How would they stay cool today?

       “We are all hot,” Said Bobbie in an innocent voice.

       Chance looked at Bobbie and smiled at him. Chance thought he was just about the cutest little thing in the world. He was, he had blond curly hair, baby blue eyes, and a cute baby voice.

       “Your hot is that so?” Chance asked smiling. He had the mysterious smile that he always had when he had a good idea.

       “Yes very Mister Chance” said Tommy.

They called Chance mister because, it was proper. He would rather it not but, since Sam wanted them to use their manners she insisted.

       “Well wanna know what my mamma used to do on a hot country day like this used to keep me cool?”

“Yeah,” both Bobbie and Tommy exclaimed.

       “Well she used to put the hose on and, we would get wet and, spray each other with it. Never been so cool in a summer in my life,” Chance said with emphasis.

       This was all they needed and, they were sold like that. They all got their bathing suits on, including Chance and went out into the back yard.

       They had so much fun, and the kids were all so happy. It being ninety outside it saved their lived. They had water balloon fights, and even mud fight.

       All of them where doing this, as a family. They had not a care in the world.

       Sam had never been so happy, not happier than she had been the past couple of days. The kids had never been this happy with their father. Chance was like a second father to the kids it seemed to her that Chance had love for the children.

       The children where growing on him, he cooked for them. He got them up and, played with them every day. Since Sam was receiving treatment for her Leukemia she couldn’t be there every day.

       Chance was sitting with the kids in the television room. She had a rather sad look on her face. It was a look that Chance has never seen on her face. It was a look that he never has seen on anyone’s face, ever!

       “What’s wrong mom?” Ali asked

       “Nothing, nothing at all is wrong darling.” Sam said to her fifteen year old daughter. Sam couldn’t fathom how much Ali resembled her.

       Sam had lied to Ali, something was bothering Sam, something that she hadn’t told her children. She didn’t have the heart to tell them. She was scared for her children. When she died what would happen to them? What would become of her life, pride, and joy?

       “Mom,” Ali called out.

       But Sam couldn’t hear her. Sam couldn’t hear anything, she had  fainted unconscious, she fell to the floor.

       Ali panicked, “Chance, Chance mom. Something’s happened to mom. CHANCE,” Ali screamed in a frenzy. She didn’t know what else to do.

       A moment later Chance and, the two boys ran into the living room.  

       “What happened, what’s wrong.” Chance frantically shouted. He looked on the floor in which Sam was lying.

“I don’t know, um one second she was okay and, then she fainted.” Ali screamed. Chance could see it in her eyes, the fear, the agony seeing Sam lying on the floor like she was.

       “Ali go to the kitchen phone, and on the ice box there is a number, call Doctor Tom and, tell him we have had and accident and for him to come as soon as possible.” Chance orderered.

       Ali stood for a second, frozen.

       “Hurry!”

       “Bobbie go get an ice pack.” Chance said.

       “Tommy help me get your mother on the couch.” Chance said. They both lifted Sam’s body to the couch. Chance could feel Sam’s heart was still beating, this was a good sign, it meant that she was okay.

      

       It was about twenty minutes before the doctor got to Chance’s country home. The cause of Sam’s fainting was a mixture of a cancer flare up, and medications being mixed together.

       After the doctor got to Chance’s house, he called fir an ambulance to take Sam to the local hospital.

       Sam woke up an hour later in a hospital bed. She was confused, she had no idea what had happened. The last thing she remembers is standing in the hall way talking to Ali.

       “Where am I?” Sam asked looking toward Sam, who was surprised that she was waking up.

       “You’re in the hospital, you had a flare up but, you’re going to be okay.” Chance said leaning over Sam’s bed to give her a warm hug.

       Sam thought for a second, trying to process everything in her mind. She can’t fathom in her mind what was happening, that she was in the hospital.

       “Where are my kids?” Asked Sam.

       “Their okay, they are with their father.”

       “Tommy’s here?” Sam said shocked. She was flabbergasted that he came out to be with her kids. Tommy was not the type of man that didn’t go out of his way for anyone other than himself. Something suddenly ran through her mind, did the children know?

       “Do the children know? About the leukemia I mean.”

       “Yes they do now.” Chance said. “I’m surprised that they didn’t know that before. Don’t you think that they have a right to know, Sam?”

       Sam thought for a long second of an explanation why. Why had she not told the most important things in her life that she was dying.

“Well, I haven’t found the right way to tell them. I don’t want to scare them.” Sam said.

       “Well passing out in front of Ali was the perfect way of telling them.”

       “Hey I am doing the best I can. I’m not perfect, kill me for it.” Sam shouted.

       “I’m not saying that, it’s wrong to hide it from them for so long.” Chance shouted back.

       “Goddamn, you act like your so perfect. Oh you never loose your temper.” Sam shouted to Chance.

       “I never have claim that I’m perfect. I am just trying to help you because I love you!”

       “Okay I don’t think this is going to work, Chance.”

       “What do you mean, you don’t think it’s going to work?” Chance said in desperation.

“Us Chance, I don’t think we are going to work out.” Sam replied.

       “What why? Were just having a little disagreement.” Chance said.

       “It’s not just this,” Sam said. “It’s this whole situation, me having cancer, dying, having three children. It isn’t going to work” Sam said with sorrow.

       “No Sam please, I have waited so long for you. I can’t loose you, not now, not this time.” Chance said to the point of tears.

       “Chance, I have thought long and hard about this. I have made up my mind I’m going back home. I will always love you” Sam said looking away from Chance ashamed tom look in his eyes. “What we have will always be special. I will always hold those memories close but, this is not right, not for us.”

       Chance just stood there for a moment, not saying anything. Frozen and, silent, just silence complete and utter silence.

       “So is this non sense over with yet?” A voice from a far said. Sam knew exactly who it was. It was her worst enemy- her mother.

       “I beg your pardon?” Sam asked looking to the left where her mother was entering the room.

       “This charade your putting on, Samantha? You’re not seriously thinking about marrying him are you Samantha?” Sam’s mother said sarcastically. “Not that I don’t like you Chance” her mother said looking at Chance. “I have always been fond of you don’t get me wrong but, you come from two different worlds.”

       “Mother you have always meddled in my life. For your information you old hag I am not breaking this off because I want to, because I have to.” Sam said this and, her mother’s eyes got big as if she just committed murder.

       Sam’s mother reached into her bag and pulled out a stack of paper. “I kept these Samantha there all the letters that Chance wrote to you. I did this to protect you. You have to believe me I did. You two where in love but, this is not how the world works. Loving someone is not enough.” Sam’s mother said, giving her the stack of the letters. Sam’s mother turned around and exited the room.

       Sam looked to Chance and said “I want you to have these” she handed him a shoe box. “They are all the letters that I wrote to you and, I never sent off. I think you deserve to have them.”

       Sam stood up, a bit wobbly and, weak in her knees. She wrapped her arms around Chance’s strong shoulder’s and, leaned up and put her lips on his. This feeling was a familiar feeling. Like their first kiss, in the July heat. Their first kiss that they shared that made them both feel warm inside.

       It was the last kiss that they had ever shared together, and that was the last time that they saw each other. A love lost a final kiss, and two hearts broken……. Forever.