Golden Box Book Publishing GBBPub February Magazine | Page 30

better, but the doctors told me that the cancer is stage four and she
doesn’t have much time left. She… she refuses treatment.”
Both Luca and Elana gasped simultaneously. “What?! Why?
Doesn’t she want to get better?”
Mr. Whelk gripped their hands a little tighter, speaking soft and
slow to calm them. “Kids, she’s old. The treatment would be intense,
and Mrs. Whelk doesn’t want to go through the agony that goes with it.
It’s hard to accept. Trust me, I know. I want her here more than
anything. But, it’s her choice, kids.” Lips trembling as he coped with
the circumstances, Mr. Whelk swallowed his sadness and added,
“There’s… one last thing that I know she would want. More than
anything.”
“What is it?” both kids asked, willing to put their own lives on the
line to save the kind old woman who had loved them in ways neither of
their mothers had a chance to. “We’ll do anything.”
***
Two weeks later, on Christmas day, Mr. Whelk packed up the
station wagon with a wheelchair, oxygen tank, and blankets. They
helped the frail old woman into the back of the car and headed into the
city. For hours, the elderly couple held each other tight, watching Elana
and Luca ice-skate in the gigantic rink at Rockefeller Center. This place
was very special to them; it was the very place where their relationship
began over fifty years ago to the day.
“I wanted to see them happy one more time,” Mrs. Whelk whispered
to her husband. “Promise me you will take care of them when I’m
gone.”
“I promise,” the old man sobbed, holding his wife’s hand. “I’ll do
my best, promise.” He bent down to adjust the blankets on his wife’s
lap to hide his tears.