For You, Forever

by Sophie Love

  “Dad!” Emily exclaimed. “You didn’t have to go to all this trouble.”

  “It’s no trouble,” Roy replied. “It gives me great joy to treat you all. So please, let’s sit and eat.”

  They took all of the food outside onto the patio. Since it was so early the heat of the sun hadn’t reached its full force, and they were quite comfortable. They tucked into the copious amounts of food on offer. Emily found herself suddenly ravenous.

  “Do you have a boat in Greece, Papa Roy?” Chantelle asked.

  “I don’t actually,” he replied. “I’m not here often enough to warrant the cost. But I do go boating quite frequently with a good friend of mine, Vladi. Why? Did you want to go sailing today?”

  Chantelle grinned and nodded. “Yes please!”

  “Then we must,” Roy said. “I’ll give Vladi a call after breakfast. He’ll come and pick us up.”

  Sure enough, once breakfast was over and everyone was dressed and ready for the day, the family had only to stroll five minutes down the cliff path to the shoreline before they were picked up by Vladi—a golden-skinned, weather-beaten, mustached man in a flat cap—and his gorgeous yacht. Daniel seemed enamored by the boat from the get-go.

  “Where are we heading?” Vladi asked as he helped them climb aboard.

  “Somewhere Chantelle can swim,” Roy said. “Then we’ll stop at a taverna for lunch. See some beaches and explore some caves. And we should also check out the fort from the ocean.”

  “Sounds fantastic,” Emily gushed. She couldn’t think of a better way to relax and unwind.

  Vladi set sail through the crystal clear water. The boat was clean and comfortably fit all of them aboard. They had a great view of the beautiful coastline from here, which gave them access to hidden beaches that would be unseen from the roads.

  “There is a protected cove up here,” Vladi explained. “Perhaps Chantelle would like to swim there?”

  Chantelle nodded with excitement.

  Vladi took them to the completely empty beach and cove.

  “Anyone want a dip?” Daniel asked.

  “I think I’ll stay dry today,” Emily said. She handed Daniel sunscreen from her purse. “It’s going to be super hot soon so make sure she’s covered.”

  Chantelle changed into her swimsuit, then Daniel helped her climb down the ladder of the yacht into the ocean. Emily watched them, her heart swelling with love as they splashed about in the clear water.

  Roy and Vladi took out a chess set and began to play, and Emily smiled contentedly to herself, glad that her father wasn’t alone in Greece, that he had friends around him. She hated the idea of something happening to him and no one being there to help him. Relaxed by the gentle motion of the boat, and full from her huge breakfast, Emily found herself growing sleepy. She pulled her sun hat over her face and fell into a doze.

  After an hour or so napping, she was awoken by the sound of Chantelle and Daniel climbing back on board.

  “How was your swim?” she asked, stretching and yawning.

  “Amazing,” Chantelle said. “You could see all the way down. There were fishes and corals and everything. I’m hungry now though.”

  “I’m not surprised,” Emily said. “You’ve been up since five a.m. and swimming for at least an hour straight!”

  She herself wasn’t even anywhere close to digesting her breakfast, but the food she’d eaten thus far was so amazingly tasty she could certainly force herself to have another meal.

  Vladi sailed them to the waterfront taverna, a wooden structure with its own jetty. He tied the yacht up and gestured them all inside.

  Clearly, Roy and Vladi were friends with the owners of the restaurant. Vladi spoke to them in Greek, his voice loud and jovial. Roy, who didn’t speak the language as far as Emily was aware, still seemed on good terms with the owner, and they embraced. Then he introduced his family in simple, broken English. “Daughter, son-in-law, granddaughter.” He patted Emily’s stomach. “Another granddaughter!”

  Everyone laughed.

  They were shown to a table, which seemed to be made of the same wood as the jetty. It was covered in a bright tablecloth and was positioned right up beside the ocean, so close that waves occasionally lapped up over the side. It was a beautiful little place, and the view was stunning.

  They didn’t need to order, because the taverna owner brought out plate after plate of traditional Mediterranean home-cooked food—Greek salad, feta, chicken, cheese, pasta, bread, and watermelon. It was all very healthy and super fresh.

  Chantelle seemed to have the biggest appetite of them all. She devoured everything that was put in front of her.

  “Remember when we were in England and you couldn’t eat anything?” she asked Emily.

  Emily smiled at the memory. “It was only white food for months at the beginning.”

  But her smile faded quickly at the sight of her father picking at his food. Her nausea had been temporary, and a minor inconvenience really in the grand scheme of things. For Roy, it was affecting his quality of life. The chances of it being temporary were very slim. She felt terrible for him, losing one of his great passions. No wonder there was so much jam in his kitchen. He must have lost the taste for it.

  As the last treat at the taverna, Roy surprised them with a prearranged birthday cake for Chantelle. The owner began to sing “Happy Birthday” and everyone joined in.

  Chantelle blushed, but she was also secretly loving being the center of attention.

  “I had three birthdays this year,” she joked. “One early, one on time, and one late.”

  They all tucked into the traditional Greek honey cake.

  “This is amazing,” Chantelle mumbled through her mouthful.

  Everyone laughed.

  Once lunch was over, they all climbed back on board the yacht. Emily marveled at the way she never grew tired of being out in the ocean. It was the most relaxing place to her in the world. To think they’d be spending much more time at sea in their own town now they had the island pleased her immensely.

  “I know a very good place to watch the sunset,” Vladi said. “Shall we head there? Then I will drop you home and you can have your dinner together without me interrupting.”

  “Oh, please,” Emily admonished him, “you’ve been delightful company. Hardly an intruder.”

  Vladi seemed shyly pleased with the comment. He sailed them out further into the ocean, so far that the coastline was no longer visible. It meant that every which way they looked, all they could see was water and the cliff tops poking up through it. Emily held her breath with excited anticipation for what she knew would be a truly remarkable moment.

  She felt Chantelle’s arm around her waist and held the child tightly. Beside Chantelle, she had her hand slipped into Papa Roy’s. Emily reached out for Daniel, guiding him toward her so that their family circle was complete. Vladi stood a respectful distance behind, giving the family this moment together.

  As the sun began to dip in the sky ahead of them, Emily felt so blessed to have had the chance to create these memories with her father. Though their time was finite and running out fast, they’d still been able to experience beauty together. This burning orange sky, the warm Mediterranean breeze stirring the hairs on her neck; this was what she would remember when she thought of her father.

  Just then, Chantelle let out an exclamation, and Emily felt a tug on her side. She turned, startled, and saw that Roy had fallen to his knees, dragging Chantelle after him, who had in turn yanked Emily across the boat.

  “Dad?” Emily cried, disengaging herself from Chantelle and Daniel.

  Chantelle began to cry at the sight of her Papa Roy struggling. He crouched forward, seemingly unable to draw in enough breath.

  “Vladi, we need to get him to a hospital,” Emily said hurriedly.

  Vladi was on it immediately. He leapt into position and turned the boat around, cutting through the waves at full speed, heading toward the shore. Emily suddenly wished they hadn’t dec
ided to travel so far out.

  Chantelle wept bitterly, clutching Papa Roy’s hand as the boat bobbed them up and down uncomfortably. Daniel was fiddling with his cell phone.

  “I can’t get any damn reception!” he said, the stress audible in his voice. But finally he must have been able to connect, because Emily heard him talking to someone, asking for an ambulance to meet them on the shore.

  An ambulance. The thought was alarming, and the moment felt surreal and dreamlike to Emily. She watched her father in disbelief. Despite the knowledge she’d had for months that his life would soon end, it still took her completely by surprise to see him so vulnerable. It was one thing to know the end was coming, and quite another to watch it unfold in front of her eyes.

  “Hang on, Dad,” she said, holding his hand tightly. “I’m not ready to say goodbye yet. Hold on.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  The bright yellow ambulance was waiting for them on the coastline. Emily could see its flashing lights as they cut through the waves at speed. But every second felt like a minute. Every gasp of breath her father took sounded like it could be the last.

  Emily was still crouched on her knees beside Roy. The erratic motion of the yacht had caused ocean spray to come overboard, and her knees were drenched as she knelt in it. Daniel had Chantelle in his arms. The little girl wept, peeking through his arms at the sight of her beloved grandfather struggling for breath.

  Finally they were in spitting distance of the shore. Two paramedics stood waiting, wearing navy-colored jumpsuits and blue gloves; a woman with dark hair in a high ponytail and a man with a shaven head and large sunglasses. The sight was surreal to Emily, so different from what she was used to. She felt like she was in a strange dream land.

  Vladi took over the communication duties immediately, speaking in Greek to the two paramedics who, instead of taking Roy off the boat as Emily had anticipated, actually jumped on board with their gear to tend to him there.

  “Karkinos” was the only word Emily could pick out from what Vladi saying to them. Then another, “Termatiko.”

  Was he telling them about Roy’s terminal cancer? She hoped Chantelle wouldn’t be able to figure it out. Now was not the time for such terrible news to be broken to her.

  The paramedics checked Roy’s vitals, then slipped an oxygen mask over his face. They brought their bright red stretcher board down into the boat and spent some time maneuvering Roy onto it. Daniel attempted to help but because of Roy’s light body weight the two paramedics were perfectly able to handle it between them.

  Emily watched, her hand on her mouth, as he was removed from the boat and loaded into the back of the ambulance.

  “You go with them,” Vladi said to Emily, gripping the tops of her arm.

  “But I can’t speak to them,” she said, beginning to panic, feeling utterly useless and out of her depth. “What if they need to know something?”

  “He needs you,” Vladi assured her. “He needs his little girl at his side. I will drive your family to the hospital.”

  “Hospital,” Emily repeated, as if the thought that a hospital would be their final destination hadn’t yet dawned on her. “Okay. Yes. Of course.”

  Vladi gave her arms a little squeeze, then gently gave her a shove toward the open ambulance.

  “Chantelle,” Emily called as she put her foot on the steps at the back. The girl looked up from Daniel’s arms. Her face was red and tear-stained. She looked closer to five than eight all of a sudden.

  “Honey, I’m going with Papa Roy to the hospital,” Emily called. “I’ll see you there, okay? Be a good girl for Daddy.”

  She launched herself up the steep steps into the back of the ambulance. The paramedics were busy tending to Roy. The smell of antiseptic made Emily’s stomach swill with nausea.

  She watched them work, her hand gripping Roy’s. They spoke to one another in Greek, leaving Emily floundering, lost. It was the worst imaginable situation for her. They could be saying literally anything and she had no idea. Finally the female paramedic jumped out the back doors and slammed them behind them. A moment later, she climbed into the driver’s seat and started the engine. In an instant, the siren sounded out and they surged forward.

  Emily’s head spun as she sat in the jolting, rickety ambulance, speedy through the tiny streets. She had no idea where the nearest hospital was, nor how long it would take them to reach it. She had no idea what kind of a state Roy was in, whether he was close to death or whether he was stable now. She had no idea where her daughter was. Though she knew she was safe with Daniel it still felt wrong to not have her in sight while in a foreign country. Her mind was a mess of confusion.

  Her ability to keep track of the time was completely impeded by the state she was in. After what could have been anywhere between five minutes to an hour of driving down the bumpy streets, she felt the ambulance slow to a stop. Then the female paramedic was back at the open ambulance doors, a silhouette against bright floodlights.

  Roy was removed from the ambulance and Emily climbed out, following the paramedics as they wheeled him in through the main doors to a team of waiting doctors. A cacophony of rapid speaking followed, and Emily felt completely out of her depth, as though she’d been submerged in water.

  A doctor approached and took her arm. She was young, far too young to be a doctor, Emily thought.

  “You speak English?” the woman said in a soft accent.

  “Yes,” Emily said, nodding. It was the first time she’d been able to understand someone for what felt like hours. “Is he okay?”

  “Your father is having trouble breathing,” she explained gently. “It is a symptom of the advanced stage of cancer he is at.”

  It was the first time Emily had heard someone refer to his cancer as advanced, but of course it was painfully clear to her now that it was. His lack of appetite, his fatigue, these were all signs that he was getting closer to the end.

  “It may just be that we need to fit an oxygen tube, which is completely painless and just rests in his nose,” the doctor continued. “Or there could be some fluid that we’ll need to check for. We can prescribe medicine for that. Are you here with anyone else?”

  “My family was following behind the ambulance.”

  “Good,” the doctor said, giving Emily’s arm a gentle squeeze. “Why don’t you take a seat in the waiting room? I’ll let you know as soon as we’re ready for you to see him.”

  Emily nodded, feeling completely dazed. She wasn’t even sure how much of the doctor’s words she’d absorbed. Her mind had stopped functioning properly as soon as she’d said advanced stage of cancer. It didn’t matter how reassuring her tone had sounded after, or how simple she’d made it sound to fix her father’s symptoms, all she could think of was that term. Advanced stage.

  Somehow she found herself in the waiting room. It was a strange peach color with brown furniture. A claustrophobic combination in Emily’s mind.

  She’d just sat down when the door flew open. It was Daniel, Chantelle, and Vladi. The little girl flew into her arms.

  “How is he?” Daniel asked, his voice strained.

  Emily clutched hold of Chantelle so tightly she felt like she might break the child. “He’s struggling to breathe. They made it sound very… I don’t know, solvable? A breathing tube or medicine for fluid. I can’t remember now. It’s all a blur.”

  Daniel held her in his arms, his warm body offering her reassurance. She looked over and saw Vladi wipe a tear from his eye.

  “Thank you, Vladi, for everything you’ve done. My father needs good friends like you.”

  Vladi gave her a pained, but grateful smile.

  Finally, the door opened again and the doctor walked in. It was the same one who had spoken to Emily earlier.

  “Your father is waking up now,” she said. “We will be moving him onto the ward and then you can come and see him. He is asking for Charlotte.” She looked down at Chantelle. “Is that you?”

  Emily felt her whole bod
y tense. Chantelle looked perturbed at the mix-up.

  “He’s just confused, sweetie,” Emily explained. “He got his names muddled.”

  But Chantelle looked skeptical. Emily wasn’t sure but she got the distinct impression that the little girl was more aware of the situation than she’d realized. Perhaps she’d failed entirely to protect Chantelle from the reality of Roy’s illness. Had she figured it out? The thought terrified her.

  A short while later they were shown out of the waiting room and down a corridor, into a ward with lots of elderly patients all wearing breathing apparatus. Emily knew instinctively that this was a cancer ward, and that the men upon it were at the advanced stages of their illness as well. But they were all older than Roy. None was as young as he was. It seemed so unfair.

  They were led up to a bed in the corner, and there was Roy. He was sitting up, propped by several white fluffy pillows. There was a mask on his face, and a pulse monitor attached to his index finger, feeding information into a large, bleeping machine.

  “Hello, everyone,” Roy said, in his usual chipper way.

  Chantelle ran forward and hugged him tightly.

  “I’m sorry, darling, did I give you a fright?” he said gently, stroking her hair.

  Emily choked back her tears. “You gave us all a fright.”

  “Thankfully Vladi was there to help,” Daniel added.

  Roy reached for his friend and the two men shook hands affectionately.

  Chantelle sat up then, looking at Roy with a frown on her face.

  “Are you going to tell me what’s wrong with you?” she asked. “Or are you going to keep pretending everything is okay?”

  Roy’s expression fell. He looked pained.

  “Chantelle,” Emily said under her breath, her tone warning her to back off.

  But the girl turned on her sharply. “No. It’s not fair. You’re always whispering and giving each other looks. I know something’s going on. And Papa Roy is half the size he used to be and he’s never eating anything.” She turned her stricken face back to her granddad. “So what is it? I want to know!”

  Emily reached for Daniel, desperate for his comfort in the fraught moment. Had they been wrong to hide the truth from their astute daughter? Or was this for the best? To hear it from his own lips rather than as secondhand information.