Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
London
I couldn’t believe he was sitting next to me. He knew about the tumor, yet he still wanted to be with me. After our four-hour layover in Boston, we finally arrived in Paris the next morning at six a.m. The not-so-smooth landing jolted us awake.
“Damn it,” Damien spoke.
“No swearing. We’re in Paris.” I grinned as I stared out the window.
Damien took my hand, and we exited the plane. When we got to baggage claim, I saw a man dressed in all black holding a sign with the name “Prescott” across it.
“Look. There’s your name.” I smiled.
“That must be our driver.”
We grabbed our luggage, climbed into the car, and headed to the hotel. When we arrived, our room wasn’t ready because, technically, check-in wasn’t until three p.m.
“Do you have any rooms at all available right now?” Damien asked.
“Yes. We have a few.”
“Then give us your standard room and call me when ours is ready.”
“Very well, sir.”
When we entered our temporary room, Damien wrapped his arms around me and held me tight.
“Are you hungry?” he asked.
“Yeah. I am. But I need a shower first.”
“Me too.” He smiled.
“There’s only one bathroom.” I smirked.
“Then I guess we’ll have to take one together.” His lips softly pressed against mine.
After our incredibly long shower, my body still reeled with the pleasure he gave me. I didn’t want to come down from the feeling of this fairytale I found myself in, but the reality wasn’t too far behind, and I was prepared for it.
“Great news. The front desk called, and our room is ready,” Damien spoke.
“Already? I didn’t expect it to be until this afternoon.”
The bellman knocked on the door, handed Damien our new room key, and took our luggage.
When we stepped inside the elevator, it took us all the way to the top floor.
The hotel was breathtaking, and I couldn’t wait to see what our new room had to offer.
The moment we stepped inside, I saw the Eiffel Tower from the living area window.
I ran to the large glass sliding doors that led out to a mammoth terrace, opened them, and stepped outside. The view was absolutely stunning.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Damien asked as he wrapped his arms around me from behind.
“I’ve never seen anything so magnificent in my life,” I softly spoke.
“Let’s go find a cafe? and sip some French coffee and have breakfast.” He kissed my head.
“I’d love to. But first,” I turned around in his arms, “I have to take my pills.”
“I’ll go get you a bottle of water.” His lips pressed against my forehead.
I walked back into the room and took in the beauty of it all.
From the French-styled furniture, marbled floors, and a touch of elegant decor throughout, this suite was every girl’s dream.
After sipping French coffee and eating breakfast in a quaint little Parisian cafe?, Damien told me he had a surprise for me: a beautiful horse and carriage ride through Paris.
“When did you have time to arrange this?” I asked.
“I sent an email to the hotel when I booked the room. I figured what better way to see Paris.” He smiled.
“You’ve never been here?”
“No. I was always too busy working.” He lightly gripped my hand.
We climbed into the carriage, and off we went.
“We’ll come back tonight when it’s dark and see the tower lit up,” he spoke. “London, why didn’t you tell me about your tumor? Why didn’t you tell me that night?”
“Because the last thing I want is your pity. The symptoms are getting worse, and the last thing I wanted was for you to get involved with Teaghan. This is my battle and my battle alone. I didn’t expect to meet someone like you along my journey.
It wasn’t part of my plan, and the last thing I wanted was to drag you into it.
As you remember, I was only supposed to stay with you for a few nights and be on my way.
But then we grew closer, and it became really complicated. ”
“So, you were just going to leave at the end of the month and never tell me?”
“Yes, because it was better that way.”
“Not for me it wouldn’t have been. I had plans, London.
Plans to get you to stay in New York with me.
I wanted to show you that you could build a life there and that you didn’t have to keep traveling from place to place.
But I didn’t know you were only doing those things because you were trying to fulfill your bucket list.”
“I was ten years old when Teaghan first made her appearance. After numerous scans, the doctors felt she was isolated, so they decided to put me on some medication to try and shrink it. The doctor said that surgery was too risky at that point. So, I went on the meds, and they didn’t work.
I became sicker with each day that passed.
Finally, the doctor decided it was time to go in and try to remove Teaghan.
He was able to remove ninety-five percent of her.
He couldn’t get to the other five percent, and he couldn’t guarantee that she wouldn’t grow back.
So, I underwent radiation for three months and returned for scans every six months.
She was stabilized, and I was no longer experiencing any symptoms. Then it got to the point where I only needed to go back once a year.
When I turned eighteen, I stopped going because I was healthy, and if she’d stayed dormant for eight years, I was in the clear.
It wasn’t until after my mother passed away that I started experiencing symptoms again, and I knew in my heart that she was back.
I put off going to the doctor for as long as I could because I already knew what they would tell me.
Two years ago, I landed in the ER because I had such a killer headache, and I’d been vomiting for three days straight.
I was dehydrated and very weak. That’s when the doctors confirmed that she was indeed back and growing rapidly.
The doctor told me it was inoperable because the tumor was deep down in the brainstem.
Still, he wanted me to see another doctor, his colleague at the Mayo Clinic, for a second opinion.
I went, and he told me the same thing. There was nothing they could do.
I wasn’t ready to accept it, so I went to see a specialist at the Cleveland Clinic and at John Hopkins.
Both doctors extended their sympathy to me and said that the only thing they could offer me was a little more time.
They put me on a medication cocktail to try and slow the growth of the tumor, an anti-seizure medication, and a headache medication for my headaches.
But they warned me that the meds were only a band-aid and would eventually stop working within a year.
That’s when I decided I needed to try and fulfill my bucket list before my time was up.
Damien, I’m at peace with my life. I’ve fully accepted it. ”
“All that talk about life being too short and you never know when your time is up. You were, in a way, trying to tell me. Weren’t you?”
“Yes. I was.”
“How do you know the cancer hasn’t spread?”
“Teaghan isn’t cancerous.”
“What?” He furrowed his brows.
“She never was. She’s very rare. But she became inoperable because she had grown the opposite way, deeper into my brain.
Eventually, she’ll get so big that she’ll start shutting down my body.
I won’t be able to walk, talk, see, or breathe on my own.
I’ll lose all control of any function. That’s why I signed a DNR for when it happens.
When I was in the ER the other night, they did a scan and discovered that the medications had probably stopped working because of the tumor size.
But I’m still taking them daily with hope and faith that I have some time left.
That’s why I came to Paris because I decided I wouldn’t die without seeing it first. I wasn’t going to let her take that away from me.
That’s why I started my blog because I wanted to leave something behind for people to remember me. ”
He pulled me into him and held me tight. I’d never felt as much peace as I did in his arms.
“You’re not going through this alone anymore.
I’m staying with you and don’t care what you say.
We’re doing this together, London. I’ll take you anywhere you want to go.
Anywhere in the entire world. You name it, and we’ll be there together.
Because if you think I’m going to let you go now, you’re crazy. ”