{"id":4260,"date":"2026-09-27T18:24:49","date_gmt":"2026-09-27T18:24:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/feeleverystory.online\/?p=4260"},"modified":"2026-09-27T18:24:49","modified_gmt":"2026-09-27T18:24:49","slug":"part-17-the-repeat-blood-test-brought-better-news-but-allisons-relief-collided-with-a-question-she-had-been-avoiding-since-diagnosis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/feeleverystory.online\/?p=4260","title":{"rendered":"PART 17 \u2013 The Repeat Blood Test Brought Better News, but Allison\u2019s Relief Collided With a Question She Had Been Avoiding Since Diagnosis"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The forty-eight hours before Allison\u2019s repeat blood test stretched longer than the two weeks that had come before them.<\/p>\n<p>Every ordinary thing became a distraction we pretended not to need.<\/p>\n<p>Mateo developed a habit of falling asleep only after being walked around the kitchen island several times. I learned that exactly six slow laps usually worked. Five left him suspicious. Seven made him wake again as if I had overplayed my hand.<\/p>\n<p>Allison watched from the couch with a blanket over her legs.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSix.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re at five.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI can count.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou skipped the corner.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat does not invalidate the lap.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt absolutely does.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mateo opened one eye.<\/p>\n<p>We both froze.<\/p>\n<p>Then Allison whispered, \u201cYou ruined it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI did not.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He yawned and went back to sleep.<\/p>\n<p>I smiled at her.<\/p>\n<p>For ten seconds, the tumor marker did not exist.<\/p>\n<p>Then her phone lit up on the coffee table.<\/p>\n<p>Both of us looked.<\/p>\n<p>Not the hospital.<\/p>\n<p>Just an advertisement.<\/p>\n<p>Allison exhaled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI hate that my entire nervous system lives inside my ringtone now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I put Mateo in the bassinet.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWant me to turn notifications off?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The answer came quickly.<\/p>\n<p>She hated waiting.<\/p>\n<p>She hated the possibility of missing something more.<\/p>\n<p>At the lab the next morning, Allison barely spoke.<\/p>\n<p>The technician tied the band around her arm.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019ve got good veins,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Allison gave a tired smile.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve been told.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Blood filled the tubes.<\/p>\n<p>One.<\/p>\n<p>Two.<\/p>\n<p>Three.<\/p>\n<p>So much of illness seemed to be waiting for liquids to tell you something about yourself.<\/p>\n<p>On the way home, Allison stared out the window.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat if it\u2019s higher again?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat if chemo isn\u2019t working?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ll ask Dr. Mehta.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat if she changes everything?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She turned toward me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re really committed to that answer now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s been useful.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She almost smiled.<\/p>\n<p>Then she looked out the window again.<\/p>\n<p>At home, Rachel was waiting with coffee.<\/p>\n<p>Teresa had Mateo.<\/p>\n<p>The arrangement had become increasingly normal.<\/p>\n<p>That was one of the strangest parts of treatment: extraordinary circumstances rapidly turned into schedules.<\/p>\n<p>Rachel handed Allison a cup.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDecaf.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re a terrible person.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYour stomach hates real coffee right now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy soul doesn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYour soul can wait.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Allison sat.<\/p>\n<p>Rachel looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cResults?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot yet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>They both fell quiet.<\/p>\n<p>Nobody tried to fill the room.<\/p>\n<p>That mattered.<\/p>\n<p>An hour passed.<\/p>\n<p>Then another.<\/p>\n<p>At noon, Allison opened the hospital portal.<\/p>\n<p>Nothing.<\/p>\n<p>At twelve seventeen, again.<\/p>\n<p>Nothing.<\/p>\n<p>At twelve forty-two, she opened it.<\/p>\n<p>The new result appeared.<\/p>\n<p>I saw her face before I saw the number.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt dropped.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rachel stood.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Allison told her.<\/p>\n<p>Rachel looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>That meant nothing to me.<\/p>\n<p>Her expression told me it was significant.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s good.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Allison kept staring.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cReally good?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cReally encouraging.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Not cured.<\/p>\n<p>Not safe.<\/p>\n<p>Encouraging.<\/p>\n<p>We had all learned the vocabulary by then.<\/p>\n<p>Allison laughed once.<\/p>\n<p>Then pressed both hands over her mouth.<\/p>\n<p>Tears came.<\/p>\n<p>I moved toward her.<\/p>\n<p>She stood before I reached her and hugged me.<\/p>\n<p>Hard.<\/p>\n<p>Harder than she had since before Mateo\u2019s birth.<\/p>\n<p>For several seconds, neither of us spoke.<\/p>\n<p>Then she pulled away.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know it doesn\u2019t mean everything.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt can still change.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut it dropped.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She smiled through tears.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt dropped.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rachel cried too.<\/p>\n<p>Then her phone rang.<\/p>\n<p>Teresa.<\/p>\n<p>Rachel looked at Allison.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCan I tell her?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Allison nodded.<\/p>\n<p>Rachel answered.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt dropped.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>There was a pause.<\/p>\n<p>Then Teresa\u2019s voice became loud enough that we all heard her crying.<\/p>\n<p>Allison laughed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTell Mom she\u2019s not allowed to make this about her.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rachel repeated it.<\/p>\n<p>Teresa apparently called Allison something unprintable.<\/p>\n<p>For the first time since diagnosis, relief entered the house without immediately being chased out by another emergency.<\/p>\n<p>We let it stay.<\/p>\n<p>That afternoon, Teresa brought Mateo home with cupcakes.<\/p>\n<p>Allison looked at the box.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat are those?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCupcakes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI can see that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re celebrating.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe number.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Allison hesitated.<\/p>\n<p>I watched her.<\/p>\n<p>She wanted to protect herself.<\/p>\n<p>Celebrating meant admitting she hoped.<\/p>\n<p>Hope meant having something else to lose.<\/p>\n<p>Rachel seemed to understand.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re allowed to eat cake without declaring victory.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Allison looked at her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat should be on a greeting card.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ll patent it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>We ate cupcakes.<\/p>\n<p>Mateo slept through his own family celebration.<\/p>\n<p>Later, Allison stood at the sink washing frosting from her fingers.<\/p>\n<p>I walked past carrying bottles.<\/p>\n<p>She said, \u201cDaniel.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYeah?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo you still want another child?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I stopped.<\/p>\n<p>The question had been sitting somewhere between us since surgery.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She turned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou used to.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI used to assume we had unlimited time to decide.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat isn\u2019t an answer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I put the bottles down.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes. I think I did.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know what I want now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her expression tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause I have cancer?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause everything changed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She looked away.<\/p>\n<p>I heard the danger in my own answer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s not because I think you\u2019re damaged.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her head snapped back.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI didn\u2019t say that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou thought I was thinking it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She crossed her arms.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The answer came easily.<\/p>\n<p>But something remained unresolved.<\/p>\n<p>She saw it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat are you not saying?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I took a breath.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t want us making another child into proof that cancer didn\u2019t take something.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her face changed.<\/p>\n<p>I continued carefully.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf we want another baby someday, I want it to be because we want that child. Not because we\u2019re trying to defeat what happened.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Allison looked at me for a long time.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat was annoyingly reasonable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m having a good month.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She smiled faintly.<\/p>\n<p>Then her eyes filled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t even know if I\u2019ll be able to.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey preserved everything, but chemo could still affect fertility.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat if I can\u2019t?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I waited.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She turned toward the sink.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat answer again.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I moved closer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut I know it wouldn\u2019t change what I think of you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat sounds easy to say.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cProbably.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo say the hard part.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I thought.<\/p>\n<p>The hard part was not a sentence I had rehearsed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf we can\u2019t have another child, I\u2019ll grieve it with you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She said nothing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI won\u2019t pretend it doesn\u2019t matter because we have Mateo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her shoulders lowered.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI won\u2019t tell you to be grateful.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd I won\u2019t make you reassure me that one child is enough.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her eyes filled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s the part.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I understood.<\/p>\n<p>She had spent years carrying both her pain and everyone else\u2019s demand that she not appear ungrateful.<\/p>\n<p>One child.<\/p>\n<p>One surviving ovary.<\/p>\n<p>One falling tumor marker.<\/p>\n<p>People always wanted gratitude to tidy grief into something socially acceptable.<\/p>\n<p>Allison dried her hands.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think I want another.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The words were quiet.<\/p>\n<p>Not certainty.<\/p>\n<p>Desire.<\/p>\n<p>I nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t want to decide now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe don\u2019t have to.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t want to even talk about it for a while.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen we won\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She smiled faintly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re getting good at not turning conversations into contracts.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTherapy is expensive. I\u2019m trying to get value.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She laughed.<\/p>\n<p>That evening, my mother came over.<\/p>\n<p>She brought lasagna and immediately apologized.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know you said no casseroles.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Allison looked at the baking dish.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLasagna is not a casserole.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My mother looked relieved.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve raised two sons. I understand the importance of technical distinctions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My father did not come.<\/p>\n<p>He had not spoken to me since our argument.<\/p>\n<p>My mother mentioned him once.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s sulking.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Allison looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAre you going to call him?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEventually.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My mother smiled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I stared at her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou want me to?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI want you to talk when you can talk without trying to win.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That sounded wiser than most advice she had ever given me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere was this when I was sixteen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUnder twenty years of exhaustion.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Fair.<\/p>\n<p>After dinner, my mother asked whether she could feed Mateo.<\/p>\n<p>Allison said yes.<\/p>\n<p>I watched my mother hold him.<\/p>\n<p>She had held me that way once.<\/p>\n<p>That thought had become strange lately.<\/p>\n<p>Parents existed in our minds as finished people.<\/p>\n<p>It was easy to forget they had once been terrified beginners too.<\/p>\n<p>My mother looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou were fussier.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLies.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou screamed every evening from six to nine.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAll three hours?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYour father used to take long showers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The joke landed differently now.<\/p>\n<p>She saw it.<\/p>\n<p>Her smile faded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe didn\u2019t know what to do.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe could have learned.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>No defense.<\/p>\n<p>No rewrite.<\/p>\n<p>Just yes.<\/p>\n<p>Later, after she left, I called my father.<\/p>\n<p>He answered on the fourth ring.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHey.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHey.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Silence.<\/p>\n<p>I almost started with an apology.<\/p>\n<p>Then decided not to apologize for the wrong thing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was rude.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He said nothing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI shouldn\u2019t have talked to you like I\u2019d suddenly figured out your whole marriage.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s true.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut I meant what I said.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He sighed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOf course you did.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMom was tired.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The answer surprised me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou knew?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m not an idiot.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I sat down.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen why didn\u2019t you do more?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He went quiet.<\/p>\n<p>When he answered, the irritation was gone.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI thought working was doing more.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I understood that.<\/p>\n<p>Not because it excused anything.<\/p>\n<p>Because it was familiar.<\/p>\n<p>He continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy father never changed a diaper in his life.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat doesn\u2019t make you exceptional.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know that now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I was not prepared for that.<\/p>\n<p>He sighed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYour mother and I have been talking.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAbout what?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThings I apparently should\u2019ve understood thirty years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A small smile came despite myself.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow\u2019s that going?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBadly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSounds normal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He laughed once.<\/p>\n<p>Then asked about Allison.<\/p>\n<p>I gave him the tumor marker result.<\/p>\n<p>He started to say, \u201cThat\u2019s great.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Then corrected.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s encouraging, right?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I smiled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYeah.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEncouraging.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Progress could sound like one changed word.<\/p>\n<p>The next several days were kinder.<\/p>\n<p>Allison\u2019s appetite improved.<\/p>\n<p>Her energy returned enough that she could walk around the block.<\/p>\n<p>She held Mateo more.<\/p>\n<p>She pumped the remaining stored milk away in the freezer but stopped looking at it every time she opened the door.<\/p>\n<p>The countdown to the second infusion began.<\/p>\n<p>Three days.<\/p>\n<p>Then two.<\/p>\n<p>The night before, Allison became quiet.<\/p>\n<p>I knew better than to ask repeatedly what was wrong.<\/p>\n<p>Around ten, she came into the nursery while I was folding clothes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCan I ask you something?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAlways.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you ever wish I\u2019d left?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I stopped folding.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBefore all this?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The answer mattered too much for instinct.<\/p>\n<p>I thought.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She watched me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNever?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI wished the fighting would stop.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat isn\u2019t the same.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI sometimes wished I could be single for one day.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That hurt.<\/p>\n<p>She looked guilty.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t mean I wanted another person.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI wanted one day where nobody needed anything from me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I sat beside her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you ever get one?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She smiled sadly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That answer told the truth of our marriage better than almost anything else.<\/p>\n<p>I picked up a tiny sleeper.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think I thought you were better at carrying things.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat doesn\u2019t mean it was fair.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She looked toward Mateo.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m afraid treatment will end and I\u2019ll become good at carrying things again.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I understood.<\/p>\n<p>Illness had made her limits visible.<\/p>\n<p>What happened when she became capable again?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI need you to stop me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked at her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen I start doing everything.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s complicated.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause I don\u2019t want to police you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She thought.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen don\u2019t stop me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I waited.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNotice.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That word again.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAsk why I\u2019m taking something on.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd if the answer is because nobody else noticed, then fix that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat&#39;s what I need.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The next morning, we returned to the infusion center.<\/p>\n<p>Second cycle.<\/p>\n<p>Same chairs.<\/p>\n<p>Same smells.<\/p>\n<p>Same clear tubing.<\/p>\n<p>Different Allison.<\/p>\n<p>Still afraid.<\/p>\n<p>But no longer confronting the unknown.<\/p>\n<p>She knew some of what would happen.<\/p>\n<p>That helped.<\/p>\n<p>It also made the dread more specific.<\/p>\n<p>As Carmen connected the line, Allison looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne down.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne down.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd after today?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTwo down.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She took a breath.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The chemotherapy started.<\/p>\n<p>She closed her eyes.<\/p>\n<p>I held her hand.<\/p>\n<p>Across the room, an older woman laughed at something on television.<\/p>\n<p>Someone opened a bag of chips.<\/p>\n<p>A nurse adjusted an IV pole.<\/p>\n<p>Life continued.<\/p>\n<p>Allison squeezed my fingers.<\/p>\n<p>I looked at her.<\/p>\n<p>She whispered, \u201cI want to get to the part after this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I did too.<\/p>\n<p>But neither of us knew yet what that part would require.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/feeleverystory.online\/?p=4262\">Click here to continue reading: PART 18: The Second Infusion Hit Harder Than the First, and Daniel Finally Learned That Being Needed Did Not Mean Being Allowed Everywhere<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The forty-eight hours before Allison\u2019s repeat blood test stretched longer than the two weeks that had come before them. 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