Holding her future in trembling hands, Grace Burrows took one last tear-blurred look at the results of her recent blood test. Her doctor had been gentle when delivering the shocking news, but that hadn’t softened the blow. After thirty-odd years spent nursing people through sickness, she understood surviving this would take a miracle, and her long life had been fairly short on those. But she still believed in the power of prayer – unanswered or not – and the potency of positive thinking. That’s what she needed, now more than ever.
Breathing in deeply, she folded up the document and tucked it into her safe spot – beneath her mattress. There were too many prying eyes in her house to risk such information being seen. Flattening the quilt and then straightening her weary bones, she rubbed her lower back. Arthritis was making her left hip achingly tender, and her knees didn’t have much suspension left. But even though her body was failing, getting older was still a wonderful gift, not least because it meant more time with her daughter and beloved grandchildren.
Taking unhurried steps toward the golden shafts of sunlight stretching across the oak floorboards, she pondered her next move. She had to tell her loved ones the news, but she didn’t know quite how to put it into words. Besides, the timing was off – it would be selfish of her to break it to them now.
She drew a slow, steady breath, then sighed it away. After a day filled with a steady stream of out-of-town visitors, and with only an hour until her seventieth birthday celebrations began, she had sought to steal a few moments to herself before once again putting on a brave face.
Gone were the days where she yearned for companionship and conversation, although it had been lovely catching up with people she hadn’t seen in years. With her deteriorating health, she was well aware it could be the last time, and it made every moment spent with her family and friends bittersweet. Tonight was going to be emotional. She just hoped she made it through without breaking down.
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