Chapter 17 - No Evidence Of Disease
“No evidence of active disease.”
Sophie stared at Dr. Patel.
“Say it again.”
He smiled.
“No evidence of active disease.”
Her hand flew to her mouth.
I stopped breathing.
“Remission?”
“Yes.”
Sophie began crying.
I wrapped my arms around her.
Dr. Patel let us have the moment.
There would be follow-up scans.
Blood work.
Years of monitoring.
No guarantees.
But that day, we were allowed to celebrate.
Rachel organized dinner.
General Lawson sent a bottle of champagne and a note.
YOU OWE ME A GENERAL.
I laughed when I read it.
Sophie didn’t.
“You got selected?”
I hadn’t told her.
The official notification had arrived that morning.
“Yes.”
Her eyes widened.
“Ethan.”
“I wanted today to be about you.”
She smacked my arm.
“We talked about this.”
“I know.”
“No more deciding what information I can handle.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Don’t military me.”
I laughed.
Two weeks later, the Army approved my delayed reporting request.
I would transfer to Washington in three months.
There was still one question left.
Sophie.
I didn’t ask her to move.
I didn’t assume.
I waited until she raised it.
We were eating dinner when she said it.
“I’ve been looking at apartments in Virginia.”
I nearly dropped my fork.
“For you?”
“For us.”
I stared at her.
She immediately lifted a hand.
“Not remarried us.”
“Understood.”
“Separate bedrooms if necessary.”
“Understood.”
“And if you become impossible, I’m getting my own place.”
“Very fair.”
She narrowed her eyes.
“You look too happy.”
“I’m trying to look appropriately cautious.”
“You’re failing.”
I smiled.
“So are you.”
Three months later, we packed her apartment.
Then we went to our old house.
The sale had finally closed.
Before handing over the keys, we stood inside the empty nursery one final time.
Sophie touched the patch of Morning Mist.
“Do you think they’d let us cut this piece of drywall out?”
“The buyers?”
“Yes.”
“They might consider us insane.”
“I don’t care.”
So we asked.
The buyers said yes.
I carefully removed a small square.
Sophie wrapped it in a towel.
We carried Emma and Caleb’s piece of Morning Mist to Virginia with us.
May you like
For once, leaving a house didn’t feel like running.
It felt like moving forward.
