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In Case of Emergency
My doorbell rang one morning as I was preparing for my usual breakfast with the girls at Mom's On Park Avenue. Jeff was with me and was busy with his hair in the bathroom, so I bounded over.
"You're not expecting someone, are you?" I shot back to him as I sprinted for the door.
"Uh uh," came the reply.
To my unexpected surprise, it was Candice.
"Hey! What are you doing here? We were supposed to meet at Mom's," I reminded her.
"Good morning to you, too," she muttered. For some reason, she appeared to be in a foul mood.
"What's wrong?"
"What's wrong is that my ex-boyfriend doesn't seem to get the 'ex' part," the brunette stated with annoyance. "I got a phone call last night... AJ has me as his 'in case of emergency' person. Amy, I'm his ex-girlfriend, and he's still using me as his 'in case of emergency' person! We haven't even spoken since the breakup. What is wrong with him?"
"He's got cancer."
The softly-spoken three words that came from Jeff had the effect of the most shrill, loud and offensive scream. Candice and I simultaneously turned to face him.
"What?" I asked.
"AJ has testicular cancer," my boyfriend elaborated. "He just found out. He and I ran into each other a few days ago and got to talking... Then, we went for a drink together and he told me."
"Oh, my God..." I breathed. I turned back to Candice.
"I'm... Oh, I'm just a huge, heartless bitch," she murmured. She placed a hand against her forehead and looked stricken, shocked.
"No, you're not," I insisted. I reached out for her arm, pulling her into the apartment. Her face had gone completely ashen. "Are you okay? Do you want some water?"
She absently shook her head.
"No... I... oh, Amy," she said, "do you think the girls would mind if I don't go for breakfast today? I need to see AJ."
I glanced at Jeff, then back at Candice.
"I understand," I assured her. "And I'm sure Trish and Lisa will, too."
She nodded.
"Okay... Thank you. And thank you, too, Jeff." The brunette wasn't quite sure why she was thanking the carpenter, but then again, she wasn't too sure about anything at that moment.
My friend left a moment later, and I felt badly for her. The news of her ex-boyfriend's illness had obviously shaken her to her very core. I turned to my own boyfriend curiously.
"I can't believe it... AJ told you something so deep. You two barely know each other."
"Well..."
"Are you like... friends now?" I asked. It was a dumb question, but I'd never experienced a boyfriend being friends with an ex of a friend before. It was strange, unfamiliar territory.
"Yeah," he said with a half-shrug. "I guess we are. Why? Does that bother you?" He put an arm around me.
"No," I replied as I burrowed into the crook of his arm and chest. The truth was, it didn't - but something else did. I was thinking about my newfound friendship with Edge, and the affair we'd had prior to it - of which Jeff still knew nothing. Yes, the guilt was still there, plaguing me.
*
Candice was surprised to not feel any uncomfortable awkwardness as she waited for him. She did feel anxious and sad, concerned... But even as AJ suddenly appeared in her line of vision, approaching her with a small smile, she felt no awkwardness.
"Hey... It's nice to see you," he said as he joined his ex-girlfriend on the bench where she was sitting. "How've you been?"
"AJ, stop... We don't have time for this," the brunette replied. "I know about your illness. I was just at Amy's, and Jeff told me."
"Oh." He couldn't help but feel disappointed.
"Talk to me," Candice said. "What stage are you in?"
"One."
The lawyer felt a measure of relief hit her. She actually let out a sigh.
"Oh, that's good. So they caught it early. When are you having surgery?"
"Well," AJ answered, "I haven't scheduled for that just yet. But I will in the next couple of weeks."
"What?!"
The dark-haired man damn near jumped out of his skin.
"What?" he echoed her.
Candice wanted to reach over and shake her ex-boyfriend.
"AJ, what are you doing? What are you waiting for?" she demanded. "You don't procrastinate about a thing like cancer!"
"Relax," he said, "I found a doctor last week and I'm seeing him on Wednesday."
"What doctor?" the brunette pressed. "What are his credentials? Where did you find him?"
"His name is Rosetti... I found him in the yellow pages."
Candice was incredulous by this revelation.
"Okay, no," she insisted. She looked all business, every bit the high-powered attorney that she was as she gave him an almost stern look and gestured with both hands. "AJ, look... You can't play around with your health. While I was waiting for you, I did some research." She held up the Blackberry she had clutched in her left hand. "I found you a top oncologist... I wrote down all the info." She ignored his gesture of shaking his head and fished the paper out of her purse, handing it to him.
"Candice, will you stop? I can take care of this myself!"
"No, you can't, AJ!" she cried. It was difficult to get hold of her emotions as she continued. "Not when you randomly find a doctor in the yellow pages! This might very well be a matter of life or death... Death! Do you want to die?"
AJ grimaced and dared try to challenge her words.
"Aww, c'mon, Candice..."
"Answer me, AJ!" she demanded. "Do you want to die?"
"No! No, of course not," he muttered. "Damn, why do you have to be such a bitch about this?"
She wasn't the least bit phased by him calling her a bitch. There were worse things than that, far worse.
"Because," Candice said, her voice shockingly calm, "I care about you, AJ... And I want you to be well."
He stared at her, and there was an intense silence between them.
"All right, fine... Gimme that." He reached for the paper she still held for him. "Thank you." He finally smiled again.
Candice smiled as well, for the first time since he'd come to meet her.
"You call the doctor ASAP," she demanded. "Everything will be fine."