The Sad News

Driving back was difficult. I'd finally been able to talk to Steve on Sunday night for a brief period. He sounded wrung out; I knew it had been an emotional weekend for him, in spite of his efforts to not focus on the dreadful news. We talked briefly and made plans to have dinner together when I came back.
I spent the night at the motel with my cousin so we could leave bright and early the next morning. We were on the road by 6 a.m. To be honest, that trip is just a blur to me. It was another 20 hour drive, we arrived at my cousins home about 2:30 a.m. the next morning. I'd decided I didn't want to wait any longer, I was going to drive back home that night, which kind of threw my family for a loop. But, they didn't argue too much, they just thought I should get some sleep and drive home the next morning. All I knew was I wanted to get to Steve as soon as I could.
It seems like it took all night, which I guess it did, but it was only about 4 hours. And only because I drove up north towards Lincoln, then took a highway that cut over to I-29 to get back to K.C. I guess I went several miles out of the way, but for some reason, I thought it would be quicker.
It was about 7:00 a.m. when I arrived in town. I stopped to get something to eat, then drove to Steve's shop. He was in the parking lot, in his truck when I pulled in. He didn't see me at first because he was on the radio, talking to his boss. I went into the shop with him and we talked briefly, then he sent me home to get some sleep before we went out to dinner that night. He had also written me another letter, this time talking about his cancer and hoping he could beat it, but also realizing it the possibility that he couldn't.
The next few days entailed me going back to work, seeing him when I could, and him going in for tests. He had a CT scan of his abdomen to look for signs of the cancer spreading. He was due to be admitted the following Monday and to go to surgery the following Wednesday. I had to work the weekend, which I thought would be difficult, but it turned out (at the time) to be a good thing, for me anyway. Well, things do happen the way they're supposed to, even if we don't think they do. At some point, I offered to take him to the hospital on Monday. He said he was hoping I'd ask him and he'd had other offers and had been putting them off. (it's a good thing I offered, he otherwise may not have had a ride :) ).