Page 121 of Places We've Never Been

She squeezed my hand. “It’s going to be okay. I start treatment as soon as we finish with this trip.”

“Shouldn’t you start now? Why are you waiting?”

“This is what I need to be doing right now.”

She said it in such a matter-of-fact way that I couldn’t argue with her. “Okay.”

She smiled. “But I need you to do me a favor.”

I nodded. “Of course.”

“You can’t tell my kids.”

“I…” I couldn’t tell Skyler. She wanted me to keep this from him. How could I keep this from him? “We just regained our gold status.”

“What?” Olivia asked.

“I don’t want to keep a secret from him.”

“It’s not your news to tell,” Mom said.

“He’ll be angry if he finds out I knew and didn’t tell him.”

“You’re right,” Olivia said. “He will be angry. But how do you think he’ll feel if you’re the one to tell him and not me.”

She was right. They were both right. It was definitely not my place to tell him. Not my story or my illness to share.

“He’s going to need his friend more than ever when he finds out,” Olivia said.

I nodded. “I’ll be here for him.”

“I know you will.”

“When will you tell them? Soon?” I asked. “Now that I know.”

Her eyes welled up with tears and she pinched the bridge of her nose. “My plan was to tell them after the trip. I might have to rethink my plan now that you know.”

“Don’t rethink your plan because of me. Or Ezra. He won’t tell. He wouldn’t even tell me.” It would be hard to keep this secret but I wasn’t about to let her make a decision based on my nosiness. “Do what you need to do, what you think is best. We won’t tell anyone.”

“Ezra?” Mom said. “How does he know?” Her eyes shifted to Olivia.

“I didn’t tell him,” she said.

“What makes you think he knows?” Mom asked me.

“He was talking to Dad about a secret. Does Dad know?”

“Yes, but…” Mom crossed her arms. I knew that look. That was theI’ll discuss this with him laterlook. To Olivia, Mom said, “I’m sorry.”

Olivia’s shoulders rose, then fell. “It’s okay. Ezra has not treated me any different.”

“Maybe that’s a sign,” Mom spoke up. “Maybe this all happened because you need to tell your kids sooner.”

“Because everything happens for a reason?” Olivia said with a bite in her voice I had never heard there before.

“It’s your choice,” Mom said.

“Yes, it is.” Olivia stood and walked off into the night.