A few days later, Ellie woke up to find Joe’s spot empty. She rushed into the living room to find him, sitting in front of the window, watching it snow. She stood behind him, taking in the first snowfall of the season. “Isn’t it beautiful? So pure and untouched?” Joe whispered. Joe grabbed his head, let out a low moan and slumped over in the chair. Ellie screamed for Peter and Alexandria. They came running, Peter grabbing Joe and laying him on the couch. Ellie called the ambulance and then rushed to their room, threw on the first thing she could find and ran back to Joe. Alexandria was on the phone with Doctor Anderson, filling him in on what had happened and letting him know they would be arriving shortly.

Peter drove behind the ambulance, Ellie sat in the back seat, no one said a word. Ellie didn’t know what to expect when they reached the hospital, she wasn’t ready to say good-bye. She needed more time with him. Joe was immediately taken to have a cat scan done, Peter and Alexandria went in search of coffee.

Ellie sat in the waiting room, her hands folded and her eyes closed. Doctor Anderson took a seat next to her, gently laying his hand on her shoulder. Peter and Alexandria walked in just then, took seats across from Ellie and braced themselves. “Joe is stable. We are going to run a few more tests. We aren’t sure what exactly happened, we are hoping that the tests can answer that question. I will have a nurse come and get you when he is in his room.” Doctor Anderson stood, walked to the door and turned to Joe’s family. “I will put a rush on the test results.”

Ellie and Joe’s parents waited quietly. Ellie paced back and forth, Peter watched the news, Alexandria watched Ellie. Alexandria noticed how much weight Ellie had lost, the dark circles under her eyes, the sag in her shoulders, the dullness in her eyes. Ellie ran from the room, down the hall and into the bathroom. Ellie hadn’t been feeling well for the last couple days, she assumed it was stress. Ellie returned to the waiting room, her stomach still rolling, she really needed to leave coffee alone, it wasn’t her friend anymore.

A few minutes later, the nurse came to get them and walked them to Joe’s room, she gave them a polite smile and disappeared down the hall. Ellie rushed to Joe’s side, grabbed his hand and whispered how much she loved him. As they watched Joe rest, Doctor Anderson was getting the results of the test. Some days, he hated his job, today was one of those days.

“I have the results.” Doctor Anderson said, standing at the foot of Joe’s bed. All eyes, including Joe’s, were on him. “Joe, your tumor is growing faster than we expected. It is pushing against the optic nerve; we aren’t sure how much longer you will have sight.” The doctor looked at Joe and then his family, “I can’t give you a timeline of how long you will have your sight. If there are things that you need to do, I would get them done. I am truly sorry.” The doctor turned and walked out of the room.

Joe sat quiet for a minute, looked at his dad and then at Ellie. “Ellie, go home, put on your best pair of dancing shoes and meet me at The Barn. I will have dad and mom take me there.” Ellie was speechless, no way was she going dancing and neither was Joe.

“Joe, we are not going dancing. You are going home where you can rest and we can take care of you.” Ellie exclaimed, shaking her head.

“Ellie, I feel fine. Besides, I want to do this, I have to do this. It is already planned out.” Joe said, smiling at her and brushing a kiss on her forehead. “Now go, don’t keep my dancing shoes waiting.”

Ellie drove home, changed her clothes and drove back to The Barn, a local club that hosted line dancing. She knew Joe loved to dance; they had danced so many times under the stars in their front yard. She walked in to find Joe sitting at a table, waiting for her. She approached him, took him by the hand and led him to the dance floor. They danced to every song; Joe seemed to have so much energy. Ellie knew he was forcing himself, but she didn’t say anything.

This was the second date Joe had planned for them, he knew his time was coming to an end. He wanted to make sure he gave Ellie the last three dates he had planned for her, the last being on their anniversary. As they made their way home, Joe took Ellie by the hand and smiled. She was the only girl he had ever loved, she was his first love, his soul mate.

Ellie sobbed quietly as Joe slept that night, she knew he was trying to give her more memories with him so she would have something to look back on. Joe rolled over on his side, facing Ellie. He had been asleep until her heard her try to stifle her sobs. He hated that he was the reason she was crying.

“Ellie, no more tears. It breaks my heart knowing that I am the reason behind them. I know this isn’t what either of us ever expected but it is the hand that we have been dealt.” Joe told her, wrapping her in his arms.

They fell asleep, clinging onto each other, neither wanting to let go even for a second. Joe woke to find Ellie in the bathroom, even with the door closed, he could hear her vomiting. Was she sick? He knew his illness had taken a toll on her. He would have her make a doctor’s appointment, he needed to know that she was okay.

Ellie walked out of the bathroom to find Joe sitting up in bed. “Ellie, I want you to make an appointment with the doctor, I need to know that you are okay.”

“I was planning on making an appointment, I will call now to see when they can get me in.” Ellie’s appointment was scheduled for later that day, Joe decided that he would go with her. They would face whatever was going on with her, together.