sensed that Jason was irritated, perhaps with her for some reason. She could not find sense in her own mind's reckoning. She felt that she was acting irrationally and naively. She tried to push the thoughts away. It could simply be that Jason and Carlton were clashing in some way. Siblings did that.
The signals were mixed and misunderstood by Jenny Mason. The real reason for Jason's abrupt mood change was two-fold. He was wary and weary of his brother's rude and arrogant goading, a not so unfamiliar scenario when he was around Carlton for any period of time. The more compelling reason for Jason's moody behavior was his accidental discovery of Grandma Wimsley's poor health condition and prognosis.
Innocently enough Jason had gone to the guest bathroom at the completion of dinner. The phone had rung just as he left the dining room table. It had all been so coincidental. Unaware that Jason was using the guest bathroom, Myrena had taken the call in the hallway adjacent to the guest bath. Jason had overheard the ensuing conversation between his Grandma and her longtime friend and physician, Dr. Nelson Paige. It was obvious that they were in a discussion over diagnostic lab tests that had detected widespread cancer. Jason had heard the words, 'death and terminal,' and he had felt a terrible pang of anxiety. That feeling had persisted on into the night and had effectively altered his personality, and his heart had sunk to an awful place of despair.
While Myrena had talked to Dr. Paige with no apparent panic in her voice, it was clear through the remainder of the evening that she was having periodic pain. It was only obvious to Jason because he was privy to the telephone conversation. As Jason glanced at Myrena through the night, he could see when the pain hit her. There would be a slight wrinkle at her brow, a stiffness that came to her lips, and her eyes would register a momentary spasm.
It was evident to Jason that his Grandma did not wish to divulge her condition to the family, and he would honor and respect her wish. The reality of her cancer overwhelmed him in a way he could not have expressed. Oh, he knew that Myrena was in her late seventies, that she had lived a full life, and that her fierce independence would not let her encumber her grandsons with the terminal aspects of the disease. Jason had considered his beloved Grandma indestructible and indefatigable, a matriarch who might outlive all of them. He was both saddened and unhinged by his innocent discovery.
He found it difficult enduring Carlton for the remainder of the evening, and, for the most part, he was totally uncomfortable in his forced mask of amiability. Except for his one eruption of pique at Carlton's comments about Jenny, he was able to stay even keel and tolerate the mindless barbs. What he wanted more than anything else was to be alone, alone to handle the awful truth that had come to him. When he looked at Jenny he could not hold their gaze. There were moments that he thought he might begin to weep. How ironic, this business of fate and serendipity! He had met the woman that could possibly be his love and soul mate through life and eternity, only to discover that he was soon to lose a major piece of his heart.
Jason held together for the remainder of the evening, staying beyond the departure of Carlton and Sheila, trying valiantly to maintain his composure. The large parlor became for him a stifling cavern that threatened to cut off his breathing. Finally, when he felt that he could no longer hold together, he pretended the need for sleep because of a pending full day of activity.
Jason was conscious of his curtness in his leaving of Jenny at her apartment door. For him it had to be that way. He knew that if he remained too long in her company that he would break. He cared very much for this new and special lady in his life, but the tragic discovery of his Grandma's illness had filled him an awful apprehension and depression. He would need soon to
The signals were mixed and misunderstood by Jenny Mason. The real reason for Jason's abrupt mood change was two-fold. He was wary and weary of his brother's rude and arrogant goading, a not so unfamiliar scenario when he was around Carlton for any period of time. The more compelling reason for Jason's moody behavior was his accidental discovery of Grandma Wimsley's poor health condition and prognosis.
Innocently enough Jason had gone to the guest bathroom at the completion of dinner. The phone had rung just as he left the dining room table. It had all been so coincidental. Unaware that Jason was using the guest bathroom, Myrena had taken the call in the hallway adjacent to the guest bath. Jason had overheard the ensuing conversation between his Grandma and her longtime friend and physician, Dr. Nelson Paige. It was obvious that they were in a discussion over diagnostic lab tests that had detected widespread cancer. Jason had heard the words, 'death and terminal,' and he had felt a terrible pang of anxiety. That feeling had persisted on into the night and had effectively altered his personality, and his heart had sunk to an awful place of despair.
While Myrena had talked to Dr. Paige with no apparent panic in her voice, it was clear through the remainder of the evening that she was having periodic pain. It was only obvious to Jason because he was privy to the telephone conversation. As Jason glanced at Myrena through the night, he could see when the pain hit her. There would be a slight wrinkle at her brow, a stiffness that came to her lips, and her eyes would register a momentary spasm.
It was evident to Jason that his Grandma did not wish to divulge her condition to the family, and he would honor and respect her wish. The reality of her cancer overwhelmed him in a way he could not have expressed. Oh, he knew that Myrena was in her late seventies, that she had lived a full life, and that her fierce independence would not let her encumber her grandsons with the terminal aspects of the disease. Jason had considered his beloved Grandma indestructible and indefatigable, a matriarch who might outlive all of them. He was both saddened and unhinged by his innocent discovery.
He found it difficult enduring Carlton for the remainder of the evening, and, for the most part, he was totally uncomfortable in his forced mask of amiability. Except for his one eruption of pique at Carlton's comments about Jenny, he was able to stay even keel and tolerate the mindless barbs. What he wanted more than anything else was to be alone, alone to handle the awful truth that had come to him. When he looked at Jenny he could not hold their gaze. There were moments that he thought he might begin to weep. How ironic, this business of fate and serendipity! He had met the woman that could possibly be his love and soul mate through life and eternity, only to discover that he was soon to lose a major piece of his heart.
Jason held together for the remainder of the evening, staying beyond the departure of Carlton and Sheila, trying valiantly to maintain his composure. The large parlor became for him a stifling cavern that threatened to cut off his breathing. Finally, when he felt that he could no longer hold together, he pretended the need for sleep because of a pending full day of activity.
Jason was conscious of his curtness in his leaving of Jenny at her apartment door. For him it had to be that way. He knew that if he remained too long in her company that he would break. He cared very much for this new and special lady in his life, but the tragic discovery of his Grandma's illness had filled him an awful apprehension and depression. He would need soon to
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