Chapter 75

Tyler locked up while I went down the hall to check on Uncle Ben. His door was open, and I saw him sitting on the side of the bed, rubbing his stomach.

I knocked on the doorjamb and he looked up. “You all right, Ben?” I asked as I leaned against the door frame.

“Just an upset stomach.” Right. More like the cancer was wreaking havoc with his system.

“Anything I can do for you? Tums, maybe?” I chose not to admit that I knew what was really going on, hoping he’d tell me long before I had to confront him about it.

“Yeah. In the bathroom cabinet,” he replied.

I went to retrieve the bottle and returned. “Thanks, son,” he said when I handed it to him.

Ben put five of the chewable tablets in his mouth and set aside the Tums.

“I love you, old man,” I said. “You know you can tell me if anything’s wrong, don’t you?” He looked at me, suspicious, but didn’t answer me, since he was still chewing.

“Good night, Ben.” I moved forward and hugged his fragile body, then left the room.