“Oh, cheesy goodness, how I love thee. Let me count the ways,” I joked and dipped a chip in the little bowl of sour cream.

“Wait, try this.” Charlie reached for a squeeze bottle full of some sauce.

I held my hands over the plate. “What is it?”

She turned the bottle around to show me the label. “A barbecue sauce. I think they make it here, though. It’s so good.”

Reaching for a chip with meat and cheese dripping over the sides, I squeezed a small amount on the top. Right before I popped the whole thing in my mouth, I noticed someone on the TV. My eyes were glued to the screen.

Charlie leaned over. “What’s wrong?”

I was watching the guy being interviewed. “Is that?”

She swiveled around in her chair. “Oh, um–”

“Right?” I grabbed my cell phone to look up the channel and who was being interviewed.

“Is that? No, it couldn’t be.”

“Well don’t keep it a secret.”

She turned back and rested her arms on the table. “Julian Moore. Remember how he went into retirement early because of an injury.”

“Holy shit, that is him.” I was shocked by how he looked. “Man, he’s bulked up since the last time I saw him.”

“Yeah and I totally approve,” she said, fanning herself.

I flagged the waitress down. “Is it possible to turn it up?” I said, pointing to the TV with Julian still filling the screen.

“Oh sure, hold on,” the young woman said and ran over to the bartender.

A few minutes later, Julian’s velvety voice made its way over to my table.

“Damn.”

Charlie rested her body against me. “Damn is right.”

“My dad told me he worked with him once.”

She leaned up. “Really? Only once?”

“I guess.” I reached for another chip. “Dad said something about young fighters and how they don’t know anything.”

“Your dad was always so grumpy.”

I stopped with a chip halfway to my mouth. “Is.”

“What?”

“Is. He’s not dead yet, Charlie.”

She looked shocked by my words. “I know. I didn’t mean it that way.”

I leaned back in my chair. “Then what did you mean?”

“That he can be grumpy.”

I reached for a napkin and then wiped my mouth before pushing my chair back. “Listen, I need to go.”

“Lils, you’re mixing up my words.”

“It’s fine.” I bent down and kissed her cheek. “Talk to you tomorrow?”

“Of course, but I don’t want you to leave angry at me.”

“I’m not angry.”

Charlie grabbed my hand and tugged me toward her. “You promise?” she asked while flashing her perfect puppy dog eyes.

“Yes, totally fine, but that is quickly changing.”

She pushed my body away. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow. I love you, Lils.”

I brought my hand to my lips and sent her an air kiss as I walked out of the restaurant. Somehow I scored rock star parking and only needed to walk two feet from the front door. It was a good thing because after the workout I put myself through, my body was screaming.

As I eased into the front seat and put my keys in the ignition, my hand froze. My mind wandered back to the day when my dad was sitting there at the gym confused. The realization hit me like a ton of bricks. He would forget me soon. I didn’t know how to absorb that thought. It was time to ignore his demands and get my ass over to his house.

“Hey, Dad,” I yelled as I opened the backdoor that led into the kitchen. He had lived in the same house for easily thirty-five years. “Dad?”

“I’m down here,” he said off in the distance.

“Are you in the basement?”

“Yup, come down here.”

When Mom died, he pretty much pretended the room didn’t exist. The door was always kept closed. For a couple of my birthday parties, I would ask to have the celebration in the basement. He would give a look that basically meant the topic was not up for discussion.

As I reached the bottom step, I stopped. “You okay?”

“Yeah, just looking at a few things. Come here,” he said, reaching out his hand.

I sat down beside him and leaned forward to get a better look at the photo album on his lap. I pointed at a picture. “Is that you and Mom?”

“Yeah. I think we were twenty-four then. A couple years before we had you.”

The room felt cold and damp, so I wrapped my arms around my body. There were three metal shelves up against the wall directly in front of me loaded with boxes. Plus, several more boxes were scattered around the big open space. Dad was sitting in the center of the room with photo albums and loose photos all around him.

“I’m surprised to see you down here.”

“I got home from the gym and had an urge to look at some old photos.”

I touched my hand to his. “Dad.”

“I’m sorry for what happened today, Lily.”

“No, you don’t have to apologize.” I turned my body to face him. “The doc said you would have weird moments. I guess that was one of them.”

“Yeah, but what if my memory doesn’t come back the next time?”

“We’ll attack it just like we do everything else: together.” He stayed silent at my words. “Show me more photos of you and Mom.”

He reached beside him and pulled five large albums onto his lap. “What kind of time do you have?”

“All the time in the world.”

“Lily.” I heard my name yelled from down the hall. I sat up in the small twin bed and looked around. “Lily.” Finally my mind was on track, and I registered where I was. My dad’s house. He let me stay the night. Well, technically he didn’t have a choice because we were up till two looking at old photos.

“I’m coming.” I stumbled out of bed and ran toward his room. As I pushed the door back, I sucked in a breath, scared to see what was on the other side.

“Lily, help.”

My dad was sitting on the edge of the bed, clutching his head. I squatted down in front of him and rested my hands on his thighs. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

“I’m struggling to see, and my head feels like it may explode.”

There was a sweatshirt resting on the arm of a chair. I grabbed it and threw it on. “Come on, let’s get you to the hospital.” He rested his arm over my shoulders and stood up. “Are you okay to walk?”

“I’ll have to be, right?”

“No, I can call the ambulance.”

“Let’s do this together.”

I practically carried him to the car. He had to lean up against a wall a few times as I opened a door or moved a table out of the way. But somehow we made it to my car, and I was able to ease him into the seat safely. Just as I was about to close his door, he grabbed my hand. I bent down to be eye level with him.

“Promise me something.”

“Anything.”

“You won’t put me through all the tests and treatments.”

“Dad, what do you want?”

“Let me finish this journey out and be with your mother.”

It took everything in me to hold it together. I cleared my throat before I said anything. “You miss Mom don’t you?”

“So much, Lily.”

“Dad.”

“Yeah.”

“Are you saying you want to go into hospice care?”

He didn’t say anything for several long moments. When he spoke, it was in a hushed tone. “Yeah, I think I am. Is that being selfish?”

“No, not at all.” I felt a tear slide down my cheek.

“I don’t want to leave you yet.”

I found a way to sit down in front of him. “Dad, I have been trying to imagine life without you, and every time I fail. Everything in my life revolves around us and fighting.”

“Your mom loved watching you fight.”

“Did she?”

“Oh yeah, but she always worried about you.”

At that moment, I could see my mom sitting on bleachers cheering me on. She had long blond hair, which flowed around her shoulders, and her smile lit up a room. “Hey, let’s talk to the doctor and see what’s going on. Then we’ll just take each challenge one day at a time.”

“Together,” he said and brushed his hand down the side of my face.

“Together.” I reached up and squeezed his hand.