Somehow I missed the call. I didn’t notice until I set my phone on the desk and saw the alert flashing that I had a message. My day had been so long and tiresome I almost ignored it, but curiosity got the better of me and I dialed in to voicemail. It was Jordan. “Dad, I snapped! All by myself. A real snap!” Her voice oozed with pride. I sat back in my chair and listened to the message over and over, and I thought to myself, “Hot damn!

The knot in my back throbbed. Even as I pressed it against the jet of water, the muscle was tight and unrelenting. I submerged my head to align the aching spot with the pulsing whirlpool blast. Underneath, I filtered out the world while the rhythm of the water beat against my eardrums. When my breath ran out, I floated toward the surface, opened my eyes and saw my son staring back at me, wearing swimmer’s goggles, his hair mussed and wet-plastered to his head.

She is an inspiration. I’ve scribbled a note to myself to remind me the next time I’m whining about a client. After a grueling day of chemo, she still manages to laugh out loud and practice her sense of fashion. Knock wood, she hasn’t been sick, though it is still early. When I got home, she cuddled with me and smiled with a grin as wide as the ocean. I cradled her, careful not to seem too concerned, and smiled back, humbled by my little girl.

He crossed his arms and sulked, then threw back his head and exhaled a sigh brimming with contempt. I shot a look in the rearview mirror. Silence thickened the mood, adding drama to an already tense morning. Jordan ignored it and returned to her singing. “Those blue eyes are going to get you in trouble. I fell in love with those eyes…” She inflected her verse with a flavor of Billie Holiday, improvising the lyrics to Them There Eyes.

With each new day Jordan is getting stronger and more like her old self. Her sleep cycle hasn’t returned to normal, yet. She generally crawls into our bed around 4am and takes a long nap at around 10am. She’s a little less moody, and her wit is regaining its sharpness. Wednesday we meet with the oncology team to discuss the new chemotherapy protocol. Jordan will return on Thursday to get started.