Bright blue?

Robin's egg?

Azure?

Beryl? No, not beryl. That was for water, the sea.

It had to be azure. The sky. Cloudless.

“Whatcha lookin' at? “ Kay had come up behind him. She sipped her iced tea and then extended her hand, “Want some?”

“The sky is so perfectly clear I swear I can see the blackness of space beyond it, “ he said, accepting the tea.

She looked up too, squinting. “You see weird shit honey.”

He was dying. She didn't know.

“You always know just what to say, “ he laughed and handed back the tea. Then, he leaned forward and pecked her sun-kissed cheek.

“Want to grill? “ she asked.

“Want to go out instead?”

“Want to grill?” she repeated herself, smiling and nodding.

He found steaks already marinating in the refrigerator and knew she had planned this hours ago. Singing along to the music playing softly on the stereo, he set about dicing potatoes, onions, and peppers. He wanted to grill those too, so he wrapped them in foil after drizzling olive oil over them and sprinkling a little sea salt and cracked pepper over the veggies. The grill was ready so he set the foil package on the the grate, closed the lid and stepped back inside the house to look for his wife.

He found her in the shower and popped his head in to tell her that the veggies were on and to playfully ogle her. After padding down the hallway to his office he retrieved the envelope marked “oncology” from his briefcase. He slipped the folded instructions from within and began to read:

You are going to die. It is going to be painful. You will abandon your loved ones after burdening them for months trying to ease your suffering. You are going to die and it is going to fucking suck. You are going to die.

He heard his wife talking to herself down the hall as she dressed after her shower. She didn't know. He couldn't tell her.