title: Sickness in Time
author:  MF Thomas 
description: MF Thomas has lived and worked in over 20 countries. He is very happy to be home in the United States. With Nicholas Thurkettle, he co-authored the sci-fi thriller novel Seeing by Moonlight, published in Autumn 2013.
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  I
  
  
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  “G
  
  
  od rest you merry, gentlemen, let nothing youdismay . . .” The familiar words
  seemed to taunt Catherine, reminding her of the forces that threatened the
  happily complacent life she had assumed would be hers forever. Her husband was
  in the hospital with leukemia. His enlarged spleen had been removed this
  morning as a precaution against it rupturing, and while it was too early to
  tell for sure, he seemed to be doing well. Still, she could not escape the
  fear that he was not going to live, and the thought of life without him was
  almost paralyzing.
  
  Why didn’t I realize Tom was getting sick? she agonized. She remembered how
  only two weeks ago, when she’d asked him to take groceries from the car, he’d
  reached into the trunk for the heaviest bag, hesitated, then winced as he
  picked it up.
  
  She’d laughed at him. “Play golf yesterday. Act like an old man today. Some
  athlete.