Aiden wondered if it was the bad lighting that caused James to look a little pale on the face.
Exhaustion was visible in his eyes, almost as if the young man had gotten older by a few years within a single night.
When Aiden came in, Grandma Thompson was in the middle of persuading James to drink some warm tea and eat some freshly baked pineapple cookies.
James' younger siblings required neither coercion nor persuasion. They happily ate their cookies while sitting in front of the television in the living room.
After putting out another plate of cookies for her grandson, Grandma Thompson went to sit with the children.
Aiden and James decided to sit on the verandah to enjoy the last rays of the afternoon sun before sunset.
"Where did you go?" James asked while munching a warm pineapple cookie.
"Oh, um. The hospital," Aiden answered with a lowered voice. Although he said nothing about the biopsy result, James could see the strain on Aiden's face.
