It is not, in any event, either Linda's or my inclination to tell Ian less than everything. So, a little while after I was diagnosed, and going light on the Angel of Death angle, we explained that Daddy had a very serious disease called cancer but that we were going to do everything we could to make it go away. He listened solemnly. We told him yes. He acknowledged, with a look I won't forget that he had registered the importance of this information.
Children have a gift for moving on.
I'm trying to stay in touch with. Ian continues to make occasional inquiries. But we're still working on it. If you are by now thoroughly depressed, don't be. I am writing this to convey, with some surprise, what a positive stage this has been.