The Five Wishes of Mr. Murray McBride

Content Warning: This section contains discussion of child death. 

Murray and the kids get Chicago-style pizza at their apartment. Jason discusses what his superhero name should be and settles on Fog Shadow. Tiegan goes to bed, and Jason proposes superhero names for Murray. Murray admires Jason’s commitment to remaining lighthearted despite his difficult circumstances. They talk about what happens after death. Jason hopes that people might get reincarnated, perhaps as animals. He and Murray imagine a new life where Jason is a rhinoceros and Murray and Jenny are birds. Jason promises that they will be friends in every lifetime.

The next day, the weather has improved. Before they leave for the stadium, Murray overhears Jason and Tiegan talking. Jason was given six months to live, and today marks exactly six months since he received that prognosis. Tiegan tries to comfort him. Murray realizes that today is the 22nd—the day he had joked he would stop taking his pills. The three of them head to Wrigley Field, but Murray finds that he is in a lot of pain on the walk there. A young Cubs player, Javier Gonzalez, pulls up in a convertible and offers them a ride. At the stadium, Murray learns that the Cubs have done everything they can to help Jason succeed: They have given him a lightweight bat and set up the field to make a home run easier.