John glanced in my direction. I shrugged and bit off the end of a fresh slice of pizza. “What can I say? There’s more to the story, but we can chat later.”
“Can I still go for a ride on the Harley? I did my chores and Maggie made me do my homework.”
John’s eyes connected with mine. “She’s right. I witnessed it with my own eyes. You’ll just have to see if it’s up to your expectations.” I fiddled with my napkin.
“I did my best, Dad, really.”
Bones barked and nudged Chloe’s thigh with his nose.
She dropped him a bit of crust. “There you go, boy.” Then she picked off a hunk of cheese. “Watch this,” she said, staring into Bones’ pathetic eyes. “Sit, down,” she said. “Roll over,” she commanded.
Bones rolled over then stayed put, lying beside her. We all watched as Chloe dropped the cheese just above his nose. With one bite, he snatched the morsel from midair and licked his chops. Mom gave a little clap then rubbed her tailbone.
“Cool,” Bradley said.
“You two are a couple of tricksters,” I said, watching John get situated on a stool at the counter, next to the pizza boxes.
“Well, can I, Dad?”
“Let me check out your room and check over your homework, then we can go,” he answered.
“Where you going?” Bradley asked.
“I don’t know. Maybe to get ice cream.” Chloe flashed a toothy smile. “I have my own helmet and everything.”
“Really?” Bradley questioned.
John swallowed and dabbed his mouth with a napkin. “Yup, I have a Softail Classic, sunset orange. You should come over and check it out.”
“I’d look good riding that,” Bradley said, puffing out his chest. “Mom would kill me if I got a motorcycle. First, I couldn’t have a dog as kid, then she nixed the whole motorcycle thing.” He pretended to pout. “Deprived, is all I can say.”
“I feel so bad for you.” I glanced over to Mom who was a quiet bystander during all the conversation. “You okay?”
A flash of concern crossed John’s face.
“She had a little fall getting some dishes out of the cupboard. She landed on her tailbone.”
“I can check you out,” John offered, but I’m not sure there’s much I can do. Only an x-ray will show if it’s broken and even then there’s not much to do for that.”
“I’ll be fine. My ego hurts more than my rear end.
“Maybe you should get it checked out,” he suggested.
“We’ll see. Maggie gave me some pain reliever. I’m sure it’s nothing,” Mom said.
Chloe shoved the rest of her pizza in her mouth. With bloated cheeks, she started to talk. John put his hand up as she mumbled. “Swallow first and next time don’t put so much in your mouth,” he said, standing up with an empty plate.
I pointed to the trashcan imagining John in leather chaps, riding a horse. “It’s in there.” I pointed to the cupboard next to where he stood.
Chloe hopped up then pushed her chair in. “Thanks for the pizza, Bradley. It hit the spot,” she said, chuckling. “That’s something Glad would say. Just cracks me up.” She skipped over and threw her plate away.
John raised his eyebrow at her manners.
“Thanks again for rescuing me from Marlow,” Chloe said as she twirled her finger next to her right temple. “She was a little crazy. If you ask me.”
“Hope your room meets the standards,” I said.
“Me, too,” Bradley said. “You are so lucky.”
Chloe gave my mom a peck on the cheek. “Hope you feel better. Remember, some days the bear gets you or something like that,” she said. “Is that right, Maggie?”
“Pretty much,” I said.
Mom smiled and patted Chloe’s arm. “You are so right.”
“Come on, Dad, let’s ride!” Chloe howled, pretending to rev the engine with her two hands placed firmly on the make-believe handlebars.
Bradley grabbed another piece of pizza from the box after throwing his plate away. “Maybe my mom can go for a ride when you get back,” he suggested with a grin.
“What do you think, Chloe?” John raised a mischievous eyebrow.
Chloe grinned in agreement. “She would like it.”
I shot Bradley a look, thanking him for offering up the crazy idea.
Chloe scratched her chin as she sized me up.
Bradley’s sinister grin amused me.
“You’re welcome. Any time, Mom.”
Chapter 22
Tapping the send button, I hadn’t bargained for such a speedy reply. Fletcher Thompson’s response made me uneasy. I blinked as I read it. “Are you kidding me?” I mumbled to myself. I shouldn’t have accepted the jewelry from the shoot with Brook, but I had no idea it would spur such a crazy invitation. I closed the email and sat back in my chair. He requested to see my work and attached an invitation to Los Angeles. Intriguing as it was, I questioned his motivation to befriend me.
Bradley’s flight departed on time and now it was time to get Judy to the doctor. I closed the laptop, picked up my purse, and left the house. With Bradley gone, my house seemed empty. While here, his presence comforted me, made the old days seem not so long ago. Vivid memories flooded my mind and kissed me with sweet surprise as thoughts of Judy’s appointment crept into my mind. My heart pinched in my chest for her, for me. It could be me.
Adjusting the rearview mirror, I told myself not to look back. School would be over soon enough and Sundays would have new meaning, at least for a while. Judy waited on her porch and smiled as if nothing was wrong. Her dark curly hair reflected the welcome sunshine, her bounce the sign of a woman willing to persevere.
I met her gaze and smiled back as she opened the door to get in. “Hey there,” I said, gripping the wheel trying to calm the waves in my stomach.
“Let’s go,” Judy muttered, buckling her seatbelt. “Thanks for going with me today.”
“No worries. I wouldn’t think of being anywhere else.” I glanced over at her. Her jaw twitched as she clenched her lips and stared out the window. “What are you expecting today?” I asked, muting the radio.
“I’ve had the mammogram. The doctor has seen it. I’m not sure what they’ll tell me.”
I took a deep breath. “Well, whatever happens, I’m here.”
Judy wiggled in her seat and tucked her purse into her lap. Her white knuckles gripped the leather straps. I prayed.
“Turn here,” Judy said, pointing to the entranceway to the cancer center.
I glanced over to her. The pit in my stomach ached.
“I forgot, you know the way,” she whispered.
“It’s okay.” I hadn’t been here since my radiation ended. I wasn’t due to see Dr. Withers, my radiation oncologist, until June for a check-up. I swallowed and gave Judy a little smile trying to lighten the moment. I thought about the cane that they’d found that first day of radiation with my dad’s name on it that now hung in my house. His spirit got me through the fight and I pondered who Judy’s guardian angel was and how they were connected. I knew it was time to take down the pink ribbon on my front door and pass it along to her.
Judy signed in. I sat away from the other patients. My breath caught in my throat. My stomach flip-flopped when a hunched over woman scooted by. Her walker clanked with each step and the black scarf tied around her head reminded me of Harriet Tubman. Her tired eyes focused on the path to the elevator as her husband held her elbow. I dug in my purse pretending to search for something. I scolded myself for not being stronger as worry scraped at the bottom my belly. Judy sat beside me.
“You look about as comfortable as I feel,” she said.
“It’s that obvious,” I whispered, connecting with her stare. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry. I never thought I’d be back here for this.”
Zipping up my purse, I tucked it down beside me, and took a deep breath. I said another prayer. “I don’t want you to be here. You need
to be at home baking cookies for the boys while they’re at school. You need to be out shopping or cleaning the oven.”
Judy patted my hand. “Soon we’ll know. Will you come in with me?”
“I will if you want me to,” I answered.
“I don’t think I can do this alone. It’s too nerve-wracking.”
Her dark eyes beckoned for support. I patted the back of her hand as I forced my own fears to the dark part of my mind.
A thin smile crossed her lips. The door to the office opened and the nurse in the pink scrubs called her name. We both stood, I gave Judy’s hand a squeeze and followed her into examination room number two. She sat on the end of the table. The nurse in pink with the bubbly attitude handed her a gown and told her to change.
“Let me know when you’re ready. I’ll step outside,” I said as the nurse took Judy’s blood pressure. I leaned against the wall just next to the examination room. Judy was right. This was nerve-wracking. Memories flooded back. It could easily be me sitting on the exam table. It’d been over a year since Doctor Walters transparent smile alarmed me as she entered my examination room, took the novel out of my hands, and told me, my mammogram was abnormal. Bam! In that spilt-second, my world turned upside down. The sooner we got out of here the better. Judy’s voice interrupted my flashback. A woman with a white coat followed me into the room.
“Hi, Judy,” she said.
“Hi, Doctor,” she said, fidgeting with her gown. The paper on the table crinkled. “This is my friend, Maggie. She’s my moral support today.”
“Nice to meet you,” the doctor said, lifting her gaze from Judy’s file. “I’m Dr. Nelson.”
“Nice to meet you,” I responded, thinking not really. The thought of cleaning the bathroom, calling the plumber, testing another child seemed joyful in comparison. I stared at the back of Dr. Nelson’s head as she stepped closer to Judy.
“Well, I reviewed the films and it appears—”
My breath caught in my chest as I saw Judy stiffen, her eyes like glass, her jaw rigid with fear. Dr. Nelson rubbed her hand.
“It appears that the lump you have is a cyst.”
“What’s that?” Judy asked, crossing her ankles sitting up straighter.
“We can drain it today. We think it’s a benign cyst that’s filled with fluid. Of course we’ll run the fluid through some tests just to make sure, but I think we can end this today.”
Judy’s shoulders quaked. Dr. Nelson put her arm around her patient, my friend, Harry and Walter’s mom, and held her tight. “It’s okay.”
I thanked the heavens. Judy wiped at the corners of her eyes. My eyes brimmed with tears as she relaxed and looked to the sky with laced fingers.
“Seriously, a cyst? I’ve been so worried.” Judy inhaled deeply then slowly released the cleansing breath, her petite chest rising and falling with ease.
“Yup, a pesky cyst,” Dr. Nelson replied, arranging some sterile silver instruments on the counter.
I caught Judy’s attention.
“Oy vey, are you kidding me?”
“I’m not kidding,” Dr. Nelson assured her. “Maybe Maggie would like to wait in the waiting room for this part. I’ll get Ann and we’ll get this over with.”
I smiled at the dismissal. “See you in a while, crocodile.” I winked at Judy, blew her an air kiss, then wound my way back through the office trying to find the exit. I thanked God with each step wondering what we could do to celebrate for the time being even if we had to wait for additional test results.
With a sigh of relief, I opened the door to the waiting room. Surprised to see Jenny McBride reading a magazine, I stopped in my tracks pondering how I could escape the area without actually making contact. She glanced up, her red-rimmed eyes locked with mine. I walked over to where she sat. “Hi, Jenny.” A shadow drifted through her stare. Her eyes weren’t the crystal blue I’d known when we worked together or the day she announced she was hired in as principal.
“Hi,” she replied.
Her bottom lip quivered as she greeted me. I sat down in the chair next to her.
“I’m here with my friend,” I said, before clearing my throat, deadening any misgivings I felt toward her. They’d chosen her over me when it came time to name the new principal and the way things were going, it probably was a blessing in disguise.
Jenny closed her magazine and set it back on the glass coffee table. “That’s nice that you came with your friend.”
I nodded. “She needed the support.”
Jenny’s pursed lips held secrets, her gaunt cheeks harsh and sharp like her business tact.
Uncomfortable with the scene, I leaned back in the chair and closed my eyes. I counted to ten by twos then opened them slowly. Jenny and I were the only women in the waiting room. What was I supposed to say? She blew her nose and tucked the tissue into the pocket of her sweater.
“I know you don’t like me,” she mumbled.
My conscience jerked me to attention. My eyes met her stare as I turned toward her. Three more years, I told myself. This is not the time to make enemies. I swallowed. “I don’t dislike you,” I said.
“You made it very clear that you thought you were the right one for the job,” she said, taking a deep breath.
“I was disappointed. I’m sorry if anything I said was misinterpreted.”
She snickered. “That’s just it. You’re so politically correct, people look up to you, you have a gift, and you don’t even see it half the time.”
Jenny’s words cut me. “Look, I’m just trying to make it from day-to-day just like everyone else.” Where the hell was Judy? We had some celebrating to do? This was not what I bargained for. Uneasiness rushed through my veins.
“Funny, I don’t know how many days I have left. My prognosis isn’t optimistic. At least you have a family. And friends.”
Startled by the hitch in my breathing, I gripped the armrests on my chair. What did she want from me? Was I supposed to feel guilty for what I had? “I’m sorry you’re sick, Jenny. I’ve been there, fought my own battle, or should I say battles, especially over the last few years.” Keeping my personal life private was priority. I took a deep breath. “I’m sorry if there was something that I said or did that hurt you. This office isn’t foreign to me nor the scars I carry from the surgeries or my past,” I said, holding steady.
“Maggie, I can do lots of things, but I don’t know if I can do this.”
“I know.” The door opened and Judy immerged. “If there is anything, I can do to help, let me know.” Jenny and I started out together, held each other’s hand at one point in our careers, but the inertia of promotion divided us, changed the feelings we once shared. Jenny’s stare cut me. “My number is still the same.” The corner of my mouth curled thinking back to a time when we chatted openly as friends until ugly ambition tarnished our bond.
“Thanks,” she said.
Judy meandered over to where we sat. She gave me a little smile.
“You all set?” I asked.
“Yup, good to go,” she replied with a nod.
“Good. Judy, this is my friend Jenny. Jenny, this is my friend Judy.”
“Nice to meet you,” Judy said with a nod.
“Same here,” Jenny said. “So we’re all in the same boat, huh?”
Judy grimaced. “I wish I could say no, but that seems to be the case.”
“Cancer should not divide the sisterhood.” I patted Jenny’s hand. “Nor anything else,” I added, not sure the rift would ever mend. “Call me.”
“The phone works both ways,” she responded, straight-faced.
I nodded, knowing that her hard exterior was a façade for her fear-driven attitude. It wasn’t Jenny’s fault that I’d closed myself off. At the time, it was the only way I knew how to put one foot in front of the other to move forward. “I wish you all the best, Jenny. Let me know if there’s anything I can do.” A thin grin crossed her lips as her eyes flitted back and forth between Judy and me.
I hooked my arm with Judy’s. “Well, we should get going,” I said.
“Yeah, I’m kind of sore.” Judy faced Jenny. “It was nice meeting you,” she said. “Good luck with everything. Stay tough.” Judy unclenched her fist and handed Jenny the miniature silver angel she’d clung to.
Jenny’s questioning expression softened as Judy handed her the trinket. I knew that “the old Jenny” loomed somewhere deep beneath the melancholy stare. There was no doubt in my mind that she’d fight, but I wondered what was in store for her. Sadness washed over me as Judy and I meandered to the elevator.
“Somebody from work?” Judy asked as the stainless steel doors opened, our reflections disappearing.
“Yeah, long story,” I said, “but can I just say that I don’t want anything to come between us, ever?” Our reflections reunited as the doors closed and we rode down to the main floor. Her kindness consumed me. “On a different note, we need to celebrate your good news.”
Judy’s wide grin made her cheeks bulge. “Let’s have a cocktail at lunch.”
“You got it. I’m starved.” My belly grumbled as if I hadn’t eaten in days.
“You’re on.” Judy let out a breath of relief. “That was so scary,” she said, shaking her curls free.
“Yeah, I know what you mean.”
“I hope the test results prove Dr. Nelson correct.”
“Me, too,” I said. “Me, too.”
Chapter 23
Sun streamed through the windshield as I drove up the driveway. I parked the car, sighed, and pushed my sunglasses to the top of my head. The day drained me. First Judy, then Jenny, who knew, and I was beginning to feel the cocktail I’d had with lunch. The sofa called my name. My waist called for the yoga pants.
A box from the florist waited on the porch for me. My heart fluttered at the unexpected delivery. Pretty sure Sam Elliot didn’t know I existed. Who sent me flowers? The contents tickled my senses as I peeked under the lid, and the scent of fresh blooms washed over me.
I scooted the box out of the way to open the door as Bones barked inside. “I’m going as fast as I can,” I called to him, juggling my purse and keys eager to inspect the contents further and solve the mystery.
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