LIFE Interrupted

by Lee Wardlow

  He watched Sam and Miguel’s head drop. Their eyes were filled with sadness before their gaze hit the floor. These weren’t sensitive men who showed emotion easily. Sophie was a part of their lives every day from Monday through Saturday when they worked. She took a personal interest in them. More than they knew at least in Miguel’s case. This was difficult for them because they cared about her.

  “I’ll need to be with her if the chemo leaves her in a bad way. We’ll just have to see how she does. I need for you, Miguel,” he pointedly started with him, “and you, Sam to guide Jagger until he gets on his feet.”

  “You got it,” Sam replied.

  Josh’s eyes traveled between Sam and Miguel. The younger man was having trouble keeping his emotions in check. He wiped his arm across his face. “I’m sorry, Josh.” He knew that Miguel meant for more than just that Sophie was ill.

  “I understand, Miguel. She means a lot to everyone. Marcy stopped by last night. I told her how bad it was, and she wants to do whatever she can. I really appreciate that.”

  “My Marcy adores Sophie. So, do I.” Miguel couldn’t meet Josh’s eyes. “I’ll do whatever Jagger needs.”

  He thought Jagger was beginning to see the picture. They were more than co-workers. These men were more than his employees. They were family at Russack Landscaping. He hoped he liked it here because he thought Jagger was a good fit.

  “Gentleman, I need to head home. We’re either having a house full of family tonight to discuss Sophie’s treatment plan or we’re going to someone’s house. I don’t know which yet. I have to call Sophie to find out.”

  All three men sitting on the other side of Josh’s desk rose. They shook hands. He had a good feeling about this. He needed one less thing to worry about while he concentrated on Sophie and making sure she was getting well.

  “I’ll touch base with everyone after Sophie is home on Monday sometime probably after noon.”

  They walked outside together, each getting into their own vehicle. Josh was the last one out of the parking lot.

  **

  Sophie

  She pulled in her driveway at home and was surprised to find her parents car. They were early if they were here for dinner. Sophie got out of her truck and headed inside the house. She called to them, but no one answered. Frowning, Sophie dropped her purse and her jacket in the chair and went searching for them.

  She started to head to the kitchen when she heard voices down the hall. Sophie stepped backwards and heard a familiar voice she wasn’t expecting to be in their house today.

  Sophie moseyed to the end of the hallway by the entrance to the living room where she listened a moment longer. Then she went down the hall where her daughter’s room was next to her own. She stopped just outside the door and heard her mother and daughter talking. She didn’t knock which normally she would. She opened the door.

  Her mother was sitting on the bed while Ally was putting her things away in the closet. Sophie scowled at the two of them, as she leaned in the doorway of her daughter’s room.

  “What’s going on?”

  Both her mother and Ally turned their guilty gazes to her. “Mom, you’re home early.” She picked up another shirt in the box, put it on a hanger and put it on the rod in the closet.

  “And you are home,” Sophie responded. “I wasn’t expecting you.”

  “I am home,” Ally agreed.

  “Your dad and I went to Columbus and got her,” her mother informed her with a firmness that only irritated Sophie.

  She had gathered that. Six boxes remained to be unpacked. Obviously, Ally was home for good. Her heart raced against her chest. Sophie chewed on her lower lip to keep from saying anything while she collected herself by silently counting.

  “Now Mom, let’s talk about this,” Ally tried noticing her mother’s expression.

  “What is there to talk about?” She asked. Sophie gazed around the room that hadn’t been changed since Ally left this past summer for school. She had only been gone three months. “What did you do, Ally? I do think I deserve an explanation.”

  “I withdrew from school. I’ll apply to the local community college in January, so I don’t miss many classes.” Ally continued hanging her clothes in the closet.

  “How are you paying for school without the soccer scholarship you had?”

  Sophie crossed her arms and waited for Ally to respond. She and Josh could pay for it. That wasn’t the problem. The issue here was she and Josh were not consulted.

  She recognized the stubbornness in her child. She was so much like her at times like this, when she had her mind made up but most of the time her daughter was quiet and kind like Josh. Laid back like him too.

  Ally glanced over her shoulder. “I’ll apply for loans.”

  Sophie shook her head. “Why would you do this Ally Marie? Why give up a free ride to saddle yourself with student loans?”

  Her daughter tossed the shirt she was holding into the box and walked over to her mother. “Because my mother has cancer and I need to be here. It’s that important to me.”

  They were toe to toe. Sophie dropped her hands to her sides. “You don’t. Maybe it isn’t too late, and we can fix this. We’ll keep you informed of what’s going on with me. You don’t need to be here baby,” Sophie was pleading with her to be reasonable. “Daddy or Heath or Grandma and Grandpa can let you know how I’m doing. Don’t do this.” Sophie could see the tears in her daughter’s eyes. She wasn’t moved because she was about to cry herself.

  “Mom, I do need to be here, and this is where I want to be. Now stop. I can help with the business between classes. You won’t be able to help Dad if the chemo makes you sick. I read all about the side effects. I can help.”

  “He is interviewing a Manager today to take some of the pressure off him, so he can pick up my responsibilities if I can’t do them,” she insisted.

  Her daughter needed to go back to school.

  “I’m not going back,” Ally insisted.

  “Ally.”

  “Mom.”

  Her father stepped into the room, just behind her. He laid his hand on her shoulder, calming her. “Sophie, stop.”

  “How could you guys do this without talking to me?” She raised her voice at her father. He raised his eyebrows at her.

  “Sophie,” her mother said her name. “You don’t understand how hard this has been on everyone.”

  “I don’t understand?” Her voice rose, getting shrill. “I’m the one with cancer and I don’t understand.”

  She went past her father into the hallway. Her own room was right next to Ally’s. She slammed the door behind her. This was her sanctuary. Her place of peace. She began undressing. Then she realized that she was having company tonight, so she could discuss with her entire family about her treatment for the next six months. All she wanted to do was crawl in bed and hide from everyone.

  Cancer had made a huge, impact in her life. She was changing everything to accommodate it. People around her were changing their lives even though she didn’t want them to.

  She crawled in bed in her underwear and bra and covered up her head, staying there. She didn’t want to have a port inserted in her chest. She didn’t want to start chemo. She didn’t want cancer.

  Laying there, under the covers, she cried. Out of control, sobbing until Josh came home and uncovered her. He sat on the bed and pulled the blankets down.

  “What are you doing? Your brother, Lo and the boys are here. Kai and Roman will be here any minute. Mom and Dad just got here a second ago. Just waiting on Hannah and Heath.”

  “Our daughter dropped out of school.”

  “I know. I just talked to her and your mom and dad.”

  “Why aren’t you upset?” Her eyes flared when she snapped at him.

  He took her hand in his and held it. Then he looked her in the eye. “Because my wife has cancer, Sophie. I’m more worried about her than my daughter quitting school. She says she’ll apply to a local school in January and
I believe her.”

  “I hate this, Josh. I hate this so much.” She sat up and slipped into his arms. His fingers caressed her bare back.

  “I do too, babe. I don’t want to see you go through this.”

  She leaned back, and his hands slid down to her hips. “Josh, my mom said I don’t understand when I’m the one that’s sick.”

  He caressed her face. “Sophie, it’s not that we aren’t aware of what you are going through. Trust me. Every single one of us is dreading what this is going to do to you. I don’t think she meant it that way. You are her daughter. Try to imagine if one of the kids was going through this. How would you feel?”

  Sophie laid her head against Josh’s chest. “Terrified. Kids aren’t supposed to die before their parents.”

  “Nobody said anything about dying, Soph.” He held her close. “Your mom said your dad went home the other night and cried. She found him at the kitchen table eating Snickers with a glass of milk. He had tears running down his face.”

  She raised her head and looked at him. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen my dad cry.” She was in shock.

  “It is all about you, and what you are going through but we all have our own emotions too that we are trying to deal with. Some better than others.”

  “I get it,” she replied then she leaned back on her palms. “Did you hire Jagger Crosby?”

  “I did. Love this guy. Easy going. Great resume. Has worked for around four years in a landscaping business in Northern Kentucky as a supervisor. Prior to that he had a career in business. Just moved back to Cooper to be closer to his mother who is ill. He graduated from here.

  “We got along great. Sam and Miguel promised to support him with whatever he needs when I’m out. He starts Monday which works well for me since I’ll be with you.”

  “Miguel is fine now?” Sophie asked.

  “He is.” Josh ran his finger down her face. She loved it when he touched her like this. A gentle, caress letting her know how much he adored her.

  “Ally suggested she work in my place,” Sophie informed Josh.

  He shrugged. “It would be good for her. Keep her busy and out of trouble. We don’t know how you are going to feel.”

  “Should she be at work on Monday?”

  “Fine by me,” Josh told Sophie. “She knows the business. She’s helped you out during the summer months when we’re swamped. She can help Jagger get his feet wet.”

  Sophie shook her head. “I wonder if that’s a good, idea. He’s a great, looking guy. Our daughter is an impressionable eighteen-year-old.”

  He shook his head at Sophie. “He’s twenty-nine, Sophie. He’s a professional and I think Ally would think he’s too old for her.”

  A knock on the door made them turn their heads and look to see who would come in. Kai stuck her head inside the door. “We’re all here.”

  “Come in here,” Sophie told her.

  Kai shut the door behind her and walked over to the bed, standing behind Josh. “I heard you had a rough time with Ally when you got home.”

  “I just can’t believe she quit school and that my parents went to Columbus and got her,” she frowned at Josh and Kai.

  Kai laid her hand on Josh’s shoulder. He glanced up at her, giving her a smile. “Why can’t you believe that, Soph?”

  “Duke and Daisy adore you and Ally. If Ally was upset like I know she was, of course, they would do whatever she asked to make it better. Ally wanted to be here. She thought it was best for you and for her. Imagine being ninety minutes away if Daisy was going through this. Put yourself in Ally’s shoes.”

  She sighed. “That’s what Josh was telling me and I’m trying. I don’t want her to throw her future away because of my cancer. It will go away but she has this one chance to not mess things up. We know about that all too well.”

  “We do. Things can happen that change your future like babies which we all accepted and made out just fine.”

  “But it was hard,” Sophie interrupted her.

  “Sure, it was difficult being an eighteen-year-old parent. We grew up with our kids for a while as we matured.”

  “I don’t want that to happen to Ally.” Sophie stared at the blankets covering her lower half.

  “Sophie, you’re being ridiculous.”

  She fumbled with the edge of the blankets. Playing with them nervously. “The statistics are stacked against them, you know that right. Heath and Hannah…”

  “Had a condom break,” Kai interrupted her. “They weren’t like us. They were out of college. Already engaged by the skin of their teeth,” Kai laughed. “Half the time, Ben and I didn’t use a condom. I’m surprised I didn’t get pregnant before I did.”

  “Yeah, we used the pull-out method so effectively.” Sophie rolled her eyes.

  “We got Heath,” Josh teased her.

  “We did,” Sophie agreed. She smiled at her husband. She loved her children and the family that they had created. Honestly, she missed the kids. The house was quiet without them. She and Josh were adjusting to it just being them.

  “Would you change anything Sophie?” He asked.

  She shook her head no. “I can’t say that I would.”

  “Then stop talking about it. Let it go. Let the kids live their lives and if it happens to Ally, like Heath and Hannah we support her like we have them.” Josh got up and headed to the bedroom door. “I’m going to visit with our guests before they start to wonder where we’ve disappeared to.”

  When Josh shut the door, Kai perched on the edge of the bed. “What clothes can I get you to put on?”

  “Hello Kitty,” Sophie declared. Kai got up and Sophie laughed. “I’m just kidding. They would make fun of me.”

  “Soph at this stage in your life, with what you’re going through if you want to wear Hello Kitty, wear the Hello Kitty.”

  She nodded. “I just want to be comfortable. I feel like I’m not comfortable in my skin right now.”

  Kai went to the drawer and found a pair of soft, fuzzy, purple pants. “How about these?”

  “Love them, they’re perfect.”

  “Why don’t you feel comfortable?” Kai asked.

  Sophie changed into the pants and waited for Kai to bring her a long-sleeved, white knit top. She put that on. Then Kai sat beside her on the bed while Sophie tried to explain herself.

  “There’s this disease in me that is taking over my body. I want it out. Now, like tomorrow please.” Her eyes met Kai’s. “I worry I won’t be here to see my life happen and I’m scared of what all I will miss.”

  Kai put her arm around Sophie. “I’m not letting you go, stop worrying.”

  “What if you have no choice? It’s not in your control.”

  “Did the doctor tell you something you aren’t telling me?” Kai asked.

  Sophie shook her head. “I’m Stage II, ER/PR positive.”

  “I don’t even know what that means but is sounds scary as hell.” Kai sighed, her frustration level as high as Sophie’s.

  “Let’s go out with the others and I’ll explain.” They stood together, and Kai took Sophie’s hand. “Hey, did you have your ultrasound?”

  “We did.”

  Sophie opened the door. “Do you know what you are having.” Kai nodded. “Care to share with me?”

  “How about we announce it at the table with everyone?” Kai suggested.

  “Some good news to go with my treatment plan, that will make everyone feel better. Should I go first then?”

  “Whatever you want?”

  Her mother hugged her as soon as they reached the dining room where everyone was waiting on them, pizza boxes piled up in the center of the table. Kai took her seat while Sophie made the rounds. She hugged her brother next. It felt like she was dying, like they all believed that she couldn’t beat this disease.

  She stopped at Ally’s chair. Her daughter glanced at her, a hint of defiance in her stare. “I get it,” she informed her. “I’m not happy that you did it, but I get it and I pro
bably would have done the same thing if my mom had cancer.”

  Ally slid back almost into Sophie. She wrapped her arms around her mother and cried. “I had to be here Mom.”

  Sophie comforted her. “You can cry this one time then no more. I need you to be strong.”

  Mother and daughter kissed then Ally sat down. Heath passed Joshua to Brad Russack who was always willing to take his great-grandson.

  “Mom, are you okay?”

  “I will be,” she promised him.

  He sat down, and she leaned over Brad and kissed his cheek then Maria’s too who patted her hand as she walked around the table to where her father was sitting.

  “All better?” He asked.

  “No but I understand why you did what you did now. I don’t agree with it, but I get it.”

  “It won’t be the first time you didn’t agree with me,” he informed her. His expression was uncompromising.

  She shook her head at him. “Are you going to mass with us tomorrow?”

  “I wasn’t given a choice by Brad or your mother, thank you very much.”

  He tucked his napkin into the belt of his pants, something he always did. His white hair was a tumbled mess on his head like he had been running his hands through it. Her father was in desperate need of a haircut. His jaw was covered in fine whiskers. She realized that he always looked like he needed a shave. The whiskers on his face grew that quick.

  Sophie leaned over him and kissed his head. “Love you, Daddy,” she whispered, and she thought he was going to cry. Her father wrapped his arm around her slender waist and held onto her.

  When Duke could speak, he responded with a, “Ditto, kiddo.”

  “Paddy told me the church was going to catch on fire,” she teased him to lighten the mood a little.

  “When did you see Father Paddy?” Her mother asked.

  She took her seat by her mother and Josh. She smiled at her. “I went over there before coming home. He and I had a nice talk. Prayed a little. He gave me an impromptu absolution. I have a few Our Father’s and Hail Mary’s to say.”