Katy tugged Rosemary’s sleeve. “What is it? What’s wrong with Aunt Rebecca?”
Rosemary slipped her arm around Katy’s shoulders. “She has cancer, honey.”
Katy’s knees buckled. She stared into her stepmother’s concerned face, her heart pounding so hard she feared it might explode. Cancer? But cancer killed people. Aunt Rebecca couldn’t possibly have cancer.
Dad turned Gramma Ruthie toward the house. “Let’s go inside — out of the sun. Katy, make a fresh pot of coffee.”
Shelby’s brother ran outside to play, but Reverend and Mrs. Nuss joined Dad, Gramma Ruthie, and Grampa Ben in the front room. Shelby sat at the kitchen table while Rosemary sliced banana nut bread and Katy prepared a pot of coffee. Her hands shook, but she ground the beans, filled the aluminum percolating basket, and poured water into the pot. How could she work so calmly, fixing coffee and arranging mugs on a tray like it was any other gathering, when Aunt Rebecca had something ugly and dangerous growing inside of her? All the times she’d gotten annoyed with her aunt came back to haunt her, and she vowed she’d never let frustration get control of her again if only Aunt Rebecca would be all right.
Shelby propped her chin in her hand. She looked worried. “Maybe I shouldn’t stay this summer if …”
Rosemary crossed to the table and gave Shelby’s shoulder a squeeze. “Oh, no. I think God knew Katy would need a friend this summer.” She looked at Katy with a sad smile. “Am I right? Having Shelby here is a blessing.”
Katy nodded. As much as she loved her friend Annika, Annika tended to be gloom and doom about things. Shelby was more positive. “And maybe you can help out at the fabric store with me.” She glanced at Shelby’s thick cast. “You could sit at the counter and run the cash register.”
“I’d be glad to help,” Shelby said.
Katy and Rosemary carried the banana bread and coffee to the front room, and the grown-ups discussed Aunt Rebecca’s diagnosis. Although Katy enjoyed adding new words to her vocabulary, she resented adding tumors, radiation, and chemotherapy to her word bank. Those were words she’d rather never know.
Grampa Ben finished, “The doctor said they caught it early, and she should be all right. But it will be a rough few months while she goes through treatment.”
A single tear trailed down Gramma Ruthie’s cheek. “I plan to stay with Albert and Rebecca to help out with the children.” She turned a wobbly smile on Katy. “And I’m so glad our Katy is familiar with the store. She can keep things going there so Rebecca doesn’t need to worry.”
Katy nodded eagerly. “Shelby said she’d help too. Maybe even Annika would come in if we need some extra hands so Aunt Rebecca can rest.”
Grampa Ben chuckled. “If I know Rebecca, she’ll want to be at the store whether she feels up to it or not. But she’ll have to go to Salina for her treatments, so there will be plenty of days she’ll be relying on you, Katy-girl. Thank you for being willing to take over.”
Being in full charge of the fabric shop would be very different from following Aunt Rebecca’s directions. For a moment, Katy felt panic trying to take hold. She recited Philippians 4:13 inside her head: I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. The verse — one of Aunt Rebecca’s favorites — calmed her. She said, “I’m glad to do it.” Even though she’d hoped for lots of free time to have fun with Shelby, she discovered she was happy to help her family.
Reverend Nuss cleared his throat. “We’re going to need to get on the road soon, but before we go, may I pray with you?”
Dad offered a solemn nod. “We would appreciate your prayers, Brother Tim.”
Everyone bowed their heads and Shelby’s dad began to pray. Katy couldn’t help peeking around the circle while he asked God to bring healing to Aunt Rebecca and strength and peace to the family. She examined a variety of contrasts — Rosemary’s white cap against Mrs. Nuss’s uncovered, shoulder-length hair; Dad’s button-up chambray work shirt and tan trousers against Reverend Nuss’s polo shirt and knee-length plaid shorts; Grampa Ben’s and Gramma Ruthie’s wrinkled, vein-lined hands against Shelby’s smooth skin … For some reason, the pictures put a lump in her throat. She closed her eyes as Reverend Nuss brought his prayer to a close.
“Finally, Lord, we praise You because we know You are a God who wastes nothing. You will use this experience to grow the Lambright family closer to each other and to You. Thank You for giving us all we need to face the challenges of this life. Amen.”
“Amen,” Dad and Grampa Ben echoed.
Shelby said good-bye to her family in the yard before they drove away. Grampa Ben and Gramma Ruthie left too, after receiving hugs from Katy and Rosemary. Dad and Rosemary wandered back to the house, their arms around one another’s waists, and Katy and Shelby were left standing in the middle of the driveway.
Katy sighed. “This isn’t exactly the way I had things planned.”
Shelby bumped Katy with her elbow. “Aww, it’s all right. We were gonna be kind of stuck anyway.” She bobbed her cast-covered foot in the air then leaned more heavily on her crutches. “I sure feel bad for your aunt, though. It’s got to be scary.”
Katy nodded. Aunt Rebecca ran her store the way she wanted, bossed around her kids and husband, and advised everybody whether they wanted advice or not. She was always in control of everything. But she couldn’t control cancer. Nobody could. And if it could happen to Aunt Rebecca, who’d never smoked or drank alcohol or ate junk food or any of the other things the biology teacher at Salina High North said could cause cancer, then it could happen to anyone. The sun beamed hot enough to roast Katy’s head, but a shiver crept up her spine. She admitted, “It scares me.”
Shelby bumped Katy’s elbow again, offering a sympathetic smile. “Well, let’s —”
Dad called from the back door. “Katy? You and Shelby come eat an early lunch, and then I’ll drive you into town. I’m sure Rebecca will open the store this afternoon, and she’ll need to talk to you about the change in your duties over the next weeks.”
Usually Tuesdays were slow at the fabric shop, but the little bell hanging above the door rang all afternoon. People didn’t come in to buy fabric, though. They came to see Aunt Rebecca. Over and over, Aunt Rebecca repeated what she’d heard from the doctor — “I have a marble-sized tumor. They’ll do radiation to shrink it, then they’ll surgically remove it, and finally I’ll undergo chemotherapy to make sure the cells don’t spread anywhere else in my body.”
Katy marveled that Aunt Rebecca could share the news so calmly. Shelby even said, “Your aunt is amazing. She must have incredible strength!” Aunt Rebecca had always preached to Katy about finding strength in the Lord, but Katy had never seen it exhibited as clearly as on that Tuesday afternoon with Aunt Rebecca assuring the townspeople she’d be just fine, thanking them for their concern, and agreeing to let them know if she needed anything.
At five o’clock Aunt Rebecca turned over the little sign on the door to indicate the store was closed then sank into the chair beside her sewing machine and released a big sigh. She tucked a few stray hairs beneath her cap and sent the girls a tired smile. “For someone who did very little work today, I’m exhausted.”
Katy found herself tongue-tied. She had no idea what to say to her aunt. She also found herself wanting to stare at the place where the tumor resided. So she shifted her gaze to her own linked hands in her lap.
Shelby said, “Emotional exhaustion is worse than physical exhaustion, I think.”
“You’re very right,” Aunt Rebecca said.
Shelby wriggled on the stool behind the counter. “I’m curious about something … You don’t have telephones in Schellberg except for the one in the grocery store that everybody uses, right?”
Both Katy and Aunt Rebecca nodded.
“Then how did people find out already? I mean, it’s like the whole town already knows, but you only found out this morning.”
Aunt Rebecca laughed softly. “For one thing, Schellberg is a very small to
wn, so it doesn’t take long for news — whether good or bad — to spread.”
Katy inwardly agreed. She loved little Schellberg, but often she wished she could keep things to herself. Sometimes a person preferred privacy.
Aunt Rebecca went on. “Everyone knew I’d had a biopsy a week ago — it was announced during Sunday worship so people could pray. The elder also announced that I would get my results this morning. So of course they’d want to know what the doctor said.”
“When do you have your first radiation treatment?” Shelby asked.
“Thursday morning.”
Katy looked up in surprise. “So soon?”
“Well, we can’t put it off, Katy.” Aunt Rebecca’s tone turned tart.
“I — I suppose not.” The lump returned to Katy’s throat.
Aunt Rebecca went on matter-of-factly. “I’ll have radiation five days a week, for three weeks. They want to shrink it as much as they can before they do surgery.”
“So they’re not gonna … you know …” Shelby bit down on her lower lip for a moment. “Cut off your breast?”
Shelby’s straightforwardness made Katy cringe, but at the same time she was glad her friend asked the questions she didn’t have the nerve to ask.
For a moment Aunt Rebecca sat in silence. Then she drew in a breath and said, “We’re trying to avoid a mastectomy.”
Mastectomy … Another word Katy would rather not know.
“The doctor believes the tumor is contained, and we caught it early. Hopefully a lumpectomy will be enough.”
How could Aunt Rebecca speak so calmly? The subject made Katy’s stomach churn. She swallowed. “So you’ll be gone every morning. What about afternoons? Will the radiation make you too sick to come in?”
Aunt Rebecca propped her hands on her knees and straightened her shoulders. “I’m not sure, Katy. Everyone responds differently to treatment, but I suppose time will tell. I hope to be in at least half the day so you won’t have to carry such a heavy load. But just in case, come here.” She rose and crossed to the counter.
Katy jumped up from her perch on the windowsill and joined her aunt. For the next half hour, she listened as Aunt Rebecca showed her how to record sales, returns, and damaged items in the Sale and Inventory journals. It didn’t look too complicated. Katy thought she could handle the recording.
“I’ll plan on placing any necessary orders — it would be too hard to explain how to determine amounts of supplies to order.” Aunt Rebecca closed the books and returned them to the shelf under the counter. “I know you’re familiar with organizing the shelves, cutting fabrics, and running the cash register, so there’s no sense in us discussing those responsibilities.”
“Shelby said she’d operate the cash register, if you’d like,” Katy said. “She’s really good at math.”
Aunt Rebecca flashed Shelby a quick smile. “That’s very kind of you, Shelby — especially since you’re supposed to be on a vacation of sorts.” She patted Katy’s hand. “I know you’ll take good care of the store, Katy. I’m not worried at all.”
Katy appreciated her aunt’s words, but she wondered if Aunt Rebecca hadn’t told a little fib. Worry lingered in her eyes. “We’ll” — she waved a hand in Shelby’s direction to include her — “pray you won’t feel too sick so you can come in as much as you want. I know you’d rather take care of things yourself than trust it all to me.”
Aunt Rebecca laughed — a genuine laugh. “You’re right, Katy. I do like to be in charge. But maybe …” Her gaze drifted off to the side. “Maybe it will be good for me to have to let go a little bit.”
Someone pounded on the door. Katy jumped.
Aunt Rebecca frowned. “What is Caleb Penner doing here?” She hurried to the door and twisted the lock. The moment she opened the door, Caleb stepped through. “Caleb, we’ve closed for the day.”
Caleb snatched his blue bill cap from his head. His hair stood up in reddish spikes. “Oh, I know. I’m not here to buy nothin’. Mr. Lambright asked me to pick up Katy and Shelby.” His eyes bounced between the two girls then landed on Katy and stayed. “You ready to go?”
Katy looked at Aunt Rebecca. “Do you need me to do anything else?”
“Just be here tomorrow so we can open at nine, as usual,” Aunt Rebecca said. “I’ll plan on sitting back and letting you run things as a practice for when I won’t be here.”
“Let’s go then.” Caleb spun and charged out the door.
Shelby planted her crutches in her armpits and hobbled after Caleb. Katy followed, staying close to Aunt Rebecca. There were so many things she wanted to say—Don’t worry; you’ll be all right; I’m sorry for the times I got angry at you — but none of the things found their way out of her mouth. “We’ll see you tomorrow.”
Aunt Rebecca briefly touched Katy’s cheek — a rare, affectionate gesture that made Katy want to cry. “Tomorrow,” she said.
Katy gave her aunt a quick, almost desperate, hug. Then she dashed out the door.
Chapter Three
To Katy’s surprise, Caleb’s horse and green-painted, two-wheeled cart waited at the curb. Caleb stood beside the horse, grinning his familiar freckle-faced grin.
Caleb patted Rocky’s muscled neck. “Your dad said Mrs. Lambright would help with the milking tonight so I could bring you the cart. I’m gonna let you drive to my place and drop me off, and then you can take it on home. It’ll give you a chance to practice driving while I’m with you. That way, if you mess up, I can help you before you take over the cart by yourself.”
Even though Aunt Rebecca had said basically the same thing about letting Katy run the store under her supervision tomorrow, Caleb’s statement rankled. Katy put her hands on her hips. “I’m not an idiot, Caleb. And I’ve driven a cart before. Uncle Albert has one too, you know.”
Caleb shrugged, still grinning. “Yeah, but your uncle’s cart is four-wheeled, not two. And it’s a lot bigger. The balance is different. His horse isn’t as young and spirited as Rocky, either.”
Katy pressed her lips together. Arguing with Caleb was a waste of time. Besides, he was right — she’d never driven a two-wheeled cart before. Maybe it was best he was here to offer advice.
“Hop in,” Caleb said. Then he looked at Shelby, who stood waiting at the curb. He grimaced, reaching up to tug at the brim of his bill cap. “Do you … need help?” He sounded scared she’d say yes.
Shelby’s lips twitched, and Katy knew she battled a giggle. “Guess I better figure out how to get in by myself, because you don’t come with the cart, right?”
Caleb’s face turned bright red. He jerked the hat brim so low he nearly covered his eyes. “Um, no, not exactly.”
Thank goodness. If Caleb came with the cart, Katy wouldn’t borrow it. She bustled to Shelby’s side. “I’ll give you a hand.”
“Thanks.” With Katy’s help, Shelby managed to heave herself over the edge of the cart. She collapsed into the leather-upholstered seat with a breathy laugh then swiped her hand across her forehead. “Phew! That was harder than I thought, but I’m aboard! Your turn.”
Katy wedged Shelby’s crutches into the narrow space below the seat then scrambled up with no trouble at all. But she and Shelby nearly filled the seat by themselves, and they still needed to make room for Caleb. Because the cart was essentially a springed seat mounted on a wood-wheeled frame, there wasn’t even a tiny bed on the back for Caleb to sit in.
Shelby shifted to the very edge of the seat, and Katy scooted as close to Shelby as she could without sitting on her lap. “Well, come on, Caleb.” She tried not to sound too grumpy.
His face still blazing, Caleb wriggled his hips into the narrow slice of seat remaining. The seat springs complained with the added weight. His shoulder wedged against Katy’s, pinning her arm to her side. He grunted, jerked his arm into the air, and flung it behind Katy, nearly clunking her on the side of her head with his elbow. He laid his arm across the back of the seat, and even though it made them fit better, she di
dn’t like the feel of his arm against her spine. She sat forward a bit to avoid contact and picked up the traces.
She sent a quick peek at Shelby. “You ready?”
Shelby clamped her hands on the seat’s side edge. “Yeah. But don’t hit any big bumps, or I might bounce off of here!”
Caleb laughed, the sound loud in Katy’s ear.
Katy clicked her tongue on her teeth and gave the traces a steady pull. Rocky obediently backed the cart from the curb. Then Katy flicked the reins, and Rocky moved forward, drawing the cart into the street.
Caleb grinned, bumping Katy’s shoulder with his wrist. “Good job. You’re doin’ great. So far.”
Katy resisted rolling her eyes and guided Rocky to the edge of town. She kept Rocky to a gentle trot even though she wished she could hurry him to shorten the time in Caleb’s presence. But she had to admit, Caleb wasn’t being too much of a pain at the moment. He propped one boot on the cart’s edge, giving her a little more room for her feet. She sensed he was as uncomfortable with their close seating arrangement as she was, which softened her toward him a bit.
For the first half mile or so, Caleb offered simple suggestions. Katy grated at receiving instruction from Caleb Penner, but she kept quiet and let him talk. She wasn’t familiar with Rocky, and she needed to know how to handle the big horse. Fortunately, Rocky was used to the cart. He didn’t shy away from passing cars, just kept a steady clop-clop that stirred dust from the road. They reached the turnoff for Caleb’s house, and Rocky pulled the cart around the corner without any prompting from Katy.
Caleb sat straight up, bopping Katy with his arm. “Don’t let him do that.” He took the reins from Katy’s hands and pulled back on them. “Whoa …” Rocky stopped, tossing his head and snorting in protest. Caleb frowned at Katy. “Make him back up and drive to the next mile marker. Then turn him and backtrack to my place.”
KL04 - Katy's Decision Page 2
