All characters in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental
Promise to Keep© Priscilla Poole Rainwater 2006
Author: Priscilla T Poole Rainwater
Steven M. Rainwater
Summary: Jenny Riley has always been able to depend on her dearest friend Aisha, but will her friend be able to keep a promise that could change her carefree lifestyle?
Connell Riley loves his wife, Jenny, and now that they are facing a life changing event that makes him wonder if he can be strong enough to help them through the painful nightmare they are about to face, he has to deal with the woman he has never been friends with, his wife’s best friend. But it will require both of them working with one another in order to help his wife…he just wonders if they can get along with one another long enough to keep a life-changing promise.
Aisha has almost everything a woman could want, she is a wealthy, world famous photographer with a wonderful friendship with her best friend Jenny, but the only person she has to provide and care for is herself. She travels all over the world living the jet-set lifestyle most women only dream of. But all of that could change after she receives a desperate email from Jenny, asking her for a promise that could change her entire life.
Chapter 1
The Bad News
“How long do I have?” Jenny Riley said, the words nearly catching in her throat. This couldn’t be real, it was like a bad Lifetime movie that she and her friend Aisha would watch from time to time, in college.
Her face was pale and drawn from the intense headaches she had been suffering from the past several months. When she had first saw the doctor she had thought it could be a problem with her blood pressure. Never had she expected to be told that she had a brain tumor and was going to die. Could this be real? I’m dreaming, all I have to do is wake up and feel the sweet relief of knowing it was all a nightmare…..she thought, her mind still numb from the shock.
Taking a deep breath, she told herself to hold it together. She would face this like everything else she had faced in life. She would deal with the facts, plan, and go from there.
Her family doctor, Wayne Boyd, sighed, his heart heavy. He was not only her family physician, he was a friend as well, and had been for many years. He looked at Jenny reluctantly, praying she couldn’t read the hopelessness in his eyes. He had to think of a way to tell her how advanced the cancer was, but try to not sound so bleak at the same time. He was surprised she was doing as well as she was, considering the advanced state of the cancer, but he didn’t want to say anything that would cause her to slip any faster than she already was. He had seen that happen before, once a person found out just how bad off they really were, their health would take an even more rapid nosedive. Consultations with other doctors, plus his own experience, lead him to believe she had six months to live.
Opening his mouth to speak, all he could manage was a weak croak. Closing his eyes and clearing his throat, he reminded himself that the last thing on earth she needed to see was him on the verge of crying. Life was so unfair at times, why did things like this happen to good people? Jenny had been a valued and very much loved member of the small farming community over the course of her young life. As a veterinarian she had many times treated animals for free when she knew a farmer had fallen on hard times and couldn’t afford to pay her. She had helped so many people so many times, yet he couldn’t help her. No one could. He hated days like this. There were times he really didn’t like his chosen profession. After thirty years of practicing medicine it was still hard for him to give his patients such dreadful news, and he simply couldn’t distance himself from his patients emotionally, unlike so many other physicians.
“Doc?” a tentative voice interrupted Boyd’s thoughts.
He glanced over at the young woman’s stunned husband, Connell, and replied, “Ummm, the cancer is in the advanced stages, I’m sorry.” Turning, he spoke to Jenny. “I wish I could tell you how long you have, but the human body and mind progress or regress at different rates for different people, everyone is different. Many people have lived much longer than their doctor ever dreamed they would, others have practically wilted away right before everyone’s eyes long before they should have. Just…try to keep a positive outlook on things. I understand that’s difficult given the circumstances, but with today’s treatment options, you never know. We could set up chemo treatments, that may slow things down a bit. Jenny, I also think it’s very important that you spend as much time with family and friends as you can, as soon as you can, and…get your personal affairs in order. You know.”
Jenny didn’t need the doctor to come out and say it, her time was short. She had heard it all before, how they could try a radical surgery that may help or some new drug that could help but all that meant was they were going to use the patient as a guinea pig to test some new procedure or experiential drug that could potentially cause even more problems. She had went through this with her mother and her aunts, she had heard it then too. Doctor Boyd had simply put a kinder, more gentle spin on things.
For the sake of her anxious husband, she remained calm, her mind racing with things she needed to do in order to insure her family would be taken care of after she was gone. She looked at her husband, expecting to see some kind of reaction, but he sat stock-still, looking straight ahead. The only movement she detected was a muscle quivering in his jaw. The shock was just starting to sink in for him. She knew the look, and what to expect, from the knowledge of watching her own suffering mother. She knew she should be upset and afraid herself, but something inside held her in check. She just knew that she had to keep it together. Her family’s future depended on her making sure she kept her wits about her.
The silence in the room was deafening, finally interrupted by the faint sound of a phone ringing at the nurse’s station. Finally Connell looked over at his wife. The woman he had fallen in love with the very first time he had laid eyes on her. She still looked like the eighteen-year-old girl that had a natural beauty that just made him melt. Jenny had never needed makeup or expensive clothes to make her sexy, because to him she was sexy even when covered in sweat while bailing hay on their farm. She was his sweet country girl.
Even though she had had two children, his children, her frame was still small. Next to his large, muscular body that made them look like an odd couple. He was a mountain of a man, stood six foot five, and from the hard work he did on the farm, was heavily muscled.
He and Jenny had returned to the farm after graduating college, his degree in agriculture and hers as a veterinarian. Together, they had built the farm up. He was proud of her, she worked hard and never complained about the hours they put in. Even after their children were born she rarely asked his mother Megan, who lived in town, for help. He was proud of the strong-willed little woman that was his wife and mother of his children. In his humble opinion no woman could ever measure up to his Jenny.
His heart was breaking at the thought of not having the lifetime together they had envisioned. Growing old together, watching their children grow up and have families of their own, they wouldn’t even get to see their tenth wedding anniversary. Why her, God, why? his mind screamed, knowing he wouldn’t get an answer.
He wondered how the cancer would destroy her small body. She was only five feet tall, one hundred and ten pounds. He knew her weight would drop, weight she couldn’t afford to lose. Would her long, beautiful auburn hair fall out? Her lovely hair…the only thing in the world she could be even vaguely accused of being vain about. All her life she had never had it cut, and it fell all the way to her hips when down. Would her lovely olive skin lose it’s healthy youthful glow? My God, how am I going to watch her
fade away?….he thought, panic and helplessness beginning to set in, adding to his anguish. He was grateful he was sitting, because his knees were trembling so badly he was sure if he was standing he would have crumpled to the floor. He was going to lose the woman he loved. He was going to lose the love of his life.
“Doctor Boyd, I will not be taking any Chemo. I saw what my mom and two aunts went through, and their conditions were the same as mine is now, in the advanced stages. They tried chemo. It didn’t help them. In the end, all of them pleaded for death to release them from the pain. All it did was prolong their suffering, and from your carefully chosen words, I know I‘m at the end stages.” Jenny said, trying to avert the horrible memories of having to deal with that at such a young age, and alone at that. Her father had up and left, taken her only brother, and abandoned her mother on her deathbed, leaving just her, sixteen years old, to deal with it the best way she could. Deep down she knew that was the reason her mother had given up completely, without much of a fight.
Connell was usually a quiet and very private man who never talked about family matters outside of their own house, but in this case he made an exception. He rose to his feet and stood over Jenny. She knew that look of determination on his face.
“No Jen, you have to try, it may work. I’ve read about people making complete remissions after aggressive chemo treatments.“ he said, his voice trembling. Several tears ran down his face before he was even aware of it, which he quickly wiped away. He couldn’t appear to be weak. His face was as red as his close-cropped hair as he tried to appeal to her. He had to find a way to keep her for as long as he could, he couldn’t just let her go. “We got to try. Honey, me and the kids won’t make it without you. Please, you have to fight for us. God, we can’t lose you!”
Jenny looked up at the usually strong-willed man. At that moment he looked like a scared and lost little boy. His gray eyes were wide with fear, she could tell just by looking at him his heart was breaking. It was time for her to be strong now, for him and their children. She placed her hand on his strong forearm, giving it a reassuring squeeze as a smile trembled over his lips. “We’ll get through this baby. I won’t leave you alone until I’m sure you and the children are well taken care of, believe me.”
Doctor Boyd was fighting to stay in his role as the doctor. It was hard watching something so intimate going on before him. Over the years he had witnessed the miracles of birth, and the pains of death. But no matter how much he tried to rationalize that all of it was the “circle of life”, he still wondered why God chose to take good, salt of the earth people like Jenny Riley, and let evil people live long, productive and/or destructive lives.
“Jenny, I want to give you a prescription for the pain. It’s very strong, so please use care when you’re taking them. If the pain worsens, come back. I want to see you next week, my nurse will set up an appointment. Jenny, I want you to understand that down the road you will experience a host of problems, we already talked about them earlier. I will give you pamphlets that will help you and Connell, there are several support groups listed on them for you and the family. They can be a great help for all of you. You should be thinking about if you want to get hospice care or if you want to stay in the hospital. That‘s..that‘s all I can think of for now. I‘m so sorry Jenny.” he finished weakly.
Rising to her feet slowly, she took the prescriptions from him. “Thank you Doctor Boyd. Wayne.” she said, then, leaning forward, she gave him a hug and was surprised to feel him trembling. Not wanting to embarrass him, she stepped back. “We’ll let you know about getting a home health worker when the time comes, but I’ll definitely be staying home.”
Her mind was made up. She had to make sure her family would be taken care of, and she had to stay at home to be able to see to that. Only then would she face her death, as best she could.
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Jenny and Connell rode home in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. Jenny’s thoughts were solely on keeping her family together. She would make sure Abby would have someone there to help her become a wonderful young woman, someone she could trust raising her children and helping her husband.
Her heart ached as she thought about her youngest, Shawn. He was only ten months old and wouldn’t remember her at all. He would have photos and stories the family could tell, but that would be it. Abby was only five years old, and she was going to lose her mother, the person that was supposed to be there to guide her from adolescence to womanhood.
Swallowing, she blinked back the tears that were threatening to spill and thought, The tears will have to wait, right now I need all the strength I can get, I need Aisha.
Connell said nothing, his expression unreadable. He had nearly shut down, and was running on autopilot. He usually enjoyed the drive to town and back, the wide-open spaces and rolling hills were usually a soothing balm for his soul, but it did nothing for him today. His family and farm was his pride and joy, but now that he knew he was losing his wife he didn’t know if anything else mattered. She had been his first true love, and still was.
He had only left the family farm long enough to go to college and get an undergraduate degree in Agricultural Technology. It was there he first met Jenny. His childhood friend Ben had tagged along to college with him, and they had been roommates. Not long after arriving, Ben had developed a major crush on a very lovely young black woman named Aisha, who was then, and even now, Jenny’s best friend. The two of them had always been closer than most sisters.
His mind began drifting back in time. He smiled slightly at the memory of Aisha and how she blew into college, one of the few blacks, and she had never let it hold her back. She was a journalism student, and even then he knew she would one day be a success. She had a sense of adventure that drew people to her, and a confidence that made her larger than life.
He remembered the first time he had saw her. He and Ben had been at the track one warm, fall day, preparing to go for a jog. They were doing their stretching exercises and talking about plans for the Thanksgiving holiday. He was bending down to touch his toes when he heard Ben whistle softly.
“Sweet Jesus, look at that!” Ben had said, his voice breathless.
He had turned to see what had caused the pole-axed expression on his friend’s face. Sauntering onto the track was a young black girl with more curves than a winding mountain road, curves that would have put most models to shame. The way her hips swayed reminded him of May West from the old movies that his mother used to watch. Her raven hair was cut very short. Usually he didn’t like that, but somehow it suited her. As she walked right by them he could see her legs were long and very toned, and it was clear that she was a runner.
She had been wearing a black sports bra that held her full breasts high and firm, her black shorts tight and showcasing a trim waist and a firm, round bottom. She had had a presence about her that was difficult to describe, and then it finally hit him. If someone had told him she was an African princess, he would have believed it implicitly. She had a regal air about her.
She had smiled and greeted them, as she swept past. “Hello boys.” she had said, making them both grin like simpering idiots. Her voice was low and saucy, her lips full and pouty in a sensual way. Her oval face was well defined and feminine, and held a natural beauty that most women paid money for.
Without a word they both had fallen in behind her and began their run, following like two puppies wanting to be petted. She had that effect on a lot of men, and was used to it. She placed a set of headphones over her ears and fell into her rhythm, paying them no more attention. Not being a tease or to be rude, she was simply doing what she enjoyed doing everyday, going for her morning run.
Several weeks later he and Ben had been sharing a pizza while working on class assignments. Ben had leaned back and laced his fingers through his shoulder length brown hair. “You ever thought about dating a black girl?”
He had simply shrugged and said, “Not really,
but at home there were no black kids at school. If there had been a black girl I liked, then yeah, I would have gone out with her. I suppose the same would hold true for here too, but I‘ve never really, you know, thought about it a lot.” he had finished with a far-off look in his eyes, absently taking another bite of pizza and a sip of Budweiser. He had known the question had been about Aisha, she had had quite a few guys who were taken with her. Several guys from the dorm had asked her out, but as far he knew she only went out with a couple of them, once.
“Wonder what my folks would think?” Ben had mused to himself.
“You’re a grown man Ben, it’s up to you to choose your own path, and the woman you want to be with.” he had replied.
His friend had simply nodded and finished eating his pizza.
All this was before he had met Jenny of course, but he remembered not being able to shake the dark-skinned Goddess from his thoughts. Wherever she went she would light up the room, she seemed to live life with an excitement and wonder about everything around her. Wherever she went she would turn heads and make everyone feel as if she had known them all their lives. She even had an air of mystery about her too. She never talked about her family or life, and instead of going home to visit during holidays, she was always off to some exotic location, coming back with amazing stories and photos.
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