Chain Reactions

by Lynn Ames

  “It would be an honor. But, Aunt Nora, even if Brooke agrees to take on the job, I just found you again. I want a chance to reconnect, a chance to know you. A chance to…” Her voice faltered.

  “I’d like that too, Diana,” she said softly. “I’d like that very much. But not in a way that interferes with your career.”

  Diana nodded. “Understood. I’m only teaching Monday through Thursday this semester. Could I come out on the weekends?”

  “I’d like that.” Nora turned to Brooke. “Well? What do you say? I’ve got a guest bedroom. You’d have your own bath and your privacy. I would pay you the going rate, plus room and board, and I’d try not to be too much trouble.” She paused to take in a rasping breath. “We can arrange with hospice for a certified nursing assistant to help me twice a week to give you a little time off, and I have wonderful neighbors who take care of my shopping and other odds and ends. Beyond that, I truly like you and would enjoy spending the time in your company.”

  She hoped Brooke would accept. Not only was she fond of her, she trusted her, and she knew it wouldn’t be long now before she would have to put her life in someone else’s skilled, caring hands.

  “If you need time to think it over—”

  “I’ll do it,” Brooke said. “I’ll do it.”

  Once they’d said goodbye to Nora, Brooke, Diana, and Daniel huddled together outside.

  “Will Aunt Nora be all right by herself?” Diana asked.

  Brooke nodded. “Your Aunt Nora is stronger than you think. Her mind is sharp, and she has a phone by her bed. I made sure that it was within her reach when I tucked her in. That was a lot of activity for her this morning, probably far more than she’s used to on an average day. Sleep is the best thing for her right now.”

  “Given her age and condition, she’s a medical marvel.” Daniel added.

  “What can I expect?” Diana asked. “What happens now? How quick-moving is this form of cancer?”

  “It’s already progressed,” he answered. “The good news is the cancer hasn’t metastasized to her brain. The bad news is it has spread to her bones and her liver.”

  “What can we do to help her?”

  Brooke’s heart hurt for Diana. She’d seen this too many times. It didn’t matter the age of the patient. The reaction of loved ones was the same—take action that will make a difference.

  “You can love her, spend quality time with her, and we can, and will, do our very best to manage her pain and discomfort,” Brooke said.

  Daniel reached out and put a hand on Diana’s shoulder. “We all love your Aunt Nora. While her hospice team will be local and I’ll no longer see her at my office, I will remain, if that is her choice and yours, her doctor of record. I promise you that I will stop by as often as necessary. I have a weekend place about thirty minutes from here.” He pulled out a business card and wrote on the back of it. “I’m giving you all of my contact information, including my cell number. If you need anything or have any questions that Brooke or the hospice staff can’t answer for you, text or call me.”

  “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome. Brooke is the best there is. Your great-aunt is in excellent hands.” He pulled his car keys from his pocket. “I’ve got to get going.” He kissed Brooke on the cheek. “We’ll talk soon.” He held out his hand to Diana. “I wish we’d met under different circumstances.”

  When Daniel pulled away, Diana said, “I feel like I owe you an apology.”

  The statement caught Brooke completely off guard. “Why would you think that?”

  “Aunt Nora really put you on the spot in there. She made it next to impossible for you to say no.”

  “Believe me, had I wanted to turn her down, I would’ve done so. I didn’t feel pressured in the least.”

  “You are under absolutely no obligation—”

  Brooke wrapped her fingers around Diana’s forearm to forestall the rest of whatever she’d been about to say. “I know.”

  “Your career is every bit as important as mine…”

  She released her hold. “Diana, as your great-aunt said, I’m between jobs. I resigned my position several months ago. I just couldn’t stand to watch another child lose a battle to cancer. Not right now, anyway.”

  “I can imagine.”

  “When I walked away, I rented a house about fifteen minutes from here. I’ve spent the summer running on the beach, meditating, and trying to regain my equilibrium. I still haven’t figured out what’s next for me. Dr. Lindstrom was an inspiration in my career; I can’t think of any better way to repay her than to help her now.”

  “If you’re sure…”

  “I am.”

  “Okay, then.” Diana pulled out her phone and clicked on the calendar app. “I have a meeting scheduled with Aunt Nora’s lawyer in Boston tomorrow morning at eleven. I plan to head back here when that’s done. Maybe it would be useful for us to get together to iron out the details of her care?”

  Brooke admired Diana’s efficiency. She also recognized someone like Diana needed to feel useful. That was something she was happy to encourage.

  “That’s a good idea. Where are you staying?”

  “I got a room at a B and B in Provincetown.”

  “Do you like lobster?”

  “Who doesn’t like lobster?”

  “Exactly,” Brooke agreed. “How about dinner tomorrow night at the Lobster Pot? It’s that big place in the middle of town with the perpetual line outside.”

  “I’ve passed it. Want to say seven o’clock?”

  “Done. I’ll meet you there.” Brooke unlocked her car with the key fob.

  “Wait.” Diana stepped between Brooke and her Subaru.

  Brooke looked at her expectantly.

  “What about Aunt Nora? I know you said she’d be fine by herself, but I’m still worried.”

  “Your great-aunt has been managing just fine until now. She indicated she’s got neighbors who check on her regularly. We know that, so far, she’s been able to transfer on her own from the wheelchair to the couch and back again. She’s drinking plenty of water. I think it’s safe to leave her to her own devices for now.”

  The look of consternation on Diana’s face told Brooke she wasn’t so sure. Brooke reminded herself that, although Diana was a scientist, this illness was far from her area of expertise. Beyond that, the patient was her family, and that added a whole other dimension to the situation.

  “Dr. Lindstrom is still mentally capable of recognizing when she needs help, and although her physical strength and stamina are compromised, in my professional opinion, she’s still safe to be unsupervised with periodic check-ins. Remember too, this is someone who is fiercely independent.”

  “I trust what you’re saying, but the woman we just left was too weak to get from the wheelchair into the bed. I’m worried about her. I didn’t realize how involved all this would be. I guess I didn’t really think it through.”

  She wanted to find a way to ease Diana’s concern. She knew that in Diana’s place, with the same set of circumstances and Diana’s lack of experience with this disease, she likely would feel the same way. She was so lost in thought that she almost missed Diana’s next sentence.

  “Unfortunately, I’ve got a teleconference this afternoon with the head of my department, and Aunt Nora definitely doesn’t have Wi-Fi. I’d push the meeting if I could, but…”

  Brooke calculated what it would take to rearrange the remainder of her day. It was a small price to pay to give Diana peace of mind.

  “I tell you what. I’ll come back and check on Dr. Lindstrom later this afternoon and then one more time before bedtime.”

  “You’d do that?”

  “Of course.”

  Diana seemed to mull that over. “While I’m at the attorney’s tomorrow, I’ll have him put together a contract for your service and back date it to today.”

  She shook her head. “Not necessary.” She met Diana’s eyes and held her gaze. “This isn’t a busin
ess deal for me. This is Dr. Lindstrom. That makes it personal.”

  “Still—”

  “Still, nothing.” She tried to rein in her growing irritation. It was insulting that Diana would think her concern was money-driven. Nursing had never been about that for her.

  “Give me your cell number and I’ll text you updates.” She said it more sharply than she intended.

  “I didn’t mean to offend you. If I have, I truly apologize,” Diana said.

  “No offense taken.” She reminded herself that Diana was only trying to do the right thing. She pulled out her phone and handed it to Diana. “It’ll be faster if you input your own contact information.”

  “Right.” Diana laid her phone in Brooke’s palm. “Quid pro quo, if you don’t mind.”

  “Not at all.”

  When they’d finished exchanging contact details, Brooke said, “You’ll be hearing from me later. I hope your call goes well this afternoon.”

  “Thank you. And thank you, again, for keeping an eye on Aunt Nora today. I’m sure that wasn’t in your plans.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  As she drove away, she glanced in the rearview mirror and caught a glimpse of Diana standing in the middle of the driveway. She looked shell-shocked.

  Brooke reviewed their earlier conversation on the deck. She couldn’t fathom having to process all that Diana was dealing with right now. She would do whatever she could to make this as easy as possible for Diana and for Dr. Lindstrom. This was who she was. This was what she did.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Diana scrolled through the thirty-two results for “Dr. Nora Lindstrom, Dana-Farber.” How was it possible that this information had been as close as a Google search and she’d never thought to look?

  “Probably because you thought she’d been dead for years and her work would’ve pre-dated the internet.”

  She clicked on an entry for a lecture Aunt Nora gave at Harvard in 1973 titled, “Surviving Childhood Leukemia: A Success Story.”

  “A YouTube video of a lecture from forty-five years ago? How cool is that?”

  The quality of the video was grainy, but that didn’t matter to her. For the next hour, she sat transfixed, as her great-aunt held the audience in the palm of her hand. Aunt Nora was so alive, so passionate about the topic, brilliant, and so beautiful. Diana did the math—Aunt Nora would’ve been fifty-five when this was recorded and in the prime of her career. Diana would’ve been an infant.

  As the lecture ended, her phone went off, startling her out of her ruminations. She checked the screen to see a text message from Brooke.

  “Your Aunt Nora is safely tucked in for the night. She ate a little dinner, did the New York Times crossword puzzle, and took care of her own personal hygienic needs before going lights out. All is well.”

  Diana nodded in approval. Brooke had done exactly as promised—she’d checked on Aunt Nora twice and reported to Diana in succinct, yet sufficiently detailed, messages. So far, Diana was impressed with her professionalism.

  The phone sounded again. “Oh, and she said to be sure to let you know that I locked the front door with a key she gave me for safekeeping. LOL.”

  Diana chuckled and replied, “Thank you for taking such excellent care of her. And especially thank you for locking the door! I know I’ll sleep better for it, even if she won’t.”

  She debated whether or not to include an emoji. Was this a business text? In the strictest sense, it was. But clearly this wasn’t business in the formal sense. It felt too comfortable for that. In the end, she selected the wink emoji and hit “send.”

  Less than ten seconds later, her text alert sounded again. “You’re welcome. Honored. And glad you’ll sleep peacefully tonight.” Brooke included a return wink.

  Another text followed. “FYI, I know you said you have the lawyer tomorrow morning in Boston. Please don’t worry about things here. I’ll stop by early and check on her. You just focus on your meeting. And no, I don’t need a contract for that. It’s my pleasure. I hope your conference call went as you hoped today. Sleep well.”

  She smiled at Brooke’s thoughtfulness. “You too. And thank you again. Goodnight.” She stared at the phone for a minute, waiting to see if Brooke would respond one more time. When she didn’t, Diana found herself surprisingly disappointed.

  Nora clutched at her nightgown and struggled to sit up. She fought for air and reached for the glass of water on the bedside table. Her hands shook so badly that she didn’t dare try to pick up the glass one-handed. She checked the clock. 1:45 a.m.

  Steady, old girl. Don’t panic. Take your time. She sucked in two or three shallow breaths before finally managing to inhale deeply. The pain in her chest and airways receded, and she closed her eyes in relief.

  These episodes were a nightly occurrence now. It was, as she thought of it, her “new” normal. The sensation of oxygen deprivation frightened her, not because she was afraid to die, she wasn’t, but because suffocation seemed such a horrible way to go.

  Finally convinced she wouldn’t drop the glass, she picked it up with two hands, took a few sips, and set it down on the coaster. Then she settled back into the pillows, pulled the covers up to her chin, and waited for sleep to claim her again.

  “You knew! You knew and you let it happen.”

  “No—”

  “You let all those people die.” Mary was red faced and angry, seemingly oblivious to the jubilant shouts outside the window. “Worse still is that you had me and all those other girls help you do it. You didn’t even give us a choice.” She pointed a finger at Nora’s chest. “You’re a murderer, and we’re all accomplices.”

  “Darling, I was sworn to secrecy. I couldn’t tell you or anyone else, just like you agreed not to share with anyone what you were doing here.”

  “Don’t you dare compare us to you. We only knew we were making a difference. You knew exactly what we were doing and what would happen. You knew!”

  “It was necessary. How many more of our boys would’ve died if we hadn’t done what we did? We won. We won, darling. Focus on that.”

  “Ugh. How can you even think that way? Thousands of people are dead. Thousands of mothers, daughters, sons, and grandparents, are dead. People on their way to the store for groceries are dead. Children riding their bicycles in the street were obliterated. We did that. Us! Thanks to you.”

  “No, darling. That’s the wrong way to look at it.”

  “How else would you have me see it?”

  “We won the war. It’s over. Our boys can come home now. The world is safe again.”

  “The world will never be safe again. Not now. Not ever.” Mary plopped down heavily on her side of the bed, put her head in her hands, and cried.

  Nora sat down next to her and put her arms around her.

  “No.” Mary stood up abruptly. “I don’t want you anywhere near me. You sicken me.”

  “You don’t mean that. You’re just upset.”

  “I don’t mean that? How dare you! I do mean that. I don’t ever want to see you again. Do you understand me? Stay away from me.”

  “You don’t mean that. You can’t mean that. You can’t…”

  “Wait! Don’t leave me. You can’t…” Nora thrashed around, her legs tangled in the sheets. Her eyes popped open in mid-sentence. After several moments, her heartbeat settled once again into its natural rhythm. It was always the same. No matter how many times she relived the nightmare, the outcome never changed.

  She turned her head to the side and gazed out the bedroom window. Dawn was breaking on the horizon. “I’m sorry, darling. I’m sorrier than you’ll ever know. Wherever you are, I hope you’ve found it within yourself to forgive me. More importantly, I hope you’ve forgiven yourself.”

  Wearily, she pushed herself up in the bed and threw off the covers. The past would need to stay in its box for now. Brooke would be coming in an hour or so, and Diana later in the day. She needed to make a cup of tea and shake off the cobwebs.


  Brooke checked her Fitbit and picked up the pace. She still had half a mile to go to hit her distance goal for the day. By the time she got back to her place, she’d have less than an hour to get ready if she was going to be at Dr. Lindstrom’s cottage by seven thirty.

  In the blink of an eye, or the space of a weekend, Brooke’s entire life had changed. Two days ago, her only responsibility had been to make sure she got the recycling out to the street on time for pick up. Now… Now she was charged with overseeing the care of one of her professional idols. Everything in her life would have to shift to accommodate that new reality.

  She knew in the core of her being that this assignment was exactly what she was meant to do in this moment. She didn’t believe in coincidences, and the number of synchronicities that resulted in the current situation was too many to ignore or discount. She ran through them in her mind as her feet flew over the hard sand by the waterside.

  Of all the places in the world she could’ve selected to rent a house and recalibrate her life, she chose Provincetown, ten minutes from Dr. Lindstrom’s cottage.

  Daniel had called her night before last, wanting to go for a morning run together. When was the last time that had happened? In hindsight, she realized the run must’ve been the pretext for getting her to accept this post.

  And what of the fact that the patient turned out to be a woman whom she knew and revered? Nora Lindstrom was renowned at Dana-Farber; her research and tireless work had helped Brooke and others save countless children’s lives. And now Brooke was the one who would have the honor of helping Dr. Lindstrom at the end of her life. It was mind boggling.

  Brooke sprinted the last fifty yards and then slowed to a walk as she reached the path leading to the parking lot. The exercise felt good, and the sun on her face rejuvenated her spirit. It was time to get this new chapter in her life started.

  Diana stared at the mahogany-paneled walls in the waiting room at the law firm of Fitzgerald, Osborn, and Chase on State Street in Boston’s Financial District. Her hair was slightly disheveled from the ferry ride over from Provincetown, and she ran her fingers through it in a vain effort to put it back in some semblance of order.