Finding Her Family

by Syndi Powell

  The boy gave him a hug and took a seat next to him. “Sherri...I mean, Mom didn’t say you were coming to dinner.”

  “Last-minute invite.”

  Dez served the burgers and they chatted as they passed dishes around the table, filling their plates. Mateo took a huge bite of salad when Dez asked Sherri, “What’s the name of that friend who likes Mateo?”

  Sherri punched him in the shoulder. “I told you that in confidence. And it’s just an impression I got by some things she’s said.”

  Dez rubbed where her fist had made contact. “I didn’t know it was a secret.”

  Mateo lowered his fork. “You guys, I appreciate that you’re thinking of me but I’m not looking to date right now. I’ve got too much going on.”

  “When have you ever had time to date?” Sherri scowled at him as she motioned to Marcus to wipe his mouth. “Seems to me, you went straight from studying in school, on to the bar and now you’re trying to save every kid on the street. One date wouldn’t hurt you.”

  Her phone buzzed, and she took it from her pocket and glanced at it. “Speaking of which, she’s here to drop something off.” She pointed at Mateo. “Be nice to her.”

  Mateo glanced at Dez. “Sherri invited her over?”

  “She didn’t say anything to me about it.” Dez stood as Sherri ushered a thin, bald woman out on to the patio. He snapped his fingers. “That’s it. Her name’s Page.”

  Page glanced at Mateo and blushed. “I didn’t know you had company, Sherri. I just wanted to drop off that book we talked about at the meeting the other night.” She handed it to his cousin and paused, looking between them. “Well, enjoy your dinner.”

  Sherri put her arm around Page’s shoulders. “Don’t rush off. Join us. We have plenty of food.”

  “I appreciate the offer, but I haven’t been able to eat much lately.” She gave Sherri a quick hug and left.

  Dez pointed in the direction Page had gone. “That’s her. You’d like her, Mateo. She’s funny and smart. And you know that’s a deadly combination for guys like us.”

  He remembered dancing with her at a party a couple of months ago. She’d been standing alone, watching the others, so he’d invited her to dance with him. It had been one song and then they’d parted ways. To be honest, she was just his type of woman. Dez had been right when he said that funny and smart was an irresistible combination. But he couldn’t do it. “No offense, but I’m not looking to date someone dying from cancer.”

  The patio door opened and Page was standing there. Mateo felt like groaning, and he hoped she hadn’t heard him, but her expression told him she had. She handed a pair of sunglasses to Sherri. “You forgot these in my car.” She turned to Mateo. “And I’m fighting cancer, not dying from it. Goodbye, again.”

  Sherri winced and then ran after Page, while Dez shook his head. “Not cool, man.”

  “I didn’t know she was right there.” He’d come off as a jerk and he knew it. “But I meant what I said. I don’t want to get involved with anyone fighting cancer. You know my history.”

  His mom had died from breast cancer when he was a teenager. He’d watched her fade away day after day. When Sherri had been diagnosed last year, he’d feared the same fate would befall her. Instead, she’d fought and won. He only wished his mother had won her fight, too.

  Dez nodded toward the door. “Still, you should apologize to her before she leaves.”

  He knew it was the right thing to do. He found Sherri and Page talking in the living room. Sherri gave him a smile before she excused herself, touching his arm as she walked past him. He came forward to face the other woman. “Page, I apologize for what I said out there.”

  “Which part? Where you said you wouldn’t date me? Or when you said I was dying?”

  He cocked his head to the side and studied her. She looked rail-thin, and the hollows in her cheeks were deep, like those he remembered seeing in his mom’s face. But Page’s eyes snapped with vitality and anger. She was even cute in her black T-shirt that had a lace edge along the bottom and hot pink nail polish on her toes that peeked out of her black sandals. He looked at her directly. “Both?”

  She rolled her eyes. “Goodbye, Mateo.”

  She turned on her heel and he followed her outside to her car. “Page, wait! I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”

  She stared at him, and he felt as if she was trying to read him. “When you look at me, all you see is cancer. But that’s just something that I have. You don’t really see me, and I wish you would.”

  She got into her car and drove off. He watched her leave and then returned to the backyard. When he took his seat, Sherri cocked an eyebrow, and he gave her a shrug. “I apologized.”

  Dez took a swig from his beer bottle and pointed at him with it. “You’d be lucky to date that woman, cancer or not. I speak from experience when I say that loving a woman who has survived the worst, only makes life more precious.”

  Sherri smiled and put a hand on Dez’s forearm. “It makes you appreciate what you have for as long as you can.”

  Mateo sighed and put his napkin back on his lap. “I’m not interested in anyone right now. That’s the truth.”

  Sherri stared at him for a minute before reaching out and grabbing his hand. “Okay. We won’t push.” A smile played around her mouth. “We’ll leave that to the aunties.”

  Mateo groaned in mock horror but then returned her smile with one of his own. Truth was, Page intrigued him. And though she’d left, the memory of her lingered in his mind.

  * * *

  PAGE LOOKED DOWN at the speedometer and eased her foot off the accelerator. She’d been driving at forty miles an hour in a 25-mile-per-hour zone. Breathe in, breathe out, she reminded herself, trying to calm her racing heart.

  Mateo’s words still echoed in her brain. He didn’t date someone who was dying. She tried to shake off the disappointment, but what he’d said still stuck. She’d always thought he was hot, after having seen him at Sherri’s party last year and then again at April’s a couple of months ago. She’d nearly swooned when he’d asked her to dance. Had reveled in the feeling of his strong arms around her, his hand at her waist. Then the song had been over and he’d moved on. But she’d dreamed of that dance ever since.

  She pulled up in front of April’s house and let her car idle for a moment before shutting it off. She got out, walked up to the front door and entered without knocking. “Okay, I’m here. The party can begin.”

  April glanced up from the box she’d been packing and squinted. “Have you been crying?”

  “What? No. I don’t cry.” She peered at her reflection in the mirror on the wall behind her. She appeared a little sad maybe, but no tears. “Where do you want me to start?”

  “Knowing your organizational skills, I left the kitchen for you.” They entered the room together and surveyed the empty boxes waiting to be filled. April sighed. “I can’t believe I’m leaving this place. I’m going to miss it.”

  “You’re only moving two blocks over. It isn’t the ends of the earth.”

  April had recently gotten engaged to Zach Harrison and would be marrying her fiancé in less than a month. Her friend picked up a box and took it to the nearest counter. “He wants to keep his dishes because he grew up using them. Fine, we can donate mine. But I want my coffeemaker and mug collection. Other than that, I’m not sure what else to bring with me.”

  “What did he say?”

  “He told me to bring whatever makes me happy.” She looked around the kitchen. “But it all makes me happy.”

  Page pointed at a spoon that had a slightly bent handle. “Even that old thing?”

  April clutched the spoon to her chest. “I eat my morning cereal with it. It’s my favorite.” She chuckled. “Can you believe I’m getting married? Me? Last year at this time I had just finished chemo and was counting down the d
ays to my reconstruction surgery.”

  Page put her arm around April’s shoulders. “You deserve all this happiness and more.”

  “I am happy with him.” Her eyes got a dreamy look, then she sighed. “Have you decided who you’re bringing to the wedding?”

  Page snorted. If there was anything she hadn’t thought about it was a date for the upcoming nuptials. “What’s wrong with coming alone? Besides, as maid of honor, I’ll be too busy taking care of you to think about a date.”

  “What about Mateo?” April waggled her eyebrows. “Have you thought about asking him? I’m sure he’d say yes.”

  And Page was just as sure he’d refuse. He didn’t date someone dying from cancer. Okay, she had to let that go. But like it or not, the words had hit their mark. “He wouldn’t be interested.”

  April crossed her arms over her chest. “I don’t know. I saw the way the two of you were dancing at my party.”

  “Just drop it, okay? Me and Mateo are never going to happen.” She opened a cupboard and started to pull out plates.

  “But I thought you liked him.”

  She paused from wrapping a plate in newspaper and considered her friend’s words. “I think he’s good-looking.”

  “And that’s all there is? You just think he’s hot?”

  Page put the wrapped plate in a box and leaned against the counter. “No. I think he’s smart. He’s a great lawyer, according to Sherri. And I like him.” She picked up another plate. “But nothing’s going to happen. He doesn’t like me.”

  Maybe if she kept repeating that, she’d believe it. And give up the dream of pursuing something with Mateo. She was dying, after all.

  CHAPTER TWO

  THERE WAS NOTHING like helping bring a baby into the world. Despite the blood and mess and chaos, no moment felt better to Page. She carefully took the newborn from Dr. Angela Achatz and carried her to the new mom, who wept as Page placed the baby on her chest. “Congratulations,” she whispered, as the mom turned her head to share the moment with her husband.

  She watched as the couple had eyes only for their infant girl and each other. Page banished the bitter thought of never having that moment herself and returned to aiding the doctor with the afterbirth. Ever since she’d heard about Chad and his girlfriend expecting a baby, the elation Page usually felt at each birth had dimmed a little. She had started to feel hollow, rather than filled with the usual happiness she’d experienced before.

  Dr. Achatz peered at her. “Are you okay, nurse? You look a little pale.”

  Page tried to smile and nodded. “Yep. I’ll take the mother and baby to postnatal. Then I’ll check on the status of the mom’s room.”

  “Tiffany can do that.” Dr. Achatz motioned to one of the other nurses, who nodded and walked over to the couple to let them know the next steps. “I was hoping you and I could have a chat.”

  Page hated to hear what the OB-GYN doctor would need to talk to her about. She knew Dr. Achatz didn’t like that she’d reduced her working hours, but the chemotherapy left her tired and in a brain fog. She’d spoken to her supervisor, Joann, about her fears that her fatigue and weakness would result in her making a mistake or miss a doctor’s orders. She refused to put her patients in harm’s way when she knew the risks involved for herself. She rearranged the instruments that the doctor had used for the labor on the surgical tray.

  Her stalling tactic didn’t work. Dr. Achatz crooked her finger at Page and pointed at the sinks, where she started to remove her gloves and wash her hands. “How are you really feeling, Page?”

  She got really bored of hearing that same question from well-meaning friends. And was even more tired of repeating the same answer. “Better than the last few days.”

  “When is your next infusion?”

  Page counted the days to her next chemo appointment. “Next week. What did you want to talk to me about, Dr. Achatz?” No point in chitchat if the doctor had something important to discuss with her.

  Angela removed the surgical cap from her head and shook out her hair. “I have a case coming up that I’d like you to assist with.”

  If she had any hair left, her eyebrows would have raised. “Assist?” Nurses may help the doctor in a delivery, but they didn’t assist. Page frowned and tried to figure out what Angela was up to.

  The doctor nodded and untied the yellow surgical dress from around her neck and placed the garment in the laundry bag. “I’m going to need a lot more assistance on it than the typical L-and-D nurse. I need someone like you, with more advanced training. You’re still interested in pursuing the midwife program at the college?”

  Oh. Before cancer had returned for the third time, Page had talked about taking midwife courses and adding to her nursing skills. She’d even toyed with the idea of going back to medical school for her degree once she was in remission, but she hadn’t had a chance to look at the application before cancer had shown up once more. “Things being what they are right now, I’m not doing anything but concentrating on getting better.”

  Angela studied her as if Page was under a microscope. “Has Dr. Frazier mentioned anything about your prognosis?”

  Her oncologist had hopes that the particular chemo cocktail she was on would knock the cancer out of her body long-term. But being a three-time loser with the disease didn’t make Page believe in fairy tales of remission. “I’m just trying to get through chemo and eventually make it to the five-year mark of being cancer-free.”

  “But what if you could get to that five years with your midwife certification?” She put a hand on Page’s shoulder. “Think about it. You’re a wonderful nurse, but someone with your skills could really advance further. My clinic needs more people like you.”

  Dr. Achatz walked out of the delivery room, leaving Page where she stood. She took a deep breath and glanced at her reflection in the window above the sinks. She couldn’t think about anything right now apart from taking care of her body. Improving her skills could wait.

  * * *

  PAGE SAT ON the empty hospital bed and let her legs dangle. “Can you believe she asked me to apply for the program?”

  April stopped filling out paperwork and looked up at her. “And why shouldn’t you? You’d be a great asset to her and the patients.”

  “Hey, I don’t want to hear that I need to visualize my future after cancer, or that life continues with or without healing.” She groaned and laid back on the hospital bed, her arm over her eyes. “I must be crazy for even considering it.”

  “You’re not crazy. You’re looking ahead with a glimmer of hope.”

  She shot upright and April gave her a wide grin and waggled her eyebrows. “You knew I couldn’t resist saying something woo woo.”

  “You wouldn’t be you if you didn’t.” Page glanced at her watch. “I’ve got about twenty minutes left on my break. Want to get something to eat?”

  “You’re hungry? That’s a good sign.”

  “Don’t read too much into it.” She slid off the bed and followed April from the trauma room.

  The doors to the emergency room opened suddenly and a gurney being pushed by a paramedic—with a girl on it—sped toward them. April dumped her paperwork by the intake nurse and followed the girl into the just vacated trauma room.

  Page continued walking to the cafeteria when she heard April call her name. She turned and April waved her back over to the trauma room. “I could really use your help on this one.”

  “I’m an L-and-D nurse, remember?” But Page followed her inside anyway.

  April motioned to the girl. “This is Ruby and she’s in labor.”

  Page froze, taken aback at how young the patient seemed. “Sweetie, how far along are you?”

  Ruby groaned as she grasped her rounded belly. “I don’t know. Six or seven months? What’s happening?”

  Either one was too early for the baby.
Page glanced at April. “Has her water broken yet? We might be able to stop labor.”

  April put the stirrups into an upright position and Page helped move Ruby, so that the doctor could get a better look. She pushed the dark, kinky hair off the girl’s forehead. “Dr. Sprader is going to examine you to see if the placental sac is still intact. If it is, we can probably get the labor pains to stop. How long have you been having them?”

  “Since early this morning, but I thought it was a tummy ache from something I ate.” Ruby’s face withered. “I didn’t think he was coming now.”

  “The sac is fine,” April told them. “You’re only dilated to about a three, Ruby, so we can try to reverse this and give the baby more time to grow and develop.”

  She glanced at Page, who nodded at the unspoken request and left the room. She retrieved a fetal monitor and returned to the room. “We’re going to get you hooked up to this so we can watch the baby and the contractions.”

  April wrote her orders on a small pad and gave it to the other ER nurse, who left to retrieve the meds. She turned back to the girl. “We’re going to give you something to relax your body, which will hopefully stop the labor. Meanwhile...did someone come in with you, Ruby? Your mom or dad?”

  Ruby shook her head. “No, it’s just me.”

  Page finished hooking up the cords for the fetal monitor and switched it on. The baby’s heartbeat was strong and steady, a good sign. “Who is your OB-GYN?”

  “My what?” Ruby moaned again and clutched her belly.

  April exchanged a worried look with Page, then focused on the teen. “You haven’t had any prenatal care?”

  Ruby laid back on the bed and Page put her hand on the girl’s. “How old are you, sweetie?”

  “Nineteen.”

  Page would eat April’s stethoscope if the girl was more than fifteen. She narrowed her eyes. “Try again. How old are you?”