“At least you didn’t punch a hole in somebody’s septic tank.” Jake screwed up his face in disgust. “On Fourth of July. Durin’ a family reunion. Do you know what sewage smells like in the middle of a ninety-nine-degree day?”
Quinton squirmed in his chair. “Eew! No more details, Jake, please. You’ll put me off my cookies. Did I ever tell you guys about the time—?”
“ENOUGH!” Trish shouted and the Bible study members jumped in their seats. “I win the blue ribbon for being stupid! Hands down, no contest, game over! I win!” She hit the desktop with a closed fist, her crimson fingernails digging into the flesh of her palm. “I always thought I was the type of person who couldn’t get sick. People who smoked or drank or never exercised got sick. Not me! I eat balanced meals, work out four times a week, and only drink a glass of Chablis when the mood strikes me. But I’m sick, all right. Look at this.” She raked her fingers through her copper-colored hair and then showed her friends the red clump resting on her palm.
“What’s happening?” Savannah pleaded, unable to witness the unsettling act.
“She’s losing her hair,” Cooper whispered, her eyes never leaving Trish’s tormented face.
“I’ll be lucky if that’s all I lose,” Trish muttered hoarsely and then her mouth began to quiver. “Do you remember that biopsy I had back in the fall? The one that came out benign?”
Her friends nodded fearfully.
“Well, I’ve had another one since then and it’s not benign.” She spat out the word as though it were an enemy. “I, Trish Tyler, have cancer. Right here.” She folded her hands across her heart and then fanned them out across her chest. “I have breast cancer. The serious kind.”
Jubilant music calling people to worship tripped down the corridors of the church wing housing the school, but none of the Sunrise Bible Study members responded to the enticing melody. The unhindered shrieks of children racing down the hall toward their Sunday School classes, the cheerful shouts of adults greeting one another, and the increasing volume of the drumbeat emanating from within the chapel produced a cacophony of cheerfulness that seemed to mock the atmosphere in the Biology classroom.
“I’m sorry.” Trish hid her face in her hands. “I didn’t mean to let it out this way. I’m so mixed up right now. I go from brave to being scared out of my mind, to angry, to yelling curses in the privacy of my shower, to crying so hard I’ve got to pull the car off the road and park. Right now, I’m just really, really tired.”
Savannah eased herself from behind her desk and walked carefully over to where Trish sat. Putting both arms around her distraught friend, she whispered, “Tell us everything.”
“I’ve got Grade Two cancer, which means that they couldn’t just cut the bad cells out and send me on my way. I had surgery right after Christmas—I didn’t want to spoil things for the girls so I insisted on waiting a few days—and they removed the masses, but it’s not enough.”
Jake gave her a stern look. “You should’ve told us, you stubborn woman. ’Least we could’ve prayed for you while you were goin’ through all that.”
Surprisingly, Trish smiled. “I was in serious denial three weeks ago. I figured if I didn’t tell anyone it would just go away.”
“Do you need chemo?” Quinton asked, his kind eyes filled with concern.
Trish picked up the loose strands of hair and began winding them around and around her index finger. “I’ve already started. Had my first dose on Thursday.”
“Oh, Trish.” Cooper felt like crying, but forced back the tears.
“I get another dose next week. Through an IV. It takes about an hour. That should finish off what’s left of my hair. And here I thought my auburn color, the blow dryer, and flat iron would be the ones to fry my gorgeous locks.” Trish offered up a crooked grin. “Guess it’s a good thing I had the photo taken for my Tyler Fine Properties billboard last summer.”
“Woman, you’re gonna look smokin’ hot with no hair,” Jake teased. “Like that singer, Sinead somethin’ or other. Or Demi Moore when she shaved her head for that G.I. Jane movie.”
“I think you’d like nice in a wig, too,” Nathan added kindly. “You could look like Princess Di one day and Cleopatra the next.”
“Thanks, you two, but either way, the hair is going.” She gripped Savannah’s hand with sudden desperation. “I don’t want to do it myself, though. I know I’m going to get upset when I see the results. Would you . . . ?” she faltered.
“We’ll come over whenever you’re ready,” Savannah declared and gave Trish’s hands a compassionate squeeze. “Though you might want to pick someone other than me to do the shaving!” She smiled. “We’ll all be there to help you through this. Not just the losing your hair part, but every single moment of terror, anger, doubt, and grief.”
Bryant also got up and walked over to Trish. “That’s right. We’ll cook for you—well, the rest of them will cook and I’ll buy takeout—and drive you places, go to the doctor with you, and listen to you vent.”
“Thank you.” Trish sniffed and sat in silence for a moment. “Listen, I’d rather not talk about this anymore if that’s okay. Let’s go worship now.”
“After we pray for you,” Cooper insisted and everyone immediately reached out for a friend’s hand.
Savannah closed her eyes. “I am too unsettled to come up with any words of my own, so I will rely on scripture. Please turn to Isaiah forty-one, verse ten and read aloud with me.” She pulled Trish’s hands towards her own and bent over them, so that her breath fell directly onto the sick woman’s skin.
“ So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.’ ”
One by one, the members of the Sunrise Bible Study stood up and placed their hands on Trish’s body. They touched her shoulders, her back, her arms, her hands, the top of her head, and her face.
“You will not face this alone,” someone whispered. “We are with you.”
“Amen,” Trish murmured through her tears.
Table of Contents
Cover Page
Title Page
Copyright Page
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Magnolia’s Marvels
Path of the Wicked Page 30