by Rhett DeVane
“Margaret, you are amazing.”
She grinned. “You know what is amazing? You and me sitting here visiting like we’re old friends. See? Positive living.”
The oncology nurse opened the door. “Mrs. Bronson?”
Margaret gathered her purse and a worn paperback book. “I’ll be sure to leave my number with the front desk lady on a slip of paper for you. You call me, Karen Fletcher. I do believe we will meet one day and have a cup of tea and some fancy pastries from France. And we’ll talk about anything but cancer.”
Karen sat alone for a moment before the clinic entrance door flew open. Jason “Simpy” Simpson, Georgia Metro’s finest videographer, peered into the room. He tipped his head in Karen’s direction, then hauled a camera and two cases of equipment into the foyer and shut the door with his foot.
“Sorry I’m late.” He settled into the chair beside her. “I thought drivers in Atlanta were bad, but this place is insane! Someone forgot to instruct them on the location and use of the accelerator. It took two lights before I got out of the parking lot at the hotel. Some lady had pulled halfway into the median and was having a chat with a guy in his car.” Simpy frowned. “That woman was completely oblivious to the pile-up of frustrated drivers in her wake!”
“Tallahassee is really an overgrown town, but it has its charm.”
Simpy shrugged.
“Jake offered a room on the second floor of the Triple C, if you don’t want to stay over here.”
“That’ll work for some of the background footage I need to shoot,” Simpy said, “but I really need to stay closer until after your surgery. I can’t imagine driving back and forth every day, not with as much as I need to be here. Did you talk things over with your doctor?”
“He’s fine with it, as long as we are careful not to infringe on any of the other patients’ privacy. I’ll be in a room by myself on the seventh floor—that’s the oncology unit—so no problems there. My chemo today is in a private room, too. We’ll have to make sure to get written releases for the oncology nurse and Dr. Keegan, of course. Also, we’ll need to contact the surgeon and speak with the charge nurse.”
“I have all the necessary paperwork on hand.” Simpy grinned. “You may have ditched the accent, but you’re still the same old bossy lady I’m accustomed to kowtowing to.”
“A character flaw Mary Elizabeth and I share, I suppose.”
The chemotherapy treatment ended without fanfare, and the oncology nurse taped a small bandage over the port. Simpy packed his equipment, flirted shamelessly with the receptionist, and left to locate some lunch.
“I’m glad this is the final one,” Karen commented. “I’m beginning to feel like a pincushion. Like on one of the old Looney Tunes cartoons where the bad guy is shot full of holes, then leaks out like a shower head when he takes a drink of water.”
Jackie Shiver, R.N., smiled. “I’ve never heard it put quite like that. Of course, they’ll have to start an IV on you for the surgery next week.”
“And to draw yet another vial to test my blood.”
Jackie scribbled in Karen’s chart. “You’ll get a break, at least, before radiation therapy begins, and there are no needles with that.”
“I’m sure someone will find the need to stick me for something or the other. Needles don’t really bother me that much, actually. Having this port in place for the chemo has helped, too.”
Dr. Keegan entered the room. “Good morning to you, Ma’am. Looks like you bought us a pretty springtime day. We should really figure out a way to set up for the chemo outside underneath a tree, eh?” He smiled warmly. “Becky up front has you all set up for your ultrasound on Tuesday. I’ll be interested to see what your tumor has been doing with itself.”
“It’s the size of a pea, I swear to you.”
Dr. Keegan’s face lit up. “I’d just as soon it was gone altogether, if I’m permitted to put my order in.”
“Suppose the wondering will be over after the ultrasound.”
“It will give us a pretty good idea on whether or not we can save your breast. Have you given any more thought to reconstruction if we are faced with a mastectomy?”
Karen sighed. “I just don’t know. I’ve read every book I can on the subject. It would be easier to have the reconstruction done at the same time, but I’m concerned, still, about the future.”
“It’s your call. You can always have it done at a later date, if necessary. We can have you fitted with a prosthesis until then. Don’t feel as if you’re pressured into anything. Clear?”
“Absolutely.”
“Good. Your surgeon, Dr. Strathmore, will meet with you on Tuesday to go over any last minute concerns about the surgery. It might be a good idea to jot down any questions that come to mind. If you’re like me, I can’t remember a doggone thing when I’m faced with important discussions about my own health.”
Karen smiled. “That’s one thing I like about you, Dr. Keegan. You actually admit to being human.”
Jackie chuckled. “He has to. The position of God is already taken.”
“I look pretty tacky in a Superman costume. My legs are too darn skinny for tights.”
“My mother was a cold woman. Never saw her show much emotion, to speak of. So, when I think of comfort, she doesn’t naturally fit the bill. Sad to say, but true. Thoughts of Piddie Longman, my dear departed friend, come to mind. There was always something good to eat in her little kitchen. She lived just two houses down from me for years. I was at her house near as much as mine. Either that or we’d be on the phone. You didn’t sit down in Piddie’s kitchen that she didn’t fix up a plate of something or other for you to nibble on. When I was feeling a little blue, I’d head out my back door and aim for Piddie’s house. Her back door was never locked, so I’d just holler out and walk on in. She never once acted like she was less than thrilled to see me. Her friendship was like a mother’s love.”
Elvina Houston
Chapter Twenty-one
Elvina Houston wiped fallen oak leaves from the garden bench and settled into position. A gray squirrel scampered down the pine tree beside her and paused, hanging upended and chattering wildly.
“I know you see what I’ve brought out here. It’ll do you no good to cling to that tree fussing at me with all the blood rushing to your head. Come on down here like I showed you yesterday, and you’ll get your reward.”
She held a roasted peanut in her hand and waited.
“Lordy be! You’re as ornery as my old tomcat Buster. Get your little fuzz-butt down that tree!”
As if he had understood the dressing-down, the squirrel leapt easily onto the end of the bench and twitched nervously. Elvina calmly placed the peanut in the space between them. He inched forward, grabbed the nut, and retreated to the pine tree.
“I don’t for the life of me see why you have to drag it off way over there to eat it. It’s not like I’m going to snatch it away!”
The old woman placed a mound of peanuts on the bench and brushed her hands. “I can’t spend too much time fooling with you today, mister. I’ve got more important matters to attend to.”
Elvina studied the garden patch. “Looky there! I do believe some of your daisies are starting to pop up, Piddie. I know this isn’t my regular time to visit, but I guess you know there are plenty of goings-on in the family right now.
“You ought to see the magnolia tree by the back of the mansion. I don’t believe I’ve ever seen it so full of blossoms. I can smell the sweet aroma as soon as I set foot out of the back door. Takes me back, that smell does.” She smiled wistfully. “We planted that tree, remember? Me, you, and Betsy Witherspoon—in honor of our dear friend, Sissy Pridgeon. My, but it seems like it was just yesterday. Betsy wouldn’t lower herself to work a shovel, so you and I had to dig the hole. And just look at that tree now. It must tower a good thirty feet tall!
“Jake and Jon are having a little get-together for Karen this afternoon. She goes in for her surgery tomorrow, early. Whole fami
ly will be there for the party, along with all of us from the Triple C; you might as well say we’re family, too. Jake hopes it will take Karen’s mind off things for a bit and let her know we’re all pulling for her.
“Pinky and Wanda are engaged. Ain’t that a hoot? Redhead from the North hitching up with a backwoods country boy from the Deep South. It should keep things interesting. Myself, I’ll be glad when the new wears off between those two. If you get caught in the crosshairs of the steamy looks they shoot at each other, it’ll make you have a pure hot flash.
“Ain’t romance fun, though? Been so long for me, I’ve near ’bout forgotten what it felt like. Suppose that’s why it does me good to see such as Pinky and Wanda making moon eyes at each other.”
Elvina stuffed a stray gray hair into her tight bun. “Mandy’s been giving me a hard time about my new hairstyle. Says I’m trying to look like you. Maybe I am. It sure is a sight cooler with it piled up on top of my head, I’ll tell you. And you wouldn’t mind if you were here sitting beside me, now would you?
“Reason I’m here this afternoon rather than in the morning, is that I’ll be getting up and driving over with Joe and Evelyn to sit during Karen’s surgery. She has to be over there so darn early, but I reckon I can put my tea in a to-go cup. Buster will just have to make do with dry food left on the porch. He doesn’t usually drag in till I’m finished with my oatmeal, anyway. One day without his canned tuna won’t kill him.”
Elvina sat quietly for a moment, staring into the lush green garden behind her friend’s memorial space. “If you could, Piddie, put in a good word with the Lord on Karen’s behalf. I know we’ve all been praying to beat the band. But since you’re staying in His neighborhood now, it might mean more coming from you.”
She shook her head. “That poor girl has painted herself into a corner. Looks like her fellow has left her, she’s got a terrible disease, and to top it all off, some floozy up and told the world about Karen’s private affairs. Mandy showed me a copy of the trashy magazine. There was Karen on the front, in a blurry picture that looked like it had been taken in Joe and Evelyn’s back yard. The picture didn’t do a thing for her, either. She was standing there with her bald head shining, looking so thin and pale. And sad! Lordy be. If anyone who had seen her on the TV when she was healthy saw that picture, they’d be hard pressed to believe it was the same girl.”
She exhaled. “We do have some powerful trials to contend with on this earth, don’t we?”
Hattie Davis Lewis leaned over and deposited her squirming daughter on the ground. Sarah immediately spotted a beetle trailing through the soft sand and dropped on all fours to investigate, and Elvis exploited the opportunity to slather the toddler’s face with dog kisses.
“When did you put up the fence?” Hattie glanced across Jake and Jon’s shady back yard.
“Lonnie Adams finished it just yesterday,” Jake said. “Jon and I could’ve done it ourselves, but I’ve been swamped with spring weddings, and Jon’s so tired after his work week, I hate to make him do manual labor.”
“I thought you wanted to leave the yard natural. Don’t get me wrong, I love that you have a fence. I was dreading keeping up with the little princess here. She can disappear in the blink of an eye. Leigh says Josh is about as bad. No fear. No fear at all.”
Jake frowned. “I’ve always thought chain link fencing looked rather prison-ish, but we really needed a place to let Elvis run outside without worrying about cars. Folks just fly by on Morgan Avenue. He slipped off from me a couple of weeks ago when I was down in the vegetable garden pulling weeds. The little dickens was clean to Elvina’s back yard before I noticed he was gone. He’s usually pretty good about staying right by me. Jon went ballistic. I thought he was going to stroke out. Luckily, Elvina was sitting on her back patio and spotted Elvis, or heaven knows how far he would’ve strayed. I would have just packed up and left the country.”
Jake brushed his hand dismissively through the air. “Any-who, I’m going to take advantage of the fence—use it as a trellis for ivy and flowering vines. I just haven’t had a second to run over to Native Nurseries. I may snip some cuttings off the climbers behind the Triple C. In my spare time, you know.”
“Why don’t you make a list of the plants you want, and I’ll swing by on my way home from the hospital? Native Nurseries is right up Centerville Road, and I wouldn’t mind. After Karen’s up on the unit and settled in, Holston and I will come on back. She won’t need a lot of folks hovering over her, not the first day after surgery.”
“Okay, I’ll jot a few things down. How long is she going to be in?”
“Couple of days, tops, unless there are complications. Maybe more if it turns into a mastectomy.”
“I have two weddings and a funeral to do.” Jake flipped one hand into the air. “I may not even get over to the hospital.”
“So, see her when she gets home. It’ll be okay. Elvina’s on a mission to limit the barrage of visitors anyway, at Evelyn’s request.”
“Where’s that handsome husband of yours?” Jake winked.
“Final edit due on his next book. You know what that means. He might make it. Might not.”
Bobby Davis descended the steps carrying a worn guitar case. “Where’s your guitar, Hattie? Don’t tell me you’re going to hose Pinky and me.”
She rolled her eyes. “It’s in the truck. But I can’t imagine my limited talent will add much to the performance.”
Bobby grinned. His blue eyes twinkled in his permanently tanned face. “It’s all about richness and depth of sound, Sis. You’ll hit the right chords most of the time. Like Piddie used to say, ‘Even a blind hog finds an acorn every now and then.’”
Hattie smirked. “Thanks for the vote of confidence. I feel much better now.”
Pinky and Wanda appeared at the screened door.
“Hey, all!” Pinky called. “Is this party out back?”
Jake waved them down. “I figured you musicians could set up over there under the magnolia. That way, everyone can hear you and you’ll be center stage . . . or, center yard, as it were.”
Elvina Houston was the next to arrive.
“Hey, Miz ’Vina. I was beginning to worry about you,” Jake said.
Elvina huffed. “Take this thing.” She shoved a platter containing a cherry cheesecake toward him. “This humidity! The darn cake split right down the middle! I just filled it in with fruit topping. You know I hate to come late to a party.”
“Come over here and sit yourself down,” Jake soothed. “You’ve worked yourself into a high rolling boil, sugar. Besides, you’re not late. The guest of honor has yet to appear.”
Elvina accepted a tall glass of iced tea offered by Hattie. “I guess my timing’s not all bad, then.”
By the time Evelyn, Joe, Byron, and Karen arrived in the Town Car, vehicles lined both sides of Morgan Avenue and wrapped around the side street behind Jake and Jon’s house.
“I thought Jake said this was to be a small gathering,” Karen fretted.
“Over the top, as usual,” Evelyn said. “He told me he wanted to do something to take your mind off the surgery tomorrow.”
“A mob of admirers ought to do the trick,” Byron added.
Karen touched her temple. “Maybe I should have worn my wig.”
Her mother sniffed. “Don’t be silly. The humidity’s too high. You would have a heat stroke in that thing.”
Byron reached over and stroked her bald scalp. “I think you look kind of cute, Sissy. You’ve got a great head shape. Not too many people carry off the look like you do.”
“You’re just saying that to make me feel better.”
Byron smirked. “Since when have I ever given you an unsolicited compliment?”
“Never.”
“Rest my case. Let’s go to your party, big girl.”
The noisy chatter abated when the Fletcher family appeared at the top of the stairs. Jon initiated a round of applause for the guest of honor. Karen blushed and gave
her best homecoming queen wave.
Jon and Jake flitted through the crowd offering tall glasses of iced tea and soft drinks. Along with Karen’s extended family, the crew from the Triple C was in attendance, as well as Mr. Bill and Julie from the Homeplace Restaurant, Hattie’s neighbors, John and Margie, and Chief of Police Rich Burns and his wife Carol.
“I know you can’t eat or drink after midnight, so help yourself to the food, Karen. Jon made sure there are plenty of veggies and healthy stuff. He even convinced Elvina to make her cheesecake with sugar substitute.” He lowered his voice to a whisper. “Brag on it, will you? Elvina’s beside herself about it cracking down the middle. She wanted it to be perfect for you.”
A bright flash startled Karen. “What the—?”
A strange man in dark sunglasses stood beyond the fence with an extended lens camera pointed in her direction. He snapped several frames before turning tail. Rich Burns hustled to the gate and took off in pursuit.
Karen scowled. “I was wondering when they would begin to show up.”
Jake rested his arm across her shoulders. “They’re like ants at a picnic. Nobody invites them, but they come anyway.”
“I’m not even famous, Jake. I was a low profile personality at a public television station, for God’s sake.”
“I was a nobody, too, Karen, before my fifteen minutes of fame. All I did was get beaten up.”
Rich appeared at the gate.
“You catch him?” Evelyn asked. Her voice quivered with rage.
“Nope. He’s long gone. But you best believe I’ll have deputies prowling around from this point forward. I’ve dealt with the media before. I can do it again.”
“At least I’m wearing a new dress, thanks to Mama.” Karen snickered. “And my hair’s done.”
The thought sent her into a frenzy of infectious laughter that spread like warm honey over the gathering.
“Whew!” Jake heaved a deep breath. “I haven’t laughed like that in God knows how long.” He squeezed Karen’s shoulder. “I’m so sorry, sugar. Maybe we should’ve had this party inside somewhere.”