“Okay. Call me back then.”
“Okay.”
“Cassidy Jhene Stokes, I’m serious. Call me back, please.”
Thepleaseat the end of her sentence sent a twinge to my heart. Dr. Angelique Stokes almost never asked for anything, let alone grace.
“I will,” I assured, “just let me get through this presentation.”
Two hours after my presentation, I managed to slip away from the conference and took an Uber to the design district to buy myself a “job well done” gift from the Gucci store. After swiping my Visa, Jonathan, my client advisor, boxed and bagged up my new handbag and handed it to me.
“Thank you so much for visiting us today, Ms. Stokes. Please come back and see me again,” he piped with a wink.
A smile swung free as I headed out of the store while pulling out my phone. His mention of my last name reminded me that I needed to call my mother back. I put my AirPods in my ear and waited for her to answer.
She stammered when she answered. “H—hello?”
“Mom?”
“Hey…”
“Is now a good time? You wanted me to call you back to tell me something, remember?”
“Y—yeah.”
“But you sound tired like I caught you in the middle of a nap or something. What’s wrong with your voice?” I questioned.
She cleared her throat. “Cassidy.”
“Yeah?”
“I have stage three breast cancer.”
Her words made me freeze in the middle of the street. “W—what?”
“I’m sorry to spring it on you like this, but I figured you needed to know.”
“How long have you known?”
“I found out a little before you moved to New York.”
My brows heightened in surprise. “And you’re just now telling me? Why would you wait this long to tell me something so important?”
“I wasn’t sure if you’d care.”
I dropped my lower lip in a pout as tears stung my eyes. “What? Why wouldn’t I care? You’re my mother.”
“And you’ve reminded me time and time again about how much of a bad one I was to you. I just never wanted to admit it.”
I lowered my eyes to the ground, unable to stop the millions of thoughts racing through my head. “We can talk about this in person. I’m going to book a flight to you tonight!”
“No, no. You stay right where you are. You don’t need to come here. Nothing will change, and I don’t need you here putting your life on pause for mine.”
“I have so many questions. What are the doctors saying? Did you get a second opinion? Can they operate to remove it? Do you need chemo? Radiation?” I asked before recovering my breath.
She sighed. “Cassidy, slow down.”
“I can’t, Mom! You just told me you have cancer! I’m losing my mind over here and you’re telling me that I can’t come see you!”
