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“Now Mom, let’s talk about this,” Ally tried noticing her mother’s expression.
“What is there to talk about?” She asked. Sophie gazed around the room that hadn’t been changed since Ally left this past summer for school. She had only been gone three months. “What did you do, Ally? I do think I deserve an explanation.”
“I withdrew from school. I’ll apply to the local community college in January, so I don’t miss many classes.” Ally continued hanging her clothes in the closet.
“How are you paying for school without the soccer scholarship you had?”
Sophie crossed her arms and waited for Ally to respond. She and Josh could pay for it. That wasn’t the problem. The issue here was she and Josh were not consulted.
She recognized the stubbornness in her child. She was so much like her at times like this, when she had her mind made up but most of the time her daughter was quiet and kind like Josh. Laid back like him too.
Ally glanced over her shoulder. “I’ll apply for loans.”
Sophie shook her head. “Why would you do this Ally Marie? Why give up a free ride to saddle yourself with student loans?”
Her daughter tossed the shirt she was holding into the box and walked over to her mother. “Because my mother has cancer and I need to be here. It’s that important to me.”
They were toe to toe. Sophie dropped her hands to her sides. “You don’t. Maybe it isn’t too late, and we can fix this. We’ll keep you informed of what’s going on with me. You don’t need to be here baby,” Sophie was pleading with her to be reasonable. “Daddy or Heath or Grandma and Grandpa can let you know how I’m doing. Don’t do this.” Sophie could see the tears in her daughter’s eyes. She wasn’t moved because she was about to cry herself.
“Mom, I do need to be here, and this is where I want to be. Now stop. I can help with the business between classes. You won’t be able to help Dad if the chemo makes you sick. I read all about the side effects. I can help.”
“He is interviewing a Manager today to take some of the pressure off him, so he can pick up my responsibilities if I can’t do them,” she insisted.
Her daughter needed to go back to school.
“I’m not going back,” Ally insisted.
“Ally.”
“Mom.”
Her father stepped into the room, just behind her. He laid his hand on her shoulder, calming her. “Sophie, stop.”
“How could you guys do this without talking to me?” She raised her voice at her father. He raised his eyebrows at her.
“Sophie,” her mother said her name. “You don’t understand how hard this has been on everyone.”
“I don’t understand?” Her voice rose, getting shrill. “I’m the one with cancer and I don’t understand.”
She went past her father into the hallway. Her own room was right next to Ally’s. She slammed the door behind her. This was her sanctuary. Her place of peace. She began undressing. Then she realized that she was having company tonight, so she could discuss with her entire family about her treatment for the next six months. All she wanted to do was crawl in bed and hide from everyone.
Cancer had made a huge, impact in her life. She was changing everything to accommodate it. People around her were changing their lives even though she didn’t want them to.
She crawled in bed in her underwear and bra and covered up her head, staying there. She didn’t want to have a port inserted in her chest. She didn’t want to start chemo. She didn’t want cancer.
Laying there, under the covers, she cried. Out of control, sobbing until Josh came home and uncovered her. He sat on the bed and pulled the blankets down.
“What are you doing? Your brother, Lo and the boys are here. Kai and Roman will be here any minute. Mom and Dad just got here a second ago. Just waiting on Hannah and Heath.”
“Our daughter dropped out of school.”
“I know. I just talked to her and your mom and dad.”
“Why aren’t you upset?” Her eyes flared when she snapped at him.
He took her hand in his and held it. Then he looked her in the eye. “Because my wife has cancer, Sophie. I’m more worried about her than my daughter quitting school. She says she’ll apply to a local school in January and
I believe her.”
