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“Bye Sophie. I hope you have a nice weekend.”
The weekend. The countdown to her next chemo treatment. That is how she had been looking at it. She had just started to feel human. She was going to church tomorrow. She had gone once, missed last Saturday. She would go again tomorrow because more than likely next Saturday after chemo on Friday, she’d be in bed again.
Anticipation. She shouldn’t expect the next one to be like this. Maybe it wouldn’t be. She could think positive. That’s what they told her to do. Keep a positive attitude. She was positively thinking that next Saturday, she would be in bed, feeling like one of her puppies had gotten run over by a train or she had. One or the other.
She wanted to crawl inside a rabbit hole and hide. Then the cancer would eventually get her. She had no choice. She had to do this. She had to win, or the cancer would. She was dreading next Friday.
Ally deposited Cleo and Delilah on the front seat. She backed out and kissed her mom’s cheek. “Love you momma. I won’t be home until Midnight tonight. I’m going to the Fox and Hound with some people to listen to a band.”
“Really?”
She thought Ally should ask if it was okay. She might be eighteen, but she was living in their house. “I asked Dad, he said it would be okay. Some of the people are men from work. Some are people from high school. It’s a local band made up of some guys I went to high school with.”
“No drinking,” Sophie warned her.
“I’ll have a red stamp on my hand. No drinking.”
Sophie rolled her eyes at Ally. She climbed in the truck. “Have a good, time.”
“I will. I hope you feel better.”
“I think it will be a while before that happens.”
Then she headed home to her empty house where her thoughts always seemed to take over. Sophie took her pudding in the house with the puppies yapping at her feet. She let them out the back door and watched them to be sure they did their business outside.
Josh called while she waited on the dogs. She slipped her phone out of her pocket and answered his call. “I thought I would check on you. Ally said you were tired.”
“I’m not going to be able to do full days.”
“You know that’s okay,” he said to her.
“Okay for you but not me.”
“It should be, Sophie. You’ve worked hard your whole life. Just take care of you.”
“I guess.”
She was quiet then while she watched Cleo chase Delilah around the yard. She didn’t know what else to say to Josh.
“I’m going to church tomorrow. Will you go with me?”
“Sure.” Josh had gone the previous time as well.
“I love you, Josh.”
“You okay?”
She snorted. “I can’t say I love you without you asking if I’m okay?” Sophie frowned at the phone in her hand.
“I love you too,” he told her.
“That’s better.”
She stepped back as Cleo barrel rolled Delilah across the floor. They were nipping at each other’s faces and playing. This was normal for them except when she didn’t feel well. Then the two sisters snuggled her on the sofa like they knew she needed their comfort.
Sophie slid the patio door shut and locked it then she headed towards her bedroom while still holding the phone. Neither of them said anything.
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