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nbsp; “I’ll see you later. I’m going to take a nap. Maybe I’ll be a little more perky when you get home.”
“Call me if you need me. I’ll come home and work there.”
Sophie agreed but she wouldn’t call Josh. He needed some normalcy in his life. She wanted him out of the house, living life not living her cancer every day. In a week, they would start this dance all over again where he wouldn’t leave her side until the effects of the chemo had subsided.
She snatched up Cleo and Delilah. They licked her face making her giggle. “Stop that,” she scolded them. She sat them on the bed and kicked off her shoes. Then she dropped her jeans on the floor and crawled in bed with the puppies. It didn’t take long for her to fall asleep with the two warm little creatures against her belly.
“Sophie,” a gruff voice whispered in her ear. “Sophie, are you, all right?” She batted away the hand that tickled her nose. Then her hear.
She just wanted to remain asleep.
Sophie recognized the annoying, deep voice of her brother, Ross. She rolled to her back and opened one eye. “Ross, what. Stop.”
“I stopped by to check on you.”
She gazed at him for a moment then she sat up and leaned against the headboard. “I’m fine. Just tired.”
He scooted up beside her and Sophie laid her head on his shoulder. “Are you sure?” He asked.
She chuckled. Ross needed reassuring. He told her about his week. Ross was a welder at a local steel plant in Amelia. He had gone to vocational school. Her brother was smart but not ambitious about going to college. Although, he urged each of his sons to go. Like, her and Josh, he wanted a better life for them than he had. He always told them they couldn’t count on marrying up as he had. Lo always laughed at him.
Her brother was a good man. He was kind and compassionate. He treated his wife like the queen she was to him. She couldn’t ask for a better man and she often told him so.
Ross was loud and boisterous. He was always grabbing his sons in a bear hug, squeezing them until they screamed for relief. She chuckled thinking about her big brother and how much she loved him.
“What’s so funny about my welding contract that went haywire this week?” He asked frowning at her. “Were you even listening to me?”
She gazed up at Ross. Her eyes glistened with tears. “I wasn’t. I’ll admit it.” She wrapped her arm through his. “I was so lucky to have you for my big brother. Do you know that?”
“Are you okay?” He sounded tentative.
“Ross, I’m fine. Cancer has given me a perspective about my life. I just want everyone to know how much I appreciate them.”
He kissed her temple. “I already knew.”
Ross stayed with Sophie until Josh came home. It was the most time they had spent together in a long time. She walked him to his car where she hugged him goodbye.
“Let me know how you are next week after chemo?”
She chuckled at him. “When Ross? Between the severe migraine I have or vomiting up my guts?” She teased.
He scowled at her. “Then ask your husband to do it, would you?”
“Ross, I have to keep my sense of humor.”
“I guess.” He kissed her forehead. “I’ll call Josh, myself.”
“You do that.”
She watched him get in his car and pull out the driveway. Sophie raised her hand and waved until she couldn’t see him anymore. Then she went inside. Josh was already making dinner.
**
This was their routine for the next week. She went to work with Josh and the puppies for half day and came home after lunch to take a nap. It was stagnant, not living at all but it was all they had for now.
Chapter 12
Josh
