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ChapterFour
Andrea watched as her sister’s olive-green Range Rover pulled up to the gas station, a wide grin playing on her lips.
“Hey, Sis,” she greeted with a smile of her own as soon as the vehicle stopped.
The two hugged before pulling away from each other.
“What on earth did you do for the tire to look like this?” Cora walked around the Jeep, inspecting the damage.
“It looks like a tired soufflé,” she finished, snickering. “Get it? ‘Tired’ soufflé?”
Andrea shook her head while rolling her eyes at her sister’s corny joke.
“That’s not funny, Cora,” she deadpanned.
This only seemed to fuel her sister’s mirth, who was now bent over with her arms around her chest as uncontrollable laughter left her lips.
As bad as the joke was, her sister’s laughter seemed to trigger something in her that caused her to chuckle.
“You’re hopeless,” she spat in between chuckles.
“At least I got you to you laugh. You should have seen your face earlier. It resembled the time when you couldn’t find the camera Mom had bought you back in elementary school, and you went around moping till we all had to help you look for it.”
Andrea was surprised by her sister’s observation. She hadn’t realized that she was projecting her inner turmoil. She was usually so stoic and only ever tried to appear good-humored no matter what was happening on the inside.
“I know it must have been hard on you these past few months since Dad’s death. Believe me, it’s been hard on me, too, especially with Mom’s illness and all, but I want you to know that I’m here for you if you want to talk. I want to be there for you,” Cora invited when Andrea didn’t readily respond.
“Thanks, Cora,” she replied gratefully.
Cora gave her a comforting smile before looking behind her once more.
“So, where’s the luggage?” she asked.
“In the back of the Jeep,” Andrea said, making her way over to the vehicle. She opened the back door and lifted out her suitcase, heavy with the clothes she’d packed. Cora came up and took it from her as she dipped back into the vehicle for the other carry-on roller bag that held her cameras and other vlogging equipment.
“Wow, this is really heavy,” she heard Cora grunt from behind her.
“Just roll it on the wheels,” she instructed.
“So, how long do you plan to stay?” Cora turned to ask after stuffing the suitcase in the back of her car.
“I’m still working that out in my head,” she replied truthfully. “I’m not leaving anytime soon, though. My work is flexible enough so it can be done anywhere. Plus, I’m planning on cutting back on the number of clients I have too.”
After giving Mr. Gourdie her contact number, the two left for the place she once called her home— the place that would once again be her home for at least a month.
After a few minutes of driving in silence, Andrea asked, “How’s Mom?”
“She’s good, staying strong.” Cora’s hands tightened slightly on the wheel as she continued to stare ahead.
Andrea waited for her to continue.
“They switched out her medication last week, and since then, she has been sleeping a whole lot.”
“So what are the doctors saying?” she asked, preparing herself for whatever news she was about to hear.
Cora sighed as she turned onto NE Regatta Dr. After a few more minutes of ensuing silence, she continued. “He said she’s one of the lucky few because there are some new experimental drugs on the market that may possibly be able to help slow the rate of neuron deterioration. It’s still on the table, though. No guarantees at all.”
Andrea sighed, troubled by the uninspiring news. Even if their mother received the experimental drugs, the rate at which the drugs would slow down the progress of her disease would not be significant enough. At most, she probably had a few months to a year tops.
