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“Maddox, I...”
Hayden pops his head in at that very moment, and the urge to punch him in the nose comes on so strong, I have to stop myself from lunging in his direction. “Yo, QB... you coming?”
“Yeah, be right there.” He nods and leaves as quickly as he came. Turning back to Penelope, I say, “Can we finish this conversation later?”
“Uh, sure.”
“I’m serious. I wanna talk about this, about us.”
“Okay.” Her lips curve in a small smile that has a surge of hope inflating in my chest.
“Okay. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a party to attend.” I swing my wig over my shoulder and traipse out the door toward the room where the kids are waiting, beaming with pride from the laugh I hear as I walk away.
* * *
“And what is your dog’s name?”
“Baxter.” The young girl I’m sitting with shows me a picture of him from her phone. Sarah—as she told me her name is—holds up a photo of a wrinkly bulldog with a snaggletooth that I can’t help but smile at.
“What a good-lookin’ man.”
“He’s the best. I can’t wait to have him sleeping in my bed with me again.”
“I bet. When do you get to go home?”
She coughs and adjusts the oxygen tube under her nose. “Hopefully, Monday.”
Sarah has been battling Hodgkin’s Lymphoma for two years now, and as of last week, her family and doctors realized there are no further treatments to try. The cancer has taken over her body, so she’s going home to live out the rest of her life and be with her loved ones before she passes.
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t fighting back tears right now. But this is exactly why I try to give back my time as much as possible. I never want to take for granted the life I get to live.
“Well, I’m sure he’s excited to see you, too.”
“My mom will FaceTime with me and put the camera up to his face so he can see and hear my voice, and he always licks the phone.”
“He loves you.”
“I love him, too.” She coughs again. “Would you mind getting me a drink of water, please?” she asks.
“Of course.” I rise from the table where Sarah is sitting in her wheelchair and walk over to the table full of refreshments to fill up a cup of water for her. I glance at the trays of food—cookies, fruit, and finger sandwiches—and decide to make her a little plate as well, even though I’m not sure if she’s hungry. But I don’t want to return empty-handed.
As I walk back to the table, I catch Penelope staring, so I flash her a wink before taking my seat again and asking Sarah more questions about her dog.
Penelope has been busy mingling with the players and kids, snapping pictures and delivering craft materials around the room so the kids can work on something as we talk to them. Surprisingly, Colton Cross seems to be having a great time talking to a teenage boy who fractured both of his legs in a car accident and is doing physical therapy here to regain his mobility. He’s a big football fan, too, so we signed a jersey for him and every other kid who wanted one.
“You know what’s missing from this party?” Hayden comes up to me, resting his hand on my shoulder.
“What?”
“Music. I’ve got this kick-ass dress and no music to dance to.”
Sarah giggles beside me.
“Well, how about we fix that?” I turn to Sarah. “I’ll be right back, okay?”
“Sure. I’m not going anywhere.”
Hayden takes my place as I search the room for Penelope. When I find her, I head in her direction, still rocking my Merida-inspired look.
