AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I can’t promise you don’t get it back, but I can tell you right now we have no reason to believe you are in danger. After five years, you’ll drop back down to someone who has never had cancer as far as chances go for getting it back,” I informed her.”
“Now is that five years from now?” Harper asked.
I stumbled over myself as I tried to reply, causing Nick to smirk at me. I ignored him, hoping Harper didn’t even notice his response. I recovered quickly, focusing on our conversation rather than what my friend was doing.
“No, it’s five years from when she first went into remission. I understand that was a few months ago, so you can count for yourself when you can consider yourself back down in that bracket,” I explained.
“Oh, Mom, I had no idea. That’s great!” Harper said to her mom. “We’ll look at the calendar when I take you home.”
“That is great,” Gwen said with a small smile. “And, young man, the only way I can possibly walk out of your office with a good feeling in my heart is for you to do one more favor for me.”
“What is it?” I asked.
It wasn’t unusual for patients to do something sentimental for me when we reached this point, and it often brought me to tears. To know what they have been through, then to see how happy they were when they got news they no longer had to stress about this like before was the whole reason why I did this.
“I want you to come have dinner with me and my daughter,” she said with a grin.
“Mom!”
“Well!” She turned to her daughter who had the same outburst I was thinking. It wasn’t the first time I had been offered dinner, and it wouldn’t be the first time I accepted, either, but the fact that she was asking me out with her very attractive daughter present made this seem like more than just something she was doing out of gratitude.
“He’s your doctor!” Harper continued. “Don’t you think it’s a bit weird to ask him out to dinner?”
“The man saved my life,” her mother argued. “I have the right to treat the person who saved my life to dinner, you should know.”
Harper shook her head, the look on her face making me curious about whether I had missed something. But, she wasn’t the one who had asked me out to dinner, it was her mother. And Gwen had been such a charming patient, I was going to miss her.
I was glad to accept, and happy to tell her so, though Nick nearly laughed out loud with the look Harper gave her mother when I replied. Maybe I wasn’t crazy, and he was able to see that there was something else going on with this, too. I made the mental note to ask him about it later. Right now, I just wanted to get back to the professional reason why she was there and what we could do to move forward with this.
“Make sure you follow the directions in your packet I gave you. I know it’s a lot of work to have to be careful of the ingredients you avoid and the places you go, but it’s these lifestyle choices you make now that will really make all the difference in the future. I can’t promise doing these things is the magic bullet forever, but it’s going to really help you out with keeping a handle on your health,” I explained.
“Then that’s what we’re going to do,” Harper answered for her mother.
“Alright, but you’re going to have to help me,” her mother said.
“I will,” Harper promised.
“And we’re expecting you tonight,” her mother told me.
“Gwen, are you sure?” I asked. “You really don’t have to do that.”
“I’m sure,” she said. “It’s been so long since I’ve had any real company, and I know Harper would be happy for the change herself. Isn’t that right?”
She gave her daughter a look, and Harper muttered in agreement.
“Thank you both for the invitation, I appreciate it. I’ll be there tonight,” I said. “Just leave me with your number and address so I don’t get lost along the way.”
“Give him your number,” Harper’s mom told her. “I don’t do cell phones, and he’s going to need someone else who can actually help him if he does get lost. You know me.”
“Smart move,” Harper said.
I got the feeling she wasn’t talking about me getting lost, either. Not that it was difficult to see through what her mother was doing, but still. Gwen wasn’t being subtle about the setup, and while there was something thrilling about it, I hoped this wasn’t making Harper uncomfortable.
I made another note to ask her about it later.
She might be going through with this more to make her mom happy than anything, and I wanted her to know there was no pressure. Now that I had her number, I had the option to ask her about it if I chose.
For now, however, I did what I could to answer their questions about Gwen’s breast cancer and what they were to do now that she had the double mastectomy.
