AllFreeNovel
Share Us
All I want is to get out of here...
Yeah, that had been the constant thought in Sienna Ashley’s head for the last hour, but apparently, Professor Huntington figured no one in the room wanted to eat or drink ever again. Granted, he was a brilliant scientist and an excellent speaker, but he was also extremely long-winded.
It was the last day of the International Neuropsychology Association conference and his was the last presentation she needed to be at. Once he was done, Sienna was going to practically sprint from the room and go down to the hotel bar and get something to drink.
Something strong.
And maybe something to eat with it.
Sighing quietly, she did her best to pay attention, but her mind was seriously focused on whether she was going to go with a glass of wine or a shot of vodka.
Start with the wine and save the vodka for after you eat.
She hated being logical.
For once, she wished she could be reckless without her brain giving her grief about it. There were plenty of people who wouldn’t think twice about going down to the bar and slamming down a couple of shots of vodka on an empty stomach. Sadly, she wasn’t one of them. Instead of thinking about how it would be nice to relax after this exhausting conference, now all she could think of was how when you drink on an empty stomach, much of the alcohol you drink passes quickly from the stomach into the small intestine, where most of it is absorbed into the bloodstream. This intensifies all the side effects of drinking, such as your ability to think and coordinate your body movements.
Yeah. This was how her brain worked.
“I’d like to thank all of you for coming today,” Professor Huntington was saying. “Enjoy the rest of the conference.”
It would be wrong to yell, “Yippee!” and run away, so Sienna casually rose and made small talk with several of her colleagues before making her way out of the room. She’d been invited to join a few of them for dinner or to simply walk around Manhattan, but what she wanted most was a quiet table in the bar to just enjoy a drink—and food—before going up to her room and unwinding.
Tomorrow was the first day of her vacation. She had two glorious weeks to herself and still hadn’t decided what she was going to do. For some reason, she kept expecting inspiration to strike, but so far, it hadn’t.
Right now, she was planning on upgrading her hotel and staying in the city for a few days, playing tourist. There were so many museums and fascinating places to see, but the thought of doing it all alone seemed a little depressing. So, was this really the best use of her precious vacation time?
If she sat and thought on that for too long, she’d say no. Unfortunately, this was something Sienna felt like she had to do. It was time to break out of her usual patterns and mindset and try something different.
She just didn’t expect it to be quite so difficult.
When she had originally booked herself for the conference several months ago, the plan had been to come to New York, attend all the lectures, and return home. But a month ago, Professor Eleanor Stefani—a dear friend and brilliant mentor—had sat her down for a rather grim conversation.
“I’m afraid I’m going to have to skip the conference this year.”
Sienna could hardly believe her ears. “Oh? Is everything alright?”
Eleanor gave her a sad smile. “Unfortunately, no.”
The long pause that followed instantly told her the news—whatever it was—wasn’t going to be good.
“My cancer is back,” she said before exhaling. “I always knew it was a possibility, but I didn’t expect it to be this soon.”
Eleanor had battled and beat breast cancer ten years ago, and as far as Sienna knew, she had been 100% healthy ever since.
“I don’t understand,” Sienna said after a moment. “You go for annual checkups. You had the double mastectomy.”
With a curt nod, Eleanor reached for her cup of tea and took a sip. “It’s my pancreas and it’s stage four. I skipped the last two years' worth of doctor appointments because of professional commitments.” Then she let out a mirthless laugh. “And, if we’re being honest, arrogance. I thought I had this beat.”
Reaching out, she squeezed her friend’s hand. “Oh, Eleanor. What can I do? What’s the prognosis?”
“Three months.”
Shock held Sienna immobile for a solid minute. “I...I don’t even know what to say. How are you doing? How are you so calm right now?”
Another small laugh was her friend’s immediate response. “I’m a scientist, Sienna. I understand what’s happening and I’ve had some time to come to grips with it.” Her expression turned thoughtful. “It’s you I’m worried about.”
That was the absolute last thing she expected to hear.
