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We ordered an Uber and it’s waiting for us when we get outside. I hold the back door open for Adeline and slide in after her. Normally, we would just walk to the doctor’s office. It wasn’t that far and it was cheaper that way, but with how weak Adeline is right now, I’m not sure that we would make it.
Adeline chatters for the first couple minutes of the ride, asking me how work was and how Bianca is doing, but I can tell that she’s tiring fast so I try to do most of the talking. I tell her that work was busy and that Bianca is doing good. She went out on another first date last night and she already knows that she won’t be going on a second. I laugh at that. Bianca is always going on dates but none of them have led to a second one yet. Adeline is the romantic of the two of us and I know that she would love to go on dates. Unfortunately, the animal shelter isn’t the best place to meet single guys and we’re too poor to waste money at clubs or bars.
“Do you ever think about meeting someone? Getting married?” She asks me.
“Actually, there’s been these two guys that have been coming into the coffee shop for a couple of weeks now and asking me out.” I say.
“What?” She practically yells. It’s the most emotion I’ve seen out of her in days.
She turns to me with a big smile and I know that she wants to know all of the details. I don’t know why, but I’ve been hiding the guys from Adeline. I guess I knew that she would encourage me to go out with them and I didn’t want to leave her alone. If she couldn’t be happy, then I didn’t deserve to be either.
I’m saved from answering when we pull up outside the doctor’s office and I pull my phone out, paying through the app and leaving a 5-star rating. We hop out of the car and head inside to sign in with two minutes to spare.
We find two seats next to each other and sit down to wait for them to call her name. She rests her head on my shoulder as the nurse takes the patient in front of us back. We sit in silence for a few minutes before Ruby, Adeline’s favorite nurse, calls us back.
We follow her down the hallway and into a checkup room. I sit in the extra chair as they take Adeline’s weight and vitals. They lead us down the hallway and take a CT scan of her brain. We head back in and Ruby pats Adeline on her knee before she leads us down to the doctor’s office.
We settle into the two chairs in front of the doctor’s desk as he flips through Adeline’s file. Finally, he settles back in his seat and smiles up at us. I can see from his eyes that it’s not good news.
“Well, Ms. Monroe, it’s not good news. It’s like we suspected. Your tumor has grown and without the surgery, you’ll have months left.”
I watch as Adeline looks down at her lap and I can tell that she’s not surprised by this news. Truth be told, I’m not either.
The doctor continues, “I know your insurance doesn’t cover the procedure but you should really consider a loan or some other way to pay for it. Otherwise, there’s nothing else that we can do.”
I brush some tears off my cheeks before wrapping my hand around Adeline’s frail shoulders.
“If we get the money, how soon could you get her in to have surgery?” I ask.
“I could get her in on Thursday.” He says.
Three days.
“Ok. Schedule it for Thursday. We’ll have the money by then.” I say.
“What?” Adeline asks as her head snaps to me and she looks at me wide-eyed.
“I can get the money.” I say.
There’s a pause before the doctor asks, “Are you sure?”
“Positive. I’ll have the money on Thursday.”
“Ok then.” The doctor nods before turning back to his computer.
The rest of the meeting happens in a blur. He schedules the surgery and gives us instructions for pre-operation and post-operation. My heart is racing as I think about calling Flynn and Roman after the way I yelled at them.
Once everything is set, we stand and head back outside to the street. I order another Uber and we wait for it in silence. I know that Adeline has questions but I need to call them and make sure that their offer still stands.
The Uber pulls up and we climb in, riding the few blocks back home in silence. I can feel her eyes on me the whole ride but she waits until we walk into our apartment before she bombards me with questions.
“How are you going to get the money?” She asks as soon as the door closes behind us.
“Those guys from the coffee shop. They offered me the money.”
Her eyes go soft as soon as I tell her that and I can almost see the hearts floating around her head. She thinks that I told them about her and that they offered because they care about me and want to help. I know better though. They just want me for my body.
“I’m going to go call them. Why don’t you get some more rest? Or are you hungry?” I ask, desperate to change the subject.
