AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Malice rolled his shoulder and groaned. “Just came to give Montana some news.”
My father’s head swiveled to mine. His eyebrow shot up, questioning. “Trouble?”
“All good, Dad.”
“Perfect!” Mom smiled, rubbing her hands together as she turned to head to the dining room. “Then let’s eat, boys. I’ve got so much to tell you both.”
Malice looked at me, scowling. “Get me the fuck out of here.”
Shaking my head, I grinned. “No can-do, brother. Mom already saw you. You are stuck.”
“I fucking hate you.”
Laughing, I walked with Malice into the dining room as mom talked a mile a minute.
Chapter Two
Tessa
“Hey, Momma,” I smiled, brushing her thinning hair away from her face. Sitting on the bed next to her, I reached for her hand, gently stroking my thumb across the top. I would give anything to trade places with her. My whole life, Momma scrimped and saved, working herself to the bone to give me the life she never had. She never complained, not once. She would just smile in that distinct way of hers and tell me that everything was going to be fine. I wish she would do that now.
“Dr. Wong says the new treatment is working. He thinks you’ll be up and about in no time. How does that sound?” My voice wavered as a tear escaped my eyes. Wiping it away, I took a deep breath, praying that the good doctor was telling the truth, even when I knew deep down there was nothing more they could do.
Hospice Care was for the dying. A place where terminally ill patients went when there was no more hope. In my last year of residency, doctors diagnosed my mom with stage four breast cancer. It didn’t take a genius to distinguish that stage four was bad. So, I did the one thing I knew my momma wouldn’t approve of. I left the program and returned home to be with her.
There wasn’t any other choice for me.
My whole life, my mom was there for me and now it was my turn. I wasn’t going to let my mom go through this alone. Looking down at her fragile hand in mine, I whispered, “Mrs. Carrie sends her love. Said she’d come by later this week if she has the time. Pastor John and the church have been praying for ya. The ladies over at the Women’s League are making you a quilt. I saw it. It’s real pretty, Momma. All your favorite colors.”
Her hand tenderly squeezed mine, making me look up. Smiling, I stared into her beautiful blue eyes. “Hey you.”
“You need to go home, Tessa.”
I shook my head. “Wherever you are is home, momma.”
“What about school?”
“Only have a few weeks left of my residency program, and then I’ll be an attending. The hospital in Charleston has already offered me a fellowship there, so I can concentrate on my specialty. I’m thinking about accepting their offer. But we can talk about that later. How are you feeling?”
Ignoring me, she asked. “What about New York?”
I sighed. “St. John’s Presbyterian offered me the fellowship too. But they want me there in one week. I can’t leave you, Momma.”
“Don’t want you watching me die, baby girl.”
“You are not dying.” I lied, feeling the tightness in my chest rise. I refused to think about that. I refused to think about a world where she wasn’t in it.
“Baby girl?”
I didn’t want to talk about this. Looking out the window, I watched birds fly past as the warm summer’s breeze blew through the trees. What I wouldn’t give to take my momma out of this room and let her feel the warm sun on her face once more. Let her smell the fresh cut grass or listen to her laugh. Simple things that probably wouldn’t mean anything to anyone, but would mean the world to her.
My whole life, Momma gave me everything. All the love and compassion that made me into the woman I was today. Everything good about me, I learned from her. Her faith, trust and belief that the world was what we made of it, I got from her. My mom was the best of the best and because of some damn disease, she was going to be snuffed from this world before her time.
It wasn’t fair.
Her hand tightened on mine again.
“I’m tired, Tessa. Think I’m gonna rest for a bit.”
