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She swore Mrs. Florentine’s words rang in her soul. “You’re right. You’re so right.”
“Of course I am, darling girl.”
Anya’s cheeks were flushed from her tears, but her expression was determined. “You’re going to be okay, Sunny. This thing in your head, whatever it is, it isn’t going to beat you.”
“I wish I had your faith,” Sunny whispered as she hugged her friend back.
“Doesn’t matter,” Anya said stubbornly. “I have enough faith for both of us.”
Chapter 13
Three massive screens dominated the small, conference room wall behind Dr. Vanti as he held what looked like a video game controller in his brown hands. Dr. Vanti introduced them to his team and explained the initial results of their scans. An amazing 3D rendering of her brain was projected onto the three screens, with her tumor highlighted in bright red compared to the pale blue mass of the rest of her brain. The technology they used was astounding, and she felt a flicker of hope as she listened to him explain the different ways they considered approaching the operation.
Every bit of her skull had been mapped out, right down to the smallest blood vessels, and she found it almost awe inspiring to have that close of a look at herself.
“Our next step…” Dr. Vanti smoothly rotated the image on the center screen. “Is to begin virtual reality mockups of the surgery, then practice real-life scenarios with a replica of your head and brain. From there, we’ll determine the best course of action. As it stands, we’re holding firm with the plan to operate on Wednesday. Do you have any questions?”
Sunny shook her head. “No, you did a great job explaining the tumors location and the parts of the brain around it. So, I’ll need to come in every two days between now and then for scans and testing?”
“Yes.” Dr. Vanti nodded as the image on the left screen switched to a rotating model of her skull. “We need to make sure that the measurements we use for practice are correct down to the millimeter. There is no room for error, so we like to be very certain there’s nothing unexpected. You’ll check in on Tuesday, and surgery will begin early on Wednesday. It will be an all-day event.”
Hawk asked a few more questions, but she was distracted by the actual sight of the lump inside of her head. That small, foreign mass of tissue might contain cancer. Imagining it growing inside of her made a shiver race down her back. Seeing it on the screens was just eerie.
After the meeting, she held Hawk’s hand as they left the hospital together and began the long walk across the big parking lot.
It was hot at a little after three in the afternoon, so hot that she swore she could feel the heat of the parking lot baking up beneath her feet.
Normally, she’d complain about the temperature, about the distance to their car, and a thousand other minor irritations.
Today, those complaints seemed too petty to put into words.
Instead of pissing and moaning about her minor discomfort, she tried to do as Mrs. Florentine had advised earlier and think positive.
It was a lot harder than she’d thought it would be.
She didn’t know what it said about her, but she really struggled to see the good side of life.
Although she was happy with who she was, she had to admit that she did tend to have a rather morbid tendency to dwell on the bad instead of the good.
But Hawk had agreed with Mrs. Florentine about the powers of positive thinking. Plus, she was tired of being sad and scared all the time. Rather than thinking about how uncomfortable she was, she focused on the warm feeling of the sun on her skin and of the way her silky bronze and ruby red skirt caressed her skin as she walked.
After all, these sensations were things she might not be able to experience for much longer.
“Distract me,” she told Hawk as they waited to for a car to pull out in front of them.
To her surprise, he wrapped an arm around her waist, put one hand behind her head, and dipped her into a slow, dramatic kiss that left her panting.
The dark shades of his sunglasses hid his eyes, but his bright smile didn’t help with her weak knees situation as he set her back on her own two feet. “Better?”
“Yep,” she said with an embarrassingly husky sigh.
Resuming their walk, he asked, “Are you still in the mood for Club Wicked tonight?”
She gave him a coy smile. “Are you going to make it worth my while?”
“Oh, baby,” he purred. “You can count on it.”
After a nap, she found herself in the lush women’s changing room at Club Wicked. Not everyone wanted to drive to the club wearing fetish gear—imagine getting pulled over wearing assless chaps?—so Club Wicked offered two massive changing rooms. Each looked like they belonged in the highest of the high-end spas. The women’s lower dressing room, where she currently sat, had a lounge area to die for fully stocked with snacks and drinks. She sipped her tea and finished off a couple cookies while she waited for the arrival of the other women.
