Keith’s decision. Kassie still had her moments, some of which weren’t so great, but Celine knew she could make it as a single parent. It wouldn’t be easy, but she felt confident that she and Kassie would be okay. She’d also found a therapist for Kassie, which was helping her a lot, and if it became necessary she would find one for herself.
Celine walked into the radiation room, preparing for her twenty-first treatment. None of them took more than thirty minutes from prep to completion, and Celine was glad of that. This was partly because, beginning with the first treatment, they’d placed ink marks on the exact area of her breast that they wanted to target. They’d done this in order to minimize the effects to surrounding areas, such as her heart, left lung, and arm. They also positioned her very carefully on the table for the same reason. Early on, Celine had wanted to know if she’d lose her hair, and while she knew appearance shouldn’t have been important right now, she’d been relieved to learn that she wouldn’t. The story would have been different, though, had she needed to have radiation for something such as a brain tumor, where the rays were directed toward her head. Her radiation oncologist had told her, however, that there was a chance she could lose the hair under her arm. There were other possible risks and side effects, too, but many of them were rare. Celine would have much rather not gone through radiation at all, of course, but she wasn’t complaining because her pathology report had returned negative. No cancer had spread to her lymph nodes, and she was thankful.
When Celine’s treatment was complete, she and Lauren walked outside and got in Lauren’s car. As they left the parking lot, Lauren turned on Kirk Franklin’s Praise channel on SiriusXM Radio. Celine took a deep breath and lay back against the headrest.
Lauren looked over at her. “So how are you feeling?”
“I’m really tired, but if it weren’t for that I’d be good.”
“You’ll get your energy back when your treatments are over. So only two more weeks to go.”
“I know, I was hoping I wouldn’t get tired so quickly, though, because during my first visit, my radiologist told me that fatigue wouldn’t likely set in until closer to the end of the six weeks. And I’ve only done four.”
“Yeah, but everyone’s body is different. Plus, for a while, you were under a lot of stress.”
“Isn’t that the truth? But thank you again for doing this.”
“Of course, and I know you would do the same for me.”
“Without any questions,” Celine said, shutting her eyes.
They drove along for about a mile, listening to the radio, and then Lauren said, “So I sort of have something to tell you, and I hope it’s going to be okay. We’ve both wanted to tell you for a while, but we weren’t sure how you would feel about it.”
Celine opened her eyes and turned toward her. “What’s that? And who is ‘we’?”
Lauren looked straight ahead at the road. “Jackson and I. We really connected on the day of your surgery. We talked almost nonstop from the time they took you to the operating room until we came to see you in recovery. We talked a lot that evening, too, after you and Kassie went to sleep…and we’ve talked by phone every single day since then.”
Celine raised her eyebrows and smiled at the same time. “Really? Well, isn’t that a pleasant surprise.”
“Are you serious?”
“Absolutely. My brother is a great guy, and you already know how I feel about you.”
Lauren sighed with relief. “Boy, am I glad to hear you say that. We weren’t sure if you’d be fine with it or if it might seem strange.”
“Not at all, but you wait until I talk to Jackson. What a sneaky little thing he is. You, too, for that matter,” she said, and they both laughed.
Just then, however, Celine’s cell phone rang, and her stomach stiffened. It was Keith. He hadn’t called Kassie in over a week, which was
Celine walked into the radiation room, preparing for her twenty-first treatment. None of them took more than thirty minutes from prep to completion, and Celine was glad of that. This was partly because, beginning with the first treatment, they’d placed ink marks on the exact area of her breast that they wanted to target. They’d done this in order to minimize the effects to surrounding areas, such as her heart, left lung, and arm. They also positioned her very carefully on the table for the same reason. Early on, Celine had wanted to know if she’d lose her hair, and while she knew appearance shouldn’t have been important right now, she’d been relieved to learn that she wouldn’t. The story would have been different, though, had she needed to have radiation for something such as a brain tumor, where the rays were directed toward her head. Her radiation oncologist had told her, however, that there was a chance she could lose the hair under her arm. There were other possible risks and side effects, too, but many of them were rare. Celine would have much rather not gone through radiation at all, of course, but she wasn’t complaining because her pathology report had returned negative. No cancer had spread to her lymph nodes, and she was thankful.
When Celine’s treatment was complete, she and Lauren walked outside and got in Lauren’s car. As they left the parking lot, Lauren turned on Kirk Franklin’s Praise channel on SiriusXM Radio. Celine took a deep breath and lay back against the headrest.
Lauren looked over at her. “So how are you feeling?”
“I’m really tired, but if it weren’t for that I’d be good.”
“You’ll get your energy back when your treatments are over. So only two more weeks to go.”
“I know, I was hoping I wouldn’t get tired so quickly, though, because during my first visit, my radiologist told me that fatigue wouldn’t likely set in until closer to the end of the six weeks. And I’ve only done four.”
“Yeah, but everyone’s body is different. Plus, for a while, you were under a lot of stress.”
“Isn’t that the truth? But thank you again for doing this.”
“Of course, and I know you would do the same for me.”
“Without any questions,” Celine said, shutting her eyes.
They drove along for about a mile, listening to the radio, and then Lauren said, “So I sort of have something to tell you, and I hope it’s going to be okay. We’ve both wanted to tell you for a while, but we weren’t sure how you would feel about it.”
Celine opened her eyes and turned toward her. “What’s that? And who is ‘we’?”
Lauren looked straight ahead at the road. “Jackson and I. We really connected on the day of your surgery. We talked almost nonstop from the time they took you to the operating room until we came to see you in recovery. We talked a lot that evening, too, after you and Kassie went to sleep…and we’ve talked by phone every single day since then.”
Celine raised her eyebrows and smiled at the same time. “Really? Well, isn’t that a pleasant surprise.”
“Are you serious?”
“Absolutely. My brother is a great guy, and you already know how I feel about you.”
Lauren sighed with relief. “Boy, am I glad to hear you say that. We weren’t sure if you’d be fine with it or if it might seem strange.”
“Not at all, but you wait until I talk to Jackson. What a sneaky little thing he is. You, too, for that matter,” she said, and they both laughed.
Just then, however, Celine’s cell phone rang, and her stomach stiffened. It was Keith. He hadn’t called Kassie in over a week, which was
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