Chapter Nine – Thunder and
Lightning
As Amanda came out of the
drugstore with Lee’s prescriptions, she looked up to the eerie, gray-green
skies and saw a dark, threatening line of clouds approaching from the west. She
hurried out to the Explorer as the first raindrops dotted the surface of the
parking lot. After fastening her seatbelt and turning the key in the ignition,
she picked up her cell phone and dialed her mother’s number.
“Hello, Mother?” she
started, “Lee’s home from the hospital. . .yes, yes it is great news, right. .
.well, he’s tired, but. . .yes, Mother, he’s resting right now, as a matter of
fact. Anyway, Mother, I was actually calling to tell you that there’s no need for
you and Kurt to pick Jenny up from school today. See, I’m already out in the
car anyway, so. . .at the pharmacy, Mother. Anyway, the weather looks like it
might take a turn for the worse real soon, so I’d hate for you to have to be
out in it. Thanks, Mother. . .we’ll call you later. ‘Bye.”
********
Amanda leaned across the front seat to open the
passenger-side door a crack as Jenny scrambled toward her in the pouring rain.
“Oh my gosh! Sweetheart, you’re soaked,” she cried out, tipping the door open a
bit wider.
“No!” Jenny replied in mock surprise, looking over
her drenched clothing. Immediately, the corners of her mouth turned up in a wry
grin.
Seeing the humor in Jenny’s eyes, Amanda gave her
a fake smile and countered, “Very funny.” She reached around behind the front
seat and handed Jenny a towel, saying, “Now, here. . .why don’t you dry
yourself off as much as you can, all right?”
Jenny wiped her face and arms, and toweled her
hair as well, asking, “So Daddy’s home from the hospital now, right? How’s he
doing?”
While she pulled out onto the road, Amanda glanced
into the side mirror as she replied, “I’d say he’s doing pretty well. . .all
things considered. . .”
“Which means?” Jenny nudged, as she kept her gaze
fixed on her mother’s profile.
“Well. . .” Amanda faltered, searching for the
right words. She spared a quick glance at Jenny’s determined face and gave her
a mildly reassuring smile as she went on, “He really is feeling pretty well
today. . .it’s just that he’s so tired.”
Jenny’s face took on a pensive look as she paused
a moment before saying, “But that’s not all, is it, Mom?”
Keeping her eyes straight ahead and kneading the
steering wheel with nervous fingers, Amanda admitted, “No. . .you’re right,
Sweetheart. I suppose the surgery was prob’ly harder on him than he expected. .
.and then he had really bad headaches for a few days, from the swelling. . .”
She paused, sparing Jenny another quick glance as she went on, “I told you
about those, remember? Anyway, since the swelling went away, he’s feeling much
better,” she said, punctuating her statement with a nod that she hoped would
signal finality.
No such luck, though. Jenny kept at her. “That’s
real good to know, Mom. . .really,” she said earnestly, “but. . .Mom? Do they
know? Was it cancer? Did they get it all?”
Amanda pulled the Explorer off onto the shoulder,
stopping and shifting into ‘Park’ before turning to face her insistent
daughter. She reached over and squeezed Jenny’s hand, giving her an
affectionate smile before she answered her all-important questions.
“Sweetheart. . .I know none of us likes to use the word. . .but yes. . .it was.
. .cancer, and no. . .they didn’t get quite all of it. . .”
At Jenny’s crestfallen look, Amanda caressed her
face tenderly, tipping her chin up and making eye contact as she continued, “We
knew to expect that part going in, Jenny. They did get most of it, though. . .”
“Good,” Jenny said in a subdued voice, as she
shifted her gaze to the windshield, now covered in sheets of rainwater. She
looked back into her mother’s eyes to demand the last answer. “But what about
the rest of it?”
“Well. . .” Amanda began hesitantly, “that’s where
the radiation treatments come in. Within a couple of months, the doctors
believe the rest of the. . .uh. . .the cancer will be gone.”
“And then he’ll be cured?” Jenny asked, her eyebrows framing the
question hopefully.
Amanda’s breath caught as she realized yet another
of the similarities between father and daughter. Hadn’t she seen the same look
on Lee’s face just days ago? She’d have been willing to give anything in this
world to grant her daughter’s wish at that moment. ‘If only. . .’ she thought
wearily. Instead, she admitted with a rueful smile, “Sort of. See, doctors
prefer not to use the word ‘cure’ until the patient’s survived for at least
five years or more. But if you mean, will he start to be healthy again, then
yes, Sweetheart. I'm counting on it,” she added, her eyes brightening at the
prospect.
“Okay, Mom, then I will too,” Jenny said, nodding
to emphasize her last three words.
“Good,” Amanda whispered, smiling and giving her
hand a gentle squeeze before putting the car into gear and easing out onto the
road.
********
Lee awakened with a start to the crashing sound of thunder. The bedroom seemed
dark. Wasn’t it still the middle of the day? He threw back the covers and sat
up on the edge of the bed, squinting at the numberless alarm clock. He tried
turning on the bedside lamp. . .nothing. ‘Terrific!’ he thought, ‘a power
outage.’ Feeling his way across the room, he found the cord for the drapes and
gave it a gentle tug, letting in at least a small amount of the scant daylight.
He managed to find his shoes and slipped them on, then reached into Amanda’s
nightstand for the flashlight she kept there. He clicked it on and carefully
made his way down the stairs.
“Amanda?” he called to the empty family room.
Holding the flashlight over his watch, he took note of the time. . .3:45 p.m.
Where could Amanda be? She was just going to the drugstore, wasn’t she? That
had to have been about 1:00, 1:30 the latest. What could’ve taken her so long?
‘Oh no!’ he panicked, remembering the thunder and lightning and the darkened
sky, ‘what if she’s been in an accident or something!’ With urgency in his step, he turned and
walked to the dining room, pulling the curtain aside and watching out the front
window. About five minutes later, he saw her pulling into the driveway with
Jenny. He let out a sigh of relief, sliding a shaking hand down the back of his
hair. He found his way back through the kitchen just as the lights came back
on. Setting the flashlight down, he shoved a hand in his pocket and leaned
against the counter, doing his best to look calm as Amanda and Jenny came in
the back door.
“Daddy!” Jenny shouted happily, running in to wrap
her arms around his waist and lay her head against his chest. “I’m so glad
you’re home!”
He kissed the top of her head and returned her hug
as he replied, “Me, too, Jenny.” Stroking her back and then releasing his hold
on her, he looked over to Amanda, saying, “I’m glad you’re home, too. What
happened? What took you so long?”
“We pulled off the road for
awhile after I picked Jenny up from school,” she answered factually, if not
completely. At his questioning look, she went on, “the rain, Lee. . .it was
coming down in sheets,” she hedged, pointedly ignoring Jenny’s wide-eyed stare.
“Oh. . .yeah, right. . .the
storm, “ Lee mused aloud. “We had a power outage, you know.”
“Yeah, Dad--we saw the
lights come back on just a minute ago,” Jenny volunteered from behind him.
She’d opened the refrigerator and taken out a juice box when she made a
sweeping circular motion with her hand, asking, “Mom! What’s all this stuff?”
“Oh that?” Amanda said with
a slightly nervous smile, rounding the island and closing the refrigerator.
“That’s just. . .’just-in-case’ food, Jenny,” she said with a dismissive wave
of her hand and a look that stilled any further questions. “Now, go on
upstairs, why don’t you? You need to get out of those wet clothes.”
“Yeah. . .okay, Mom,” Jenny
said as she picked up her juice and headed up the stairs.
Lee turned to face Amanda,
leaning his hands into the island as he quirked an eyebrow and asked,
“Just-in-case food? What’s that about?”
She turned away to take a
glass out of the cabinet, opening the refrigerator again to take a few pieces
of ice and drop them into the glass as she began her answer. “Well, it’s just
that some of the brochures that Karen. . .Dr. Zimmerman. . .gave us said that.
. .you know, after your treatments start. . .”
she stalled, pouring apple juice over the ice.
“Yes?” he questioned, his
eyes urging her on.
“Well they said that. . .you
might not always feel like eating. . .well, not full meals, anyway, and that it
was a good idea to keep a supply of healthy snack-size portions of some of the
foods that might appeal to you on hand.” She took a sip of the juice and
glanced down at the countertop, her eyes following the imaginary lines she drew
with her finger.
“That makes sense,” he acknowledged.
He dipped his head slightly to connect with her eyes as he said softly,
“Amanda? Thanks.”
“Aw, it’s. . .nothing” she
whispered, waving it off.
He shook his head slightly
and smiled. He stood back from the counter and rubbed his hands together as he
said in a brighter tone of voice, ”Hey. . .you know something? After all that
vile stuff they tried to pass off as food in the hospital, and before my
‘torture’ starts. . .” he paused, giving her a wink, “I’m up for some real food
tonight! So what are we having?”
Turning to open the
refrigerator, Amanda smiled, saying, “Well, we have some good steaks here, and
how about baked potatoes and a nice salad?”
“Sounds great,” Lee replied, coming around to stand behind her and resting his
hands on her shoulders. “Anything I can do to help?”
********
Wednesday Morning – Galilee General Radiation Therapy Lab
The radiation technician tapped Lee’s shoulder
lightly as he said, “All right, Mr. Stetson, you can get up now. Everything’s
set up for your first treatment. . .we’ve identified the field,” he paused,
looking at the chart in his hand, “and we’ll be ready to begin tomorrow. The
receptionist here can arrange the appointment for you.”
“Thanks,” Lee said, following the young man out to
the reception desk.
After he’d set the appointment time for the
following day, Amanda came up to his side, slipping her hand into the crook of
his elbow and asking, “Well. . .how’d it go?”
He placed his hand at the small of her back and
guided her out of the waiting room as he replied, “It was just the way Karen
explained it to me—I had to lie down on the table and they took several x-rays.
After they made the ‘body mold’, that was pretty much it.”
As they wound through the corridors to the exit,
Amanda smiled and said, “Oh. . .well, good, I’m glad that part was easy.”
********
Thursday Afternoon – Stetson Residence
’What a difference a day makes!’ Lee thought
ruefully, as he leaned over the porcelain bowl he feared would become his new
best friend. The treatment itself had been painless, just as he’d been told,
but within a few hours, he’d lost his breakfast coffee and the half-bagel
Amanda had insisted on. Even with nothing left in his stomach, the nausea
persisted.
“Ugh! I hate this!” he groused as he stomped down
the stairs and into the kitchen.
“Oh, I know, Sweetheart,” Amanda said tenderly, as
she set her teacup back into the saucer on the island. She came over to him and
placed a hand on his back, stroking it gently as she said, “You know, you
really should at least have something to. . .”
He held up a hand to stop her friendly advice.
Walking away from her toward the sink, he shouted with a sickly frown, “No
thank you! I’m giving up eating until this is over!”
“Well, actually, I wasn’t going to suggest that
you eat anything right now, Lee,” she interjected with a trace of irritation
behind her forced smile. “But you really should have a little something to
drink, so you don’t become dehydrated,” she carried on, opening the fridge and
pulling out a large bottle of pale orange liquid.
“Oh,” he replied quietly, giving up his protest
with a weak smile as he turned back to face her.
As she watched him take a test-sip of the sports
drink she’d offered, Amanda pondered, ‘If he’s already this sick, what must we
have to look forward to?’
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