Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 88656 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 443(@200wpm)___ 355(@250wpm)___ 296(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88656 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 443(@200wpm)___ 355(@250wpm)___ 296(@300wpm)
Her mouth dropped open. “You wouldn’t dare.”
“Don’t mess with me, Nessy. I’m serious.”
“Fine. No more teasing.” She wrapped her arms around her midsection and gave him an exaggerated pout. It was all very flippant, but I thought she looked genuinely cowed.
“I’ll pick you up at your place Monday morning,” Kage told me. “In the meantime, eat what I send up. If you want a snack, make it high protein, low carb, okay?”
“Your wish is my command.” I aimed a smug look in Vanessa’s direction and felt vindicated when it hit the mark. “Guess I’ll get dressed and head out now. I need to go call my mom.”
I SAW where you called yesterday,” I told my mom when she answered the phone. “Sorry, I was in the middle of a business call, and then things went kinda haywire last night.”
“Haywire?” she asked. “Are you behaving yourself?”
“Mom, I’m almost twenty-one now.”
“My baby’s growing up,” she said, a mix of joy and sadness in her voice.
“I’m not your baby. That would be Paul.”
“You’re one of my babies. All three of you are equally my babies. Even after Jennifer gets married in August, she’ll still be my baby. Then I’ll just have one more.”
“Oh, God. Don’t start calling Chase your baby, too. That douchebag doesn’t deserve you.”
“Watch your language, young man. I’m still your mother, and I will put a strap across your back when you come home.”
I laughed. “Since when do you strap people, mom?”
“Since they’ve gotten too big for their britches.”
“Okay. Well, I can assure you I don’t need a strap. I’m a working man now. I think you’d be proud of me.”
She covered the mouthpiece and yelled at Paul to put the jelly back in the fridge and rinse the knife, then resumed our conversation. “I’ve always been proud of you, Jamie. Always. I’m glad you’re doing well.” She paused. “I sense there’s something wrong, though. What is it?”
“Nothing.”
“Don’t nothing me. A mom can tell.”
“It’s just… love life issues.”
What am I saying to my mom? I don’t even have a love life.
“Problems between you and Layla?”
Layla who?
“Something like that.”
Actually, nothing like that.
“Anything I can help you with? She’s not pregnant, is she?”
“Mom! No, of course not.”
“Well, you’re not being very forthcoming, son. I just figured I’d head you off at the pass with the most difficult news I could think of. You know I’ll understand, right? Whatever it is, I’ll understand. In fact, I have some difficult news of my own to share.”
My heart leapt up into my throat. “What is it?”
“I got the test results back. I have breast cancer.”
“What?” I nearly dropped the phone. My face flushed hot, and I couldn’t think straight. My mom. This was my mom. Cancer? Was she going to die? Jesus, here I was worrying about petty little conflicting feelings I was having over some guy, and my mom had cancer.
Way to put things into perspective, God.
“It’s okay,” she said calmly, though I could barely hear her through the pounding of blood in my ears. “The prognosis is excellent because they caught it early. I’m opting for a radical double mastectomy. I’m not going to let the same thing happen to me that happened to your aunt. She kept thinking she could beat it without getting a mastectomy, and she lost the bet.”
I started to cry before I even realized I was doing it.
“Don’t cry, baby,” my mom pleaded. “Your father and I have cried enough for everyone, and now it’s time to be positive. I want the threat gone so that I can be sure I’ll be around to be a grandmother to your children, okay?”
“Okay,” I sniffed, wiping the tears away with the back of my hand.
“Really, it’s fine, son. The doctors say it will be fine, and I believe them. They can work wonders with plastic surgery these days. It’s not like it was in your grandma’s day.”
“I love you, Mom,” I blubbered. “I’m sorry.”
“Shhh, baby. Nothing to worry about. Go take care of your love life and forget about this. It’s nothing but a blip on the radar of life.”
SUNDAY morning, Kage started having my meals sent up. Talk about spoiling me. I was getting chicken, fish, seafood, fresh vegetables, and brown rice delivered to my door like clockwork. Possibly the coolest part was knowing that he was ordering two of everything, and that I always knew exactly when and what he was eating even though we weren’t in the same room. We were sharing a diet.
By Monday, he’d even started making pre-workout shakes for me with creatine and protein to give me energy and build muscle.
We settled quickly into a routine. We shared morning workouts, then I observed and took pictures. I started using the machines some while he trained. After lunch, I would go to the office to work in my little cubicle. Kage had failed to find me an office, but I assured him that I was fine in the cubicle, and that I wasn’t blasting any sensitive information around the office. One day I tried to work in my room, but I found I needed the office setting to keep me motivated and feeling legit. However, I did go to my room to make business calls or to talk to Dr. Washburn. Not only did it feel uncomfortable talking out in the quiet office, but Kage was right. There were certain things those people didn’t need to hear.