Read Best Friends Forever Online

Authors: Kimberla Lawson Roby

Best Friends Forever (7 page)

BOOK: Best Friends Forever
5.27Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

T
his was a call Celine had hoped she wouldn't have to make. But she also knew it wasn't fair to keep them waiting and wondering when she knew she couldn't work with them.

She dialed the prestigious advertising firm in Chicago that had contacted her earlier this week.

“Tom Blakely's office,” the woman said.

“Hi. My name is Celine Richardson. Tom contacted me about a marketing campaign, and I was wondering if he was in.”

“Yes, of course. I know he's been waiting to hear back from you. I'll send you right through.”

“Thank you.”

After a couple of seconds, Tom came on the line.

“Celine? How are you?”

“To tell you the truth, not as well as I'd like to be. I just learned yesterday that I'll need to have surgery.”

“Oh no. I'm very sorry to hear that, and I hope it's not too serious.”

Celine wasn't planning to tell anyone in the industry about her illness. Maybe once she'd been given a clean bill of health, but not before then. “I'll be down for a little while, but I'm sure I'll be fine. Unfortunately, though, I'm going to have to pass on your offer.”

“I assumed as much, but I hope you'll let me know when you're available again. We really would love to work with you.”

“I appreciate hearing that, and I will definitely be in touch.”

“You take good care of yourself, and I wish you well with everything.”

“Thanks, Tom.”

“You're quite welcome.”

Celine prepared to set her phone on her desk, but it rang. It was Dr. Jones's office.

“Hello?” she said.

“Celine?”

“Yes?”

“Hi, this is Tina.”

“Hi, how are you?”

“I'm good, and I hope you are, too. I'm calling because we've scheduled your lumpectomy for next Friday at Mitchell Memorial.”

“Okay.”

“That's a week from tomorrow, so the pre-op department will be calling you soon. Maybe even this afternoon or evening. They'll be asking you questions about your medical history and then explaining what you'll need to do to prepare for surgery. They'll also be getting preapproval from your insurance company. The other thing they'll probably ask is whether you have a living will and/or a health care power-of-attorney document in place.”

“Sounds good.”

“Do you have any questions I can answer for you?”

“No, I don't think so.”

“Okay, then, Dr. Jones will see you next week.”

“Thank you for calling.”

“Anytime, and bye for now.”

“Good-bye.”

Celine had hoped her surgery would be scheduled as soon as possible, but now that it had, a bit of fear had set in again. Ever since waking up a few hours ago, she'd been keeping her faith strong, however, she suddenly felt weak and as though things weren't going to turn out very well. She knew Dr. Jones had stated her cancer was at stage two, but what if once he removed the tumor, he learned something different? What if her cancer had spread to her lymph nodes or to some other area of her body? What if having a mastectomy was a better option? Should she maybe ask Dr. Jones about it? Or maybe a better question was, did she even
want
to have one? What if Dr. Jones removed the tumor, and he didn't get it all? What if she ended up having to have yet another surgery, and maybe even chemo? What if she didn't survive at all?

Celine reflected on one question after another and then realized how useless it was. Worrying and trying to figure out what might happen wasn't doing her any good. It was upsetting her unnecessarily, and she had to move on to something else. So she called Lauren.

“Hey, how are you?” Lauren said.

“Okay, I guess. Did I catch you at a bad time?”

“No, not at all. But what's wrong? Because you definitely don't sound okay.”

“Dr. Jones's nurse called, and my surgery is next Friday. But after I hung up with her, my mind spun in every direction. I thought about everything imaginable.”

“I'm sure, but you've got to think only positive thoughts. You have to trust God and mean it, girl. You can't put your faith in Him today and then lose it the very next. You have to ask, believe, and wait for Him to deliver. You have to believe He'll do exactly what He says He'll do.”

“You're right. I know you are, and I've got to do better than I have been. I have to release everything to Him and leave it there.”

“You really do, and in time you will.”

“I think it's the unknown that bothers me. I've never dealt with something like this before, and cancer is no joke. It's nothing to take lightly.”

“That's true, but Dr. Jones has already given you a great prognosis. Surgery, radiation, and no chemo, right?”

“Yep, unless he discovers something more when he removes the tumor.”

“He won't. He'll get everything while he's in there, and your pathology report will come back clean.”

“I agree, and actually, if you want to know the truth, I'm more worried about Kassie than I am about myself. This won't be easy for her.”

“No, but we'll get through it. And by the way, is Keith talking any differently?”

“No, he's moving out two days from now.”

“I just can't believe he's really doing this, and I'm really starting to dislike him,” Lauren said. “Keith used to be one of my favorite people, but not anymore.”

“I feel the same way, but there's nothing I can do about it.”

“Well, what I do know is this: People like Keith always get what is coming to them. Sometimes tenfold.”

“Exactly,” Celine said, wondering how all this would play out. But more than anything she wondered
when
it would.

N
o, Daddy! Why?” Kassie said, jumping up from the sofa in the family room. She and Celine were sitting side by side, and Keith sat adjacent to them on the loveseat.

“Sweetheart, please try to calm down,” Celine said.

“Why are you leaving us? Did I do something wrong?”

“No, sweetheart,” he said. “You didn't do anything. This isn't your fault.”

“Well, then why did you and Mom stop loving each other? Why are you moving out?”

Keith bit his lip, seemingly trying to figure out what to say, and Celine wanted to wring his neck. How dare he do this to their daughter?

“Honey,” he said, “it's complicated. But please know that it won't change how much I love you. Your mom and I will always love you, no matter what.”

“But why, Daddy?” she said, standing directly in front of him.

Keith grabbed one of her hands. “Sometimes adults go through things they don't want to. It's very hard to explain, and I'm very sorry this is happening.”

“But why can't you and Mom fix things and make them okay again?”

“I wish we could.”

“Then why won't you?”

“It's just not that simple.”

“Where are you moving to?” Kassie asked.

Celine wanted to know the same thing.

“Into a condo,” he said.

“All by yourself?”

“Yep, and once I get situated you'll have your own bedroom.”

“But I already have a bedroom.”

“I know, honey, but you'll have one at my place, too.”

Kassie fell into her dad's arms and burst into tears. “Daddy, please don't leave.”

Keith held Kassie with tear-filled eyes, gazing at Celine. Celine didn't have an ounce of sympathy for him.

“I know this is hard,” he told Kassie. “But we'll still be able to see each other and do things just like always.”

“No, we won't,” she said, still hugging him. “Not like now.”

Keith didn't say anything else.

Kassie pulled away from him. “What about Mom's surgery? Who's going to help take care of her?”

“I'll try my best to be there.”

Liar!
was all Celine could think. Keith knew full well he wasn't going to be at the hospital or anywhere near during her recovery period.

“Mom,” Kassie said, “please tell Daddy not to leave.”

“I'm sorry, honey, but this is your dad's decision.”

“Daddy, why do you wanna leave? Are you mad at me and Mom?”

“No, I'm not mad at you at all.”

“But you are with Mom?”

“Look, sweetheart, I know this makes you sad, but for now, this is the way things are going to have to be.”

Kassie wept again and rushed upstairs to her room.

Celine squinted her eyes. “You're pathetic.”

“I'm doing what I have to do.”

“No, you're doing what you
want
to do. You don't care about me or Kassie.”

“I'll always love my daughter.”

“You sure have a strange way of showing it.”

“Kassie knows I love her, and eventually she'll understand my decision.”

“You really believe that? Or are you only saying that so you won't have to feel bad about it?”

“I do believe it. Children are very resilient, and as long as I still spend time with Kassie, she'll be fine.”

“What about child support?”

“What about it? You think I'm not going to take care of my own child?”

“I don't know anything. So we're going to have to come to some sort of an agreement.”

“You're already worrying about money, I see.”

“I'm not worried at all, but I suggest you do the right thing.”

“Or what?”

“We'll let a judge handle it.”

“You're a real piece of work,” he said.

“No, I'm your wife. I'm also getting ready to have surgery and won't be able to work for a while. And this mortgage still needs to be paid.”

“Please. You act like you're having brain surgery or something. Like you're going to be totally incapacitated and won't be able to do anything for months.”

“Are you trying to say breast cancer isn't serious?”

“No, but I'm tired of you trying to play the victim,” he said, standing up. “People get sick all the time, and they recover with no problem. They also don't hold pity parties the way you seem to be doing.”

“Victim?” she said. “I have cancer, and you have the audacity to call me that? That's really low, Keith, but you know what? Every dog has his day.”

“And?”

“We all get what we deserve.”

Keith turned and headed toward the stairway. “I'm done with this conversation.”

Celine didn't bother acknowledging his last comment, but she couldn't deny how hurt she was. She would never let him see it, but reality had finally settled in: She was married to a man she no longer knew, and he was leaving her. It was as if he'd up and decided one night, out of the blue, that he didn't love her and wanted out. But it was the same as she'd been thinking before: This wasn't just about their marriage or the breakdown of it. This was about a third party. A woman who was low enough to sleep with a married man. A tramp who had no problem doing all she could to try to convince someone else's husband to abandon his family. A whore who had figured out a way to fool Keith into believing she could be a better woman to him than his own wife was. Keith was just as much at fault—actually he was more at fault than this mistress of his, because he was the one who was married—but Celine despised any woman who was ruthless and cold-blooded enough to sleep with another woman's husband. It spoke volumes about a woman's character. Keith couldn't see it now, but a woman like that was capable of doing just about anything, and could never be trusted. As the old cliché went, the grass always looked greener on the other side. The only thing, though, was that it almost never was. This was a fact, and Keith would eventually realize it. He would learn this truth the same as other men had been discovering for decades.

A
s Celine awakened from the anesthesia, she batted her eyes and squinted when the light hit them. She heard a few people talking, some in near whispers, and she realized she was in recovery. It seemed that no time had passed at all from when the surgical staff had wheeled her down to the operating room, yet her procedure was already over. She smiled when she thought about the way Lauren had stood by her this past week and how she'd prayed for Celine daily. Celine was also elated that her brother hadn't listened to her and had flown in yesterday as planned. But in a matter of seconds, Celine's happiness diminished. She wasn't sure why Keith's words had suddenly entered her mind, but she heard them repeatedly. “
I'm tired of you trying to play the victim…People get sick all the time…They also don't hold pity parties the way you seem to be doing.
” Celine tried to forget about him and the cruel things he'd said, but soon tears rolled down either side of her face. Before long, she cried so uncontrollably that her chest and stomach heaved up and down.

“Celine, I'm Tessa,” the fiftysomething nurse said. “Are you okay? Are you having a lot of pain?”

Celine shook her head no, but kept crying.

“Are you sure? Because if you're hurting, we can get you something to help with that.”

Celine was still weeping too hard to answer verbally, so she shook her head again.

“Well, then what's wrong?” Tessa asked, rubbing Celine's arm.

Celine sniffled a few times and took deep breaths.

“I'm sorry you're so upset,” Tessa said, pulling Kleenex from the table next to Celine's bed and passing it to her.

Celine gently wiped her face and sniffled. She sighed heavily.

Tessa smiled. “You're sure you're not hurting.”

“No,” Celine said, between deep breaths. “I'm…okay…I'm…fine.”

“Would you like some ice water?”

Celine nodded yes.

Tessa lifted a plastic pitcher and poured some in a large cup that contained a straw.

Celine drank as much as she could and then laid her head back down.

“Your family is outside waiting, and you'll be able to see them soon.”

“Thank you,” she said, wiping her face and eyes again.

“Here's your call button.” Tessa showed her.

Celine still felt a bit groggy, so she doubted she'd be able to watch anything on television. Maybe she would turn it on, though, just to keep her mind occupied with something other than her separation from Keith.

Tessa left, and Celine lay there, flipping through the channels. She stopped when she saw an old episode of
Law & Order
. She loved this show, but she was also fighting to stay awake.

However, just as she was about to fall off to sleep again, there was a knock on her door.

“Hey, Sis,” Jackson said, and Celine smiled. Her baby brother had always been exceptionally handsome, and though he'd be turning forty this fall, he hadn't aged much.

“Hey yourself,” Celine said.

“Hey, girl,” Lauren said.

“Hey.”

Lauren smiled and held Celine's hand. “Didn't I tell you God was going to handle this? Dr. Jones says that your surgery went very well, and that he believes he got everything.”

“That's really great to hear,” Celine said. “God is so good.”

“He absolutely is,” Lauren agreed.

“I prayed more this last week than I have in years,” Jackson added.

“Prayer means everything,” Lauren said. “Both when things are bad and even when they're good.”

There was another knock at the door, then Dr. Jones walked in.

“So how are you feeling?” he asked Celine.

“Pretty good. No pain.”

“Good. Well, as I told your brother and friend, the surgery went as well as I expected. Your tumor was pretty isolated, but I do still want you to have six weeks of radiation just to make sure we didn't miss anything. We're also sending your tumor and sample lymph nodes on to pathology to be tested.”

“Will we hear back soon?” Celine asked.

“Probably in two to three days. Not too long at all.”

“And I still get to go home today?”

“Yes, that'll be fine. I want you to stay here in recovery until you're completely stable, but after that we'll be able to discharge you.”

“Thank you for everything.”

“You're quite welcome,” he said, patting her leg through the bedspread. Then he shook Jackson's and Lauren's hands. “It was great meeting you both, and you two take good care of my patient here.”

“We will, Doctor,” Jackson told him. “We won't let her do anything she's not supposed to, which will be very interesting, but we're going to make her do the right thing.”

Dr. Jones laughed and so did Lauren and Jackson, but Celine playfully rolled her eyes at her brother.

“She's used to being the boss of me,” Jackson said, “so now it's my turn.”

They all chuckled again.

“Have a good afternoon,” Dr. Jones said.

Celine looked at Jackson. “I see you've got big-time jokes today, huh?”

“Yep. It's going to be good keeping tabs on you. Making you stay in bed and take it easy.”

“Whatever. I'm still the oldest, though, and don't you forget it.”

Lauren laughed at both of them.

“But seriously,” Celine said, “I love you so much, baby brother, and I don't know what I would have done today if you and Lauren hadn't been here for me.” Then Celine gazed at her best friend. “Thank you, girl. Thank you for being here for me at every end.”

“I wouldn't have it any other way. What are friends for? Especially best friends?”

“Well, I really appreciate everything you've done, because these last few days have been some of the toughest of my life.”

“I know,” Lauren said, “but better days are ahead.”

Jackson nodded. “Exactly. All of this is just temporary.”

“It took me a while, but by yesterday I fully trusted and believed God was going to heal me. My faith is very strong right now, and I'm grateful for that.”

“That's wonderful to hear,” Lauren said.

Celine blinked her eyes, trying to keep them open.

“Why don't you get some rest,” Lauren said.

Jackson sat down in the seat on the right side of Celine's bed. “Yeah, I think that's a good idea.”

Lauren sat to the left of her. “We'll be right here when you wake up.”

“I love you both,” Celine said. “Oh, and Lauren, with Jackson staying through the weekend, you really don't have to spend the night. We'll be fine.”

“Well, actually, sis, I'd rather she did. You know, just in case your bandage needs to be changed. Or something female-related goes wrong.”

Celine and Lauren shook their heads at him.

“What? I'm serious. I'll do anything else, but I'll leave that sort of thing to Lauren.”

Celine laughed but fought to keep her eyes open. Before long, she lost the battle and gave in.

BOOK: Best Friends Forever
5.27Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

Other books

The Seventh Day by Joy Dettman
Shogun by James Clavell
Practically Perfect by Dale Brawn
The Plunge by S., Sindhu
Christmas Choices by Sharon Coady
Dead Pulse by A. M. Esmonde
Sword of Mercy by Sydney Addae
The Chosen by Snow, Jenika