The Quaker Café (23 page)

             
“She has a type of leukemia that has caused a severe drop in her red blood cells and platelets because her bone marrow, where blood cells are made, is defective.”

“How did that happen?” Grandma sat down at the kitchen table and gave Liz her complete attention
. She wanted the details.

“Nobody knows.”

“So what will they do?”

Liz tried to simplify a very complicated disease
. “First they try to kill off the cancer cells. That’s what the chemo does, but it will also kill off the normal cells in the bone marrow.”

“And that’s what they’re doing now…in the hospital?”

“Yes, that’s why she has to stay for four weeks, to let unaffected blood cells replace those they’ve killed off.”

“What if it doesn’t work?” Grandma asked.

“Well, they’ll repeat a similar procedure in another month or so after she recovers from this and if that doesn’t work they will try to do a bone marrow transplant.”

“Which means?”

  “They would take bone marrow from someone who is a match and put it in Maggie’s bone so that the new cells can then generate more healthy blood cells.”

             
“Oh,” Grandma said. Her eyes wandered upper right and Liz could tell she was thinking through the process. She had a sharp mind and she never hesitated to ask for further explanation if she didn’t understand something. “So what is it that she wants Ellie to do?”

             
“See,” Liz said, trying to think of how to be delicate, “ideally that other person is a brother or sister, because they are more likely to be a match. Maggie doesn’t have any brothers or sisters, at least none that she knows about. She seems to have gotten it in her head that Miss Ellie might know if her father had any other children. She wants me to ask her.”

             
“Oh, my goodness, dear.” Euphrasia’s hand went to her mouth. “Do you really think that’s an appropriate thing to ask Ellie?” Grandma exhaled audibly. “I just don’t see what good that could do. Not now. Not after all of these years.”

             
“Grandma, I agree with you. Honestly, I do. But Maggie made me promise. She’s just not going to let me off until I ask.”

             
Chase had more dishes in his hand as he walked in from the dining room. The conversation stopped and Chase glanced at his mother and then at Liz with a question on his face. “Did I interrupt something?” he asked.

             
“Your mother was just asking about Maggie,” Liz said.

             
Grandpa walked in. “Anyone making coffee?”

             
“I’ll get a pot on right now, Grandpa,” Liz said.

             
“What’s with all the long faces?” he asked.

             
“Nothing, Nathan,” Grandma Hoole said. “I’ll explain everything later.” 

             
The background conversation of a checkers game between Nicholas and Evan played out while Chase and Liz had a cup of coffee with his mom and dad and one cookie each; oatmeal raisin made with whole wheat flour and wheat germ. In truth, Liz would have eaten a half dozen of any cookies that Grandma baked. Desserts were the one thing she cooked to perfection, but she always handed them out sparingly in good Quaker fashion:
everything in moderation
.

             
“I still can’t believe you shaved off that beautiful hair of yours,” Grandma said to Liz after Chase bent to give his mother a kiss on the cheek. Liz thanked her for lunch. “And just two months before the wedding…whatever were you thinking?”

             
“I wasn’t thinking at all, Grandma. It’s just something I did.”

             
She shook her head and kissed both boys as they opened the door. “You just need to slow down. Stop and think more often before you make rash decisions like that.”

“You’re right,
I should,” Liz said.

Grandma handed each of the boys
an extra cookie.

Chapter Twenty-one

Chase dropped Liz off at The Quaker Café. The Sunday noon buffet of country ham, turkey, dressing and a wide assortment of overcooked vegetables had been cleared. A couple of small bowls of banana pudding still sat on the dessert cart. Miss Ellie picked up one and brought it over to Liz, sitting at the table in the far corner.

             
“Would you like some tea, Liz?” she asked graciously.

             
“No, thanks, we just had lunch with Chase’s folks.”

             
“How are they?”

             
“They’re fine.”

             
Miss Ellie looked tired. Two large floor fans rotated in opposite corners of the room and despite the rattle of the window air-conditioning unit, Liz could still feel the heat from the vacated crowd and the food warmers. Miss Ellie brushed back a stray lock that had slipped out of the rose barrette in her hair and picked up a cloth napkin and wiped her forehead. A large smear of moist powder left its mark. Annoyed, she looked down at it. “I don’t know why I do that. I know they’ve got to be cleaned. I just don’t remember to use a paper napkin.”

             
“Big crowd?”               

She nodded and wipe
d her forehead a second time. “I hope you’ve come to tell me about Maggie. I understand so little about what’s happening to her. I want to see her, but they tell me she can’t have visitors.”

“She’s not really up to visitors right now.”  Both looked down at the pudding that
Liz hadn’t touched.

             
“Just doesn’t seem fair.”

             
“No, it doesn’t. Miss Ellie….” Liz started in, trying to work up the nerve to ask the question she’d promised Maggie she would. “I’m embarrassed to ask this,” she finally said, “but I promised Maggie.” 

Miss Ellie tilted her head attentively.

“Maggie grew up eating almost every meal she had with her father and you. She adores you.” 

             
“I love her, too.” Tears began to pool in Miss Ellie eyes and she wiped her nose with the smudged napkin.

             
“She believes you knew her father better than anyone else in town.”  Cautiously, Liz tried to measure her words by the expression on Miss Ellie’s face. “Is there any chance that Maggie has a half-brother or sister?”

Miss Ellie seemed startled, her mouth slightly open, but said nothing.

“Did the Judge have another child by someone else?” Liz rephrased the question.

             
“What are you asking, Liz?” Miss Ellie straightened up and sat back in her chair. Her expression had changed. Her lips firmly set. The tears disappearing.

             
“Maggie wants to know if she has any half-brothers or sisters.”

             
“Why?”

“I think she hopes to find a match as a donor
for a bone marrow transplant.” Liz repeated the explanation she’d given to Grandma about Maggie’s disease. Miss Ellie seemed to wander in and out. When she finished, Liz felt her explanation had probably made things worse, not better.

             
“Oh, my…” Miss Ellie let out a long sigh. “She really should have asked her father that question, don’t you think? If he’d wanted her to know, he would have told her.” 

             
“I promised her I’d ask. She made me promise to ask you,” Liz said in defense.

             
“Sweet child,” Miss Ellie’s face softened. “Does she think for a minute that Corbett didn’t love her more than anything else in this world? He completely changed his life around for that baby.”

“There’s no question that she knows that, Miss Ellie.”

“He left Raleigh and moved back to Cottonwoods so that his mama and daddy could help him raise her. He opened up his law practice here in town and put aside his dreams for a senate seat. He ate just about every meal with her.”

“I think everyone in town knows how much he loved her,” Liz repeated.

“They do. We all watched him raise her, in front of our eyes.”

“What was she like?”
Liz knew this didn’t answer her question; but Miss Ellie’s voice seemed more relaxed as she began to reminisce.

             
“My goodness, she was something! Pretty as a picture, but strong willed. When she got it in her head that she wanted something, she wouldn’t let go of it. He used to call her his little Magpie, until one day she decided the name was not a compliment, and she fussed at him to stop. He did, of course.”

“She hasn’t changed much, has she?” Liz said.

“She was spoiled. Yes, indeed, Corbett spoiled that child. She pretty much got things her way.” Miss Ellie paused and then added, “But I guess things aren’t exactly going her way now.” She  took her time and folded her napkin in her lap thoughtfully and then looked back up. “Liz, some things are worth remembering, and some things we need to put behind us. This is one of those things. The truth has consequences. People can get hurt. Tell that sweet child I can’t help her, and let it go.”

  The heat was playing havoc on Miss Ellie’s make-up. The weary look on her face aged her the ten years she’d reclaimed with cosmetics
. Liz had asked the question as she’d promised Maggie. She saw no sense to take it any further, and that was exactly what Liz told Maggie when she visited the hospital the next day.

*****

              Hoole family evenings at The Quaker Café became more frequent. Between work, the pharmacy and Duke, both Liz and Chase were simply too tired to cook when they got home. With three more weeks before school started, Nicholas and Evan were enjoying the shift in their dinner routine.

“Why aren’t
we
going on vacation this year?” Evan asked. Liz looked over at him and thought he’d grown another inch in the past week. He would soon be the same height as Nicholas, although two years younger. Chase saw basketball potential.

“We’re saving our money for Nat and
Lexa’s wedding. Your vacation this year will be in Charleston in October,” Liz said.

“That’s just a three day vacation,” Nicholas complained
. He had his calculator and appeared ready to do some math. “What will it cost?”

“Costs more than our usual ten day vacation.” Chase said trying to see the humor.

“So what do you think we spend on our regular vacation?”

Nicholas pondered seriously
. “Well, let’s see, gas and restaurant stops, and one night in a motel on the way up.”

“Plus whatever we spend while we’re there,” Liz added.

“Then the trip back,” Nicholas was busy punching numbers into his calculator. “I’d say…five hundred dollars.”

“Not a bad guess,” Chase said.

“You’re going to spend more than five hundred dollars on the wedding?” Evan asked.

Chase nodded. “
A lot more.”

“That’s not fair,” Evan whined.

“Lots of things aren’t fair,” Liz said, offering her standard reply to such  complaints.

“What about Grandpa and Grandma Reynolds?  We’re not going to Minnesota to see them?” Evan asked.

“We’ll see them at the wedding. They’ll all be there.”

Nicholas and Evan mulled this over for a few minutes between hamburgers and French fries
.

“You know,” Nicholas finally piped up
. “Some of my friends go to the beach for vacation. Some of my friends go to Disney World for vacation. Some of my friends go camping in the mountains for vacation.”

Chase and Liz looked at him and knew further analysis would be forthcoming
. They weren’t disappointed.

“Every summer we go to St. Pau
l for vacation. The same place every year.        No one else goes to St. Paul but us. My friends haven’t even heard of St. Paul. They think it’s a church. And this year, we can’t even do that. We’re going to a wedding. For only three days.”

“Not just any wedding, though.” Chase said
. “Your brother’s wedding with Frogbelly and all of his other friends. It will be one big party.” 

Liz didn’t think that was the best twist to put on a wedding, but given the present discussion, probably appropriate.

Nicholas chewed on that thought and dropped the subject for the time being. As they treated the boys to bowls of chocolate ice cream, the door opened and Richard Shannon entered with his wife, Sandra, and the twin girls. Sandra had gotten a part-time teaching job at the community college twenty miles away immediately after arriving in town. Jobs were not easy to find and her ability, not only to land one, but to then arrange for babysitters in such a short time period, was impressive. All in all they seemed to be settling in rather nicely.

Evan and Nicholas entertained the twins for a few minutes
. When the topic of Maggie arose, Chase shifted his chair back from the table. Both Liz and Chase worked to balance their conversations so that their home discussions didn’t always involve Maggie in order to try to maintain some normalcy.