Chase Me (5 page)

“I would like to give her a quick exam if you and Mr. Huntington would like to wait in my office,” the doctor said, but I didn’t want to let her go. I held on until Henry pulled me away and practically drug me into the doctor’s office.

“If she needs organs she can have all of mine. I mean she did make them in her stomach’s easy-bake oven,” I spoke aloud because my brain to mouth function had no filter. I looked over at Henry who had not looked up from his phone except to move me since we came into the office. “Better yet, we can give her one of yours. That way you can contribute something other than the batter.”

“Kate, I know you are nervous, but please sit down and stop pacing,” Henry pleaded as a second phone dinged. I walked over and pried them from him and turned them off. “Kate-,” Henry started and I balled up my fists. “I am still your father, learn some respect!”

“My mother should have spit,” I gritted through my teeth as we were nose to nose.

“Are you two getting along?” My mom asked as soon as the door swung open. She was dressed in baggy clothes that barely stayed on. Her frailty was so evident that when I leaned back up Henry moved me aside, stood up, and took her arm, leading her to a chair. I watched in shock as he helped her sit down. It was the nicest thing I had ever seen him do.

“Am I too late?” Brooklyn questioned as she barreled into the room, out of breath, and covered in sweat.

“What are you doing here?” I asked and she walked over and gave my mom a hug.

“I hope you don’t mind me being here, Karen,” Brooklyn whispered as she took my mom’s hand in hers and looked over at me. “I’m family too. I want to be here to support whatever the doctor says. If you need blood, I got a little Russian in me I will gladly send your way. You know we make the best Vodka right? That has to count for something.”

“I’m glad you are here Brook,” my mom patted her hand and we all took a seat and held hands except for Henry. He was turning his phones back on and placing them in his pockets. The doctor walked in and sat at his desk. The silence was deafening and seemed to last hours. I was ready to explode when he finally started to talk.

“Karen finally came to me a few months ago. She had diligently been writing down every symptom with date, time, what she ate, weight, and the days’ activities. This has been incredibly helpful in trying to determine what is happening to her.”

The doctor opened the chart and pushed a button on his intercom. The nurse followed a few moments later with a folder that seemed to be one-inch thick. The pale white haired, heavy set doctor placed his glasses on his face and read over whatever was on top.

“It is what I thought. Karen, your levels have dropped again. With the weight loss we were finally able to see what the issue was. Your scans showed four masses in your stomach, near your colon, and in your intestines. We want to admit you, go in, remove them, and have them biopsied.”

“Doctor,” I spoke up as the room fell eerily silent. “What is happening to my mom?”

“Your mom has IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) it is really common for people and there are meds, but nothing really makes it go away. Since your mom got it she has dealt with the inflammation and side effects from this. It was why she didn’t notice anything different until she started dropping massive amounts of weight. When these masses swell nothing is getting through. It is essentially forcing her to starve to death because her body won’t accept more food.”

I felt Brooklyn squeeze my hand and I tightened my grip on my mom’s hand. With each word he spoke I could feel her getting weaker.

“What is the prognosis?” Henry asked as a tear streamed down my mom’s face.

“If they are merely benign cysts, we can remove them and start her on anti-inflammatories, and do vitamin therapy to get her healthy again. Then we will routinely check to see if they return.”

“That was the best, right?” I asked because I didn’t understand why he stopped talking. Everyone looked at me like I was insane, but I wasn’t processing any of the information. It was hitting me like ammo hitting a bullet-proof vest. “What is it you are not saying?”

The doctor walked around his desk and knelt down in front of me. He seemed to be just as emotional as I was. It was refreshing to find a doctor who cared, but his concern was showing and that scared the hell out of me.

“If it is malignant with the location, size, and latest lab work we may be looking at cancer.”

“Talk to me as if she was a car. I understand cars,” I pleaded as the dreaded ‘C’ word floated across the room. No one looked at as if they couldn’t speak of the dreaded disease, but I had to know.

“Kate, it is like the rust on the body of a car. If she has cancer, then it is like when you bondo one part to find it had spread to five more places. If it is not cancer and just a group of cells, then it is like the clog in the gas line. Someone just needs to figure out if she has a clog or if she needs body work,” Henry tried his best to explain, but tripped over his words.

“Kate, what he means is this could be a very simple fix or a fatal one,” Brooklyn whispered as she took a tissue from her purse and passed it to me.

“My mom is going to die?” I rhetorically asked the doctor as I looked at my mom. She was already accepting her fate. I could see her coming to terms with it. The doctor finally looked at me and merely put his hand over mine. “When will she be admitted?”

“I would like her to be admitted immediately, but Karen and I have talked about it and she would like to take some time to prepare. You can bring her in anytime tonight, or tomorrow morning, but she has to be there by 6am for her pre-op. No eating after 8pm, and for today try and stick to a liquid diet.”

I couldn’t breathe. We always know that the circle of life happens. My grandma died which left my mom next in line to get the ax, and then it would be my turn and so on. But she had struggled her whole life. These were supposed to be her years to relax and enjoy. These were her golden years.

Henry stood and helped my mom toward the door as the doctor asked for a moment with Brooklyn and I.

“I wanted a chance to talk to you both,” he started as he went and sat back at his desk. “I want to level with you. You need to keep her in high spirits. If her levels keep dropping at the rate they are she will be too weak for surgery.
The sooner she walks in the doors to the hospital the better it is for everyone. I know you will have questions, but ask away from your mother. It will be hard, but only focus on positives around her for the next twenty-four hours.”

“Just do your best. She means everything to us,” Brooklyn demanded that he do his best, but what if his best wasn’t good enough. I couldn’t lose my mom.

I got up, leaving Brooklyn and the doctor in the room and ran. I kept jogging down the hall looking everywhere for my mom. I finally saw her getting into the elevator with Henry, and I hit the fire exit. I flew down the stairs as sweat poured from me, and I nearly fell in my heels, but I had to get to her.

I barreled out the door when I hit the first floor and headed straight for the elevator to find that running in heels makes you slow because Henry was already putting her in his car.

“Wait!” I shouted, took off the blazer that was now sticking to my skin. The light snow fell around the overhang, and a chill hung in the air, but it didn’t faze me as my heart struggled to catch up. “Mom, you have to go now,” I started and she leaned over and put her fingers on my lips.

“I want you and Brooklyn to have a girl’s night tonight. You are not spending the night in some hospital when you are young, blond, single and old enough to party. These are the days when you are supposed to go out and enjoy what you have. You never want to wake up and think back on what you should have done. One day you won’t be any of those things and the time it takes to go from having it to losing it flies by in a blink of an eye. I am going to take care of some paperwork and pack. Henry will to take me when I am ready,” She spoke weakly and I started to protest.

Then she held up her pinky and I linked mine with hers as the tears flooded my face.

“We are the soda pop girls. We are strong and sweet. We are a sight to see and a tasty treat. No one can bring us down. We smile, never frown. We are soda pop girls.”

I closed my eyes and she wiped my tears. She was going to do it her way and there was no talking her out of it. I hugged her to me gently, and then stood up as she held my hand and the cold weather finally hit me.

“Henry,” I called out as he looked over the car at me. I don’t think I had ever seen him care about much. So, I swallowed every ounce of pride I could and spoke to him as I always had, with threats.

“You have three hours or I torch your house. Get her admitted quickly so we both don’t lose what we love most in life.”

He flinched at my words, but I knew it wasn’t over.

“Stop being overdramatic, act your age Kathryn,” he shouted as he climbed in beside my mom and the driver shut his door. I let go of my mom’s hand. I wanted to correct him once more about my name, but instead I gave my mom a kiss on the cheek and then closed her door.

I shivered and waited till they were out of view to let my emotions out. I dropped to the ground as tears overwhelmed me and I didn’t know how to stop them. There was not enough liquor in all the bars in New York City nor was there enough men to take this away.

“Kate,” Brooklyn called out as her arms wrapped around me and pulled me off the snow covered sidewalk. “I know,” those two little words from Brooklyn’s lips to my ears were the smallest form of comfort, but it meant everything.

She lost her mom when she was little. I knew she had been through what I was dealing with, but even with her arms wrapped around me the cold had invaded my thoughts and I felt completely alone. Frozen in time, while the rest of the world passed by.

“I need some air,” I whispered as I pulled her off of me. I put my blazer back, and took my coat off her arm. I placed it over me and went to hail a cab. As a cab pulled up I turned and saw tears in Brooklyn’s eyes and for a split second I felt bad leaving her. She was losing the only mom she had had since her mom died, and I couldn’t comfort her. I was no use to anyone, so I would just go and do what I did best.

Chapter 5

“Kate, what are you doing here?” Mike asked as I slowly dragged my feet into the garage. “Did you have traffic court today?” He asked as he took in Brooklyn’s suit I was still wearing. I didn’t even bother to make eye contact as I walked straight for the car I loved.

“I’m gonna work. It is what I do best,” I responded without emotion and concern shadowed Mike’s face.

I opened the door and sat down in the Bel-Air. The white leather bench seat was as cold as ice, but it didn’t bother me. I looked in the rearview mirror to see the beast that my tears had made. With the red eyes, pink nose and crimson lips from the crying I truly looked like a clown. I used my hands and wiped the mascara off my face and laid my head back as Mike climbed in the car.

We sat in silence for nearly twenty minutes as I leaned my head on his shoulder. I needed his support and he gave it to me when he didn’t even know what was wrong.

“My mom is sick,” I explained when I sat back up. He had known she had been ill, but saying those four words made it hit home with me once more, and Mike looked like he just lost his best friend. “She doesn’t want me at the hospital till morning. She busted out the soda pop girls so I wouldn’t fight her.”

Mike smiled through the pain. I knew she was the only woman he ever loved, and now she was sick. If I couldn’t be there for her tonight, then he should be.

“Sounds like your mom is still being her ornery self,” Mike replied and an idea hit me.