Hand-Me-Down Love (3 page)

“
I know,”
Marla said, grabbing her purse and getting out of her car.

“
I hate
this,” Meredith said. “But I’m going to do everything I can to
beat it.”

They talked a
few more minutes about the surgery, exactly where it would be in the
hospital, what time Marla should be there.

“
I love you,
Merrie,” Marla said before hanging up.

Marla spent the
next few days concentrating on the shop. There was a lot to do before
the annual Oak Point Festival, when tourists would be all over the
town. During the two-day festival, the town square was blocked off to
traffic. Musicians performed near the fountain and street vendors
sold their wares from booths set up along the sidewalks. It was a
boon time for downtown shop owners and restaurants. Black Weekend it
was known as by the Oak Point business owners, because they could
count on making sales during the festival. Marla’s shop was no
different. She did a good business throughout the year, but the
festival brought in new people who wanted to wander through the shop.
She always put out pecan pralines and coffee and sweet tea for the
festival-goers.

So, Marla threw
herself into the preparations for the festival, trying to shove
Meredith’s brain tumor into the back of her mind. She wasn’t
really successful at that. She talked to Meredith every day, but the
conversations were short. Both sisters were waiting on the surgery
and the results and normal conversation was difficult.

On Thursday
morning, Marla woke up at five. She showered and dressed in
comfortable khakis and a short-sleeved blouse. She knew it would be a
long day at the hospital. Close to seven, she parked in the hospital
parking lot and walked in. The elevator took her to the fifth floor
where Meredith would be having her surgery. When she walked into the
waiting area, her parents and Sean were already there.

“
Can I see
her before the surgery?” Marla asked Sean.

“
I don’t
think so. They’re about to start. We got here at six and then they
made me leave the room to get her ready.”

Marla sat in a
fake leather chair with metal arms next to her parents. No one said
much at first, but eventually they made small talk. Sean and her
father talked about the bank where her father was president and Sean
was head of the loan department. Marla and her mother talked about
the shop and how it was living in Mobile after living in Oak Point
for so many years.

“
I don’t
really like it very much,” her mother said. “The house is too new
and I feel far away from you and Meredith and my friends in Oak
Point.”

Marla’s
mother had been born in Oak Point, just like Marla and Meredith. It
was the kind of place that got into your bones. That’s why Marla
had returned after getting her B.A. degree at the University of South
Alabama in Mobile. She needed to feel close to her hometown, to the
landscape, to the bay.

She had worked
summers at Oak Point Antiques since she was sixteen. Right before she
graduated from college, the Duchamps, who owned the place, told her
they were retiring and moving to St. Louis to be near their daughter
and grandchildren. They offered the business to Marla.

Marla had
approached her father. He bought the building and helped her get
financing to buy the business. “It’s not every day that one of
these old spaces downtown goes on the market,” he said. “It’s a
good investment.” She paid her father a nominal rent every month
and made a payment on the business.

After what
seemed like an eternity, the doctor came through the big double doors
that led to the surgical area. Sean, Marla, and her parents stood as
the doctor walked over to them.

“
She made it
through the surgery fine,” he said. “We weren’t able to remove
all of the tumor since it’s right behind her eye and it’s become
imbedded in nerve tissue. I’m sorry to say that it is malignant.
When she meets with her oncologist, they’ll discuss the treatment
options. But right now, she’s fine and you can see her soon in
recovery.”

Sean thanked
the doctor and sank back into his seat. Marla and her parents also
sat back down to wait for someone to tell them they could see
Meredith in recovery. No one talked anymore as each person found
their own way of passing the time. Marla flipped through a tattered
out of date magazine not really seeing the words, her parents sat
silently staring at the walls or the people who walked by. Sean sat
forward in his seat, with his hands on his legs. He had a vacant look
that didn’t focus on anything.

Finally, the
anesthesiologist came out and told them Meredith had awoken from the
surgery and was fine. “Only two can go in at a time,” he said.
Cynthia looked at Marla.

“
You go,
Mom,” she said.

Sean took
Cynthia’s arm and together they walked to the recovery room. About
fifteen minutes later, Cynthia returned to the waiting area without
Sean.

“
He doesn’t
want to leave her,” she said. Marla told her father to go next.
Marla wanted to see Meredith more than anything, but she understood
that parents had first rights on their children. They needed to know
that Meredith was all right. They needed to check on their child.

Finally, Bob
returned and Marla went in. Meredith lay in the hospital bed with her
eyes closed. She had a bandage on her head where they had made the
incision. Marla thought she looked peaceful and she was grateful for
that. Sean held Meredith’s hand. Marla went to the side of the bed
and stroked Meredith’s arm. Her sister murmured but didn’t say
anything. She sat on the opposite side of the bed from Sean and kept
her hand on Meredith’s arm. A little while later, Marla went out to
join her parents. It would be a while before Meredith was moved to a
regular room.

“
Y’all go
and get something to eat,” Sean said as Marla got up to leave. “I
know you’ll be here all night, so you need to eat.”

“
Okay,”
Marla said. “We’ll go get something for you later when she’s in
the room. I know you don’t want to leave her.”

Sean looked at
Marla gratefully. “Thanks,” he said before turning his gaze back
to Meredith.

When Marla went
back into the waiting room, she suggested to her parents that they go
to the hospital cafeteria for something to eat. In the elevator, Bob
said he thought Meredith looked pretty good considering what she’d
been through. Cynthia and Marla agreed.

They went
through the cafeteria line getting hamburgers and potato salad and
sat at a table near windows overlooking the back of the hospital. The
hamburgers could have been dog food for all they cared, but they ate
them because they needed nourishment. The three sat eating without
talking for a while.

“
I remember
when my mother was in here,” Cynthia said. “This is where she
died.”

Marla and Bob
looked at her. “She was old,” Bob said. Cynthia just nodded.
After they finished the hamburgers, they went back up the elevator to
the waiting area. Cynthia walked over to the nurse’s station and
asked about Meredith. “She’s doing good,” the nurse said.
“They’re about to move her to a room.”

A little while
later, Sean came out of recovery and said they were moving her to
room 514 and they could go on ahead and wait for her. Everyone walked
together to Meredith’s room, where she would be for several days.
Sean moved around nervously until Cynthia took his hand and sat him
down in a chair. The plastic covered chair that leaned back into a
pretend bed would be Sean’s bed that night. Finally, Meredith was
rolled into the room and lifted from the rolling bed to the hospital
bed. She was very groggy and not really able to communicate with
anyone.

“
She’s
going to sleep the rest of the day,” the nurse said. “She’s
fine,” she added reassuringly. “This is perfectly normal. She’ll
be more herself tomorrow.”

Marla went back
to the cafeteria and got Sean a cheeseburger and fries and a large
soft drink. He was starving and gulped the food down. When he was
finished, he said, “I know you all probably want to stay all night,
but I think you should get some rest. I’m going to be here with her
all night and I’ll call you if I need to. There’s just no place
for you to sleep here and it’s damn uncomfortable. I think Merrie
would want you to have a good night’s rest.”

“
I think
we’ll get a room at the hotel across the street so we can be
nearby,” Bob said. “Call us if anything at all happens, including
if she wakes up and starts talking. I don’t care what time it is.”

Marla was
grateful to her father for making that decision. Her mother was
exhausted, and her father knew as well as Marla that she needed some
rest in a comfortable bed. They kissed Meredith, then Sean, and left.

Chapter
Four

Four days later,
Meredith went home. Her oncologist had visited her the day following
her surgery. He told her that they had not been able to remove the
entire tumor because of its location. Meredith would start a regime
of chemotherapy and radiation treatment when she had recovered fully
from the invasive surgery. Sean took a leave of absence from the bank
for two weeks.

On the day
Meredith returned home, Marla had a talk with Jada.

“
Thank you,”
she told Jada. “For taking care of things while I’ve been at the
hospital so much.”

“
Of course,”
Jada said. She was a sweet-tempered young woman who had been working
at Bay Point Antiques almost since Marla took over the shop. She had
come to the grand opening under new ownership and asked Marla about a
job. Jada knew a lot about antiques from her grandmother, who had
raised her, and she had refinished a lot of pieces herself.

“
Meredith is
going to be going through chemo and radiation therapy and I want to
help her as much as I can. I know you’ve already done a lot here,
and I’m asking if you can sort of take over for me when I’m out.”

“
You’ve got
it,” Jada said. “I’d do anything to help you and Meredith.”

“
I’m also
giving you a raise. Your work on the Internet has brought in a lot of
new and repeat customers. Not to mention the extra responsibilities
you’ve had lately. I appreciate it more than I can say. I hope
extra compensation will tell you how much I rely on you.”

Jada smiled at
her. Marla noticed Jada had one of her hand-made, vintage-style clips
in her shiny brown hair. “Thanks, Marla. I appreciate it.” Jada
walked toward the back of the shop. “I’m going to see how
Derrick’s coming on that new armoire we got. It was pretty
beat-up.”

After Jada
left, Marla called Sean. She let him know that she would be able to
take Meredith to her chemo and radiation appointments after he went
back to work.

“
I know you’d
rather do it,” Marla told Sean. “But I thought you might need to
go back to the bank, and I wanted to help out.”

“
I guess I do
need to get back,” Sean said. “I don’t really want to, but
we’ve got to have an income and Meredith seems okay right now.
Thanks for doing that.”

Marla spent the
next three weeks visiting Meredith every afternoon for several hours,
getting her sister anything she needed. Meredith seemed to be
recovering from the surgery with no complications. On the fourth
week, Meredith started daily radiation sessions and chemo three times
a week. The radiation stopped after three weeks, but the chemo
continued. Meredith was very nauseated and weak from the treatment
and that would be the pattern for the next three months. Meredith
wore a special cooling cap during the chemo that protected her hair
follicles and saved her hair. In the end, the oncologist said the
tumor had shrunk some, but that Meredith needed a break from the
treatments. He recommended they keep an eye on the tumor and decide
on further treatment later.

Meredith was
very tired all the time. She didn’t seem to bounce back after the
chemo stopped like Marla thought she would. She was thinner than
Marla had ever seen her, even when she went on a crash diet before
her wedding. “That was dumb,” she told Marla later. “I thought
I was going to faint during the ceremony.”

Sean took
Meredith to the doctor three weeks after stopping the chemo and
radiation. The doctor ordered a CT scan. The news wasn’t good. What
was left of the tumor had a stranglehold on Meredith’s brain. They
would try chemo and radiation again.

It was a
nightmare, much worse than the first time. Meredith was violently ill
all of the time. Finally, she said enough. Enough of the chemo and
radiation. It wasn’t working anyway. She would take her chances at
home.