On Saturday, I walked over to Liza’s house for lunch. It was getting colder outside, so I had to walk fast to keep warm. By the time I got to her back door I was coughing pretty hard. I waited for a moment to catch my breath, and then I rang the doorbell.
Mrs. Frank served homemade macaroni and cheese and turkey hotdogs for lunch. I sat at the table with Liza, Cara Lynn, and Mrs. Frank. When I took my enzymes out of my pocket, Liza remembered them from the first night I babysat.
“Those pills are so Tory doesn’t get a bellyache from her food,” Liza told her mom.
I was embarrassed and didn’t know what to say. Mrs. Frank knew I had been in the hospital, but I wasn’t sure if she knew why.
She just said, “Yes, I know.”
I decided to tell Mrs. Frank exactly what the pills were, just in case she actually didn’t know. I didn’t want her to think I was some druggie and wasn’t capable of taking care of Liza and Cara Lynn.
“They’re called digestive enzymes. If I don’t take them, the food I eat would just go right through me, and I wouldn’t get any nutrition. I’d get sick and I wouldn’t grow.” Mrs. Frank nodded, and I decided to go on. “I have cystic fibrosis.” There, I said it.
“Ah,” Mrs. Frank said. “That’s why you were in the hospital.” It was a statement and a question at the same time.
“Yes.” I guess my mom hadn’t told her.
“What’s sixty...?” Liza started, with a cute, confused look on her face.
“Do you mind explaining it to her?” Mrs. Frank asked. “I know a little bit about it, but I think your explanation would be better than mine.”
“Sure.” I explained CF in the simplest way I knew. “Cystic fibrosis is a sickness and it makes me cough, and it makes my belly hurt if I don’t take those pills.”
Liza was a lot more interested in this explanation than she had been when I brought out my enzymes the first time.
“Do you remember when I wasn’t at school, and Zoe helped Kelly with your class?”
Liza nodded. “You were sick and we made you cards.”
“That’s right. Being sick is part of having CF.”
“Are you sick now?” Liza looked worried.
“Well, not really. I feel pretty good. But I still have CF even when I feel good.”
“Mommy, do I have CF, too?”
“No, sweetie,” Mrs. Frank assured her, “you don’t.”
“And you never will, Liza. I was born with it. That’s the only way to get it. A person has to be born with it.” Liza looked interested but also relieved when I said that.
“I’m glad you feel better, Tory.” She climbed off her chair and came over to me. She put her arms around my waist, and we gave each other a tight hug. “And I’m sorry you got born with a sickness.”
I looked at Mrs. Frank then, and she looked like she was going to cry. I knew my babysitting job with the Franks was safe.
After lunch, Cara Lynn took a nap, and Liza and I went into the den to watch Cinderella, just as I said we would last time I was there. Cinderella is one of my favorite movies from when I was little. The tiny mice are so cute, and they make me laugh. We turned off the lights, and Mrs. Frank made us popcorn, just like at the movie theater. Liza sat in my lap while we watched the movie. It was already starting to get dark out by the time the movie ended. Liza and her dad drove me home, and I thanked Liza for a fun afternoon.
“See you on Monday,” I told her.