Eighteen

Anna

“Three girls without dates on a Friday night.” Anna reached for the remote as they all flopped down on the sectional with a big bowl of popcorn.

“It figures that Kendall would be the only one out tonight,” said Megan.

“Actually, she’s more than just out,” said Lelani.

“What do you mean she’s more than just out?” asked Megan as Anna flipped through the movie channels.

“That one looks good,” said Lelani as Anna landed on Sleepless in Seattle.

“Yeah, I haven’t seen that flick in years,” agreed Megan.

“But what about Kendall?” asked Anna. “What’s she up to, anyway?”

“She’s in LA.”

“LA—as in Los Angeles?” Anna muted the sound of the commercial and turned to stare at Lelani.

Lelani nodded. “Yep. She flew down there this morning.”

“Why?” asked Megan. “Furthermore, how? She’s broke.”

So Lelani explained about Kendall’s early Christmas present and how she was certain that Matthew Harmon was going to leave his wife for her.

“And you didn’t try to talk her out of it?” asked Megan.

“I tried.” Lelani sighed. “But it was useless.”

“That girl is totally, unequivocally nuts.” Megan reached for a handful of popcorn and just shook her head. “Someday they’ll probably lock her up.”

“I don’t know,” said Anna. “At least she’s out having fun.”

They both turned to stare at Anna now.

“Well, I’m just saying. Here we are in our jammies on a Friday night, watching an old movie and junking out. Kind of pathetic, don’t you think?”

“Why aren’t you out, Miss ‘I Have Two Boyfriends’?” asked Megan.

“Actually I only have one now.”

“Who did you dump?” asked Megan.

Anna swallowed hard. “Edmond,” she said quietly.

“Edmond?” both Lelani and Megan said at once.

Anna nodded.

“But he’s such a sweetie,” said Megan.

“You must’ve broken his heart,” added Lelani.

“Oh, I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?” pestered Megan. “Don’t you see him at work every day? How could you not know?”

“Actually, I think he’s avoiding me.”

“Poor Edmond.” Lelani shook her head.

“Enough about my problems,” said Anna. “What about you guys? Why are you dateless on a Friday night?”

“Gil and I are going to Mount Hood early in the morning,” said Lelani. “I told him I wanted to get to bed early.”

“What about you?” Anna asked Megan. “What’s your excuse?”

“Marcus is at Zeke’s listening to jazz,” Megan said quietly.

“He didn’t invite you?” asked Anna.

“Actually, he did.” Megan glanced away like she was uncomfortable.

“Why didn’t you go?” persisted Anna.

“I just didn’t want to.” Megan looked back at Anna. “You still haven’t told us why you aren’t out with Jake.”

“That’s right,” said Lelani.

Anna shrugged. Why were they suddenly so interested in her love life?

“You guys are back together, right?” asked Megan.

“Yes, of course,” said Anna. The truth was she had expected Jake to ask her out tonight. She wasn’t even sure why he hadn’t.

“I mean, how sad would it be if you broke up with a really sweet guy like Edmond and then Jake and you, well, you know …” Lelani gave her a sympathetic look.

“Jake’s called me every day this week,” Anna said quickly. Okay, every day except for today, but she wasn’t admitting that. She wasn’t sure why he hadn’t called today. Maybe he had a perfectly good reason. But she was not about to call him and demand to know why.

Halfway into the movie, Anna told them she was sleepy and headed up to her room. Actually, she wanted to check her phone in private. And although her mom had called, without leaving a message, Jake had not. Anna was tempted to call him, just to make sure everything was okay. But it went so against the grain. Her parents had drilled into her that a girl never calls a guy. A guy does the pursuing, the girl simply waits. And although she’d rebelled against many of her family’s traditions, she’d held onto this one. Perhaps that would change tomorrow.

Why hadn’t he called?

Something else was troubling her as she got ready for bed. Why had Edmond been so evasive this week? She had convinced herself that he was okay with the breakup. After all, it wasn’t as if their relationship had been terribly serious. They hadn’t even dated for long. And Edmond was so easygoing. Why was he taking this so hard? Or was he? Maybe his being upset was all in her imagination. Or maybe she secretly hoped that he was missing her. But why? Finally she picked up a thick manuscript that her boss, Edmond’s uncle Rick Erlinger, had asked her to read, which was enough to put her to sleep in spite of all these nagging questions. Didn’t he know she was a children’s editor? Of course, he assumed that because this book was about parenting young children, she was the one to handle it. Like she knew anything about that!

The next morning she awoke to the sound of her cell phone ringing. Certain it had to be Jake, she eagerly answered.

“Anna,” said her mother.

“Oh, hi, Mom.” Anna couldn’t help but be disappointed, and she knew it probably showed in her voice.

“Am I bothering you, mi’ja?”

“Well, it’s a little early. What’s up?”

“I wanted to talk to you.”

“Uh-huh?” Anna sat up and stretched her legs.

“I have some … some news.”

“News?”

“Yes. Not very good news, I’m afraid.”

“What’s wrong? Is it Dad?”

“No.”

“Is it Gil? What’s wrong?”

“No, it’s not Gil and not Dad.”

“What, Mom? Now you got me really curious.”

“It’s me, Anna.”

Anna frowned. What was her mother up to now?

“I went to the doctor this week, Anna.”

“Yes?” A cold wave of fear rushed through Anna.

“The results of my, uh, my mammogram came back.”

“And?”

“And I seem to have breast cancer.”

“Oh, Mama!”

Her mother was crying now. “I—I don’t want you to be too worried, mi’ja, but I felt you should know.”

“Oh, Mama,” said Anna again. “I’m so sorry.”

“The doctor says treatments are better than ever nowadays.”

“Yes,” said Anna. But all she could think is that her maternal grandmother had died of breast cancer back when Anna was five. History was repeating itself.

“I haven’t told Gil yet.”

“Why?”

“I was going to this morning, but he’s gone.”

“He took Lelani to Mount Hood.”

“Oh.”

“Do you want me to call him for you, Mama?”

“Would you, Anna?”

“Of course.”

“I wanted you kids to come to the house for dinner tomorrow night.”

“You’re not working at the restaurant?”

“No. Your father said we need to take some time off.”

“Yes, good for him.”

“Can you come, mi’ja?”

“Of course.”

“And bring your boyfriend, Anna. And tell Gil to bring Lelani.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I want to see you all together. Like a big, happy family.” Now her mother was crying even harder. “But tell Gil not to tell Lelani. I don’t want her to feel sad or to treat me differently. Do you know what I mean?”

“Yes, I’ll tell him to keep it to himself.”

“Thank you.”

“Are you sure you want others there, Mama? Not just Gil and me and you and Dad?”

“I need people around me. I need to feel the love of my family and their loved ones too. To hope for the future, Anna, do you understand? And we—we won’t speak of this tomorrow night. Comprende?”

“Yes.”

“Please, tell Gil not to worry. Everything will be okay.”

“I will, Mama.”

“Thank you.”

“I love you, Mama.”

“I love you too, mi’ja.”

Anna called Gil as soon as she hung up. But he must’ve been out of range, and so she left a message. “Call me as soon as you get this,” she told him. Then she went downstairs, hoping that someone was there to talk to. But she remembered that Lelani was with Gil. Kendall was still in LA. And it seemed that even Megan was gone. Anna paced in the kitchen as she waited for the coffee to brew. Finally, feeling desperate, she called Jake.

“Hey, Anna,” he said in a tone that sounded like he’d just woke up.

Before she could stop herself, she spilled the whole story.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Anna,” he said. “That’s got to be hard.”

“My mother wants us to come to dinner tomorrow night.” Jake didn’t say anything, and Anna wondered if she needed to be more clear. “She asked for Gil to bring Lelani and I’m supposed to bring you. She thinks that having family around is going to make her feel better.”

“But I’m not exactly family, Anna.”

“I know. But I think it’s her way of accepting things.” Anna considered this now. Her mother had been acting differently lately. Maybe this was why. “But if you don’t want to come—”

“No, no, I want to come.”

“Good.”

“How are you doing with all this?” he asked.

Hearing the kindness in his voice made her lose it now. She started crying and could hardly speak. “I just feel so sad,” she blurted. “And everyone is gone.”

“Do you want me to come over?”

“Yes!” she said eagerly. “I don’t want to be alone.”

“Give me enough time to catch a shower, and I’ll be there in about an hour, okay?”

“Thanks, Jake.” Then Anna hung up and went to take a shower too. Her tears ran freely in the water, and she even prayed out loud. “I know it’s been a long time since I’ve spoken to you, God,” she began, “but I need you to send a miracle.” Then, with sincerity and all the faith she could muster, Anna asked God to make her mother well. Because as much as Anna complained about her mother and her demanding ways, Anna still needed her. And she wasn’t ready to lose her.

Anna spent the rest of the day with Jake. They walked to town and ordered a huge bouquet of flowers and had them delivered to her mother. They had a light lunch and finally went back home to watch a football game. But as Jake was absorbed with the game, all Anna could think about was her mother. Anna had called her about an hour ago, but her call went straight to the answering machine. Anna hoped that meant her parents were having a nap.

“Thanks for hanging with me today,” Anna told Jake when he finally got up to go home. “I really appreciate it.”

“No problem.” He leaned down to kiss her.

“I’ll let you know what time dinner is tomorrow.”

He nodded, then patted her on the head and left. As she watched him drive away, she realized that her mother had said to bring her boyfriend, but she hadn’t said which one. She wondered if her mother would be disappointed to see that Anna asked Jake and not Edmond. Or maybe she didn’t care.