The Other Side of Goodness

Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; clave to that which is good.

Jessica had to have chemo treatment three times a week and wasn’t able to see Jasmine much at all. Gabrielle was glad she’d agreed to take a leave of absence from her job at the church to take care of Jasmine and her mother full-time. She didn’t get to see Zachary as much, but he was so understanding. He would come see Jasmine every day, even if he could only stay for a few minutes. His visits totally made Jasmine’s day. Gabrielle was also taking Jessica back and forth for her chemo treatments and staying with her until she was settled in after taking her back home. She would then go back to the facility and sit with Jasmine.

Jasmine had been a real trouper about everything, not just about her situation, but about not getting to see her mother much. At the start of Jessica’s chemo, her hair immediately started to fall out. Jessica decided to shave her head and wear beautiful scarves. In the beginning, she didn’t tell Jasmine that she was sick. Instead, she told her she didn’t want her to be the only one with short hair so she had hers shaved to show her true solidarity. When Jasmine asked Gabrielle why she wasn’t showing her solidarity with them by shaving her head, Zachary valiantly stepped in and saved the day.

“Blame it on me, Miss Jazz. I’m her boyfriend and I like to pull her hair,” Zachary said. “Not that I don’t like your and your mother’s hairstyle. I think you both are too cute. It’s just . . . well, just call it a Dr. Z thing. But I like to walk up and pull Gabrielle’s hair.” He gently pulled a curl and let it spring back. “See?”

Jasmine giggled. “Like Ellis, this boy that was in my class. He would pull my hair like that back when I had longer hair before it came out. Mama said he pulled it because he really liked me. So are you and Miss G going to get married?”

Gabrielle was about to tell Jasmine that it wasn’t nice to put a guy on the spot like that, when Zachary preempted her. “As soon as you get out of this place and are well enough to be our flower girl, we most certainly are.”

“For real!” Jasmine said. “For real? I would so love that. Can I, Mom? Can I be their flower girl at their wedding?”

“Of course you can, sweetheart. If you want to be a flower girl and they want you to be, I’ll be right there beaming and cheering you on as you walk down that aisle, casting flower petals onto the floor, making me so proud.” Jessica hugged her.

“I love you, Mom.”

“I love you more,” Jessica said. “I love you . . . more.”

It was a Tuesday, exactly eighty-six days since Jasmine’s bone marrow transplant. She’d done remarkably well. Her white cell count was great. Her immune system was operating just as the doctors wanted. Her hair was growing back so pretty, like baby fine hair. To Gabrielle, it was like having a baby and watching that baby grow and get stronger every day.

Jessica was home, resting from her last round of chemo. She was so weak. She’d wanted to be there on this day more than anything in the world, and she’d tried her best. But she was throwing up and she couldn’t get out of bed, no matter how hard she tried. Gabrielle told her to just rest and she’d take care of everything for her. She and Jessica were on the same page; everything they did was for Jasmine’s sake.

Zachary had gone with Gabrielle to the facility where Jasmine was. He’d walked in with a huge grin on his face and two balled-up fists crossed at the wrist.

Jasmine giggled. It had been a while since he’d done that.

Zachary held his crossed fists out to Jasmine as she sat in the chair next to the window. “Alabama hit the hammer, high or low. If you pick the right one, you may go.”

Jasmine tapped the right fist. He opened it and held his hand out.

Jasmine picked up the piece of paper, unfolded it, and began to read it. It said, You may go. You’re going home today. Jasmine looked at Zachary, then Gabrielle.

Gabrielle nodded, almost in tears at this point.

“For real? Are you serious? I’m going home today?”

Gabrielle hugged Jasmine as she sprang to her feet. The two of them, locked in an embrace, started jumping up and down. “Yes. You’re going home today. For real!”

Jasmine stopped and stood still. “Where’s my mother? Is she signing the papers for me to leave?”

“No, honey,” Gabrielle said. “She’s not here. She’s not feeling so hot today, so she asked me and Dr. Z to come and get you and bring you home.” Gabrielle gazed down into Jasmine’s little face. “Your mother can’t wait to see you.” She gave Jasmine a quick wink.

Jasmine was no longer smiling now. “Is my mother going to die?” Jasmine asked, tears in her eyes, then falling.

Gabrielle put on a brave face. “Let’s not have any of that kind of talk on a day like this. You’re going home, Jasmine! You’re going home!”

Jasmine bolted into Zachary’s arms. “I don’t want my mother to die! Please Dr. Z! I know you can help her! Please don’t let my mother die!” she cried.

Zachary held her tight. Gabrielle came and hugged the two of them in a group hug. Gabrielle couldn’t tell Jasmine the truth: Her mother was very sick. The more Gabrielle thought about it, the more she was thinking that maybe Jessica had been right when she’d asked her not to bring her to her house today, but to take her to Gabrielle’s home until she’d gotten a little more of her strength back in a day or two.

“I don’t want Jasmine to see me like this,” Jessica had said before Gabrielle left to go pick up her daughter. “Not the first time she gets out of that place. I don’t want me, looking like this, to be the first thing she comes home to. I don’t.”

Gabrielle had argued that Jasmine could care less what Jessica looked like. She just wanted to see her and to be with her. But now Gabrielle was reevaluating that decision. Maybe she should have agreed to take Jasmine home with her.

At least for this joyous first day of Jasmine finally getting to leave this place, she deserved one day of no worries.

Maybe she should have . . .