Chapter 25
Flodie’s voice was steady, almost eenly so. Even when it came to losing something as fundamental to a woman as the right to have children, the seemed unbothered, as if nothing could shake her anymore!!
She’d done what she could the rest was out of her hands
How long she had left was anyone’s guess. Whether she could ever have children again no longer mattered
The specialistomed to understand where Elode was coming from and spoke in a gentle tone. “So, when do you want to begin chemotherapy? I’d really advise not wailing more than three months,”
Elodies fingers curled tighter around the fabric of her coat. “Wiright. I get my affairs in order as quickly as I can.”
In the end, Elodie and the doctor agreed on a conservative treatment plan, at least for the time bring
She would start with radiation therapy
They prescribed an imported medication–something potent to hold the cancer at bay for as long as possible
Prescription in hand, Elodie didn’t head straight to the pharmacy. Instead, she turned down a different colder toward the hospice wing
No matter how composed she tried to be, when she found herself staring down death, she felt small–like child, lost and helpless, longing for shelter. All at once, she wanted to see her uncle
Emile’s room was on the twelfth floor. When she arrived, it was empty
She asked at the nurse’s station and leamed her uncle was down for chemotherapy.2
Elodie made her way to the oncology ward!
She’d just mentioned she was looking for her uncle to a nurse’s aide when, from one of the rooms, a muffled cry of pain cut through the heavy air it now–until it was almost unbeamble
Her uncle, who had always been so dignified, so unflappable, was suddenly vulnerable, brought low by pain.
Elodie felt a chill seep into her bones)
She tumed and left, almost running !!
She didn’t stop until she saw a nurse wheeling Emile back to his room.
He looked gaunt, his face asher, and the chemo had hit him hard; he was hunched over, retching up bile.
Dodie didn’t go in
instead, she sat out in the hallway for a long time, wondering if this was what would become of her, too, once her own treatment began
Numb with despair, she eventually rose and walked away
She took her prescription to the pharmacy
But as she passed through the main lobby, a familiar voice caught her ear
“Sylvie, how did you even catch a cold all of a sudden? You have no idea how worried I am!”
Elodie turned her head
Over or a bench, Octavia was fussing over Sylvie, pressing the back of her hand to her forehead, eyes growing red with concern.
Sylvie gave a small laugh. It’s just a little cold, Octavia. Don’t worry so much.“”
rose–ragged and
you?” Octavia teased, her eyes glinting with mischief
“You’re my sister–in–law! If you’re sick, I feel temble too. Didn’t my brother stay up all night taking care of you?” i Syline blinked, then offered a shy, silent smile–her answer clear even without words.
Nearby, Janod was studying a plip of paper–maybe a prescription–while keeping close to Sylvie, his presence attentive and reassuring. The three of them looked. for all the world, like a real family
Elodie glanced down at the heavy bag of cancer medication in her hand.
In that moment, the wasn’t sure what she felt at L
“Sylvie, look how well I treat you! I brought you some soup and a few simple dishes–just what you need when you’re sick. Try some Octavia opened a thermos with a flourish obviously proud of her offering
if you like it, I can make mon for you next time, she added, her smile bright
Elodie couldn’t help but notice the thermos
She cognized in immediately–it was the one she’d used to bring lunch to Janod’s grandmother earlier that day!
Surprised, the watched the scene unfold, unable to fathom how something meant for the old woman had ended up in Syne’s hands
Instinctively, her eyes sought out Jarrod
He showed no reaction as Octavia ladled out soup for Sylvie and arranged the side–dishes Elodie had made countless time recognize her cooking
flicker of surprise ⠀
tures over the past three years. He had to
Yet his strikingly handsome face betrayed nothing. Not even a Elodie clenched her fingers around the prescription bag as another blast of winter wind snuck in through the nvolving door, chilling her to the core. Shelumed and walked away
Just as she looked away. Jarrod seemed to sense something. He glanced over–catching sight of a familiar figure retreating down the hallway By the time Elodic reached the parking lot, she was spent!
She leaned against her car for a moment, trying to steady herself.
Just as she was about to open the door a warm hand closed around her wrist, and a man’s cool low voice sounded behind her
Tlodie, is this your test report?
