Twelve long hours later Robert Tipton had been admitted to the hospital. They couldn’t get young Robbie’s fever down and after running all the blood work and labs under the sun some answers had finally appeared. Lena gritted her teeth hating this part of her job. She walked into the small room that had Mrs. Tipton next to a window and Robbie finally asleep, and stopped at the foot of the cot. Mrs. Tipton looked over at her and Lena could see the dark rings around her eyes and knew they were only going to get worse in the following weeks and months.
“Mrs. Tipton.”
“Please call me Becky.” she replied as she stood and moved closer.
Lena nodded then made a move toward her. She stopped and looked back at little Robbie then turned to his mother. “Is there someone who can come down here and be with you?”
Automatically she saw Becky’s body tense up and she bit her lip to keep it from trembling.
“His father. He’s been at work today and was going to come by if he needed to. I just thought he had an ear infection,” she said then sniffled as a tear leaked down her eye, “So I told him not to bo-th-ther.” pausing she looked from Robbie then back to Lena. “Should I call him?”
Lena reached out and took her hand. “Yes, you really should.”
Becky gasped softly and sat down on the chair almost as though her legs wouldn’t hold her, dropping Lena’s hand. Lena squatted down and reached out squeezing Becky’s fingers tightly because she knew the news she was about to deliver was going to be like a knife to the gut.
“Robbie’s blood tests came back and he has a very high white blood cell count and he’s also suffering from anemia. That, plus the fever and you had stated he’s been sick a lot over the past few months, all indicates to me a high chance of childhood leukemia.”
Becky openly sobbed now. So Lena forged on knowing it wouldn’t get easier. “I’ve sent a request to have the peds oncologist come up here and talk to you about this and what needs to happen from here, but Becky. I think you need to call your husband.”
She nodded looking up at Lena through glassy wet eyes. “Okay. Thank you Doctor O’Donnell.”
Lena shook her head, “Don’t thank me for that news Becky,” she said and paused standing tall. “You thank me when he’s well enough to go home and we’re victorious because we found it early, you hear me?”
She nodded reaching for her cell phone as Lena stepped back and walked to the door. Leaving the room and taking a deep breath she gave Becky some privacy. Standing on the other side of the closed door she looked up at the ceiling and asked softly, “Why are you so greedy? Why, when they’re so young?”
When it was apparent there would be no answer she pushed off the door and made her way back to her office.
Sitting down in her chair Lena turned to face the window and stared out at the night sky. It was clear tonight and she could see the stars from her office. They twinkled over the city like little diamonds. Lena closed her eyes blocking out their brilliance. She often thought to herself, what right do I have to even see such magnificence after all that I’ve done? Today being no different, telling a mother her child was going to have to fight for his little life for the next few years, and then having that mother thank her? No, something was terribly wrong with that picture. Not to mention how she felt about Carly. Why’d she get to go on, be successful and live out life when she’d driven Carly to the end of hers? Memories, they weren’t your friends just cruel reminders of your past and what you needed to make up for before you died. Jostling her out of her thoughts was the phone. She turned back to her desk and picked it up.
“Dr O’Donnell.”
“Hello dear.” she heard her mother say over the phone. Lena winced then picked up the post it notes again, for the third time today, hoping to finally sort through them.
“Hi mom how are you?”
“We’re good love. How are you doing?” she asked almost warily at the other end of the phone.
“I’m ok just had a really tough day today but other than that I’m doing ok.”
“Lena honey,” her mother said and paused, “Did you eat something healthy today?”
Lena thought back to what she ate then smiled as she saw a telephone message from Shelly,
Memo:
We’re not done yet. Ext 531
“Ahh I had some tomato soup.”
“That’s it? In how many hours?”
Lena sighed deeply, her mother the meddler. “In about 13 hours.”
“Magdalena O’Donnell please look after yourself.”
Lena smiled and asked softly, “Is that why you called? To grumble at me?”
“No I called to see if,”
“Yes I got the flowers.” she answered quickly but instead of the heart piercing pain she expected to feel she felt a niggle of warmth thinking of the delivery man. Pushing that aside she noticed one yellow post it stuck to the bottom of a folder and pulled it out.
“I didn’t go mom.” she answered rubbing her eyes then closing them, “I just can’t bare to think of her in the cold ground. Maybe, maybe in summer.”
She heard her mother sigh and then say softly, “You’ve been saying that for the past nine summers my girl. You’ll go when you’re ready I suppose.”
“And you’ll keep trying to find out when that is.”
“Your father and I love you Lena.”
She swallowed back tears and squeezed her eyes tight. “I know mom, I know.”
“Alright I’ll let you go. Please eat something.”
“Will do.” she replied rocking forward on her chair to place the phone back. Glancing down she opened her fist to glance at the yellow post it that had been stuck.
Memo:
Dr. O’Donnell,
It’s amazing what one kind find out on Google.
Langley.
And just like that Lena found herself smiling, smug bastard.
Chapter Six
Friday night came around quicker than Lena expected. Although her days were long she was finding they were flying by and before she knew it Shelly was calling her to meet up at O’Malley’s, a small Irish pub just down the street from the hospital. Picking up her bag she checked her make-up in the small mirror by the door and walked out. The air was nice tonight, not bitingly cold, but cool enough to redden her cheeks. She pulled her black mid-thigh coat on and tied it around the waist tucking her blue scarf in at the neck before she headed down the street. When she got there it was just around 9pm and the pub was jammed with locals. They had a house band playing tonight and it was clear everyone was ready for the weekend. Lena scanned the crowd and found Shelly sitting by the bar laughing with Liam, the owner. She pushed her way through the sea of people to the spot that was vacant for her then hitched herself up onto the stool.
“Well look who’s here. How you doing tonight young Maggie?”
Lena smiled at the older man. “It’s been a long week but I’m happy to be here about to drink one of your fine ale’s.”
“Is that right?”
Smiling Lena nodded, “That’s right. Start me off with the usual please Liam.”
He winked at her and squeezed Shelly’s hand then walked down the end of the bar. Shelly turned to her, all smiles, and asked, “So how are you tonight Maggie?”
Rolling her eyes at her friend she reached out for a potato chip that was in front of her. “Don’t call me that. I only let him do it because he is sweet and old.”
“And Irish!” she heard Liam yell from just down the bar.