When I gave my assent, Tom started things moving. Mom was scheduled to be given her first chemo treatment the next morning.
WHEN I GOT HOME, I found Mom in bed. I crawled in with her and we hugged.
“How are you feeling?” I asked her.
“I hurled a couple of times, and I’m tired. But I feel fine.”
We lay back and she fell asleep in my arms. Dad came in later, and I woke up. I scooted out, and he took my place. He gave me a weak smile, and I went downstairs to the kitchen. Greg and Angie were waiting for me.
Angie’s eyes were puffy. I think we had all cried ourselves out.
“I heard what you did,” Greg said. “I just wanted to say thank you. I could see the relief in Dad when Tom called and said the treatments could begin.”
I shrugged.
“What else could I do? This is family.”
“You make me proud to be a part of this family. Not all families are like yours,” Angie said as she grasped my hand and squeezed it.
We talked for a half hour, and then I went to my apartment over the garage.
I FOUND TRACY WAITING for me. She had my phone, and it looked like she had sorted out all my messages and returned all the calls while I’d been inside with my family. One was from Kendal, wanting to know if I wanted the Saturday flyer shoot canceled. I called her back and told her we were still on.
I took a hot shower and then crawled into bed. Tracy joined me and held me. We didn’t say a word. We were both comfortable in the silence. We loved each other, and both knew I needed time to adjust to the news of my mom’s cancer.
Monday December 16
TRACY HAD BEEN A GREAT help the last few days. She had kept me focused and on schedule. She even went on my photo shoot on Saturday, something she never did before. I started to worry that her parents might miss her because she was with me what seemed like 24/7. She solved that on Sunday, when we went to her house after church and spent the afternoon with her parents. Tom and Mary just seemed to be happy that she was happy.
It was funny what will change a relationship. For us, it was my mom’s cancer. The saying that ‘you need to live each day as if it was your last’ seemed to fit how we felt. It drew us much closer together. Our friends noticed, and started calling us ‘the Siamese Twins,’ because we never seemed to be apart, and were always touching each other.
Our sex life changed also. We took our time and made love to each other. We were still not having intercourse, but everything else was on the table. We would spend hours just making out, or holding each other. I started to realize that Tracy was that special person for me. Just a caress from her sent shivers up my back.
Our relationship seemed to affect all my other girl relationships also. There was no longer the sexual teasing from Angie and Gina. I didn’t even think about my friends-with-benefits. Well, not the benefits part, and they all seemed to understand. Tracy’s friends were the same way. Her three closest friends, Mona, Sammie and Kim, were all very supportive of us. In a strange way, Tracy and I coming together seemed to calm everyone. The sexual tension went way down when it was obvious I was in love.
The only person that appeared not to like us being together was Ed. He was still spoiling for a fight after our battle in the parking lot. I tried hard to ignore him because it wasn’t a fair matchup: Ed was five-five and weighed 145 pounds, compared to me at six-two, 200 pounds. Why he still sat at our table at lunch was beyond me. On Friday, he made a comment about cancer being God’s way of thinning out the herd. Tracy literally had to sit on me to keep me from coming over the table. Surprisingly, little Lily punched him in the nose and re-broke it. He finally decided taunting me wasn’t a good idea when Kevin picked him up with one hand, pinned him to the wall, and explained the facts of life. The good news was no one was suspended.
FINALS WEEK WAS UPON us. Tracy had gotten my head back on straight and Suzanne tutored me. I was feeling confident going into this week. The only final that worried me was PE. My class had about half the swim team. To get an ‘A,’ I had to finish in the top 10% of the class in both the distance and skill races. With only 30 kids in the class, I had to finish in the top three. Places four through six would get a ‘B,’ and if you finished the swims, you got a ‘C.’ There were 10 swim-team members, two of whom went to state. I really wanted to have straight ‘A’s this semester, and PE, of all classes, looked to be the major obstacle.
First period math found Sun waiting for me. I could tell she was bursting to tell me some news.
“What’s up with you?” I asked. “I thought we had a math final today. You’re way too happy.”
“I have a boyfriend.”
Well, that was interesting. She saw I was going to wait her out, so she told me who it was.
“Jake Adar. I met him at the mall a couple of weeks ago. We went out Saturday night and he asked me to be his girlfriend.”
This was something she really needed: confirmation that she was okay. But of course I might have to ask around to make sure he was a good guy. The best person for the job was Tami. I made a mental note to ask her.
“That’s great, Sun. I’m happy for you,” was my canned response.
The bell rang and Mrs. Sinclair gave us our test. With Suzanne’s tutoring help, the test was a breeze. I handed it in fifteen minutes before class ended. Mrs. Sinclair told me to wait and she graded it with me at her desk. I got a 97, so that gave me a solid ‘A’ for her class. I went back to my seat and got out my History notes. I had History and English tomorrow. Wednesday I had Biology. PE was distance swim today, and the four shorter swims on Tuesday.
After math, my morning classes were just review sessions.
LUNCH CONVERSATION turned to the Christmas Dance at Wesleyan. This was the only area where Tracy and I weren’t on the same page. She still didn’t want me to go with Jennie Wesleyan. I think Tracy’s exact description of her was ‘manipulative bitch.’ I had to agree with her, but I’d made a promise to Teddy that I would take her.
I also owed Teddy an answer about attending Wesleyan in the spring. Tracy and I had talked about it at length. I had flip-flopped on my decision several times. My mom’s cancer finally decided it for me. The first argument was I wanted to stay close to Mom. Tracy reminded me that the medical bills might force me to work more; this meant I might not be able to play football. Teddy Wesleyan would be making a commitment to improve the football team. For those two reasons, Tracy and I decided I would stay.
The reasons for going to Wesleyan were compelling. They had an excellent college-preparatory curriculum. Most of the graduates were admitted into Ivy League-quality schools. They also had one of the best theater departments in the state. Ford had been hinting I might be doing some TV work in the future. Tracy had agreed to join me if I went, so I would have both her and Tami close.
Jeff, Jim and Mike all wanted to know who their dates were, so I sent a text to Tami. She was at lunch also, so she hopped onto the video chat. Tami asked me to hold my tablet up so she could see who all was at the lunch table.
“Hey guys! I miss you. So, what’s up?”
“We were having lunch and the guys want to know who their dates are. I know you were able to find dates for Jeff and Jim, but what is it with those girls? Mike’s a great guy. I even heard Mona say he has a decent butt.”
I knew Tami would play along. I’d been teasing Mike for a couple of weeks. He started to have a complex that none of the girls liked him. Mike was a great-looking guy and the ‘official’ Big Man on Campus for the freshman class. Jeff and Jim were in on the joke, and they thought it was hilarious when he would start grumbling.