CH 42 - #life
Riley
“WHEN IS JANICE’S surgery?” I asked my momma.
“Wednesday.”
“I can’t believe she has breast cancer. She’s so healthy and active.”
“Cancer doesn’t care.”
“I think I’m going to come to Cypress Hills this weekend. I’d like to see Janice.”
“I know she’d love to see you.”
“I haven’t spoken to her since Rhys and I split up. I wouldn’t have known what to say anyway.”
“She and I have talked at length about you and Rhys. Like your daddy and me, she and Rob are sad and hope for reconciliation.”
“Momma, that ship has sailed. Macie, Rachel, and Jackson have all tried talking to Rhys about everything and more than once. But Rhys’s heels are dug in, and he’s not budging on his belief that Chad and I had something going on. I wish I’d never asked Chad to return my stuff. If I hadn’t, then Rhys and I would still be together,” I said, shaking my head.
“There’s a silver lining in every bad situation, Riley. Give it time, and you’ll see it. I promise.”
SATURDAY
“I appreciate you coming with me,” I told my sister as she parked in the Silverman’s driveway.
“I know you do.”
Rob greeted us before we reached the front porch and then led us to Janice, who was sitting in her recliner in the living room.
“Y’all have made my day!” she said, reaching out her arms toward us.
Rachel and I carefully hugged her and then sat down on the couch.
“How are you feeling?” I asked her.
“Pretty darn good, considering I’m boobless now.”
“How’s your pain level?”
“Minimal. Pain meds are great, except for the constipation they cause.”
I chuckled. “They can certainly do that. How’s your appetite?”
“Oh, I inhaled a chili-cheese coney and tots from Sonic about an hour ago.”
“Yeah, you’re on the mend. I’m just so sorry that you had to get a mastectomy.”
Janice shrugged. “It is what it is.”
“Are you going to do chemo?”
“Yes, just to be extra safe. Enough about me, though. What about you, Riley? Are you on the mend?”
She wanted to talk about Rhys and me.
“I have good days and bad days.”
“I started to call you after Rhys ended things.”
“I wanted to talk to you and Rob about it,” I said, glancing at him in his recliner next to Janice. “Then I thought telling you my side of the story wouldn’t make a difference.”
“A difference in what?”
“How you feel toward me.”
“Honey, all we feel toward you is love. And about your side of the story? We know you were faithful to Rhys, because we know you.”
“I wished he believed that.”
I heard the front door open. A few seconds later, Rhys walked into the living room with a vase of sunflowers in his left hand and a cast on his right. His eyes locked with mine, and he slowed his pace. Then he went over to Janice.
“Hey, Mom,” he said, leaning down and kissing her on the cheek. “How are you feeling?”
I melted at hearing his deep voice again.
“Better than yesterday.”
“These are for you.” He held up the flowers.
“Those are beautiful, son. Thank you.”
“Where would you like for me to put them?”
Janice nodded across the room. “Next to the TV, please. I’ll have a perfect view of them.”
Rhys said a quick “Hey, Dad” to Rob and placed the vase on the TV stand. After turning back around, he gave Rachel a strained smile. His staring straight at me for a long, tense moment came next, followed by him telling his parents he needed to go. They said okay, and Rhys left, slamming the front door behind him.
“He thought only Rachel was here. We came in her car,” I said.
Janice smiled sympathetically. “It’s okay, honey. Him seeing you in person again might make him come to his senses.”
“I don’t think so. He’s going to hate me for the rest of his life.”
“He doesn’t hate you. He still loves you as much as you do him.”
“God, I do love him,” I choked out. “I miss him, too.”
“Rhys misses you, but his Silverman pride is in his way.”
Janice looked at Rob and raised an eyebrow. He promptly got up from his recliner and said he had some yard work that he needed to do. After he walked out of the living room, I faced Janice.
“Your yard looks like it was just mowed,” I said.
“It was. Rob didn’t want to listen to me tell you about his Silverman pride and the trouble it caused us not long after we started dating in high school. I think you’ll appreciate hearing this story and hope it gives you hope about you and Rhys working things out.”
“I’m listening.”
“Before I dated Rob, I dated a guy named Kyle Lunsford. After Kyle and I broke up, we stayed friends. When Rob saw Kyle and me talking in the hallway at school one day, Rob didn’t like it and blew up. Although it wasn’t true, he accused Kyle and me of being more than friends. Rob broke up with me and acted exactly like Rhys for over a month. Then we got back together after having a very long talk about our trust and faith in each other.”
“How did your talk even come about?”
“It was as if Rob woke up one day and realized what he’d thrown away over nothing. He came to my parents’ house to see me, and we talked about everything. So don’t give up on Rhys. Things aren’t over between you and him, Riley. They’re just on pause while he figures himself out.”