Chapter 48 Junie
Junie
Junie stands, pushes back her chair, and shimmies it sideways until Daddy has room to pull up one for himself.
She didn’t ask the aunts about inviting him here, but she did warn Georgia she’d done it. Georgia had shrugged and said, “If ever there was a time for it, it’s now.”
Junie knows how the confession will go, how the aunts will react.
Cece shoots her an unsure look as Tina says, “Good evening, Rich.”
He nods. “Thanks for having me, ladies. Promise I won’t stay long.”
“We’re glad to have you.” Georgia looks like she really means it.
Cece coughs a little then says, “Guess since Rich is here, this is bad news. Just rip the Band-Aid off, Junie. Are we losing
the shop?”
Junie shakes her head. “No. Well, I sure hope not—that’s not what this is about.”
Cece’s face creases in confusion. Tina sits wide-eyed and painfully optimistic. Daddy looks like he’s still adjusting to being
thrust into this circle.
Georgia clears her throat. “Need help, Junie Bug?”
Junie looks at her sister so prepared to save her.
“This is one I can handle.” It surprises Junie that she believes herself when she says the words.
Maybe something about coming clean with Georgia sparked a boost in confidence.
Yes, this is hard, but Junie is tough too.
“I’m really sorry to lay this on y’all, but I have cancer. Breast cancer like Mama.”
Tina lets out a gasp. Cece goes white. Daddy sits frozen.
“I’ve been going to a ton of appointments, and I started chemo a few days ago—hence me looking like a boozehound today. I
didn’t want to tell you, not anyone; I wanted to just manage it on my own. Eddie stumbled into me at the clinic the day I
found out when he was there with his mom, so that’s why we’ve been spending time together. No romance, no dates, just my medical
chauffeur.”
Finally, the feeling Junie has waited so long for comes as her chest tightens and her throat grows thick. Her breathing hitches
as her eyes prickle and then burn, tears running from them. Saying these words, proclaiming the news to her family, solidifies
it. It’s real.
She is so very sick.
“I didn’t and don’t want to be the baby of the family; all I want to do is snap out of that and stand on my own two feet. But when I try, like
with this renovation, it just doesn’t work. I fail, I mess it all up, I do all the wrong things. And then I found out I was
sick, and it was just another Junie Problem.”
“Junie, you’ve never been a problem. Not once,” Tina says behind tears. “I’m so very sorry, sweetie.”
Georgia bows her head and dabs at her eyes, her shoulders set as if she’s trying to be strong.
Cece nods. “We love you, sweetheart. Just let us help you.”
Junie pulls in a long breath. “And that: help. I need to ask for it, accept it. From each of you, and from the rest of them—the
Silvers who want to help raise funds, Michaela and the theater group, probably more folks once the news gets out.” She laughs
and it comes out wet. “Guess I can play the sickly needy woman and get our beauty shop fixed up.”
“People want to help.” Georgia’s voice cracks on the remnants of tears. “You don’t have to play any parts or any cards to get them on board. June’s belongs to the whole town.”
A sob creeps up Junie’s chest. “I just . . . wanted to make it right before any of you had to step into this dark place.”
Daddy moves to kneel on the floor beside her chair and takes Junie in his arms. “You are not a problem. This is not too much
for us. We are not afraid of dark places, and we’ll step inside and make a place beside you for as long as it lasts.”
Junie leans into his arms and cries as quietly as she can.