12. The Phone Call
Chapter twelve
The Phone Call
Maggie
The bustle of the office usually energized me, but today I struggled to stay functional.
Last night, I couldn’t sleep. Thoughts of what would happen if I went back to Buena Vista kept my eyes wide open until the early morning hours.
Karpathia was never wrong in her mentoring before, so I couldn’t discount what she said.
But whether I was sitting out on my patio in peace or staring up at the ceiling, I just couldn’t figure out when or how to make it happen without losing my mind.
Today, though, I was paying for it. The day was kicking my ass.
As I sipped coffee in my office, checking over some emails, Easton appeared in my doorway.
With his arms crossed, he leaned on my doorframe. “I’ve been waiting for you to apologize for abandoning me in hillbilly hell the other day.”
Gripping my coffee and letting the warmth of the cup heat my hands, I leaned back. “You’re a big boy, Easton. I’m sure you made it home okay.”
His eyes narrowed. “That’s it?”
“Yep.” I was too low on energy to spend another second thinking about Easton or his delicate feelings, so I chose to ignore them.
“So,” he started, moving to lean on my visitor’s chair, “I think you should be my girlfriend. How do I convince you to let me call you that?”
“You don’t,” I said with a laugh. “I’m not dating you or anyone else. Probably ever.”
My thoughts swirled around Paul. After last night at the bar, thinking he was there and realizing that he wasn’t, and how it distracted me, I knew it wouldn’t be fair to anyone, much less myself, to start a relationship.
“That’s absurd,” Easton said, pushing up and pacing the room with his arms crossed. “You’re young, beautiful, and in the prime of your life. Why wouldn’t you date?”
I lifted one shoulder. “I’m focusing on my art now. That’s where my heart lies.”
Easton smirked. “Really? Art of your own? This I have to see.”
Pressing my lips together, I forced a smile. “You’ll wait for the opening just like everyone else. Now, I have a lot to do today. I’d better get back to it.”
With his hands up in surrender, Easton backed out of my office, glancing back at me a couple times wearing that stupid, incredulous sneer. It was obvious that he didn’t believe in me as an artist for anything but commercial purposes. Well, someday, I’d show him.
That afternoon, I was in the thick of a shoot when my phone vibrated in my pocket. When we stopped for an outfit change, I checked to see who sent me a text.
Uncle Isaac: Would you call me when you have a minute? It’s important.
Glancing around me, I knew I’d at least have a few minutes, so I gave Brenda a one-minute sign as I set my camera down and went into the hallway to call him.
“Is everything okay? Is Aunt June hurt?”
“No, June and I are fine, but I need to tell you something. Is this a good time to talk?” he asked nervously.
His voice sounded strained, making my body tense. “Of course, what’s wrong?”
After a pause, he sighed. “Your father emailed me that your mom is very ill. She’s in the hospital in Mainview.”
“Oh, no! What’s wrong?” I cried.
“She has cancer, Maggie. Late stage and aggressive. He said she wanted you to know with the hope that you’d come see her before …” he trailed off. “Well, anyway, I thought you’d want to know right away.”
My legs felt so wobbly that I dropped into a nearby chair, clinging to the back of it as my lip quivered. “I had no idea she was sick. He’s just telling us now?”
“I’m afraid so. If you can take some time off, you should go see her. I know things have been strained since graduation, but it wasn’t your mom’s doing,” he said, frustration evident in his voice. “She just got caught up in his insanity.”
My heart beat so fast that I felt light-headed. “Okay, I’ll see what I can do about leaving yet today. Email Father back with my number, please, and if you hear anything, please text me.”
“Of course, and I’m really sorry. We’ll do anything we can to help. We’re always here for you.”
“Thank you,” I whispered. “I love you guys, and I appreciate the call.”
“We love you, too, Maggie.”
When I disconnected, I went back inside and headed toward Brenda, focusing on the logistics instead of my feelings. While I was considering going back home for other reasons, there was no time to wait. It was urgent that I get back to see Mom.
“I need some time off, but I don’t know how long,” I said softly to avoid disrupting the shoot staff. “Can someone else finish up here?”
Brenda scowled. “What was that call about? Is someone trying to poach you from me?”
I furrowed my brow. “No, I just got a call that my mom is in the hospital with late-stage cancer. They don’t know how much time she has left.”
Brenda studied my face before she looked resolute. “Go.”
“Really?” I asked, surprised she would let me.
Pulling out her phone, she sent a message, then tucked it back into her pocket. “Seeing your mom is important. Family is important, so go to her. Take as long as you need and keep me posted.”
Not giving her the chance to change her mind, I went to my office, grabbed my things, and left for my apartment. I still had to rent a car and pack. Ready or not, it was time to go back home.
Within a few hours, I was in a rental car with the radio cranked up as I headed out of the city.
It was strange, but I think I’d missed driving.
I hadn’t done much of it since driver’s ed.
Since it wasn’t going to be necessary in the city, I hadn’t purchased a car in high school.
My heart fluttered, thinking that whenever I needed to go anywhere, I’d just ask Paul. He took me anywhere I wanted to go.
Once I was out of city traffic, things moved better. With music playing to calm my nerves, I made it to Mainview in three hours.
Since Buena Vista was so small, my parents had often drove us an hour north to Mainview on Saturdays.
We could visit a craft store, see a play, enjoy a college music concert or art show, or even take a walk in a park.
I knew Mainview almost as well as Buena Vista, so I quickly found the hospital and parked.
I didn’t know if Mom was still here, but I hoped I could see her if she was.
As the pungent scent of cleaners greeted me, I fought back nausea and found the administrator’s desk. “Excuse me, I believe my mother is here. Do you have Kelly Roth as a patient?”
The woman looked at me with a blank stare. “Relationship and identification?”
Pulling my wallet from my purse, I showed her my driver’s license. “I’m her daughter.” The woman typed on her keyboard and gave me the floor number, pointing to the elevator behind me.
I gave her a polite nod, unable to speak through the lump in my throat. She was here. Would Father be here, too? Or was she alone? It was Wednesday, so he could be preparing for classes this evening.
The elevator doors separated when I pushed the up arrow. I pressed the button for the fourth floor and held my breath. Questions swirled in my head. Was the cancer localized or spreading? Was it still treatable or had treatment officially failed? How long had she been sick and hadn’t said anything?
When the elevator lurched to a stop, the doors opened in front of the nurses’ station. While most rushed around the floor, there was one nurse who sat quietly at the desk typing notes.
I gave her a polite smile. “Excuse me, but I’m looking for my mother, Kelly Roth. Could you tell me which room is hers?”
She gave me a weak smile. “You must be Maggie. She’s always talking about you and showed me your photo.”
I nodded, my chest tightening. This must be serious if the nurses knew her by name. “I just got the call without details. Why is she here?”
The nurse’s smile faded. “You haven’t heard?”
“I heard she had cancer only today, so I came right away,” I explained.
She stood and motioned me to follow her. “Your mother has thyroid cancer. She was already in stage three by the time the doctors found it. She’s had a few rounds of chemo to treat it, but she didn’t tolerate it well.”
“Meaning what?” I asked.
“The cancer is now in stage four, and she’s developed digestive issues.
She’s back here now due to an infection around her feeding tube.
She’s very frail and has lost too much weight, but the infection is resolved enough that she should be going home soon.
We’re giving her nutrition, but she hasn’t been responding very well to our efforts.
And the cancer has spread to her brain.”
Her words knocked the wind out of me. “How long does she have?”
The nurse stopped in front of a door. “The doctor isn’t too hopeful she has much more than a few weeks. That’s why we encouraged your parents to contact loved ones. When she leaves here, she’ll have hospice care assisting her at home.”
I gasped, falling against the wall.
The nurse reached to steady me. “Are you okay?”
My body felt clammy despite the cold air blowing from the vents above me.
I gulped in some air and then saw the nurse duck down to catch my eyes.
Blood roared in my ears and my vision turned gray, but she seemed to be trying to get me to match her breaths.
Deep breath in through my nose, blow a breath out of my mouth for four seconds.
After a few times of following her breathing, my hearing returned and my vision cleared.
The nurse kept her hand on my arm. “I know it’s a shock. I’m so sorry you had to find out this way. Would you like to sit with her for a while?”
Nodding, I pushed up from the wall to test my legs.
Taking a few tentative steps, I went inside Mom’s hospital room with the nurse’s help.
The first thing I noticed was how small Mom was.
She was always a healthy weight, attributing it to good genes and a daily morning walk, but her cheeks were hollow, her face seeming almost skeletal. Like gravity could crush her.