Season of Blessing (30 page)
Since the weather
was unusually warm, the neighbors had a picnic in the open lot between Tory's and Brenda's houses that night to celebrate the good news. The Dodd kids decorated the trees with toilet paper and balloons, and Cathy brought her karaoke machine.
Spencer tried to monopolize it, doing the Elvis impersonation he had become known for, but Leah and Rachel managed to get the microphone away from him to do a few numbers of their own. Brenda didn't remember when she had ever laughed more.
As darkness fell and the early March evening grew cool, they grabbed sweaters and turned up the grill and kept celebrating long into the night.
When Brenda got home that night, her excitement over Sylvia's remission left her floating on a wave of energy. As soon as the children were in bed, she hurried to her computer. David sat at the desk in the small room, working on the checkbook.
He looked up at her as she began to type. “What are you doing?”
“I decided to write a proposal to give to Dr. Thibodeaux at the Cancer Center.”
He stopped working and turned his chair to her. “What kind of proposal?”
“A proposal of what I could do as the office transcriber. Sylvia said this would be a new job that they create. I don't want to rely on Dr. Thibodeaux's memory or imagination for this. I want to paint them a picture of what they could have if they hired me. Something Dr. Thibodeaux can take to his partners, so they can all catch the vision.”
David smiled. “Good thinking. You're a genius.”
“No, Sylvia is. It was all her idea. Can you imagine? She'd just gotten news that her body was clear of cancer, and what does she do? She starts campaigning for a job for me. And not just any job, but a job that doesn't even exist, a job that would be perfect for me and allow me to work from home and still have full-time pay and benefits⦔
Her voice broke off as tears filled her eyes, and she brought her hand to her mouth. “Oh, Davidâ¦do you realize what a blessing this could be?”
He leaned forward, putting his face inches from hers. “It will be, honey, but I hate for you to get your hopes up. What if it doesn't pan out?”
Brenda blinked back her tears and slapped her hands onto her knees. “I've thought of that. If they decide not to take advantage of my offer, then I'll submit the same proposal to every doctor's office in town. And in the proposal, I'm going to offer to do two days' worth of transcribing for free, just so they'll see that I can do it. And hopefully, they'll love the speed and the way it works, and hire me.”
He grinned. “It could work.”
“It will work, David. It has to.”
The final step
in Sylvia's breast reconstruction was a minor surgical procedure that needed to be done before her radiation, since the X rays were known to inhibit healing and rob the skin of its elasticity.
She scheduled it for a couple of weeks before her first radiation treatment, then checked into the hospital, anxious to get her body back to as close to normal as possible.
Sylvia stood in front of the hospital mirror, assessing herself with a critical eye. Her hair had begun to grow in and it felt like peach fuzz on her head, much like her grandbaby's hair. Though it was gray, it was new, soft and fine, and it looked like it might have a slight curl as it grew. She hadn't had a curl before.
The breast implant had already been expanded to the size of her other breastâthrough her monthly saline injectionsâand under her T-shirt it looked as if she'd never had a mastectomy. Today they would remove the expandable implant and replace it with a permanent one, then make a few cosmetic adjustments to make it look more real.
But she couldn't help the delight surging through her at the idea that she was cancer-free and rebuilding her body. It made her feel that she was on her way to full and complete recovery. She would have the chance to watch her grandchild grow, see Jeff get married someday, and rock all the other grandchildren born into their familyâ¦and the ones she'd left in León.
A knock sounded on the door. “Come in.”
Harry stepped into the bathroom. “They're ready to prep you for surgery,” he said.
She nodded. “I'll bet I'm readier than they are.”
He gave her a hug and kissed her on the lips, then sent her on her way.
The phone call Brenda had prayed for came Wednesday, the same day as Sylvia's outpatient surgery, less than a week after she'd sent the proposal to the Cancer Center. She'd been dissecting a video on calculus, in an attempt to help Daniel with his lesson, when the phone rang. She dove for it.
“Hello?”
“Mrs. Dodd?” It was a woman's voice.
“Yes.”
“This is Sheila Morris, office manager at the Cancer Center.”
Her heart jolted. This was it. This was the call.
“Dr. Thibodeaux asked me to set up an appointment for you. He said to tell you that he and the other doctors in the clinic had reviewed your proposal and were very interested in talking to you.”
Brenda groped for a nearby chair and made herself sit down. It was happening. It was really happening. “Yes, of course. When would he like for me to come?”
“He was wondering if you could come in at 5:30 this afternoon, after the clinic is closed. The doctors have a meeting scheduled for that time anyway, and they thought it would be a good time to talk with you.”
“Yes,” Brenda said. “That sounds perfect.”
When she got off the phone, she let out a whoop, then ran into the room where the children were working, and began laughing and dancing around. “I have an interview! It's really happening!”
Joseph got up and began to dance with her. “Mama, what kind of job is it?”
“It's the one I wanted, where I can work at home.”
Leah and Rachel caught the excitement then, and they sprang up and began to jump up and down. Daniel just sat at his desk and grinned.
She heard the back door open, and David came in. “Hey, what's all the commotion?”
“Mom's got an interview!”
Brenda abandoned the children and threw her arms around David. “The Cancer Center, David! They called! They liked my proposal and want to talk to me today!”
David threw his head back and laughed then, and picked her up and twirled her around.
Brenda had calmed down by that afternoon, and with the assurance from Cathy and Tory that they would be praying for her, she dressed in a skirt and blazer and went for the interview.
It went better than she could have imagined, and within half an hour of arriving, she headed back to her car with a medical dictionary and each doctor's tapes for that day's transcription. If she delivered as she'd assured them she could, she could come in Monday morning to fill out all the paperwork, making her a full-time employee.
There was no doubt in her mind she could pull it off.
She sang praise songs as she drove home, filled with joy that the Lord had answered her prayers even better than she'd hoped or imagined.
She immediately set to work transcribing the tapes, and had them all finished by noon the next day. At the end of the day, she returned them to the clinic, and picked up another day's work. When she returned them at 5:30 on Friday, the office manager shook her hand. “Congratulations. Dr. Thibodeaux told me you're hired. You can come in Monday morning to do all the paperwork to get you on the payroll.”
Brenda didn't need gas to get home that day. She could have made it on pure joy.
Within a week
of the reconstruction surgery Sylvia felt ready to resume her life. The children came home for a visit, and when they were gone she and Harry decided to start a class at their church, a Bible study for those who wanted deeper discipleship. Sylvia decided that they should do a study of Jesus in the Old Testament, so she and Harry had set about to design a curriculum.
They showed up at the church the night of their first meeting, hoping and praying that someone would attend. By fifteen till seven, the room was already full. Some of the men went out and began bringing in extra chairs.
Sylvia's heart soared as she saw Annie come in with Cathy and take one of the back row seats. A little while later, just after seven, Josh slipped in and took a seat across the room.
Harry started teaching, and Sylvia threw things in whenever something occurred to her worth adding. Together they managed to hold the class's rapt attention.
“That went well,” Harry said as they drove home that night. “Who would have thought we'd have that big a group? Almost made me feel like we were doing as much good as we did in León.”
“Me too,” Sylvia said. “I've felt so unproductive for the last few months. This revived my need to be used. I want to do more than a once-a-week Bible study.”
Harry grinned as if that didn't surprise him at all. “What do you have in mind?”
“I've been thinking about what I could do during the day,” she said. “I was thinking that maybe I could volunteer at the Breezewood Development Center, where Tory works. I could teach the wordless book to the children with Down's Syndrome.”
Harry studied the road. “Are you sure, honey? The radiation might take a lot out of you. You don't really want to commit to anything until you know how it's going to be.”
“Well, it can't be as bad as the chemo,” Sylvia said. “Besides, if I'm a volunteer I can not show up once in a while and it won't hurt anyone. But while I'm able, I want to bear as much fruit as I can.”
“Do you think Down's Syndrome children that age would be able to understand the wordless book?”
“Sure they could,” she said.
He stopped at a red light and leaned over to kiss her cheek. “I'm proud of you,” he said. “Most people in your shoes would be finding ways to indulge themselves to make up for the last few months, but here you are, trying to think of ways to fulfill the Great Commission.”
“That's what I'm here for. I'm going to go ask Tory as soon as we get home. She's probably got her children in bed by now.”
Tory's garage was still open, so Sylvia knew it wasn't too late to knock on the door. They usually closed the garage as their last task before going to bed at night. She knocked on the door, waited, and after a moment Barry opened it.
“Hey, Sylvia. How's it going?”
“Couldn't be better,” she said, stepping inside.
“How was your Bible study?”
“Just fabulous,” she said. “You should have been there.”
“Well, we were going to, but you know how hard it is for Tory to leave the kids with a sitter. So we've decided that maybe we'll take turns going starting next week. I'll baby-sit and let her go, and then the next week she'll baby-sit and let me go. Maybe we can keep up in the meantime.”
“Sure,” Sylvia said. “I was thinking about taping it anyway. Whoever doesn't come could hear the tape.”
“That's a great idea,” he said. “Come on in and I'll get Tory.”
Sylvia walked into the spotless living room and sat down on the couch. Tory was a perfectionist and never left anything out of place. But tonight she saw that a few toys lay out in the living room. Tory was loosening up a little, and Sylvia was sure that benefited the whole family.
Tory came out of the back of the house. “Hey, Sylvia. How did the class go?”
“It was fun, and it just thrilled me to be able to do something again. And it sort of started me thinking.”
Tory plopped down on a chair near the couch. “Thinking about what?”
“About what you're doing at the school, the children you work with. I'd love to meet little Bo.”
“Well, come on up there,” she said. “That'll be fine. We invite visitors.”
“Well, what about volunteers?” Sylvia asked. “I was thinking about coming up there and reading to the children.”
“Well, sure, we'd love to have you. And I know we're always looking for help. The only problem is they have very short attention spans and they're not very good listeners.”
“Well, I had another idea,” she said. “I have some special books that I used to use for the Nicaraguan kids, and I was thinking maybe it would be a good tool to use with your kids. Since it's a private school, they won't mind if I teach them about Jesus, will they?”
“No, they'll love it. The director's a Christian, and so are most of the teachers. Let me just clear it with the administration tomorrow and I'll get back to you. But I know it won't be a problem. If somebody volunteers to do something they don't have to pay for, they're going to be thrilled. They're constantly having budget problems. I was shocked that they offered to pay me.”
“Well, I was just thinking I could come every morning at the same time and work with the children. And on my bad days I could skip and no one would be any worse off for it.”
“I think it's wonderful,” Tory said. “But, Sylvia, are you sure you want to do that? I mean, if I were you, I'd probably be focusing all my energy on getting well.”
“I am getting well,” Sylvia said. “It's all in God's hands. Besides, we're supposed to bear fruit in every season of our life. I don't plan to take this season off.”
Tory looked down at her hands. “Sometimes I wonder if I bear any fruit at all.”
“Of course you do,” Sylvia said. “How can you think such a thing? Look at all the work you do with your children. That's bearing fruit. Some day they'll grow up and bear fruit of their own. You're doing your life's work right now. This is what you're called to.”
Tory got up and started picking up the toys on the floor. “Remember when I wanted to be a writer?”
“You're still a writer,” Sylvia said. “You write better than anyone I know. And those days are not over. But right now you're called to take care of Hannah and Spencer and Brittany, and the children at the school. If that isn't bearing fruit, I don't know what is.”
Tory dropped the toys into a basket beside the couch, then hugged Sylvia. “When I grow up, Sylvia, I want to be just like you.”