Woodlands (15 page)

Mary shook her head. “I don’t know about that. We’re not going anywhere. It’s her fiftieth birthday, and she’s pretty depressed about it. I’m not sure what I can do to cheer her up.”

Leah turned and looked at Mary. “Why don’t you take her on a cruise?”

“Yeah, right.”

“Take her on the cruise to Alaska,” Leah said. “The two of you can use the free tickets. It’s the week she’s coming, and I don’t know who I would go with.”

Mary stopped and stared. “Are you serious?”

“Yes, I’m completely serious. This would be good for you and for your sister. You haven’t been on a vacation in years, Mary.”

“Neither have you, Leah. You’re the one who always wants to go somewhere exciting. This is your trip.”

Leah laughed. “It was my fluke. My goofed-up dialing. I didn’t do anything to win the trip.”

“But it’s your trip,” Mary protested.

“Okay, it’s my trip, and I can do what I want with it. And what I choose to do is give it to you and your sister.” Leah began to dial the phone number for A Wing and a Prayer.

Mary sat down on the edge of the desk. “Are you sure?”

Leah smiled. “Very sure. Hi, Alissa? This is Leah. Hey, you know how you said those tickets were transferable to another person? Well, I’d like to transfer them. Here’s Mary. She’ll give you all the information.”

Mary took the phone and relayed the details to Alissa and agreed to go by the travel agency at lunch to pick up the papers. When Mary finished the call, she leaned over and hugged Leah.

“You have no idea how much I appreciate this.” Mary began to cry. Leah guessed those tears had come often, quick and silent like that, during the last five years since her husband had left with a woman who worked at the gas station on the outskirts of town. Mary had worked hard to rebuild her life with her three kids. This would be a nice break for her.

Leah handed the Alaska tour book to Mary. “Here, you’re the one who needs to read this. And I have a couple of home videos of Alaska in my car you can watch, too.”

They both chuckled, and Mary dried her tears. Settling in with the stack of patient folders before her, Leah felt good. Very good. Better than she had felt in a long time. The anxiety of the day before, when she had gone to Jessica’s, had subsided. Leah’s heart was more at peace with God than it had been in years.

One of her coworkers handed Leah a bunch of papers and said, “Are you ready to be impressed? This is the list of day surgeries for tomorrow and all of next week. Are we getting organized around here or what?”

“I’m impressed,” Leah said, flipping through the pages. Tuesday was the lightest schedule. Friday of next week was the fullest. A name on the list for Friday caught her eye and caused Leah’s heart to skip a beat.

The name on the list was Seth Edwards. And the description of the procedure was underlined in red, which meant one thing to all hospital employees: cancer.

H
i, Jack, this is Leah Hudson. Could you please leave a message for Seth? Ask him to call me when he returns from his route. Let me give you all my numbers.” Leah gave Jack, the clerk at the PDS station, her work number, home number, and cell phone number.

“Did you try him on his cell phone?” Jack asked.

“No, I don’t know the number.”

“Well, we’re not supposed to give them out, but since it’s you, Leah, I’ll tell you what it is.”

Leah was using her cell phone as she drove to the hardware store on her lunch break. She was determined to buy her garden seeds so she could get right to work when she arrived at home. Punching in the numbers for Seth’s cell phone, she felt relieved when he answered after the second ring.

“Hi, it’s Leah.”

“How did you get this number?”

“Jack at the PDS office. He used to go out with one of my sisters.”

“Oh. So what’s up?”

“Yesterday Alissa told me she and Brad have a couch they would like to give away. I didn’t know if you needed a couch, but I thought I’d let you know.”

“I do need a couch. Thanks for telling me. Do you have a number for them?”

“Alissa runs the travel agency on Main Street. It’s A Wing and a Prayer. You can’t miss it. It’s next door to the Wallflower Cafe and across the street from the
Glenbrooke Gazette
.”

“I’m about three blocks from there now. I’ll stop in and talk to Alissa about it. Thanks.”

“Sure.” Leah knew she could end the call then, but she didn’t want to. The last time she had talked to Seth, at the rained-out Little League game, she had been cool and reserved. That was before her spirit had been plowed up. Everything in her life was fresh now. That was also before she had read Seth’s name on the day surgery form next to the procedure listed as “L5-S1: removal of melanoma and surrounding lymph nodes.”

“I’m headed downtown, too,” Leah said. “Any chance you would like to meet for some lunch?”

Seth hesitated only a moment before saying, “Sure. Where do you suggest?”

“The Wallflower Cafe is close and easy.”

“Okay. I’ll see you there in a few minutes.”

Leah hung up and turned left on Main, parking four doors down from the Wallflower Cafe. The vegetable seeds could wait until after work.

The small diner had once been a charming, favorite spot to stop for a sandwich or cup of soup on a rainy day. Today the sun was shining, which made the many flaws of the Wallflower stand
out. The real flowers in the planters on the walls above the booths had been replaced years ago with plastic red and orange ones. The vinyl seats had too many lumps to be comfortable to sit on for long, and the menu had decreased in variety. Last year the café owners had put a for sale sign in the window, but after receiving no offers in two months, they took down the sign and compromised by trimming their menu and shop hours.

Leah greeted Hazel, the waitress at the counter, and decided to sit at the window seat so she could watch for Seth.

“Coffee?” Hazel asked, walking toward Leah with the coffeepot in her hand.

“No, thanks. What’s your soup today?”

“Vegetable barley,” Hazel said.

“I’d like some soup and a large orange juice.”

“Coming right up,” Hazel said. She shuffled past the four customers who sat at a table in the center of the cafe and filled their coffee mugs.

One of the customers was Collin Radcliffe. He was ignoring Leah, which was typical of him since their days growing up together in Glenbrooke. Collin had gone off to college and become a lawyer. He had been in California until the first of this year when rumor had it that he had returned to Glenbrooke to take over his father’s law practice. Radcliffe Sr. had announced his retirement at the end of this year.

Leah looked down and noticed that her hands were shaking. She refused to think that being around Collin made her nervous. So what if he was a big, important, successful classmate who had gone out into the world and had made something of himself? He still ignored her. Leah was certain that the nervousness was because of Seth.

What am I going to say to him when he walks in? Do I tell him I know about the surgery right away or do I wait to see if he tells me?

She knew better than to make assumptions about the severity of the cancer until after the test results from the surgery. But she had been around enough to know melanoma could be life-threatening.

Does Seth understand how serious this is? Is this the real reason he came back to the States, but he hasn’t told anyone? I wonder if Franklin knows?

Seth drove past the window just then. When he spotted Leah, he waved to her. She guessed he would have to drive around the block to find a place to park the delivery truck. While she waited, she tried to calm herself. It wouldn’t do any good for her newly discovered emotions to overwhelm her again.

Her soup and orange juice arrived before Seth did. When he did enter the café with his casual grin lighting up his tan face, Leah saw his tan differently than before.
Didn’t he realize how damaging the sun could be? Sunscreen is no guarantee against skin cancer. How could he not realize that?

“Hope I didn’t keep you waiting long. I checked in with Alissa next door, and it looks like I’m going to take their couch. Thanks for letting me know about it.”

“I’m glad it worked out,” Leah said. It seemed to her that Seth was saying all the right words, but he was acting reserved. It was the same way she had treated him last time she had seen him.

Hazel walked over with the coffeepot and asked if Seth wanted any.

“No, thanks. I’d like the same thing she’s having. Soup and orange juice. And do you have any bread?”

Hazel nodded and returned to the counter. Seth looked at Leah and said, “I understand you went to see Franklin the other day.”

“Yes, I did.”

“He said you agreed to take him to some hot springs for the last weekend of May.”

“Yes, I did.”

“I don’t know if it’s such a good idea for him to make a trip like that. He told me it’s been more than a year since he broke his hip, but he’s still not very strong. Doesn’t he seem frail to you?”

“He’s an elderly man,” Leah said, feeling her defenses rising. “I agree that he is frail, but this trip seems important to him.”

Seth leaned back. “I just don’t think it’s a great idea.”

“Did Franklin ask you to go on the trip, too?”

“Yes, of course. And I told him I didn’t think May was the best time for him to go. So the old fox turns around and asks you.”

Hazel placed a soup bowl in front of Seth as well as a breadbasket and a glass of orange juice. “Are you Franklin Madison’s grandson?” she asked him.

“No, I’m a great-nephew.”

Leah couldn’t help but take advantage of Seth’s line. “Well, if you really were a ‘great’ nephew, you would see how important this is to Franklin. And you would give the elderly gentleman a chance to do what he wants to do.” She knew her emotions were unraveling again, and the frayed edges were showing.

Seth looked down at his soup bowl. She couldn’t tell if he was praying or trying to control himself so he wouldn’t snap back with an answer.

“Can I get you two anything else?” Hazel asked.

“No, thanks. Just the check,” Leah said.

Seth looked up. He appeared calm. “I don’t think I can go along with this. In my opinion, Franklin isn’t strong enough to make such a long trip.”

“What about you?” Leah asked. “Would you be strong
enough to make the trip in a few weeks?”

“Of course,” Seth said. He definitely looked offended now. “Why would you ask that?”

Leah swished the last bit of orange juice around in the bottom of her glass. “I work at the hospital, you know. I see all the paperwork. I know you’re scheduled for surgery next Friday.”

Seth looked at her steadily but didn’t say anything.

“I think I know what you’re feeling right now,” Leah said, lowering her voice and leaning closer. “I felt the same way when you asked me about being the …” She looked over her shoulder to make sure no one was listening. Then in a whisper she said, “the Glenbrooke Zorro. You told me I could trust you to keep my secret. I’m inviting you to trust me in the same way.”

Seth drew his soupspoon to his mouth and took his time before speaking. “I had a mole removed in Costa Rica. When the results came back positive for melanoma, I decided to move back to the States. A guy I knew in Costa Rica recommended a specialist in skin cancer who retired and moved to Glenbrooke. Only this specialist didn’t completely retire. He still sees occasional patients at Glenbrooke General.”

“Dr. Norton,” Leah said. “He and his wife moved here five months ago from Palm Springs.”

Seth nodded. “I knew my great-uncle was here in Glenbrooke so I had a convenient connection. A reason to move here. I haven’t told anyone since there’s nothing specific to tell.”

“The doctor in Costa Rica might have gotten it all,” Leah said. “It’s best when they find and remove it early.”

“Yes, but Dr. Norton said the results from the Costa Rican lab weren’t as specific as what he sees on reports from U.S. hospitals. He told me to be prepared for a lengthy surgery on Friday. He’ll remove some of the surrounding tissue. If they
find any cancer cells, he plans to remove a large section that day and go all the way to the bone. They’ll do a skin graft if necessary.”

“That’s pretty standard,” Leah said. “And Dr. Norton is the best. He’s very thorough. I’m surprised he listed you as day surgery. It’s more likely you’ll be staying overnight.”

Seth pushed away his soup. “If the area tests out clean after the surrounding samples are examined, then I can go home.”

“And a lot of people do,” Leah said, trying to be encouraging. “I see this often. We had two patients last month who came from out of state to see Dr. Norton. He tends to paint the worst case scenario just to prepare patients for what could happen. With both of those patients it was treatable.”

“Let’s hope that will be true in my situation,” Seth said quietly. He looked as if it had taken a lot out of him to confide in Leah.

As she would with any friend, Leah reached across the table and took Seth’s hand in hers and gave it an encouraging squeeze. She realized he had made the same gesture toward her twice before, and both times she had pulled away. Now Seth was the one who pulled away.