Page 8 of Valley of the Shadow
“I’d sayyou should ask for a second opinion,” Dez said. “But it’s Lucien. He would have already double- and triple-checked before he said anything.”
Natalie tore shreds from the tissue in her hand. “B?”
“Agreed,” Beatrice added. “There’s no way Lucien would give you a diagnosis unless he was sure.”
“So I definitely have cancer.” Natalie had her phone on speaker and sat on the floor by the soaking tub in their bathroom. “And Baojia and I already agreed that I was going to turn when the kids were older. So why is he making an issue of this now?”
Both Dez and Beatrice made low muttering noises.
“Men don’t like change,” Dez said. “Especially when it comes to their wives.”
“Unless it’s like… sexy new lingerie or something,” Beatrice added. “That kind of change is okay.”
“That’s where I went wrong,” Natalie said. “I should have put on a negligee to tell him I had breast cancer.”
Beatrice snorted.
Dez said, “Somehow, I think that would have gone worse.”
“Ya think?” It was nearly three in the morning, and they’d been talking for an hour. Baojia hadn’t come back in the house. Dez was fully awake now, and Beatrice…
Well, Beatrice never slept. She was the absolute best girlfriend in the world, because if she was in the country—and even if she wasn’t—she pretty much always had time to talk you through a crisis.
“Take the kids out of the equation,” Dez said. “Why do it now and not wait to try treatment?”
“I can’t take the kids out of the equation,” Natalie said. “How is that even possible? This has everything to do with the kids.”
Beatrice said, “True.”
Dez sighed. “Okay, you’re right. I can’t argue with that.”
Both Dez and Beatrice were mothers. Dez’s daughter, Carina, was nearly ten, and Beatrice and Giovanni had adopted a toddler the Christmas before. Sadia was two and a half, but Beatrice and Giovanni had quickly adapted to the challenges of parenting her, with lots of help from Dez, Matt, Natalie, and Baojia.
Beatrice said, “At the end of the day, it’s your choice. Just like it was mine. Giovanni was pissed at me—”
“You didn’t even tell him you were going to do it,” Dez said. “I mean, he kind of had a point.”
“I’m not saying he didn’t, but the fact remains. It’s Natalie’s decision. She doesn’t have to ask for permission,” Beatrice said. “Right, Nat?”
“Lucien and Baojia have always had an agreement. And Lucien is fully on board with doing it this way. He doesn’t like chemotherapy if I have other options.”
“I can see that,” Dez said. “And you know you’ll have lots of support to help with the kids.”
“I’m sure Ariel and Olivia will want to stay around,” Natalie said. “But would it be safe?”
“You could come down here,” Beatrice said. Both Beatrice and Dez lived in Southern California, where Baojia and Natalie had met.
“Can’t. Baojia would be in Ernesto’s territory, and even visiting is kind of tricky. Plus, I don’t think superconcentrated urban areas are a great idea when you’re a newly turned, still-bitey vampire, you know?” She looked around her bathroom. “We’re pretty isolated out here.”
“Then we can come up there,” Beatrice said. “Just know that no matter what, you don’t have to do this alone. You will not have to do any of this alone.”
The tears came fast and sudden. Natalie clamped a hand over her mouth to keep a sob from coming out.
“Natalie?” Dez asked.
She couldn’t speak. She grabbed another tissue and tried to get control of her emotions, but everything seemed to come in a flood.
It’s cancer.
