Page 38 of The Mountain Man's Virgin
Alanna smiled at me and rubbed my arms. “Lucy, the results from my last appointment look promising.”
We had been through years of the news going from bad to worse with every doctor’s appointment: a mole had turned suspicious, then it was melanoma that probably wouldn’t spread, then it spread. I don’t know what would’ve been better, knowing from day one that Alanna had a 50 percent chance of living, or drawing out the prognosis over years – like slowly and painfully peeling off a band-aid.
“Really?” I sniveled. Alanna passed me a tissue.
“I mean, it’s not good news, but it’s not bad news either.” Alanna smiled. “The tumor hasn’t shrunk, but it hasn’t grown either.
“Oh, Alanna. I’ll take it,” I cried and pulled her in for another hug.
“I think I’m the one that should be worried. You can’t just text me ‘I’m ok – talk soon’ after I’ve just seen your photo on the news.
I was shocked. I hadn’t wanted to worry Alanna and had just texted her that I had been snowed in. I left out the accident and my stay at Mick’s cabin. I also left out Mick. Mick. Just the thought of his name gripped my stomach into a fluttery knot.
“Lawrence must’ve been worried sick,” Alanna said.
I sighed. “I don’t think Lawrence is who I thought he was,” I picked at my fingernails.
“Oh, thank god.”
I jerked my head up. “What?”
Alanna patted her hand on the side of her hospital bed, an invitation to sit. “Tell me what you mean by that.”
“No. YOU tell me what you meant with that response about Lawrence,” I countered.
“You can’t talk to a cancer patient like that,” Alanna said wryly. “Now spill.”
We were interrupted as the nurse came in with Alanna’s plastic lunch tray. “Yummy,” I said, taking in the bland unidentifiable meat covered in pale gravy and watched errant peas roll outside of their partitioned quadrant.
“It’s not so bad,” she smiled and took a bite to prove it.
I kicked myself for not bringing her something to eat from the health food store down the street.
“So. Lawrence. Are you two still engaged?” she asked, trying to mask a gag with her hand. She dabbed her lips with her napkin.
Watching my sister attempt to keep the food down tore me up inside. I knew that she was putting on a show so that I wouldn’t worry about her. She rarely had an appetite, so I couldn’t imagine that the grey sludge was even close to appetizing.
“Yes. Yes, we are still engaged,” I hesitated, twisting my engagement ring around my finger.
Alanna pursed her lips and gave me a knowing look, “Tell me about this snowstorm.”
“Well, Lawrence paid for me to go away for the weekend with a bunch of his friends’ girlfriends.”
“Ooh. Stimulating.” She took a bite of Jell-O.
“They’re not so bad. Well, I mean one of them could talk about something other than eyebrow extensions.”
“I can’t see you hanging out with girls like that.”
“Well, we didn’t have the chance to hang out. We never made it to the spa. The car spun out and went into the ditch.” I minimized the seriousness of the accident.
“Ditch, huh. That was some ditch they showed on the news.”
Busted.
“Oh, they showed the accident scene?”
“Yep,” she said, taking a bite of her fluorescent Jell-O.
