Page 5 of Through the Snow Globe
“Ms. Diana!” The middle-aged woman with light brown hair and tortoiseshell glasses opened the door wider for Diana to enter the home.
“Good morning. How is Addy doing today?” Diana asked, getting straight to business.
Cecilia Pierce shrugged, clasping her hands together at her midsection. “She’s barely come out to say hello. As far as I know she’s just listening to music in there.”
“Pain?” Diana asked.
“Well, you know Addy. She doesn’t complain about stuff like that. I think she’s comfortable, though.”
“Good.” Diana glanced down the hall where Addy’s room was located. “I’ll just go check on her, if that’s okay.”
“Of course. Thank you.”
Diana turned and walked down the dimly lit hallway. Addy’s room was the last door on the left. She knocked and waited for the girl to respond, mentally preparing herself to go inside.
Addy was thinner every time she saw her. Her leukemia had been aggressive, but she’d fought it like she would an opposing team on the court, and she’d won. Now she was weak, which was why her doctor had ordered physical therapy.
“Come in,” Addy called from inside the room.
Diana opened the door and stepped inside. The light purple walls were adorned with boy-band posters and basketball memorabilia. She also had dozens of pictures of family and friends on her nightstand and along a shelf on her far wall.
Addy removed the earbuds she was wearing. “Hi.”
“Hey, you. How are you doing?” Diana asked.
Addy was pale, but her blue eyes were still bright. That was a good sign. “Good.”
“Your mom says you’ve been in here all day.”
Addy rolled her eyes, looking like a normal teen girl. That was another good sign. “Because when I go outside this room, my mom hovers around me like I’m a porcelain doll about to shatter into a million pieces.”
Diana set her bag down on the floor next to the bedside table. “She loves you.”
“Well, she also smothers me, so . . .” Addy trailed off. Her gaze landed on Diana’s diamond ring. “So when are you getting married anyway?”
Diana sighed and pulled up a chair. “I’m here to ask you questions, not vice versa.”
Addy poked out her bottom lip, which was part of their routine. Addy pried into Diana’s personal life, Diana shut it down, and Addy pouted. Or, as had happened yesterday, she called Diana an Elsa. “You’re no fun at all.”
“So I’m told. By you on a weekly basis.” Diana reached inside her bag for her company laptop. There was a series of health-related questions she asked every week. Before she even got started, Addy began reading off her answers.
“I’m a five on the pain scale. I already went to the bathroom this morning. Number one, not two. I had some orange juice and a piece of toast for breakfast. No nausea or vomiting.”
Diana smirked. “All right, smarty-pants. You’re going to have to tell me all of that again once I get my laptop open and running.”
Addy grinned proudly, but the humor didn’t quite reach her eyes.
Diana began filling out her weekly status report for Addy. “You said a five on the pain scale?”
Addy shrugged. “Maybe not even that, unless you’re considering my heart.”
Diana looked up with concern. “You’re having chest pain?”
Addy rolled her eyes. “No. My heart-heart. You know, the one with all the feelings.”
“Right.” Diana hesitated. Did she really want to open this can of worms and ask a teenager about her emotions? That was more Diana’s best friend Rochelle’s realm than Diana’s. Rochelle was a pediatric counselor in town. She loved to discuss feelings. Diana, on the other hand, would prefer to discuss all the physical aches and pains of the body. “Let’s get up and walk to the bathroom, shall we?”
Addy released an audible sigh. “It’s so weird that walking to the bathroom sink is considered exercise for me. I used to run up and down the courts for an hour at a time.”
