Hand-Me-Down Love Read online

“Thanks,” he said with a strained smile before walking out of the room.

  Meredith filled a measuring cup with water and poured it into a stainless steel pot on the stove. “Everything should be ready in about thirty minutes when the rice is done,” she said. She poured wine into two glasses and brought them to the table where Marla was sitting.

  “I did some research last night on what you have,” Marla told her sister. She couldn’t use the word “cancer” or “tumor” yet. “It looks like there are successful treatments.”

  “Yeah, I did some research too. But let’s not talk about that tonight. I just want to enjoy having my sister here for gumbo. There’ll be plenty of time for all that later.”

  “Okay,” Marla said feeling bad for bringing it up.

  Meredith talked for a few minutes about the jubilee. Marla talked about her day at the shop. The sisters talked about everything but the elephant in the room, Meredith’s illness.

  “I’d better check the rice,” Meredith said getting up.

  “I’ll take this opportunity to visit the little girl’s room,” Marla said, also getting up. “Can I do anything to help you?”

  Meredith waved Marla away as she took another sip of her wine. “I’ve got it,” she said.

  On her way back down the hall, Marla heard Meredith and Sean talking in the kitchen. She waited a moment, then as she was going back through the door, she stopped. Sean was holding Meredith as she sobbed into his shoulder. Marla felt again how intrusive she felt her presence was there in her sister’s house that night, only hours after the couple had learned that their world was threatened. She turned to leave, but Sean saw her as he looked over Meredith’s head. He held out his arm and motioned for her. Marla walked over to them and Sean drew her in. Marla put her arm around Meredith and let her tears fall silently as her sister wept.

  Chapter Three

  The next day, Marla drove to Mobile to visit her parents. She was going to have to tell them about Meredith, and she was filled with anxiety about it. She drove into their neighborhood with new houses and small yards. It was nothing like the house she had grown up in. She parked in the driveway and got out of her car, taking a deep breath. Her mother opened the door before she could knock.

  “Hey, honey. I’m so glad to see you,” her mother said.

  Marla followed her through the foyer and into the living room where her father sat in his chair, reading the paper. Marla looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings and wished she could tell her parents the bad news in her childhood home in Oak Point.

  “Hey, Dad,” Marla said.

  “Hey,” he said back. “What brings you out this way today?”

  Marla sat on the couch. Her mother brought her a glass of wine and some nuts in a bowl. She put some in her mouth, munching down but not tasting them. She took a sip of the white wine.

  “I’ve got to tell you something. Meredith asked me to.”

  “Meredith?” her mother said. “What would she want you to tell us? Is she all right?”

  Marla didn’t know any other way to tell her parents except straight out.

  “She’s got a brain tumor. She’s having surgery next week to remove it and do a biopsy.”

  “No!” her mother said as she fell back into the couch.

  Her father looked at her with no expression. He never had been one to show emotions, but Marla knew he was taking the news hard. She knew her father.

  “What type of tumor is it?” he asked. “Where is it located?”

  “It’s behind her right eye. They’ll know more after the surgery.”

  Marla’s mother started to cry. “How long has she known about this?” she asked in a broken voice.

  “She just found out. She didn’t think she could hold herself together to tell y’all about it. She asked me to. I hope that’s okay. I know she probably should have told you herself, but. . .” Her voice trailed off.

  “It doesn’t matter who tells us this news,” her father said. “It’s devastating.”

  “I know, Dad. I’m devastated too. But I’ve done research and there are treatments. Plus, Meredith is young so that makes her chances a lot better.”

  Marla sat with her parents for a while longer. She told them that the surgery would take place next Thursday at South Mobile Hospital. Then she got up to leave. She knew her parents needed time alone to absorb the news about their oldest daughter. As a couple, they had always had an inner relationship and they would be relying on each other now more than ever.

  Marla stood to leave, her wine unfinished. As she walked to the door, her mother said, “We’re going to call Meredith right away. She needs our support.”

  “Yes, she most definitely does,” Marla said, hugging her mother, then her father.

  By the time Marla got home, Meredith was calling.

  “I talked to Mom and Dad,” she said. “That was hard. I started crying and so did Mom. Dad sounded choked up, and that was weird.”

  “I know,” Marla said, grabbing her purse and getting out of her car.

  “I hate this,” Meredith said. “But I’m going to do everything I can to beat it.”

  They talked a few more minutes about the surgery, exactly where it would be in the hospital, what time Marla should be there.

  “I love you, Merrie,” Marla said before hanging up.

  Marla spent the next few days concentrating on the shop. There was a lot to do before the annual Oak Point Festival, when tourists would be all over the town. During the two-day festival, the town square was blocked off to traffic. Musicians performed near the fountain and street vendors sold their wares from booths set up along the sidewalks. It was a boon time for downtown shop owners and restaurants. Black Weekend it was known as by the Oak Point business owners, because they could count on making sales during the festival. Marla’s shop was no different. She did a good business throughout the year, but the festival brought in new people who wanted to wander through the shop. She always put out pecan pralines and coffee and sweet tea for the festival-goers.

  So, Marla threw herself into the preparations for the festival, trying to shove Meredith’s brain tumor into the back of her mind. She wasn’t really successful at that. She talked to Meredith every day, but the conversations were short. Both sisters were waiting on the surgery and the results and normal conversation was difficult.

  On Thursday morning, Marla woke up at five. She showered and dressed in comfortable khakis and a short-sleeved blouse. She knew it would be a long day at the hospital. Close to seven, she parked in the hospital parking lot and walked in. The elevator took her to the fifth floor where Meredith would be having her surgery. When she walked into the waiting area, her parents and Sean were already there.

  “Can I see her before the surgery?” Marla asked Sean.

  “I don’t think so. They’re about to start. We got here at six and then they made me leave the room to get her ready.”

  Marla sat in a fake leather chair with metal arms next to her parents. No one said much at first, but eventually they made small talk. Sean and her father talked about the bank where her father was president and Sean was head of the loan department. Marla and her mother talked about the shop and how it was living in Mobile after living in Oak Point for so many years.

  “I don’t really like it very much,” her mother said. “The house is too new and I feel far away from you and Meredith and my friends in Oak Point.”

  Marla’s mother had been born in Oak Point, just like Marla and Meredith. It was the kind of place that got into your bones. That’s why Marla had returned after getting her B.A. degree at the University of South Alabama in Mobile. She needed to feel close to her hometown, to the landscape, to the bay.

  She had worked summers at Oak Point Antiques since she was sixteen. Right before she graduated from college, the Duchamps, who owned the place, told her they were retiring and moving to St. Louis to be near their daughter and grandchildren. They offered the business to Marla.

  Marla
had approached her father. He bought the building and helped her get financing to buy the business. “It’s not every day that one of these old spaces downtown goes on the market,” he said. “It’s a good investment.” She paid her father a nominal rent every month and made a payment on the business.

  After what seemed like an eternity, the doctor came through the big double doors that led to the surgical area. Sean, Marla, and her parents stood as the doctor walked over to them.

  “She made it through the surgery fine,” he said. “We weren’t able to remove all of the tumor since it’s right behind her eye and it’s become imbedded in nerve tissue. I’m sorry to say that it is malignant. When she meets with her oncologist, they’ll discuss the treatment options. But right now, she’s fine and you can see her soon in recovery.”

  Sean thanked the doctor and sank back into his seat. Marla and her parents also sat back down to wait for someone to tell them they could see Meredith in recovery. No one talked anymore as each person found their own way of passing the time. Marla flipped through a tattered out of date magazine not really seeing the words, her parents sat silently staring at the walls or the people who walked by. Sean sat forward in his seat, with his hands on his legs. He had a vacant look that didn’t focus on anything.

  Finally, the anesthesiologist came out and told them Meredith had awoken from the surgery and was fine. “Only two can go in at a time,” he said. Cynthia looked at Marla.

  “You go, Mom,” she said.

  Sean took Cynthia’s arm and together they walked to the recovery room. About fifteen minutes later, Cynthia returned to the waiting area without Sean.

  “He doesn’t want to leave her,” she said. Marla told her father to go next. Marla wanted to see Meredith more than anything, but she understood that parents had first rights on their children. They needed to know that Meredith was all right. They needed to check on their child.

  Finally, Bob returned and Marla went in. Meredith lay in the hospital bed with her eyes closed. She had a bandage on her head where they had made the incision. Marla thought she looked peaceful and she was grateful for that. Sean held Meredith’s hand. Marla went to the side of the bed and stroked Meredith’s arm. Her sister murmured but didn’t say anything. She sat on the opposite side of the bed from Sean and kept her hand on Meredith’s arm. A little while later, Marla went out to join her parents. It would be a while before Meredith was moved to a regular room.

  “Y’all go and get something to eat,” Sean said as Marla got up to leave. “I know you’ll be here all night, so you need to eat.”

  “Okay,” Marla said. “We’ll go get something for you later when she’s in the room. I know you don’t want to leave her.”

  Sean looked at Marla gratefully. “Thanks,” he said before turning his gaze back to Meredith.

  When Marla went back into the waiting room, she suggested to her parents that they go to the hospital cafeteria for something to eat. In the elevator, Bob said he thought Meredith looked pretty good considering what she’d been through. Cynthia and Marla agreed.

  They went through the cafeteria line getting hamburgers and potato salad and sat at a table near windows overlooking the back of the hospital. The hamburgers could have been dog food for all they cared, but they ate them because they needed nourishment. The three sat eating without talking for a while.

  “I remember when my mother was in here,” Cynthia said. “This is where she died.”

  Marla and Bob looked at her. “She was old,” Bob said. Cynthia just nodded. After they finished the hamburgers, they went back up the elevator to the waiting area. Cynthia walked over to the nurse’s station and asked about Meredith. “She’s doing good,” the nurse said. “They’re about to move her to a room.”

  A little while later, Sean came out of recovery and said they were moving her to room 514 and they could go on ahead and wait for her. Everyone walked together to Meredith’s room, where she would be for several days. Sean moved around nervously until Cynthia took his hand and sat him down in a chair. The plastic covered chair that leaned back into a pretend bed would be Sean’s bed that night. Finally, Meredith was rolled into the room and lifted from the rolling bed to the hospital bed. She was very groggy and not really able to communicate with anyone.

  “She’s going to sleep the rest of the day,” the nurse said. “She’s fine,” she added reassuringly. “This is perfectly normal. She’ll be more herself tomorrow.”

  Marla went back to the cafeteria and got Sean a cheeseburger and fries and a large soft drink. He was starving and gulped the food down. When he was finished, he said, “I know you all probably want to stay all night, but I think you should get some rest. I’m going to be here with her all night and I’ll call you if I need to. There’s just no place for you to sleep here and it’s damn uncomfortable. I think Merrie would want you to have a good night’s rest.”

  “I think we’ll get a room at the hotel across the street so we can be nearby,” Bob said. “Call us if anything at all happens, including if she wakes up and starts talking. I don’t care what time it is.”

  Marla was grateful to her father for making that decision. Her mother was exhausted, and her father knew as well as Marla that she needed some rest in a comfortable bed. They kissed Meredith, then Sean, and left.

  Chapter Four

  Four days later, Meredith went home. Her oncologist had visited her the day following her surgery. He told her that they had not been able to remove the entire tumor because of its location. Meredith would start a regime of chemotherapy and radiation treatment when she had recovered fully from the invasive surgery. Sean took a leave of absence from the bank for two weeks.

  On the day Meredith returned home, Marla had a talk with Jada.

  “Thank you,” she told Jada. “For taking care of things while I’ve been at the hospital so much.”

  “Of course,” Jada said. She was a sweet-tempered young woman who had been working at Bay Point Antiques almost since Marla took over the shop. She had come to the grand opening under new ownership and asked Marla about a job. Jada knew a lot about antiques from her grandmother, who had raised her, and she had refinished a lot of pieces herself.

  “Meredith is going to be going through chemo and radiation therapy and I want to help her as much as I can. I know you’ve already done a lot here, and I’m asking if you can sort of take over for me when I’m out.”

  “You’ve got it,” Jada said. “I’d do anything to help you and Meredith.”

  “I’m also giving you a raise. Your work on the Internet has brought in a lot of new and repeat customers. Not to mention the extra responsibilities you’ve had lately. I appreciate it more than I can say. I hope extra compensation will tell you how much I rely on you.”

  Jada smiled at her. Marla noticed Jada had one of her hand-made, vintage-style clips in her shiny brown hair. “Thanks, Marla. I appreciate it.” Jada walked toward the back of the shop. “I’m going to see how Derrick’s coming on that new armoire we got. It was pretty beat-up.”

  After Jada left, Marla called Sean. She let him know that she would be able to take Meredith to her chemo and radiation appointments after he went back to work.

  “I know you’d rather do it,” Marla told Sean. “But I thought you might need to go back to the bank, and I wanted to help out.”

  “I guess I do need to get back,” Sean said. “I don’t really want to, but we’ve got to have an income and Meredith seems okay right now. Thanks for doing that.”

  Marla spent the next three weeks visiting Meredith every afternoon for several hours, getting her sister anything she needed. Meredith seemed to be recovering from the surgery with no complications. On the fourth week, Meredith started daily radiation sessions and chemo three times a week. The radiation stopped after three weeks, but the chemo continued. Meredith was very nauseated and weak from the treatment and that would be the pattern for the next three months. Meredith wore a special cooling cap during the chemo that protected he
r hair follicles and saved her hair. In the end, the oncologist said the tumor had shrunk some, but that Meredith needed a break from the treatments. He recommended they keep an eye on the tumor and decide on further treatment later.

  Meredith was very tired all the time. She didn’t seem to bounce back after the chemo stopped like Marla thought she would. She was thinner than Marla had ever seen her, even when she went on a crash diet before her wedding. “That was dumb,” she told Marla later. “I thought I was going to faint during the ceremony.”

  Sean took Meredith to the doctor three weeks after stopping the chemo and radiation. The doctor ordered a CT scan. The news wasn’t good. What was left of the tumor had a stranglehold on Meredith’s brain. They would try chemo and radiation again.

  It was a nightmare, much worse than the first time. Meredith was violently ill all of the time. Finally, she said enough. Enough of the chemo and radiation. It wasn’t working anyway. She would take her chances at home.

  By that time, Cynthia had moved back to the family home in Bay Point to be near Meredith. Bob stayed in Mobile during the week and came home to Bay Point every weekend. They spent as much time as they could with Meredith and helped out whenever possible. Cynthia cooked meals for Sean once a week and made several soups for Meredith to eat during the week. Soup was the only thing Meredith wanted to eat. It was the only thing she could keep down.

  They set up a schedule. Cynthia stayed with Meredith every morning until noon. Marla stayed with her the rest of the day until Sean got home. “How is she today?” Marla asked her mother at the changing of the shift. And then one day, about a week in to the new schedule, Cynthia said, “I think she’s better! I can hardly believe it. She wanted a sandwich with her soup and she got up for a little while. She wanted to sit on the patio.” Cynthia had tears in her eyes. She gave Marla a hug.

  Meredith got stronger every day. She got up after Sean left for work and walked with Cynthia around her neighborhood’s oak-lined streets. She went further every day. After about three weeks she told Cynthia and Marla that she thought she could make it on her own. She wanted to get back to the business of taking care of her house and cooking meals. Her energy seemed boundless. It was March, and Meredith flowered with the rest of the world as it came into spring. Azaleas bloomed throughout the town and all around Meredith and Sean’s house. Meredith spent a lot of time sitting on her porch, admiring the world as if she were seeing it for the first time. “I’m fine,” she said every time Marla called. And she looked fine every time Marla saw her. She looked vibrant.