What The Hell Ch. 01 - Sex Stories

What The Hell Ch. 01

... she was. She was a fighter, a woman who will preach to the end that she beat cancer.

Fuck Cancer!

My stepbrother, Al's son, John and his wife Erin stood at Mom's sides supporting her. Her walker, nowhere to be seen. I couldn't see the nasal cannula either.

"That damn stubborn woman." I mumbled under my breath.

I heard him chuckle. "Would you expect anything different?" He mumbled as well. I knew we were both smiling a little with that comment.

In the pew behind her was Roxanna, one of my best friends. We met in our freshman year of high school. It seemed her; Lisa and I were a hell raising trio back then and even now, well past our younger years. She was the best from our nursing school and the only oncology nurse I allowed to care for my mother.

That is a story of its own, a real shitstorm of a story. I might share that fight later.

Roxie had been through so much with us for the last two years. The first diagnosis; TNBC, Triple Negative Breast Cancer, damn near a death sentence. Then the first rounds of chemotherapy, the first NED, "no evidence of disease", the double mastectomy, then the recurrence and finally this last diagnosis.

Then the PET scan a few months ago showed a cluster of inflamed lymph nodes in her chest wall, behind her breast bone and under her armpit. There were indications of liver and ovarian metastases and recurrence.

"How the fuck could you have recurrence in a breast cancer patient when the breast isn't there?" I will never ...

... forget Al asking me.

Al was funny that night. He slurred that phrase at least three times when we got drunk that first day after we heard the oncology report. Gawd, we got drunk.

Sorry, I digress.

Roxie, yes, Roxie was the boss, I lovingly called her "The Bitch-Boss" no one, and I mean, no one was allowed to overrule anything Roxie said. She reminded me a few times, that even included me.

I promised myself I wouldn't cry. Mom told me last night all she wanted to see was her only daughter walk down the aisle.

Then a silence only broken by the higher pitch notes three or four, then the bass notes in tempo,'Dah ... Dah ... Dah Da ...' The Wedding March; I played it several times on the piano as a younger pianist. I knew it by heart, mom made certain I never made a mistake. Her Ladies Guild church friends wouldn't let her hear the end of it.

Everyone stood except for those on the left side, they stayed seated. It was out of reverence for my mother, so she could see without obstruction. I smiled at her as she smiled wide and started crying. Then she nodded, Al and I took our first step forward.

It was my dream wedding, the day we looked forward to, the day we argued over, the day I wanted absolutely perfect, for her. She never had this kind of day, this was for my Mom.

My thoughts were shaken when I saw my step brother move with quickness. I had taken another step forward with Al when I saw Roxie move. Al let go of my arm and ran.

I screamed and followed ...