“Don’t.” I wasn’t going to allow either of us to entertain failure against leukemia.
“Cy, this could kill me—”
“Or we can beat it. That’s what we need to focus on mom. You don’t think I walked into a mission focused on what could do wrong, do you? Sure, we knew the risks, but we were armed with knowledge and skill and we beat those motherfuckers. Failure isn’t an option.”
My mom snickered. “Language.”
I reached over and took her hand. “One, don’t worry about me. Two, think only about beating the cancer. That’s all you have to do, mom. Can you do that for me?”
“Yes. Well, I’ll try.”
“Try hard. Now…how about some ice cream. My treat for once.”
14
Petal
I was disappointed the following day when Cyrus didn’t arrive for his usual cupcake and coffee. I had thought we’d done so well going back to just friends the previous day. So why was he not here today? Then I remembered his mother’s medical tests and I worried that maybe he’d gotten word about them. I decided I’d call April later to find out if she knew what was up.
I’d finished cleaning the kitchen after closing up the shop and making a few batches of cupcakes, when my phone rang. I looked at the caller ID. Cyrus.
My heart did a little twist to see his name. I hit the answer button as I headed upstairs to my apartment.
“Hey, I missed you today.” Immediately, I regretted those words. I’d meant that I hadn’t seen him, not that I was missing him. Although I was, of course, missing him. Ugh…how did this get so complicated?
“Yeah, I’m sorry about that. That’s why I’m calling. I didn’t want you to think I bailed. I’m in Chicago again.”
Once inside my apartment, I settled onto the couch. “You heard from your mom?” I suspected the news wasn’t good.
“She called last night. It’s leukemia.”
“Oh Cy.” My heart broke for him. “I’m sorry.” I wanted to ask about the prognosis but wasn’t sure how. Would it be insensitive to ask about that? Gee, Cy what are her odds?
“How are the two of you doing?” That was just as dumb. Clearly, they weren’t doing great since his mom was diagnosed with a life-threatening cancer.
“She’s a trooper. I’m just trying to take one thing at a time.”
“Is there something I can do? I can come to Chicago and help.” I didn’t know why I said that, except that I really wanted to be there for him.
“You’re sweet Petal.” He said that a lot. “But no. You have a business you need to manage. I have resources here to help. I’m going to get that all set up and then I’ll be back.”
Right. I had a business. It was a reminder to me that my life was tethered to the bakery. I loved my job and I didn’t usually feel like I was missing out by being the sole operator. But at times like this, it did get in the way. Perhaps it was time to run the numbers to see if I could afford to hire help. Not just someone to bake and sell cupcakes, but someone who I could trust to manage the shop if I needed to help a friend.
“I’m sure Jude and April can cover for you if you need more time,” I said.
“I know.” He sounded like he was carrying the weight of the world.
“I can send cupcakes.” I whapped myself on the forehead for such a stupid statement. Like cupcakes could cure cancer.
“Save me a few,” he said.
The line was quiet for a bit, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. At least not for me. It was if we knew each other was there and that was enough.
Finally, he said, “I need to go. Thanks Petal.”
“Thank you for calling. I was worried.”
When we hung up, I immediately went to my computer. I ignored the notifications about messages from the dating profile and instead began a search for someone I could hire to help me. Eventually, I decided to post a job opening. First, I made a list of all the skills needed for the job, the duties the job would entail, and all the hoops they’d have to jump through to get hired. Because this person would have so much responsibility, I had to trust them so I wanted background checks and tons of stellar references.