LIFE Interrupted

Now, Kai was five feet ten. A glorious head of thick auburn curls. Freckles still adorned her pert, nose. Her eyes that were bluish-green were now happy. No longer reflecting the sadness that Jake Manzo had caused the last year of their marriage.

She was a stunner. She deserved better than Jake who had left her for another woman because he thought she couldn’t have children. Boy, did Kai surprise him. Years of infertility treatments and she didn’t get pregnant. Sex with the next-door neighbor after Jake left her. She turned up pregnant. Happy as could be now. Sophie shook her head at karma, she had a way of getting back at you.

Sophie might have cancer.

Should she tell her best friend or wait until she knew more? She told Kai everything. She was pregnant first. She lowered her head, remembering how scared she was when she realized that a month before graduation from high school she was pregnant. She and Kai were close. She was afraid to tell Josh. He was set to go to the University of Cincinnati. He wanted to major in Finance, like their son had. Did Josh have regrets?

She wiped her hand across her face and with it went the wetness. That summer, Kai got pregnant with Hannah during one of their graduation parties. Ben left Kai and went to South Carolina where he graduated from college.

Her high school sweetheart didn’t do the right thing like Josh did. While Sophie and Josh’s relationship had thrived, Kai had been left alone. For a long time, it was the three of them. Her, Josh and Kai with their kids. Then they introduced Kai to Jake.

She tossed her phone around in her hand. She swallowed hard. She was scared. Losing her breast? Sophie thought she could handle that. She could always do reconstruction if she wanted to. What Sophie was afraid of was losing her life.

She dialed Kai.

“I was just thinking about you. I was going to call you to see how your appointment went with Doctor Ben.” The sound of Kai’s voice caused Sophie to come unglued. Her sobs were all that Kai heard. “Sophie, what’s wrong?”

She couldn’t answer.

“I’m coming over.”

“Okay.” She was able to get that much out between sobs and hiccoughs.

Kai lived two streets over. It wouldn’t take her long to get to her. She stayed where she was, perched on the bed holding her phone. Big, sloppy tears rolling down her cheeks.

After a few minutes, Sophie laid the phone on the nightstand and pulled her shirt out of her jeans. She kicked her boots across the room. Her socks felt slightly sweaty. Hopefully Doc hadn’t noticed that they might be slightly stinky too.

Leaning over she removed them and rose from the bed. She headed to the closet and dropped them in the laundry basket. Sophie stripped off her shirt and stood before the mirror in the walk-in closet. She unhooked her bra and let the straps slide down her arms. Then she raised her arm over her head and pressed gently to the spot where her lump was.

“What are you?” She whispered.

It didn’t hurt.

She didn’t feel bad.

Did Cancer hurt?

She had so many questions now and no one to ask. Not yet.

She heard her bedroom door open and then Kai was standing behind her. “What are you doing?” She asked her.

“Feeling my lump,” Sophie told her. She yanked a tank top off a hanger and slid it over her head.

“Josh told me.” Kai’s voice cracked.

Sophie whirled around and looked at Kai. “You do not cry. I need you,” Sophie declared, her voice wobbling with every word.

She watched her friend as she lowered her eyes to the carpet. Kai inhaled sharply. “All right. What do you need from me?”

Sophie gazed at her before speaking. “I’m terrified, Kai.” She held out her hand showing her that it was trembling. It was the hardest thing to admit your fears.

Kai grabbed it in hers and held it hard and fast. “I’ll stop the trembling. What else you got?”

“What if I die? Will you tell Joshua about me? Make sure that Josh finds a really nice, second wife to replace me.”

Kai laughed through the sob that tried to escape, to disguise it as best she could. Then she tugged Sophie to her and squeezed her hard. “You are not dying, you hear me. I need you.”

“Really, you have Roman. What else do you need?” Sophie grumbled. “Twenty-nine-year-old hot husband. You don’t need me.”