LIFE Interrupted

Later, she went to Josh’s office to review some invoices with him. She had made a few mistakes which frustrated her. Sophie didn’t do mistakes. She had chemo brain. Everything was foggy, and she had trouble focusing so she missed her few mistakes. She was fighting back tears. Her husband glanced up at her. “Soph, you’re being too hard on yourself.”

“I feel like my brain is cloudy. No matter how many times I review things I seem to miss something.” Sophie rubbed her forehead.

“Soph, we’ve always double-checked things. It’s not a big deal.” Josh’s tone was compassionate.

“You never found mistakes though.”

“Soph,” he gazed up at her as she stood beside him. “Give yourself a break. It isn’t a big deal.”

“I guess.”

Josh had made the changes live as they found Sophie’s mistakes. He reprinted the invoices. She walked out into the hall and got them off the printer.

“I’m going to take these to the post office this afternoon and meet Kai for lunch. Want me to bring back lunch for you?”

“Sure, Philly steak sandwich.” He had already moved on while she was still focusing on her failures.

“I’ll be back in about an hour and a half.”

“See you later,” Josh responded.

She stuffed the envelopes that she had prepared with the invoices. Then she slapped on a stamp. Sophie reached into the desk and grabbed her purse. Ally was in the kitchen working on a laptop with a wireless connection. She headed that way, leading the puppies to her daughter. Jagger was out in the field with a crew, so it was just the three of them right now in the office.

“Hey, honey. I’m going to lunch with Kai. Want anything?”

Her daughter glanced up from the screen. “No thanks, Mom. Jagger is on his way back. He’s bringing me lunch. We’re eating together.” She saw her mother’s eyebrow raise. She knew that look. “Mom, don’t go there. He’s a great guy. We talk a lot, but he treats me like a little sister.”

“Ally, are you interested in Jagger? He’s eleven years older than you.” Sophie frowned at her daughter.

“No Mom, we work together.” She rolled her baby blues at her mother. Her eyes. Sophie almost laughed. “Roman is twelve years younger than Kai,” Ally pointed out.

“That’s different. He’s not eighteen. You don’t have the experience to be with a twenty-nine-year-old man.” She knew she sounded hypocritical.

“No worries Mom.” Ally was getting irritated with her.

“Ally, are you sure?”

“Mom,” her daughter’s voice rose with her irritation, “I’m sure.” Ally hesitated, she wanted to tell her more. “I’m still talking with Brian even though I’m not at school.”

Brian? Sophie took a moment to think about who Brian was then it clicked into place. The quarterback of the football team. Number two in the nation.

“I thought you guys were just friends…”

Ally lowered her gaze to the laptop in front of her. “When you told me you had cancer, he was there for me. He became something more to me. We didn’t label it, but we really like each other. He’d like me to come to a home game sometime.”

Sophie felt bad. Her child was hesitant because she was afraid of leaving her especially, after what had happened with her first chemo treatment.

“Ally, you need to live and have fun not wait around for me to have chemo. Please do that much for me.”

Her daughter glanced up at her. “I’ll think about it. I’m talking to Brian tonight. They have a home game next weekend…this weekend is away but I can watch it on television.”

Sophie understood. It would be right after she had her next chemo treatment. “Ally, we have so many friends and two sets of grandparents who can help your dad with me. Heath and Hannah too. Please go if you want to.”

Ally nodded.

“Thank you. I’m going now, or I’ll be late for lunch with Kai.”

“I’ll see you later, Mom.” Ally was working on the schedule and trying to focus.