Her brown eyes were still focused on Sophie. Madge came in and took care of Deandra and she was ready to go. “I’ll be praying for you on Sunday,” she informed her.
“Thank you.”
She patted Sophie’s cheek. “Don’t be afraid, Sophie. You’re never alone, you know.”
Tears welled in Sophie’s eyes. “I know. Can I ask a dumb question?”
“Nothing is ever dumb.”
“What color was your hair?”
Deandra’s laughter filled the room, so loud that Madge stuck her head out of the office where she was working. “Deandra, are you causing trouble again?” She teased the woman.
“Not me,” she declared. She turned her focus back to Sophie then. “I had the prettiest red hair to go with my temper when he pushes my buttons.” Deandra pointed over her shoulder at Will, her husband. Sophie couldn’t imagine Deandra ever getting that angry. Will just laughed at his wife
“It about broke my heart the first time I had to shave it off. This time was much easier,” she told Sophie. “If this is your second treatment, soon, you’ll start to see your hair come out,” she whispered softly. “You might want to thin
k about shaving it off before that happens.” She lowered her eyes to their joined hands.
“It’s heartbreaking when the first clumps start coming out even though you know to expect it.” Deandra gazed at Sophie then, “You remember this, you do what you need to do to control cancer not let it control you.”
“Thank you.” She squeezed Deandra’s hand.
“Call me any time, honey. I’m always available for you. Been there, done this more than once. I don’t have all the answers, but I’ll be happy to talk with you. Cry with you or laugh with you too. Sometimes you gotta laugh or you’d sit in a corner and cry your eyes out and that’s no fun.”
Sophie nodded, then she released Deandra’s hand, so she could go home. She and Josh told them both goodbye.
“Deandra, you behave this weekend,” Madge teased her.
Deandra winked. “I’m always a good girl, Madge except when I’m bad and I’m never that bad, the good Lord’s always watching me. You know that.”
**
Josh
He pulled in the drive. Sophie was in the backseat. They had given her something before he left to help ease the pain of her migraine caused by the chemo.
When he shut the door, Kai came out the front door. “I was getting worried,” she told him.
“They kept her a little longer because she’s having a bad migraine again.”
“Where is she?” Kai was frowning expecting Sophie to be in the front seat beside Josh.
“Back seat, laying down. I’m just going to carry her inside. Will you hold the door for me?” Josh requested.
Kai turned and headed back to the house while Josh got Sophie out of the truck. He tried to be gentle and not jostle her, but the space in the back seat was tight and getting Sophie out of it wasn’t easy.
She groaned when he adjusted her against his chest. “I’m sorry, baby. We’ll have you in bed soon.”
“I don’t think the meds they gave me helped my head.”
“That bad?” He asked as he headed across the grass, towards the house where Kai held the door open.
She nodded, hiding her face against the fabric of his shirt to avoid the sunlight glaring down on them. Josh walked past Kai who shut the door behind them. He went straight down the hall to their bedroom where he laid Sophie on the bed.
Kai helped Josh undress Sophie and put her in a nightgown. Something easy to get on and something that was comfortable. “How are you doing, Soph.”
“Feeling nauseated too. Head pain not the chemo yet.”