This story is about breast cancer. I know for some it might be difficult if not impossible to read. I understand. I’m not one who likes to give or get spoilers but there are times when they are appropriate. Should you need to know any details before you make the decision to read this please contact me.

Chapter Thirty-eight

Easter Sunday, April 16, 2006

After attending Easter services, all of the Bob-Whites and their parents went to the Country Club for brunch. They were also celebrating the end of Trixie’s chemotherapy. After they had eaten, everyone headed up to Ten Acres Academy for their annual Easter egg hunt. All of the students participated in the hunt. As it had been in years past, a benefactor had donated the money for the hunt. In addition to the plastic eggs filled with candy, each student also received a personalized egg that had the description of a gift for them. The graduating seniors were as enthusiastic about the hunt as the elementary school kids.

The Fraynes were the last to leave the activities, despite Trixie having a follow-up appointment with Dr. Weber the next day. Jim had wanted to join her for that appointment, but for some reason she wanted to do it on her own. At first, Jim couldn’t understand why she would want to go alone.

Trixie explained, “I know this sounds weird but I found out about my cancer on my own and I want to find out about the results on my own as well. I know you want to support me and you can, by letting me do this by myself. I’ve done the diagnosis once. I’ll be fine.”

It was late afternoon. Both of them were sitting in the window seat in the den looking out at their rain garden. Matt and Lizzie were playing outside playing with the bocce set they had received for an Easter present. Jenny was taking a nap.

Trixie leaned back into Jim’s chest while he wrapped his arms tightly around her. She could hear the hurt in his voice when he said, “Well, if that’s what you want.”

She turned to look in his eyes. “I’m not explaining myself very well and I’m not sure if I can. It’s just that something is telling me I need to do this part alone.”

Jim tried to smile, “I know. Just promise me you’ll call me as soon as you get done with the appointment.”

“Of course I will.”

Trixie turned back around and returned to watching out the window. They sat in silence for several minutes enjoying the wildlife that crossed in front of the window.

“You know what I really want to do?” Trixie asked. Her voice had a sleepy quality to it.

“Fly to the moon?” Jim replied. Trixie could feel the chuckle that rumbled through Jim’s chest.

“Not today. What I’ve really missed lately is riding. We need to do a Bob-White ride soon. I finally feel like my body can handle the rhythm of the horse again,” Trixie said.

From a distance, they heard the side door open and Matt and Lizzie coming into the house. Knowing that the kids would be in any minute to interrupt their tranquility, they both stood up and headed out of the room.

“That sounds like fun. Maybe we can plan something next weekend,” Jim suggested.

Trixie suddenly realized something. “I don’t know if Hallie will be up to riding. Maybe you and I can just go one day this week if the weather is good. It will be like some of our first dates.”

Jim pulled Trixie into one last quick embrace and said, “Whatever you want. Name the date and time and I’ll be there.”

Matt and Lizzie came barreling into the den. “Mom, you wouldn’t believe what we saw!” Matt exclaimed.

Lizzie jumped in, “It was so cool. We found some raccoon tracks down in the rain garden and some deer tracks. We haven’t seen them for a long time.”

For several minutes, Lizzie and Matt told their parents all of things they had done outside. Jenny woke up in the middle of their descriptions. They never had gotten out of the den. Jim volunteered to go get Jenny while the other three went back into the den.

Trixie told the children about the time when she, their dad and Uncle Brian had been stuck in the snowstorm and had to spend the evening in the old school house. She told how they had been looking for Reddy who had run off. The kids loved to hear about the beloved dog Reddy.

Jim returned with Jenny, and the family reminisced for several more minutes. Jim regaled them with the adventure they had in Iowa. He left out how they had spent the better part of an evening on the top of an old barn when the area flooded but told them about the little dog, Moses, they had found and Midnight, the black lamb Trixie had gotten up in the middle of the night to feed.

The family made their way to the kitchen to begin preparing dinner. They all helped out, including Jenny. She helped set the table by putting a napkin at everyone’s place.

The rest of the evening was spent playing games, reading to each other and just enjoying each other’s company.

Monday, April 17, 2006

For once, Monday morning was not total chaos. Lizzie woke up the first time Trixie came in to get her up. She got dressed and was downstairs eating breakfast before Matt was. That was a first. She didn’t complain or whine all morning. When it was time to get her jacket and backpack and head down to the bus, she did so in record time.

Trixie was shocked but decided to not make too big of a deal about it. Jim walked the kids down to the edge of the driveway to meet the bus. Then he headed over to Ten Acres Academy.

Trixie’s appointment was at one o’clock in the afternoon. She was going to take Jenny to day care and then head over to the office. Today was the day that she and Honey had set aside to get Dan’s work space together.

Dan and Hallie had taken a long weekend to have a private celebration. They had left first thing Saturday morning to a destination known only to them and Jim. Dan had been nursing a slight headache when they left. The night before, his former co-workers had thrown him a going away party and he might have imbibed just a little too much. He would be reporting to work on Wednesday.

The morning was spent clearing out a file cabinet, checking on phone lines and waiting for the office supply company to deliver Dan’s desk. They had discussed whether to give Dan the conference room as his office but decided that it would be better to have his desk in the front area with them. That would allow any of them to use the conference room, should anyone need more peace and quiet.

Trixie was glad that the work was more physical than mental. It kept her mind off her appointment later that day. By lunchtime, they had everything pretty much together. Trixie had even straightened up her desk and managed to get all of her file folders neatly into a cabinet. She knew she should go get something to eat, but she was too nervous about her appointment. She thought of walking over to the clinic to burn some of her nervous energy, but the radio station was calling for a chance of rain later in the day so she elected to drive.

As she entered the clinic, she thought back to the day almost three months ago when she had walked into the clinic to receive the tests results. That time she barely took note of her surroundings, but today she entered the clinic with a bounce in her step. She smiled as she passed others in the clinic and even commented to a young girl how pretty she looked in her dress.

Instead of heading to the back corner of the waiting room, this time she sat down among all of the others waiting for their appointments. As she looked around, she could pick out the ones who were facing the same obstacles she had faced that January day. The look of fear had been difficult to miss. She wished she could go up to the woman sitting across from her and tell her it would be all right. She knew, however, that wouldn’t necessarily be what that person would need to know. Without knowing her prognosis, she didn’t want to say something that would give her false hope.

She was feeling optimistic until they called her name. Then she slowly walked toward the nurse and toward the exam room. The nurse took her weight. Trixie was surprised that despite all of the throwing up she had done, she had only lost about ten pounds.

The nurse left Trixie in the exam room. While she waited, she tried valiantly to convince herself that everything would be okay. It took some major self-talk but by the time Dr. Weber came in, she was feeling better about all things.

When Dr. Weber came into the exam room, Trixie couldn’t read his expression. He pulled up Trixie’s most recent mammograms onto the computer screen as well as the one that had been done in December. He showed her where the lumps had been and that there were no signs of any lumps there or in any other part of her breasts.

Trixie’s eyes teared up with relief. If there was one thing she had learned in the past few months, it was to not try to hold in her emotions.

“I’m very pleased with the results, Trixie,” Dr. Weber said. “But that doesn’t mean we are out of the woods.”

“I know,” she replied. “But we are going in the right direction. All of the pain and agony of the chemotherapy has been worth it.”

They talked a few more minutes about her radiation schedule. It would begin next week and she would go Monday through Friday for five weeks straight unless there were some unexpected complications.

Because of Trixie’s flexibility in her schedule, she decided to have her treatments mid-afternoon. That would allow her to work in the morning and be done around the time the kids would be out of school. Since the radiation therapy didn’t have the violent side effects of the chemo, she would be able to do those unaccompanied.

Trixie left the clinic with a noticeable spring in her step. She turned on her cell phone as soon as she was in the lobby of the clinic and before she was out the door it was ringing. She knew it would be her husband.

She answered the phone as she exited the building. The sun was shining and the daffodils were starting peek through the ground. “Hello,” she said.

“So?” Jim asked.

Trixie stopped and sat down on a bench. She suppressed a giggle. “So what?” she teased.

“Tell me what happened. Have you seen, Dr. Weber?” Jim said impatiently.

Trixie was in a goofy mood and decided that she needed to torture Jim a little bit. “Yes, I saw him.”

“Come on, Trixie, put me out of my misery,” Jim begged.

“Well, the news is as good as we could have expected. He said there is no sign of cancer. That didn’t guarantee that I’m cancer-free, but it was all he had hoped for and more.”

Jim could hear the excitement in Trixie’s voice over the phone. He let out a whoop. “I think we need to celebrate.”

Trixie sobered a bit. “I don’t know if I want to celebrate yet. Let’s get through the radiation and then we’ll talk about celebrating.”

“Well, if that’s what you want,” Jim said. Trixie could hear the disappointment in his voice. She reminded herself that she was not the only one who had an emotional investment in the journey she was taking.

“Why don’t we do something with the kids tonight? I’ll stop and pick up Wimpy’s to go after I pick up Jenny,” Trixie suggested. “Can you get away from the school early and make sure Lizzie gets her homework done right away?”

“That’s sounds like fun, but instead of picking it up to go, why don’t we just go there? Then we won’t have to worry about cleaning up afterward.”

They exchanged a few pleasantries and then hung up.

Trixie started to head toward her car when all of a sudden she was hit by a wave of emotions. By the time she had gotten to the car, she had tears running down her cheeks. She fumbled with her keys as she started to open the door.

She turned her head when she heard her name called. Brian was rushing over to her. “I saw you leave the clinic and have been trying to catch up to you. How are…” Brian stopped in mid-sentence when he saw the tears in her eyes. Without saying anything else, he quickly embraced her tightly. “It’s okay,” he said his voice wavering a bit. “You still have the radiation therapy.”

Trixie gave Brian a hug back. “Brian,” she said. “Everything is okay. There’s no visible sign of any cancer.” It was a few seconds before Brian loosened his hold.

“None?” he asked.

“None,” she confirmed. “Dr. Weber said it was the best that could be expected. It doesn’t mean there isn’t some cancer still there, but it shows promise.”

Brian lifted her off the ground and swung her around. “When I saw you standing by the car with tears in your eyes, I thought for sure things weren’t good. It reminded me so much of that day in January when you were diagnosed.”

“Sorry to scare you,” she said. “All of a sudden I was overwhelmed with emotion. I was trying to be positive but there was that little bit of doubt niggling in the back of my mind. I know the journey isn’t over, and won’t be for a long time, but it feels so good.”

Trixie finally got her car door opened and put her purse inside. She turned again to look at Brian.

“So is there going to be a celebration tonight?” Brian asked.

Trixie hesitated. She wasn’t sure she could explain her feelings to Brian. “Not tonight,” she said. “I just spoke to Jim and we’re taking the kids to Wimpy’s tonight. I don’t want to celebrate prematurely. When we’re done with the radiation we’ll celebrate, no matter what the test results are.”

Brian nodded in understanding. “Well, just as long as I’m invited to the celebration,” he teased.

“Like I wouldn’t invite my favorite oldest brother,” Trixie replied.

With another quick hug, the two siblings parted. Before she pulled out of the parking lot, Trixie called Honey to give her the news. She wanted to tell her and knew that Brian would be too excited not to share the news. She would call her mom when she got home.

When Trixie got home, Lizzie and Matt still had a few things left to finish for their homework. Trixie took the time to call her mother, Mart, Bobby and Dan to share their news.

That evening, even though Trixie had insisted on not having any sort of celebration, there were five mini-celebrations held throughout Westchester County.


Chapter Thirty-Nine

Over the next few weeks, Trixie was pleased to find her life falling into a manageable routine again. The first week or so, Trixie was more tired than she had anticipated and she had gotten a slight burn from the radiation. By the second week, things smoothed out. Shortly after Matt and Lizzie would get on the bus, she would head to the office. She spent a lot of her time working on the renovation and move. Even though she had been involved with the design of her home, she was still surprised at how much she was enjoying the office renovation. She even enjoyed picking out fixtures.

While she was taking the lead on the renovation, she ran any major decisions by both of her partners. Honey had been busy with a case that had involved possible securities fraud and Dan was busy trying to track down the daughter of a client who hadn’t been seen in about ten years.

As much as she would have liked to skip lunch many days, Trixie always made sure that she ate something. It seemed like she handled the radiation better on a full stomach. There was no rhyme or reason why she did. Her afternoons were spent having her radiation. If needed, she would return to the office, but usually she would go home. She had found that she still hadn’t gained back all of her stamina.

She was pleasantly surprised when her hair started to grow back. She had read about how sometimes it would grow back with a different color and texture. Despite having lamented all of her life about her blond curls, she really didn’t want to lose them. Her hair started to grow back, and though it was a little finer to begin with, it was blond and it definitely had some curl.

Her birthday came and went. It was celebrated as they always celebrated Trixie’s birthday. Moms would prepare the meal that Trixie chose. All of the families would converge on Crabapple Farm and they would eat until they could no longer take another bite. Peter Belden would have another fun game for adults and kids alike to enjoy.

Hallie’s pregnancy had begun to show. So far everything was running smoothly. Her morning sickness, or in her case night sickness, had not lasted long and she remained active. The only change she made was that she gave up running and took up walking instead. It wasn’t that her doctor was opposed to the running, since she had been running most of her life. Hallie just didn’t like the uncomfortable jiggling.

The day after Dan first felt the baby kick, he came into the office with a look of wonderment. He had no idea that you could actually feel the baby kick from the outside. He had heard the baby’s heartbeat but it wasn’t until he felt the kick that the baby really took on a reality to him.

Mother’s Day took on a special meaning to Trixie. She wanted to do something special and when she heard that the Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota Race for the Cure was always held on Mother’s Day, she was bound and determined to attend. She thought it might also be a good time to check in with Paul Jacobs if she could get an appointment.

Trixie didn’t want to miss out on any radiation therapy, and with the help of Matthew Wheeler and his private jet she was able to get in everything she wanted to do that weekend.

She moved her radiation appointment up to eight o’clock on Friday. As soon as she was finished with that, she and her family went to the Sleepyside Airport and then flew to Rochester, Minnesota. She had just enough time to get to the clinic and meet with Dr. Jacobs. Fortunately, they didn’t have to take any x-rays or run any tests. The doctor confirmed what Dr. Weber had told Trixie the month before.

They rented a car and headed to the Twin Cities that evening. It would be easier to fly in and out of Rochester Airport than to deal with airspace near the Twin Cities. Saturday was spent doing things the kids wanted to do. Matt wanted to go the Science Museum of Minnesota. They spent several hours there then headed over to the Mall of America. Trixie and Jim generally didn’t indulge their kids, but this weekend was an exception. Lizzie went to Club Libby Lu and got a Libby Du. Then they went down to the Lego store where Matt picked out a Star Wars-themed set. Jenny fell in love with a Nemo stuffed animal at the Disney Store. After riding a few rides, they finished the day off by going to Build a Bear Workshop and each of them getting an animal. Jim even found a stuffed dog that vaguely resembled his beloved dog, Patch. After dinner at the Rainforest Café, they headed over to a hotel nearby.

The next morning the Fraynes got up bright and early and headed over to the Mall of America again. They were relieved that the hotel had a shuttle that regularly ran to the hotel so they didn’t have to worry about parking. The Race for the Cure regularly attracted 50,000 participants. Fortunately, they had decided to enter the event soon enough to complete online registration.

Lizzie and Matt could barely contain their excitement. Before they had left, Honey and Brian had presented all of them with t-shirts that said, “Racing for Trixie, Sleepyside, New York” on them. They were white polo shirts with pink embroidered lettering on the left shoulder. Jim had to remind the kids to stick close to either him or their mother. Despite her protests, Jenny was strapped into a stroller. Jim held tightly to Lizzie’s hand and Matt walked between his parents.

The event was run very smoothly but it still took a long time to begin the actual walk. By the time the Fraynes had crossed the start line, other runners and walkers had already completed the walk.

Trixie wasn’t prepared for the emotions that overtook her as she finished the walk. It wasn’t a great length but it symbolized all that she had gone through in the last five months. At various times tears flowed down her cheeks. Jim would place his arm around her shoulder and give her a hug. No words were needed. They each know how the other felt.

When the walk was finished, they spent time going through the various booths that had been set up. They headed back to the hotel around three o’clock. They had arranged a late check out and so after Trixie and Jim took quick showers, they left the hotel shortly after four o’clock. They were scheduled to leave Rochester Airport at seven o’clock. That would give them plenty of time to get to Rochester even if they ran into traffic.

When they arrived home late Sunday night, they were exhausted. The kids had slept on the plane but Jim and Trixie had stayed up talking about the day, as well as the weeks to come. She would have only two more weeks of radiation and if all went well, that would be the end of her treatments. She was looking forward to the normal chaos of the summer and gaining her strength back completely.

Jim was nervous about the graduating seniors. He got that way every May. He and the school did everything in their power to make sure that the students always knew there would be a place for them to come home to should the need arise. For the most part, the students made the transition to adulthood with no more stress and strain than any other student. Their house parents remained close with them and the graduates would usually end up spending some of their holidays and summer break visiting.

Trixie knew that she would do everything in her power to maintain a friendship with Hillary Martin and Paul Cronin. What they and all of the seniors had done the night of the Senior/Bob-White basketball game was something she would never forget. Trixie hoped she would be able to be an active participant in the planning of the annual graduation party.

There were two more weeks of radiation therapy left. For Trixie it seemed like those two weeks dragged on forever. The first week after the Race for the Cure was pretty uneventful. Lizzie had decided that she wanted to have a vegetable garden, so Trixie tried to find the time to plan one out. Fortunately, Moms was able to help out.

The weekend after the Race for the Cure, Jim borrowed Peter Belden’s rototiller and made a small vegetable garden. They planted tomatoes, green peppers, carrots, peas, beans and potatoes. The family had so much fun working together that Jim decided to make one for the school as well. If they had enough produce, perhaps they could sell it at a local farmer’s market and the money could be divided among the students.

The last week of radiation seemed endless. The plans for the office renovation were just about complete. Any decisions would have to wait until progress had been made on it. Honey was finishing up a couple of cases and Dan had gotten pulled back into the McDaniels case. The trial had been set in June. Dan spent a lot of time with the District Attorney going over the evidence and his testimony. They did not want the case to be thrown out on a technicality.

Some days Honey was also involved in those discussions. Trixie, too, would be called to testify about the research she had done to connect Slim Novarski to McDaniels. On those days that she worked with the D.A., Trixie felt invigorated. She loved the detail involved and being challenged about the research she had done.

Finally, the last day of radiation therapy had arrived. She had scheduled a mammogram and testing for the day before and then made an appointment to see Dr. Weber after her last radiation.


Chapter Forty

Friday, May 25, 2006

The morning had been a rather routine one. Lizzie’s cooperation in the morning had been short lived and she was back to putting up her usual fuss. Matt shook his head and went about his business. Jenny was her usual happy self. Trixie got dressed and was ready to head out after the kids got on the bus. She was putting on the last of her make-up when Jim walked into the bathroom.

“Are you sure I can’t go with you today?” he asked. They had had this discussion several times since she started her radiation.

Trixie understood why he kept asking to go, but something in her just needed to do this by herself. She hadn’t changed her position in the last five weeks.

“You know we’ve had this discussion. I can’t explain it because I’m not sure what’s driving me, but I just have to do this myself,” Trixie said. “We’ve talked about this. I’m going to go to my appointment. As soon as it’s over, I’m going to come over to the school and let you know what the results are. This time I want to tell you in person. I don’t want to do it over the phone.”

Reluctantly, Jim gave in again, “Okay, but we’re going to do something fun tonight. I’m not sure what, but we’re doing something.”

The two of them walked out the door together. They paused at the Expedition and Jim gave Trixie a tender kiss and embrace. “I’ll see you this afternoon then. Is Honey going to pick up Jenny tonight?”

Trixie returned Jim’s embrace and said, “Yes, I didn’t know what time I’d get done this afternoon. She said she’d bring Jenny up to the school. I told Lizzie and Matt to walk up to the school together after they dropped their backpacks off at the house.”

Jim waved at Trixie as she left. Then he hurried up to the school. There was too much to do before Trixie arrived there later.

When he got to the school, the first thing he did was call Brenda, Mart and Diana into the office. “We’ve got a lot to do between now and four o’clock,” Jim said.

“I think we’ve got just about everything under control,” Diana commented. “The seniors have taken charge of decorating the gym. They used some of the money they learned for their own graduation party to rent round tables instead of using the banquet tables. Your mom had some nice tablecloths left over from some event. I’m not going to tell you any more about the decorations. The kids want it to be a surprise. So that means you are to not even go near the gym today.”

Mart, who was in charge of the food, gave his report. “We couldn’t figure out a way to get everyone easily fed family style so we went with a buffet. The caterer has guaranteed food will not be overdone. We included all of Trixie’s favorites, roast chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole, salad, and for dessert we’re having both chocolate cake and New York cheesecake with fresh cherry topping. I also ordered two cases of sparkling white grape juice for the celebration.”

Brenda had been sitting and taking a few notes. “Are you sure she doesn’t have any idea what is going on?”

Jim chuckled. “I’ve been bugging her for weeks about going to the doctor with her. I can play the wounded husband pretty well if I have to. We had talked about having a celebration at some point but we never spoke of details. I did allude to doing something with the kids tonight.”

The four of them spoke for a few more minutes and then went about getting everything ready for the evening. The students and staff were doing most of the work, and since Jim had been banned from the gym there wasn’t much he could do. He did have one errand to run mid-morning. He borrowed Mart’s car, since he had left his down at the house and didn’t want to take the time to go and get it. When he returned, he was carrying the biggest arrangement of white orchids Brenda had ever seen. They were exotically arranged in a shallow vase. It had taken awhile to get it just right. When Jim had gone in to pick up the arrangement, it resembled a tacky funeral spray. The florist was more than willing to fix the problem, and within twenty minutes it had gone from gaudy to classy.

The rest of the day dragged on. Jim had a hard time concentrating, so he did things like clean out his e-mail and skim through a few professional journals and read a few articles that he had been putting off. Lizzie and Matt arrived at about three thirty. They were excited about the night’s festivities and wanted to go help set up. Jim sent them down to the gym to see what they could do and he began to pace. He started to admonish himself but finally gave up.

At a little after four, Trixie arrived at the school. She didn’t even try to hide the grin that beamed across her face or the spring in her step. She was practically running by the time she got to Jim’s office. Her short blond curls bobbed as she came into the door and suddenly Jim was taken back to that day at the original Ten Acres when he had first met Trixie. In less than three steps, Trixie was engulfed in Jim’s arms.

“Am I to assume you got good news today?” he asked.

“The best there is,” she replied. “Dr. Weber said he saw absolutely no evidence of cancer. He also said he had never seen such good test results after this course of treatment.”

Jim let out a whoop and twirled her around. “That’s fantastic news!” he exclaimed.

Just then the phone rang. “I hope you don’t mind me taking this,” he said. “I’ve been waiting for a call all day and I really need to take it.”

Jim picked up the phone and after a few “yeses” and “is everything okay,” hung up.

“Did you get the news you hoped for?” Trixie asked walking up behind him and wrapping her arms around him.

“Most definitely,” he replied. “But I don’t want to talk about that now. Let’s go get the kids and celebrate. You can call your family from home.”

“Has Honey dropped Jenny off yet?” Trixie inquired.

Jim was shutting down his computer and straightening up his desk. Fortunately, he was much neater than his wife, so it only took a few minutes. “Yes,” he replied. “Hillary is watching her and I think Lizzie and Matt are in the gym playing.”

Hand in hand, the two of them walked down the hall. Jim couldn’t help but remember that day when Brian had brought Trixie here to tell him about her diagnosis. It seemed like years had passed since then. He paused a moment and pulled her into his arms one more time before they entered the gymnasium.

As he opened the doors, they could hear the song, “I Will Survive” being played. The gymnasium looked beautiful. The students had decided to use different shades of blue for their decorations. While they all loved the pink ribbons that stood for breast cancer awareness, tonight they wanted it to be about their beloved Mrs. Trixie as a person, not just a breast cancer survivor. The entire area took on an underwater feel.

Trixie just stood there in shock. All of the students were standing by their chairs, dressed in their Sunday finest. The Bob-Whites were seated together toward the front, with their children at the next table. The Lynches and Wheelers, as well as Trixie’s parents were also there. When they entered the room, the applause was deafening. For five minutes everyone cheered and whistled.

Finally, Jim got the students to quiet down. Mart handed Trixie a cordless microphone and Jim took a step back so that she could be in the spotlight. “I’m guessing you already pretty much know the good news,” she said.

“It was hard to miss the way you bounced into the building,” her almost twin replied.

Trixie resisted the urge to stick her tongue out at her brother. “Well, just for the record, right now there are no signs of cancer in my body.” The students once again went wild. It didn’t take as long to quiet them down. “That doesn’t classify me as cured yet. I still have to have follow-up exams, but my doctor was rather optimistic.” She paused again, her voice cracking with emotion. Jim stepped forward, took the microphone from her and set it on a table. He wrapped her in an embrace and then reached up and tugged his special curl. It had grown back just like he had hoped it would. As he did it, they both heard the familiar bob bob-white as their closest friends shared their joy.


 


back home next

 

Author Notes

I can’t say enough about my editors, Diana B., Beverly and BonnieH. I think if you would be so bored that you decided to go back and re-read this entire story you would see a progressive improvement in my writing. It is because of these wonderful people. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Smoochies to Mal for all of her help with this website.

Bocce is a fun game where you throw balls at a smaller ball. My family has played it for years.

The Twin Cities always holds their Race for the Cure on Mother’s Day. Race for the Cure is a major fundraising effort for Komen for the Cure. I included it as a nod to one of my stalwart supporters, Ronda/Rolyru as she and her family walk in it annually.

All of the stores mentioned at the Mall of America are actual stores. My dd’s loved Club LibbyLu where they got LibbyDu’s for their birthdays.

Well, can you believe it? After six months the main story is complete. I hope you don’t think I tortured Trixie too much and that the story depicted was realistic.

And as a reminder to all of you women out there, don’t forget to do routine breast exams and annual mammograms. The life you save may be your own.

A huge thank you to all of you who have read this story, whether you commented or not. I would not have made it if I hadn’t had your encouragement.

I am not a doctor and I don’t even play one on T.V. All the information I’ve used regarding the treatment of breast cancer has been from people I’ve known that have had breast cancer and the Mayo Clinic website. www.MayoClinic.com.

If you’d like more information about breast cancer including fundraising check out www.komen.org.

“Everyone Deserves a Lifetime” is the motto of the Breast Cancer 3 Day Walk.

Mal thanks the awesome Terry for her endless patience in holping with the techy stuff!

Word Count, 5,761

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