“You’ve already told us part of it. You might as well tell us everything. I’m not going to tell her you told me,” said Brad.
Josh slid his phone into his pocket. “I won’t say anything to her, either. Go ahead. Give!”
“Well... You know she changed her hair—that was part of it. She’s considering plastic surgery to change her appearance.”
“No!” shouted Brad, and Ben flinched at the force of his anger. Hmmm, maybe he should have chosen a different TV show. Brad gestured wildly while kicking at the floor. “She is not screwing up her face! I won’t let her!”
“This is crazy,” said Josh, covering his face with his hands. “Even for Grace, this is crazy. I can’t believe she would do something this stupid.”
“I don’t think she’s actually going to do it,” Ben hurried to say. “I think I talked her out of it. But don’t you see? You can fix everything, and she’ll never know I told you.”
“How?” said Brad, with a sideways look.
“Just tell her you’re looking for a job somewhere else.”
“And that won’t make her suspicious? That I’m suddenly looking for a job outside of New York City when I swore I would never move? Why couldn’t she have just told me why she wanted to leave the city to begin with?”
“Like I said, she wants you to be happy, so she didn’t want you to change your plans for her. Can’t you follow her logic?”
“We can’t follow her logic because she’s not logical,” said Josh.
“Women don’t think in a linear fashion,” Ben explained.
“Who told you that?” asked Brad.
“I read it in a book.”
“Ha! You? Reading a book? Now I know you’re lying to me.”
*****
“Mom, can I talk to you about something?” asked Grace, relieved to find her Mom at home alone. After the jarring news she’d gotten at her doctor’s visit that afternoon, she really needed her mother’s comfort. And the fact her mom was a registered nurse was an added bonus. She would’ve normally talked to her sisters first, but they had all been a little stiff with her ever since she refused to talk about the reasons for her breakup with Brad. It smarted more than a little to think they were taking his side in a matter they didn’t even understand. Perhaps they preferred Brad to their own sister.
“Sure honey. Come sit down.” Connie patted the couch beside her while closing the book she’d been reading. “So you’re finally going to tell me what happened with Brad? I didn’t want to push you. You’re so darned independent—you’ve been that way since the day you were born.”
“No, it’s not about Brad.” Grace felt her eyes begin to water, and she fought for control. “It’s... I have to have a procedure done.” Tears began to roll down her face. “Why am I such a baby about this? It’s not really a big deal.” She wiped her face on her sleeve.
Connie hugged her. “Oh Gracie. It’s okay. You don’t have to be brave for me. What are you talking about? What procedure are you having done?”
“I went to the doctor because I found a lump in my breast. It was kind of sore—that’s how I found it.” Grace sniffed.
“Actually, it’s good it was sore. It’s more likely to be a benign cyst filled with fluid. I’m sorry, but you know I’ve had quite a few of these. Are they going to do a mammogram?”
“That’s the thing. This was a few weeks ago, and I had the mammogram done already. I went back to the doctor today, and that’s when she told me...” She couldn’t stop the tears from falling.
Connie held Grace’s shoulders and peered at her with wide eyes. “What did the doctor tell you? Does it look like cancer?”
“There was another one, farther in, one she couldn’t feel. It’s probably not cancer, but they’re going to do a needle biopsy on both of them.”
Connie patted her arms. “That’s no big deal, sweetie. They’ll get you numb, so it won’t hurt. And then they’ll probably use an ultrasound to guide the needle to the right place.”
Grace felt a wave of nausea. “Stop, Mom. Don’t talk about it.” She flattened her hand on her stomach.
“Are you that worried about it?”
“It’s so embarrassing, Mom. I started crying when she told me about it. I’m so afraid of needles, and I hate blood and all of that stuff.”
“I’m sure you’re not the first nervous patient the doctor has dealt with.”