“I love your smile,” Mantis told her after the doctor had left.
Her cheeks turned pink. “It feels like it’s been a while since I’ve felt like smiling.”
—:—
“Mantis is making arrangements for a place to stay, but he’ll be back later. In the meantime, there are a few things I want to talk to you about,” she told her parents when they arrived an hour after Mantis had left.
She’d been sitting in a wheelchair by the window when they arrived, and instead of moving closer to them, she stayed where she was.
“I’m listening,” said her father.
“First of all, I need a way to communicate, so unless you know where my phone is and can return it to me, I need you to get me another.”
“Matille,” said her father, turning to her mother, who reached into her bag and set Alegria’s phone on the tray table.
She rolled the wheelchair closer and picked it up.
“Thank you. Next, I need the best damn physical therapists money can buy. If they aren’t here, I want you to arrange for me to be moved to wherever they are.”
She watched as her father again met her mother’s gaze.
“If you can’t help me—”
Her father held up his hand. “We will.”
“Good.” She shook her head. “Thank you.”
Her father nodded and looked at her mother again.
“Why do you keep checking with her?” she snapped at him. “And you,” she said to her mother, “are you going to deny my father helping me?”
“Manon,” he said, resting his hand on her shoulder. “There’s something your mother and I need to tell you.”
She moved the wheelchair away so he was no longer touching her. “What?”
“Your condition is not the only reason we’re in Boston.”
Alegria heard her mother’s voice catch, and when she looked, she saw her brush away tears.
“What’s going on?”
“Your mother is here for treatment as well.”
“What for?”
“I have recently been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer,” she answered, barely above a whisper.
She looked between her mother and father. “When did you find out?”
“A few weeks ago, but it wasn’t until yesterday that we found out how advanced the disease is.”
Alegria hated that the first thing she’d thought upon hearing the news was that it explained why her parents had suddenly been so much nicer to her.
She wheeled over and took her mother’s hand. “Je suis désolée, Maman.” She looked at her father. “This changes everything.”
“What do you mean?” her mother asked.
“You and Papa need to focus on your health. I will manage on my own.”