Romance: New Beginnings (Young Adult and Adult Romance, Christian Christmas Fiction book as a Love Story) (Second Chances Trilogy 3) (2 page)

Once again, Victoria was brought to tears by the generosity of the woman from next door.
Thank you!
“I don’t even know what to say, but ‘Thanks’.”

Grace smiled at her, “No thanks needed. Tell me where your pain pills are.”

“In the bathroom, top shelf. I didn’t want Emily to...,” her voice died off as a horrible cough consumed her.

Grace entered the bathroom, finding the bottle of pills, and then filling a disposable cup with water. Returning to the bed, she asked, “One pill or two?”

“Two, please. The first few days are always the worst.” Victoria took the pills and the cup of water, grateful when Grace gently lifted her head up from the pillow so she could swallow the pills.

“I remember. My older sister did the majority of the care for my mom, insisting I finish school, but I still remember how bad it could get. Do you need me to put a waste basket next to the bed?” Grace remembered the nausea that would plague her mom the first few days after a chemo round.
As if losing your hair and being wracked with pain wasn’t enough to go through!

“No, I finished all of that yesterday.” Victoria handed back the empty cup and tried to keep her eyes open.
She was so tired!

“Good.” Grace returned the pill bottle to the bathroom cabinet, wetting a clean washrag and bringing it back. She gently wiped Victoria’s forehead, returning her smile with one of her own. One done, she folded the chair up and put it back against the wall and then pulled the walker that had been leaning next to it over and opened it up.

“Please do yourself a favor and use this if you need to. I’m going to grab the girls and get them to school. I’ll have Jane stop by and say ‘Hello’ for a minute before she heads to work. When I come back this afternoon, be prepared to tell us how we can help you out until you have your feet back under you. And before you politely decline my offer, please know that I can be tenacious when I want to be. Neighbors help each other. End of story.”

Grace didn’t wait for the shocked woman to reply; she smiled at her and then left the bedroom, shutting the door behind her. Well, this had certainly added another element to her life, but added it had been. Grace had never shied away from a challenge, or offering help when it was needed, and she wasn’t about to start now. Daniella was going to see what it meant to “Love your neighbor” in living color.

Chapter 3

Grace arrived at the school with both girls, Emily having dressed herself in the required school uniform of plaid skirt and polo shirt. Jane had worked her magic on her tangled hair, and she now sported two identical braids, tied with matching ribbons on the ends.

The pre-school classes had already left for the butterfly house, but the school secretary offered to call Mr. Simpson and let him know that Grace would be bringing Daniella over shortly. While Grace went to talk with Emily’s teacher, Daniella stayed with the secretary and watched the fish in the large saltwater tank that greeted the children each morning.

Grace explained what was happening with Emily’s mom, and the teacher promised to compile of list of homework the child needed to work on to catch up with the rest of the class. Grace and Jane would both pitch in and see that she finished the school year with the rest of her classmates.

After dropping Daniella off at the butterfly house, she ran a few errands. She then went grocery shopping for both households, arriving back at the school just in time to pick up both little girls.

“Dani, how was the butterfly house?” Grace asked as she pulled away from the school.

“Momma, we gots to see a canterpull morphisize.”

Grace laughed when she saw Emily’s expression of confusion. Interpreting, she asked Dani, “Do you mean you got to see a caterpillar metamorphosis?”

“That’s what I said!” Dani told her.

“No you didn’t. You said…”

Grace saw the look on her daughter’s face and hurried to interrupt the tantrum she could see was forthcoming, “So Emily, did you have a good day at school?”

“Yes. My teacher gave me a big envelope to give to momma, and made me bring my books home.”

“That’s good, honey. I talked with your teacher and Jane and I are going to help you get caught up on your school work. Your momma’s pretty worried about that.”

“Oh.”

“So, tell me what needs to be done when you get home.”

“Well, I need to play with Shelby and give her some time away from the puppies. Momma says it helps her tolerate them better. But usually she just gets on my bed and sleeps. She never wants to play anymore.”

Grace laughed, “She will. She’s just tired right now. Pretty soon the puppies will be old enough to eat puppy food, and she won’t be so tired all the time. How many puppies are there?”

“Nine.”

“Nine! I want one!” Daniella informed her mother.

“We’ve already talked about this, Dani.”

“The puppies can’t go to new homes for two more weeks. Momma said they have to be at least eight weeks old. She was talking about starting to wean them this week…”

“What’s wean?” Daniella asked Emily, curiosity written all over her face at the new word.

“It means they won’t nurse anymore, and they’ll eat puppy food.”

“What do they eat now?” Daniella asked, and Grace cringed as she struggled to figure out a way to explain. She didn’t have to as Emily gladly took over the task of explaining how the puppies currently ate.

Daniella listened attentively and Grace knew there would be questions asked later when it was just she and her daughter. For now, her curiosity had been assuaged and she turned her thoughts to other things.

Michael was waiting in the driveway when they arrived home, and she smiled at him as she put the car into park and got out. “Hey, I didn’t expect to see you for another couple of hours.”

Michael gave her a brief kiss on the cheek, and then opened the back door and helped Dani unbuckle her car seat. “Hey, Princess. How was the butterfly house?”

“Awesome! I saws a canterpull...”

“Caterpillar, silly,” Emily corrected her with a shake of her head.

Michael looked at the newcomer and then back at Grace. “New friend?”

“New neighbor. Emily, this is Dr. Michael Simpson. Michael, this is Emily from next door.”

“Hey, we have a Mr. Simpson at my school,” Emily offered with a smile.

“He’s my brother.”

“Really? That’s cool. Hey Dani, wanna go see the puppies?” Emily asked, already dragging her heavy backpack across the lawn.

Daniella looked at Grace and when she nodded, she took off running after the older girl. Michael watched her leave, and then turned and looked at Grace, “Somehow, I feel like I’ve missed something.”

“I’ll explain everything while you help me unload the groceries,” Grace promised with a smile.

“I can do that.”

Michael and Grace made short work of unloading the groceries and storing them away. When the only bags left were the ones that belonged next door, she picked two of them up, gesturing for Michael to grab the rest, “Come with me. Dani’s probably already worn out her welcome with Shelby.”

They entered the back yard through the side gate, hearing the chatter of little girls as they rounded the house. Daniella sat in the middle of the back yard with Emily, surrounded by nine little bundles of fur. Shelby had climbed back into the kiddy pool for a much needed nap.

Michael took in the scene and then nodded towards the adult dog, “Shelby, I presume?”

“Yeah. Poor thing. She’s resorted to sleeping in the pool to get some rest.”

“Momma, I don’t want one puppy now,” Daniella informed her as she drew closer.

“You don’t?” Grace asked in surprise.

“She wants to keep them all. She said you wouldn’t let her have a puppy because it would get lonely all by itself.”

Michael laughed as he whispered, “Now I can’t wait to see how you get out of this one!”

“Oh, shush! You’re no help! Daniella, whatever you and Emily have cooked up, it isn’t going to happen.”

“But momma!”

“Don’t go there, Dani.”

“But Miss Grace, she only wants to keep three puppies! Not all of them!”

“Emily, thank you for clarifying that.”
Not!
“Have you checked on your momma yet?”

Emily nodded, “She’s sleeping really sound and I didn’t want to wake her up. I checked to make sure she’s still breathing and everything…”

Michael was horrified upon hearing the little girl’s words, and turned and headed for the open patio door. When Grace immediately followed him, he waited for a space of a heartbeat before he demanded, “Explain. Please.”

Grace saw the concern on his face and hurried to fill him in. “Emily’s mom, Victoria, is just finishing up chemo for breast cancer. She had her last chemo session yesterday and it made her really sick.”

“Why isn’t the woman in the hospital?” he asked, trying to keep his voice down.

“Because she has no one else to look after Emily. She’s in full remission, and she told me she usually does well enough to handle things, but this last dose looks like it really did a number on her.”

“Where is she?” Michael asked, switching into doctor mode that fast.

“Michael, she’s in the back bedroom, but I should warn you – she’s a registered nurse who worked on the oncology floor prior to getting sick. She’s not being careless or neglectful, okay?”

Michael closed his eyes and then nodded his head. “Sorry. Have I told you how much I detest cancer?”

“The fact that you’ve dedicated your life to treating that very disease was kind of a big hint,” she told him, hugging him close. Stepping away from him a moment later, she headed down the hallway, “I need to check on her for myself.”

Michael followed her to the door and then whispered, “Why don’t you go in and see if she’s awake? I don’t want to make her uncomfortable, but if she’s still sick, please let her know I’m here and would be happy to see if I can make her more comfortable.”

Grace leaned up and kissed his cheek, “Thank you. I’ll just be a minute.”

Grace entered the room, noticing that the walker had been folded back up and placed against the wall. Shaking her head at the stubbornness of the woman in the bed, she quietly whispered her name, “Victoria?”

The woman’s eyes fluttered and then opened, “Grace? Where’s Emily?” she asked as she looked around the room for her daughter.

“She and Dani are in the backyard playing with the puppies. Shelby is sleeping inside the kiddie pool.”

Victoria smiled, “That poor dog. The only time she really gets to sleep is when the puppies can’t get to her. Normally, we let her inside for a few hours during the day, otherwise the puppies want to nurse all day long.”

“That’s what Emily was telling me. She also said that they’re ready to start weaning.”

Victoria sighed and then shakily tried to push herself up on the pillows. Grace saw her struggle and hurried to help her. “Thanks,” she offered once she was settled.

“The puppies do need to start weaning, but I guess it will have to wait for a few more days. I’m just not up to it right now.”

“A few more days won’t hurt anything. Are you feeling any better?”

“I was, but my headache is back again.” Victoria swallowed and closed her eyes wearily.

“Why don’t I get you another pain pill?” Grace offered.

“No. I…”

“Look, I know you’re hurting. My boyfriend helped me bring some groceries over and is right outside the door. He’s a doctor and if it’s okay with you, he offered to see if he could do anything to help ease your pain.”

Victoria smiled, “He’s welcome to try. Frankly, I’m glad this was the last chemo session. If they’d all been this bad, I don’t know if I would have been able to stick it out and finish them.”

“I’m glad it was your last one. Let me get Michael.”

Grace opened the door and gestured Michael inside. Turning she made the introductions, “Michael, meet Victoria Drake. Victoria, Dr. Michael Simpson.”

Victoria looked at the man standing next to her bed and then back at Grace, “You didn’t tell me your boyfriend was Dr. Simpson.”

“Does it make a difference?” Grace asked, seeing the look on the woman’s face.

“No, but…I’m sorry. Dr. Simpson, it’s nice to finally meet you.”

Michael had listened to the exchange with a bemused expression on his face, “Have we met before?”

“No, but we used some of your treatment protocols in the oncology unit where I worked. You may have developed them for use with kids, but they work with adults as well.”

“That’s good to know. Grace here tells me you’re in remission, and just finished your last chemo session.”

“Yesterday. This one’s been pretty rough,” she informed him. Grace listened as she proceeded to give him a rundown of her medical condition and symptoms, most of which just sounded like a bunch of big words to Grace.

Michael, on the other hand, listened and asked more questions before he went to look at the medication she had available. He returned a few minutes later with several pills in his hand and a cup of water. Handing them to her, he explained what the pills were and Grace was relieved when Victoria took them without arguing.

“They won’t make you too sleepy to still watch over Emily, but should help with the pain and the headache.”

“Thank you. I don’t know why I didn’t think of that combination myself.”

“Hey, I’m happy I was around to help. Now, I’ll let you two ladies talk for a bit while I go meet some puppies. I’ll do my best to dissuade the girls from their current plans.”

Grace rolled her eyes. Victoria stared at the closing door and then asked, “Do I want to know what our daughters are cooking up?”

Grace smiled, “Well, let’s see. I told Daniella several weeks ago we couldn’t have a puppy because it wouldn’t be fair to leave it at home every day, all by itself. Emily pointed out that you have nine puppies. Between them, they have decided that if Dani keeps three of them, the puppies won’t be lonely, and they will both have a puppy to play with, plus an extra one.”

“Oh, no! Emily knows we can’t keep the puppies. Why would she suggest Dani keep three of them?” Victoria looked so worried; Grace couldn’t help but smile.

“Believe me, I’m sure the idea originated with my precocious four-year old. Her mind works faster than a speeding bullet. It’s all I can do most days to try to keep up with her.”

Victoria giggled, “I remember when Emily was that age. Don’t worry, pretty soon you figure them out and then they change their tactics.”

“Great! Thanks for that pep talk!” Grace made a face at the woman and then laughed. “Now, I told you to think about what you needed help with. Start talking.”

Grace spent the next thirty minutes working out a schedule to help Victoria manage both Emily, the puppies, and start helping Emily get her schoolwork caught up. Victoria tried to argue that Grace was taking on too much, but finally gave up when Grace threatened to have Jane come talk to her. Evidently Jane had made sure Victoria knew she was going to be getting help and she might as well just give in and save her energy since arguing was going to get her nowhere.

“I don’t even know what to say. I mean, I don’t know anything about you,” Victoria said, close to tears once again.

“Victoria…”

“Tori. My friends call me Tori.”

“Tori, I’m glad we can help you out. Now, I picked up some food from the deli. How about I show Emily where everything is and get her started on some schoolwork before I leave? I’ve written my home, and both Jane and my cell phone numbers down on a card and left it by the phone in the kitchen.

“If you need anything, or Emily needs anything, I want you to call me. I don’t care what time of day it is.” Grace waited until Victoria nodded her head and then smiled, “Great. I’ll come over around 7:15 to make sure Emily’s getting ready for school. Have a good night.”

Grace called Emily into the house and showed her what she’d picked up for dinner and then got her started on some makeup spelling worksheets. She set the little girl’s alarm clock for 6:45 a.m. and promised to arrive early enough to help her with her hair.

Michael and Dani had headed back to the house, with Michael promising to have a tea party with her before dinnertime. Grace left by the side gate, smiling as she watched Shelby with her puppies. Motherhood took many forms, and watching the mother dog with her nine puppies, and then thinking about the early days when all she’d had was one Dani to care for, she was very glad that humans rarely had more than one child at a time.