“And now this. I don’t know what’s going to happen, Susanna. I don’t know if I’ll live.”
“Now you stop that talk right now. You’re twenty-seven years old. You’ve been through hell, lost more than most could bear, baby, but you’re a fighter. You moved on after such tragedy and established yourself in a career and a successful business. You are not alone in this fight. Just as we met on that bus and talked about new beginnings and becoming self-sufficient, we’ll get through this fight, too. It’s just another mountain in the way to a better life. But you’re not climbing it alone. You’ve got me and your other Dixie Chix to see you through this.”
“I don’t want them to know. They’ll worry, and Sally is due any day now.”
“They’re strong women. We all are. They’ll get mad at you for keeping this from them. Plus, they’ll all want to help take care of you after the surgery. You heard the doctor. You’ll need plenty of rest and someone to change the bandage. We’re going to handle this fine.”
“I love you, Susanna.”
“I love you, too.” Susanna pulled Ava into a hug as the doctor returned.
“Everything okay in here?” he asked.
Ava took a deep breath as she looked at Susanna.
“Let’s do this. If cancer wants to come after me, bring it on. I’ll kick its butt big-time.”
Susanna chuckled and so did the doctor.
“That’s the spirit, Ava. Keep fighting and stay strong. I’ve scheduled the surgery for this Thursday.”
“That soon?”
“I want this taken care of right away. I moved some things around and cancelled attending a conference for this. ”
“Okay. Thursday it is.”
* * * *
Ava sat with Elise, Juliet, Susanna, Alexa, and Paula in the living room. They all seemed to have stunned expressions on their faces.
“Everything will be okay. I just wanted to be sure to explain the situation to each of you. I want to wait until after the surgery to tell Sally. I understand that she went to the doctor and is beginning to dilate. This is a happy time for her and her men, and I don’t want to put a damper on it. Please promise me that you’ll wait?” Ava asked them.
“She’ll probably have the babies by Thursday anyway,” Juliet said and gave a small smile.
“I know she can’t wait to be off bed rest. The doctor said that the babies are doing great and so is she,” Elise added.
“So we wait then. It will be fine, Ava, you’ll see,” Paula said.
“The doctor sounds really nice. Is that the guy that Sheila went to?” Juliet asked, and Ava nodded her head.
“I’m going to go into town tomorrow and get the prescriptions I need, and the nurse told me what bandages to get and stuff like that.”
“I told you that I would do that for you,” Susanna said then smiled.
“Oh God. I completely forgot about Evan.”
“Evan?” Juliet asked.
“Evan Banks?” Paula asked and Ava nodded her head.
“I completely forgot that he asked me to lunch tomorrow. I’ll have to cancel.”
“No, you don’t have to cancel. You should go out with him. It will help keep your mind off of Thursday,” Susanna added.
“He is so good-looking and his brother Colton is, too,” Juliet said.
“Well, it is just Evan and I. Colton doesn’t seem to like me.”