'Cause I've Got You

After my weekend at Carmel’s, Jenn and I fell right back into the swing of things. Kaitlyn and I still hadn’t spoken, but I knew that she had a visit from Kris, so I wasn’t going to bother her. Seeing as how busy I had become, I knew that she had to be just as busy, if not more.

Walking back to my room from my first class, I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. Pulling it out, I smiled at the screen. I pressed the “little green button” and put the phone to my ear.

“Hi Momma.” I said with a smile on my face as I continued my walk down the sidewalk.

“Hi, honey. How are you?”

I was a little taken aback by her tone. It sounded like she had just finished crying. I hated being this far away from her when she got emotional. I could tell that she was trying to hide it from me, but she couldn’t fool me. I knew her too well.

“What’s wrong, Mom?”

I heard her sigh. “It’s no big deal, sweetie.”

“Mom, you’ve been crying. Please tell me. I don’t want to be worrying being 17 hours away.”

I finally made my way to my residence building. I walked through the door and stepped up to the elevator. I could hear her sigh into the phone once again. I was happy that the elevator didn’t make the phone call drop. I leaned back against the wall and closed my eyes. I could feel tears spring into my eyes.

“Mom, please say something.” I whispered into the phone.

“Steph?” My eyes snapped back open. I pulled my phone away from my ear and looked at the number that called to make sure that it was still my mother’s number.

“Sid?” I asked, still taken aback. “What? Are you….? I thought you would be..? Isn’t the first game next week?”

“I’m in Pittsburgh....your mom is here with me.”

“What? Why? What is going on, Sid?” I could feel myself getting a little angry and it was beginning to show in my voice.

“Look, please don’t be mad at me. She begged me not to say anything to you until everything was figured out.”

“Until what was figured out?”

Just like my mother before him, I heard him sigh.

“Are you in your room? Or somewhere alone?”

I quickly wiped my eyes and walked out of the elevator. It a matter of 10-15 steps, I was in front of my dorm room door. I turned the knob and opened the door. Walking in, I placed my bag on my bed.

“I just walked into my room. Now, can you tell me what’s going on?”

“Just know that I never meant to keep this from you, but, your mom is here to get treatment.”

I placed a hand over my heart and felt the tears come back. I walked over to my dorm door and locked it, not wanting anyone to come in and see me in the middle of a breakdown. I pressed my back against the door and whispered.

“Treatment?” I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. “Why does she need to be there? Can’t she get treatment somewhere closer to home? Why is she getting treatment to begin with?”

“Why don’t I let her tell you that.”

I groaned inwardly as I heard shuffling on the other end. I heard hushed whispers begin exchanged between my mom and Sid before my mom took hold of the phone.

“Stephers, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to hide this from you.”

“Hide what, Mom?”

“Well, I got the results of the mammogram that I had done just before you left and no treatment was working there. So, they gave me a list of places I could go to get better treatment.” I heard her sigh. “When I heard Pittsburgh, I jumped at the chance.”

I was still a little confused about all of the information that I was trying to process.

“So…..um…..” I didn’t really want to say the word, but it had to come off of my tongue. “Cancer?”

I heard her let out a soft sigh. “Yes, honey, but I’m getting treated by great doctors who say that I can beat this. Plus, with Sid here, I think I can use this time to get to know the boy who stole my baby girl’s heart a little more.”

I scoffed, not wanting her to see this as a joke.

“Mom, please don’t do this. Don’t make this a joke. This is serious!”

“I know it is. I also know how hard it is for you to be so far away from home to begin with. Having to worry about me through this would only make it worse. Here, I’ll let you talk to Sid.”

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Sid’s POV

Sandy handed the phone back to me. She wouldn’t look me in the eye, but I could tell that she was heartbroken. I put the phone to my ear and I could hear Steph softly sobbing on the other end. I turned in Sandy’s direction once again, and watched her slowly make her way to the guest room that I offered her. I walked back over to my couch and sat down.

“Steph?”

I heard her sniffle. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m here.”

I leaned my head back and closed my eyes. “Come here.”

Her sniffling took an immediate halt. “What?”

“I know you won’t feel any better if you don’t come here and see that she’s okay and that she’ll get better.”

“Sid, I can’t afford to come there. Mid terms are in two weeks. We have pre tests coming up.”

“You’re forgetting this weekend is Thanksgiving there. You already have Monday off, just tell your teachers that you have on Friday that you’ll be absent that day.”

She was silent for a few seconds, I could tell she was thinking about it.

“Okay, I guess I could do that. I hate it when you’re right, you know.”

As heartbreaking as the entire situation was, I couldn’t help but crack a smile.

“I’ll pick you up on Friday.”

“Thursday night. I’ll be there around 7:00. Just bought the ticket, is that okay?”

“That’s fine. I’ll be there.” With that, we quickly said our goodbyes and then I hung up, placing the phone on the table beside me.

“She’s coming here, isn’t she?”

I turned my head to see Sandy standing in the hallways a mere 5 feet away from me.

“Yeah,” I sighed. “She’ll be here Thursday night. You know she’d only worry about you more if she didn’t. It’s Thanksgiving back home anyways. She gets a long weekend.”

Sandy walked over to the couch and sat down beside me. I picked up the cell phone off of the coffee table and handed it to her.

“She should be with Carmel and Gary for Thanksgiving. Have the big dinner and everything.”

I looked over at her with a blank expression.

“Who says she can’t have that here? Besides, she’ll be with family. We can have Kaitlyn and Kris come over.”

She thought about it for a minute, then sighed. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. I’d have to tell Kaitlyn why I’m here, though.”

“Not until you’re ready. Maybe Steph will tell her.”

I saw the sadness build in Sandy’s eyes once again. “Why don’t you go get some sleep? We’ll talk more about this tomorrow before I take you to your appointment.”

I helped her off the couch, and she wrapped her arms around me. Pulling away, she looked up at me with a smile.

“Thank you, Sid. Thank you for being so good to my daughter and treating our family as your own.”

I gave her a small smile. “It’s the least I could do. You need help and I’m here.”

She smiled and walked around me and down the hall, to her room.

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2 days later
Steph’s POV

I had my luggage packed for the 4 nights I would be away. I told my teachers that there was a chance I might miss some of Tuesday’s classes as well, just in case I wasn’t home on time. Jenn helped me bring my luggage to the air-taxi.

“You do know that you’re only going to be gone for 4 days right?” She laughed at me.

“Yeah, I know. But I don’t know exactly when I’ll be going back there. Besides, I may as well bring some stuff there for Christmas, that was I won’t have to bring so much luggage then.”

Jenn shrugged her shoulders. “I guess that seems reasonable.”

I stuck my tongue out at her. “Well, I’ll see you on Tuesday.”

She pulled me in for a hug. “Be safe and give your mom our love from the ‘Chi.”

I pulled away and opened the passenger’s front door. “I will.”

I waved and slid into the seat. Closing the door, the taxi began to make its way to the airport. I couldn’t wait to see my mom. I knew she needed me just as much, if not more than I needed her.

Just as the taxi pulls up to the airport, I heard my phone go off. I didn’t have the time to answer it right away, so I let it ring as I got the luggage out of the taxi. Finding a cart to put it on, I finally pulled out my phone and looked at my call log. Seeing who last called me, a smile appeared on my face. I called the number back, looking up at the flight log, seeing that I still had about an hour before I’d have to get on the plane.

“Hey!!”

“Hey there, sister friend. What’s up?”

I heard her giggle lightly on the other end. “Sister friend? Look, I know you just moved to Halifax, but we do not talk like that.”

I laughed out loud. “I know, I just felt like saying it. So what do I owe this pleasure of your call?”

“Okay, seriously, stop it. You sound like someone I’ve never met and don’t want to know right now. I’m calling to ask what you’re up to for Thanksgiving?”

I stopped and tried to think of words to say. I didn’t really want to go into detail about why I was leaving.

“Um, I’m actually at the airport right now. I’m going to Pittsburgh.”

“Oh, Sid invite you or are you surprising him?”

“He invited me. My mom is going to be there, too. Plus, I’ll get to see Kaitlyn.”

“Yeah….”

I heard the sadness in her tone and could feel my heart break a little. I didn’t even think of spending Thanksgiving with Sid’s family.

“Oh Tay, I’m so sorry. I’m just a little stressed out right now and need to get away.”

“No, no. It’s fine. I was just calling to tell you the invitation was open to you to come here for turkey dinner, but since you have plans, that’s cool. I’ll tell Mom.”

“I’m so sorry, Tay. I should’ve said something when I knew I was going on Tuesday. But, when I come back, we’ll plan a night just the two of us. Movies, junk food and gossip mags, yeah?”

“Great! Count me in! Okay, have fun in the ‘Burgh. Tell me all about it when you get home.”

“I will. Talk to you later. I’ll let you know when I get there, and maybe you can call and talk to Sid.”

“Deal.”

After exchanging goodbyes, we both hung up. I sat around until I heard the boarding call, then I made my way onto the plane.

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Sid’s POV

“Yes, she’ll be here in about an hour. I’m on my way to the airport now.” I said into my phone.

“Okay, so when do you want me to be at your place?”

I rolled my eyes. “Well, didn’t you make any plans with Steph? I thought you two had something planned for tonight. A girls night or something?”

“Yeah, we do, but we didn’t talk about when we were eating on Sunday.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle to myself. “You girls never talk about the important details.”

“Oh shut up, you. Just give me a time, so I can tell Kris.”

I heard her chuckle before I responded. “I don’t have a time right now. I’ll have to get back to you. I need to leave now, so Steph’s not waiting too long. She’s dying to see her mom.”

“Okay, tell her to call me when she gets a free minute. Bye Sid.”

“Will do.”

I hung up my phone and placed it in the cubby hole under the radio in my Range Rover. Turning the key in the ignition, I was on my way to the airport. While I drove, I thought about Sandy and her state after her last appointment. It was going to crush Steph to see the state that her mother’s in, but I knew that she was doing the right thing by coming here. She wouldn’t feel right staying back in Halifax.

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Steph’s POV

Stepping off of the plane and into the airport, I felt a wave of emotions come over me. I didn’t know exactly how this weekend was going to go, but I wanted to see my mom. I didn’t know what I was going to feel, what she was going to look like, if any different at all.

I walked closer to the luggage and felt a smile spread across my face. Leaning over the luggage belt was a dressed-down, but still trying to be incognito Sid. I walked over to him and tapped him on the shoulder.

“Excuse me sir, but you’re standing in front of my luggage.” I said innocently, trying to hold back laughter.

He quickly moved out of the way and mumbled a “sorry.” I rolled my eyes. Stepping forward to stand beside him, I glanced at the bags of luggage as they roll down the belt.

“What name are you looking for?” I asked him, still trying to hold back a chuckle.

“Uh, Stephanie Taylor.”

“Hmm. That’s funny. I’m looking for the same name.”

He snapped his head towards me with wide eyes. I gave him a large grin.

He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into him. “I’m so happy to see you.”

“Same here, I’ve missed you so much.”

We pulled apart and Sid looked back at the luggage claim and saw my luggage.

“Well, let’s grab you bags and head to the house.”

I smiled and nodded.

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Sid’s POV

After we pulled in front of my house, I stepped out of the house and walked around the car to open Steph’s door. When she stepped out, I wrapped my arms around her. She looked up at me with a smile. I leaned down and pressed my lips to hers.

“Hi.” I smiled as I pulled away.

She smiled back. “Hi.”

“Let’s head inside. You’re mom’s waiting to see you.”

She smiled. “Yeah. I can’t wait to see her, too.”

We walked up to the door and opened it. Slipping off our shoes and our jackets, Steph and I saw Sandy sitting on the couch watching TV.

“Hey, Sandy, I come bearing gifts. One being your baby girl.”

Sandy took her eyes off the TV and looked over at us. When her eyes met Steph’s, a grin spread from ear to ear and tears began to well up in her eyes. She slowly stood up from the couch and grabbed her cane. Steph left my side and walked up to her mom. She wrapped her arms around her and pulled her into a tight hug.

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Steph’s POV

I was so happy to see my mom. I pulled away from her slightly and smiled at her. She didn’t look much different from when I saw her just before I went to school, other than the fact that she was a little weak.

“Happy Thanksgiving.”

My mom let out a small chuckle.

“You come to see me for the first time since you left home for college and the first thing you say is ‘Happy Thanksgiving?’ Wow, you really are my daughter.”

“Haha, very funny.” I pulled her in for another hug. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too, honey. But hey, let’s not make this weekend about anything other than enjoying each other’s company, eh?”

I didn’t want to get too deep into a conversation that she obviously was avoiding right away, so I nodded.

“You got it, mom.” I turned my head and looked for Sid. I didn’t see him, but I saw the door opening and noticed him walking in with my luggage. He put the bags on the floor and looked up at my mom and I standing by the couch.

“You put those in your room, yes?”

I turned my head to face my mom, wide-eyed. She scoffed and rolled her eyes at me.

“What? You honestly don’t expect me to think you two will sleep in separate beds, do you?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “Well, no, but I just didn’t expect you to be so….open about it.”

Sid laughed and walked up to us. “Well, I was going to ask Steph if she wanted to sleep on this floor to be closer to you, but it’s up to her.” He looked at me.

“Well, she’s going to sleep upstairs.”

I scoffed. “Thanks for making my mind up, mom.”

She smiled proudly. “You’re welcome. Now, get your bags settled in. I’m going to take a little nap.” She gave me a soft kiss on the cheek. She slowly walked away from Sid and I, with assistance from her cane. She turned her head and said over her shoulder. “Maybe you should call Kaitlyn and see what she’s up to, honey.”

I felt a little pushed away, but nodded all the same. “Maybe I will, mom.”

I saw her smile then walk into further down the hallway. I turned to Sid and didn’t hide the sadness in my face.

“Why won’t she talk to me?”

He put his arm around me as we sat down on the couch. “She was talking to you.”

“Yeah, I know, but not about…..you know.”

He slowly nodded his head. “Oh, right.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Well, maybe she just wants you to have some time to relax and get settle a bit first.”

“Maybe, but I feel like it’s something else.”

“Well, maybe she doesn’t know how to talk to you about it. She doesn’t want you to be at school worrying about her. I don’t want that either. Give her time. Maybe while you two are alone tomorrow when I’m at practice, she’ll open up a little more.”

“Yeah,” I thought out loud. “Maybe.”