Turn The Other Way

I wrung my hands nervously as I waited on the exam table. I was at the surgeon’s office today, post operation check up. He wanted to see how everything was healing, and today, he’d most likely give me the news of the test results. Laura bounced Emma on her knee as she sat in the chair beside the table. Emma giggled and fits and it made me smile.

“After this we need to get some chocolate milk,” I told Laura. We both laughed.

“No regular milk?” I shook my head.

“Nope. Chocolate milk will do. I haven’t had any in a while.”

Knocking on the door, the surgeon, whose name I had forgotten already, walked in, the results of my life in his hands. I thought I already knew the answer, with the high CA… whatever reading in my blood. It was like a death sentence. I researched this Ovarian Cancer thing and it’s called a silent killer, because you usually don’t know you have it.

“How are you today, Miss Haner?” he kindly asked, sitting across from me as he began to wash his hands in the sink.

“Tired, sore, that sort of thing,” I replied.

“Don’t forget bossy, loud, obnoxious…” Laura added with a light laugh.

“Bossy?” the doctor asked with a humored grin on his older lips.

“Apparently,” I said with a shrug. The doctor put on his gloves.

“Okay, go ahead and lay down so I can check your incisions…” he said while lilting the table up with the press of his foot. I laid back and pulled up my shirt and rolled down my sweatpants just a bit.

The pulling of the tape from my skin hurt a bit, but that was all.

“It looks like it’s healing excellently,” he said, and put new bandaging on the two cuts on my stomach.

“That’s good,” Laura said.

“Now what about the test results?” I asked as he rechecked my blood pressure from the nurse doing it.

“We’ll get to that in a bit; I haven’t had time to check it myself.”

I nodded and watched as he walked over to my file, assuming what he was writing down was my blood pressure. The doctor took out a yellow and white piece of paper and read them over my paper. I held out my hand, sighing in relief when Laura’s hand held it. The moment of truth was coming soon.

“Have you had your menstrual cycle lately?” the doctor asked. I thought for a moment, concluding that I haven’t.

“The last on I had was last month. I haven’t had one this month,” I concluded.

“Well, your tests are all clear,” he explained. My jaw dropped. I was ecstatic.

“You mean-“

“No cancer was detected,” he said with a smile.

“But how?”

“The CA-125 reading doesn’t always mean you have cancer. The cells of your ovaries are free of cancer. The CA-125 reading for you must’ve just meant you were ovulating. It was a false positive.” My cheeks were hurting I was smiling so big. “You won’t need any treatments because you don’t have any cancer.”

“But… what about my symptoms?”

“How much stress are you under?” was his question.

“Loads,” Laura answered for me.

“There you go. If you want everything to regulate itself, take out the stress. I also see you were diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome?” he asked. I nodded. “That’s also a negative. I don’t know why they thought that but there were no cysts on your ovaries. You are a completely normal and healthy woman.”

I sighed of relief. This day was wonderful. Despite the surgery cuts ached like a bitch.

“Thank you so much!” I said.

“Everyone will be happy to hear about this.”

“You're welcome.” The doctor said as he stood and shook our hands, even Emma’s tiny one. The doctor left and Laura and I packed up, leaving ourselves.

“I can’t wait to tell everyone,” I said, first calling mom and leaving her a voice mail. She must’ve been at work. I called Brent next, doing the same. Voice mail. Then I called Brian, Dad, Val, Johnny… Jimmy… Zacky… and even Matt. All didn’t answer their voice mail. “What the hello?” I mumbled.

“What?” Laura asked.

“No one is answering their phone,” I whispered harshly. “I’m gonna try the girls.” I called Gena and Michelle.

Same effect. Why the hell is everyone not answering my fucking calls? What the fuck did I do? It was okay when the first three calls were missed, but now I’m curious. I left every a message, telling them of the good news, but it still pissed me off no one was answering.

“This is funny bullshake!” I exclaimed, basically using Brian’s words around Emma.

“Why aren’t they answering?” Laura asked.

“I don’t fraggin’ know.”

We pulled up to our parking lot and Laura turned off the car. I stepped out carefully, holding onto my stomach thinking that if I didn’t, my insides would pop out… even if the incisions are less than half an inch long. I still had that fear.

Laura grabbed Emma from the back seat of her car while I walked to my apartment, unlocking the door.

“Shit,” I mumbled, needing to piss. I ran up the stairs, doing what I had to. I walked into my room and changed into the loosest clothes I had and fell onto my bed, needing sleep.

“Lynn!” Laura said what felt like moments later. She had let herself into my place, like she always does. I looked to my clock and saw I had been asleep half an hour.

“What?” I whined, my voice telling her where I was. I saw her in my doorway soon thereafter.

“I need your help,” she said.

“Laura!” I whined. “I just had surgery! Get Derek to do it!”

“Derek is helping! And so is Eli, I just need your help.”

“Eli is over there?”

She nodded. “Yeah.”

“Why?”

Laura sighed. “I told you, he’s helping us. I need your help to.”

“With what?”

“We’re having some of Derek’s co-workers come over and I need your help to taste the food. I need different opinions.”

“Laura,” I argued. “You’re a good cook. You know that, I know that, everyone knows that.”

“Please?” she asked. I sighed and stood with difficulty.

“Fine,” I said, slipping on a pair of sandals. She grinned and clapped her hands and led me out. I sluggishly walked into her apartment and smelled some food cooking.

“Hey Lynn,” Eli said. I mustered up a smile and let him hug me, although our bodies didn’t touch. It hurt me to.

“Hey Eli,” I said.

“Laura told me the good news.”

I smiled and nodded. “Isn’t it great?”

Eli followed my head nodding. “That it is.”

A loud thud upstairs caused me to look at the ceiling. “Shit!” the mumbled voice said.

“Laura… I think someone’s in your house,” I told her, my gaze and fear never leaving.