Until now.
"By who?" I prompt, leaning in.
"... Tonya..."
"On her bike?"
"... yeah."
"You hold onto her real tight?" I cackle with glee, which melts when Tess smirks at me.
"Should we talk about why Callum's hair looked like he stuck his finger in a socket? Or was that your doing?"
My face immediately goes hot, and I mutter, "Touché."
We manage to hold straight faces for maybe three seconds before breaking down into giggles. I grab the remote from the coffee table, flipping on the television as Tess pulls off her jacket and tosses it onto the corner chair. We watch a couple of episodes ofReal Housewives, my head resting on her shoulder as I used to when I was a kid.
Halfway through our third episode, she breaks the silence.
"I'm really happy here, Sophie," she says, her voice gentle and low like it's a secret.
I smile immediately, so full I could burst right now. I have everything that I'll ever need in this town now. A home. A community. A future.
"Me too."
"All thanks to your dumbass ex," Tess snorts, raising an invisible glass. "I'll give him that one. Still gonna shove his head through drywall if I ever see him again."
Chapter Forty-Two
Sophie
August
Maeve says the color red signifies good fortune.
With this appointment today, I need all the good fortune I can get. My hands smooth down the soft fabric of the red sundress I'm wearing for the first time. The dress is cap-sleeved, fitted through the bodice with a gentle sweetheart neckline that frames the still settling cleavage from my breast implants placed last month. The hem swishes around my calves, and it's made of a wonderfully soft, breathable fabric. And the best part? It has twopocketson the sides. A perfect dress, in my opinion.
Bailey helped me pick it out last month after my implant exchange surgery. She said I needed some new clothes to showcase mynew and improved girls.When I stepped out of the boutique dressing room wearing it, Bailey gasped so loudly that the saleswoman startled. When it was time to pay, she slapped her credit card on the counter. "This one's on me!" Bailey declared, clapping her hands in excitement.
This was a dress worthy of a good day, and I truly hope today will be memorable.
Turning my head in the mirror above my dresser, I fluff my hair—my hair!—and feel my throat grow tight for a moment. It's grown so much in the last six months, falling to my chin in loose curls, a nice little gift from chemotherapy. The pixie grow-out phase was a little rough, and I had to get a couple of routine haircuts to get rid of the mullet, but my hairstylist said now I should be able to just let it grow and grow until I'm happy with the length. I've missed having hair, and I always glance over tomy wig still on its stand with happiness at the comfort it and Sasha gave me when I needed it.
My eyebrows and eyelashes have completely grown back, and I'm actually ten pounds heavier than I was before cancer, which I'm not mad about. I like the fullness of my body, and the added weight to my belly, hips, and thighs makes me look more radiant... and Callum seems to have no complaints either. I've also been thoroughly enjoying having an appetite and cooking and baking again, thanks to my renewed energy.
In these last six months,everythingin my life has just gotten better and better.
Radiation, of course, was its own particular beast, but the side effects were about the same as chemotherapy. After going through that and the surgeries, I feel like I can take on anything thrown my way.
The sessions were about half an hour long, and while I appreciated the routine of it all—Virgo—it was just the frequency that got to me. Five days a week for six weeks. Even though I was cleared to drive myself, Callum, Tess, or Tonya took turns driving me there, waiting in the parking lot, and then driving me back home.
The treatment itself was much like what I read from other survivors, and was told by my nurses—my chest was red and sore and tight like I had a bad sunburn. Thankfully, that was easily managed with cold aloe vera and a thick hydrating cream. I had already been dealing with fatigue and loss of appetite from chemo, so that wasn't a big change. The only new thing was a tightness across my chest, which I noticed less after the third week.
All in all, radiation went fine, probably because I was sufficiently distracted throughout the process. Life resumed in its wonderfully normal routine. It looks like I'll be going back to the office two days a week in September. Avery said we couldstart slow and see how I feel, since this whole journey proved that my job can pretty much be done anywhere.
The surgery went well, and the recovery, while uncomfortable, was almost laughably manageable compared to the mastectomy. It was much of the same—can't raise my arms, can't sleep lying down, some bruising and swelling and pain.
And through it all was Callum, my otter, who washed my hair as it grew, changed my bandages, helped me get dressed, and carried everything I couldn't. He learned my medication schedule, held me when I cried through the aches and pains, and never made me feel like a burden.
