My mom made some notes on Macey’s chart, nodding her head as though she were thinking to herself about something.
“The latest tests show that you’ve been responding well to the chemotherapy,” she said, locking eyes with Macey. “That’s good. That’s really good. If you continue to respond to chemotherapy and radiation, we might not have to do the surgery.”
“Surgery?” I asked. “What surgery?”
“SCT,” Mom said. “Stem cell transplant.”
“It’s okay, Jayce,” Macey said, rolling her head to the side to look at me. “It might not be necessary. The chemo is doing its job.”
“Is she going to be okay?” I asked my mom, and she sighed.
“We don’t know yet, J. But she’s okay right now.”
Silence settled between the three of us. There wasn’t much left to say; there never was, and when I was just about sure the silence would smother us, smother all of us, Macey spoke again.
“Melissa, do you think I’ll be strong enough to go to Jayce’s game Saturday evening?” she asked, struggling once more to sit up on the bed. Pain trickled from her eyes with each word, each breath, each movement, but she was determined. She always was.
“I can ask the doctor,” Mom said, looking between Macey and me. “But he might not sign off on it, Mace. We have to keep you as strong and healthy as possible.”
“That’s not going to happen stuck in this hospital bed with a needle in my arm,” said Macey quietly. I took her hand, noticing not for the first time how cold her skin felt against mine.
“It’s okay, baby. I would never pressure you to be there. You know that.”
“I know,” she said, settling her head back down to the pillow with a weak smile. She could barely hold herself up more than a few seconds anymore. “But I want to be there. It’s the last game of the season.”
“Let’s see how you’re feeling then,” my mom said, patting Macey’s arm gently. “I’ll talk to Dr. Hudson and see if he’d be willing to let me take you. I don’t want to miss it, either.”
For the first time in days, Macey’s eyes lit up, just a bit. “Thanks, Melissa.”
“Anytime, sugar.” With a wink, my mom hurried out of the room to complete her rounds, leaving Macey and I alone once again.
“Rest,” I said, standing to kiss Macey’s forehead. “Get some sleep, okay? I have a team meeting, but I’ll be back tonight to sleep with you.”
“You know you don’t have to,” Macey said softly. “These beds aren’t comfortable. Just stay the night in your bed.”
I laughed. “You know that’s never gonna happen.”
“Can’t say I didn’t try to save your sanity,” Macey murmured with a roll of her eyes, and for just a second, a mere moment, she was her old self again.
I kissed Macey goodbye after tucking another blanket around her, and then stepped out of her room and made my way to the parking lot, pulling out my cell phone in the process to dial Dalton’s number.
“Yo.”
“D, it’s me. I have an idea...can you help me pitch it to the team? We don’t have much time to plan this.”
