The lights dimmed.
And the jackhammer banging of the MRI machine began.
Chapter Fourteen
Rylee
Thursday
Rylee got out of the taxi at WorldCares and slugged her way to the elevator. Her hand hovered over the button, and she was too emotionally wiped to push it.
That medical appointment had been the miracle that she had prayed for. The thing she’d plotted for. Hoped for. Worked for.
And now it was over.
And on the other end would be a phone call. A diagnosis. Answers were hard. Even when they were the things that she wanted most.
Someone else pushed the button, and the car arrived. “Are you going to your office, Ms. Jones?”
Rylee’s “Yes, thank you” felt burdensome to say.
As soon as Erica greeted her, it signaled Neesa that she was back.
Neesa read her mood instantly and shut the door softly. “We can talk about what happened later,” she said. “What do you need right now?”
“I don’t know,” Rylee said, plopping into her chair and turning toward the window. “I just want clear answers. No more running around. I hope it’s not ...” She licked her lips and turned to see her friend's worried face. “I hope it’s nothing worse.”
“It’s something, though. Yoga isn’t the fix. Baby steps.”
“It is something. And as I was lying there in the MRI with its ratatat that put me right back on the battlefield with all the images dancing through my head—” she stopped to close hereyes. “I might be wrong. I might see my family and hear how they describe the sensations and say, ‘Oh yeah, that’s got to be it.’ But in the tube, with memories of war, now I’m thinking brain cancer or issues I developed from my time in the military. I mean, I could smell the burn pit at night. I’m not immune.”
“What do you need to cope?” Neesa asked. “Something in nature. It’s a surprisingly sunny day. How about water? On the way in this morning, I saw that guy Jesus setting up his kayak rental booth. Why don’t we put on our drysuits and take a paddle in the river?”
“It’s chilly yet to be on the water,” Rylee said.
“Just what you need. A bite of cold, the feel of the waves. No wind, so it shouldn’t be too bad, and I’ve got some travel mugs, I’ll fill them with piping hot tea for when we get to the shore.”
For sure, sitting here in the office, swiveling her chair back and forth until quitting time, stewing in a broth of apprehension wasn’t a good way to cope. “Okay, yeah, that sounds good. I have my gym bag, so I’ll put a swimsuit on under my sweats.”
They walked to the park right outside the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, where Jasper had his office. It was also where they came often on days when the weather helped them cope with the enormity of the global crises their organization helped address daily.
Neesa was right, sometimes, a little sun could bolster morale better than anything else.
The kayak guy, Jesus, recognized them and showed off a picture of his new baby girl. They were his first customers of the new year. Jesus said it was lucky for all three of them.
That was nice. Rylee felt like she could use some luck.
She pulled off her sweats and put on her dry suit and swim shoes. Then, packing up her dry bag, she pulled the straps over the turquoise life vest Jesus had lent her.
Off they shoved into the water, with the setting sun splashing gold across the Potomac's cyan waters. Birds flew low, gliding peacefully on the still air. Rylee had exerted enough energy in her paddle toward the center that she felt the stress lifting from her body.
Neesa was right; this was exactly what Rylee needed. It was wonderful to have a friend who knew her so well.
Rylee pulled the paddle across her lap, letting her body rise and fall with the current. As she dipped the paddle back into the water, she looked down.
And that’s when she saw a hand reaching upward.
It was shocking.
