Cracks in the Sidewalk(15)

JT stopped pacing and turned. “Great!”

“Yes, but there’s more.”

“More?” he said apprehensively.

Elizabeth took a deep breath and began slowly. “The scan they did showed a growth in the back of my brain—”

“A what?”

“A tumor,” she continued, trying not to let her fear expose itself to him. “Doctor Sorenson said that’s why I’ve gained so much weight and why I’m having trouble remembering things. This tumor’s pressing on the part of my brain that—”

“So what happens now? They remove it?”

Elizabeth slowly shook her head. “I wish.” She gave a sigh that came from deep inside, from the part of her where each of her babies had once lived. “Because of where the tumor’s located, it’s inoperable.”

“You’re kidding! So what happens in a case like this?”

“I think they’ll try radiation treatments. I have to get a second opinion.”

Jeffrey gave a groan and started pacing again. “More doctors, more money. Please don’t tell me you’re not coming home. Please don’t say this is just going to go on and on—”

“Jeffrey!” Elizabeth exclaimed, her eyes growing teary. “I know you’ve got problems, but you could be more sympathetic about what I’m going through.”

He stopped. “It’s hard to be sympathetic when you’ve got alligators snapping at your ass.” The trace of a smile softened his face. “But I am glad you’re coming home. At least I won’t have to pay Maria to take care of the kids.”

“I wish that were true,” she said sadly, “but we’ll need someone to take care of the kids and help me. Mom can do some of it, but she can’t—”

“You’re too sick to take care of your own kids?” he said sarcastically.

“Yes,” she answered. “The left side of my body is partially paralyzed. I can’t stand or walk alone, and I can barely move my left arm. I would have told you sooner, but with all the problems you’ve had…” Elizabeth stopped when she noticed the way JT eyed her with a hateful glare.

“I can’t believe you’re doing this to me,” he said. “Haven’t I got enough on my plate? I can’t take care of me and the kids. How am I supposed to take care of an invalid?”

“I’m not an invalid,” she answered indignantly. “I’ve got a problem, and hopefully in time it will—”

“Are you nuts? Out of whatever mind you have left? If you can’t stand, walk, or move from one spot to another, you’re an invalid!”

“Don’t say that! There are plenty of other things I can do. Anyway, Mom and Dad will help out.”

“Help out with what?” JT asked angrily. “Help play with the kids? Help take away the last drop of privacy I’ve got? Help you nag me about what a failure I am? No, thanks! If they want to help, your daddy can give me the loan I need. Other than that, I don’t need their help. And I don’t want them at my house!”

“Maybe not,” Elizabeth answered, “but I do.”

“Then go home with them. Go back to their house, and let them take care of you until you’re well enough to come home! They can afford it!”

JT stomped out the door before Elizabeth could explain the seriousness of her condition. To warn him that she might never again be able to care for their children, dance with him, stand in line at the supermarket, or clean the house. The precious ordinary everyday things she’d taken for granted were now gone.

~

When Elizabeth’s parents returned, Charlie asked, “Where’s JT?”

Elizabeth wanted to lie, to hide the embarrassment and hurt of being cast aside as worthless, but what purpose would that serve? They’d learn the truth tomorrow or the next day. In time she’d have to confess she’d be going home with them, not to her own house, to her children, to her husband.

“He left. He had to open the store.”

“Did you tell him?” Charlie asked.

Elizabeth nodded. She waited, trying to swallow the tears, then said, “He’s having a really hard time dealing with the pressure of all this—the bills, the store, taking care of the kids. He thought maybe it would be better for me to go back to your house when I leave the hospital.”

“Our house?” Claire said quizzically. “Well, we’d certainly be glad to have you, but aren’t you anxious to get home to the kids?”

“Of course I am. And JT will bring them over to spend time with me. But right now I can’t even take care of myself. How can I take care of them? JT thinks it would be better this way. If it weren’t for all these money problems, he could hire somebody…”

She looked at her father. “Can’t you just give JT the loan he needs?”

“I’ve already given him several loans, Liz. If he needs more, why doesn’t he ask his parents?”

“He already asked them, but they said no. They spent most of their savings to buy that place in Florida.”

“Did JT put you up to this?” Charlie asked. “I know him; he’ll stop at nothing to get what he wants. JT told you to ask me, didn’t he?”

“Not specifically,” Elizabeth replied. “But I know he’s behind on our mortgage payments and worried about all the bills.”