A Walk Along the Beach(49)

I sat down next to her. “Harper,” I said, and reached for her hand.

Her fingers grabbed hold of mine in a punishing grip.

“What is it?” I asked gently.

“I have a rash.”

    I swallowed hard, remembering that before she’d been diagnosed with leukemia, it had started out with hives. I was about to explain it all away, assure her that she was fine. The blood work had come back negative. There wasn’t anything to worry about. The words never made it to my lips.

“My chest hurts, too.”

Now it was my fingers that crushed hers.

“I made an appointment with Dr. Annie. Will you come with me?”

I couldn’t respond verbally, couldn’t get any words out from the anxiety that clogged my throat. That was like me, though. My mind immediately went to the worst-case scenario.

“I’m sure there’s a simple explanation,” I insisted, determined to be positive. What made my heart nearly stop was the fear I sensed in Harper. Determined not to jump to conclusions, I forced myself to think positively. A rash. A little trouble breathing. Just how bad could it be?





CHAPTER 19





Willa


Harper and I sat in the waiting room of Oceanside Walk-in Medical Clinic for our turn to see Dr. Annie. Mindlessly, I flipped through the pages of a six-month-old People magazine. Many of the names and faces were unknown to me Their affairs, marriages, and divorces held no real interest. Harper had her legs crossed and was nervously swinging her foot back and forth. This morning she seemed to be more positive. I didn’t think it was a front.

Within ten minutes of our arrival, Harper’s name was called. We were directed into the small room. The nursing assistant took Harper’s vitals. Becca was someone Harper had gone to high school with, although she was a year younger. The two women chatted.

“You’re engaged?” Harper commented, noticing Becca’s diamond engagement ring.

Becca blushed and nodded. “Alex Freeman.”

    “Alex?” Harper sounded surprised. The name meant nothing to me.

“I know, I know. He was such a nerd in high school. I hardly knew he was alive. We stumbled into each other on the WSU campus. He’s a nuclear scientist now. Anyway, it was good to see a familiar face; he asked me to coffee and, as they say, the rest is history.”

Harper’s smile was genuine. “That’s great. Congratulations.”

“Thanks.” Becca finished taking Harper’s vitals, and after writing down the details, she left the room.

“Wow,” Harper said, “I can’t believe Alex and Becca are engaged. He was such a nerd and she, if you remember, was the yearbook editor and class president. I would never have seen the two of them together.”

My memories of high school were vague at best. My main concern at the time was holding our family together. “Mom always said to forget the sports heroes and take more notice of the nerds instead. She claimed they were the ones who were destined to make something of themselves.”

“Good advice,” Harper murmured, just as the door opened and Dr. Annie entered the room.

Reading over the chart, she sat on the stool before looking up and giving us both a big smile. “Well, Harper, what seems to be the problem?”

“For starters, I’ve got a rash again.”

“I’ve seen my fair share of those this summer,” she said, crossing her legs and relaxing. “The heat, the sand, the moisture. Better let me look at it.”

Harper unfastened her blouse so Annie could examine her side. From what I could see the rash was minor, just a little red, but probably annoying. Remembering that her first diagnosis of leukemia had started with hives, I was convinced we were overreacting. It was a summer rash. Big deal, right?

    “This looks like a heat rash, nothing serious,” Annie said, confirming my suspicion. The stress eased from between my shoulder blades. Harper seemed to relax, too, as we both released the tension we’d held on to for the last several hours.

“You mentioned some chest pain?” Annie asked, looking down at the notes Becca had taken.

Harper nodded.

“When did that start?”

My sister glanced at me and then away. It was the same look she’d had when she was younger and knew she’d done something wrong. “A few weeks ago.”

Last night was the first time she’d mentioned anything about a tightness in her chest. “Harper,” I said, my mind whirling. Suddenly, it all made sense. This was the reason she hadn’t been able to make the climb to Camp Muir on Mount Rainier. “Was that the problem with the climb?”

Harper shrugged. “My chest barely hurt then, but it does now.”

“Let me take a listen,” Annie said, and placed the stethoscope against Harper’s chest.

My heart raced as Annie instructed Harper to breathe in deeply and then release, repeating the request twice more. Then she reached for the digital chart and scrolled up, read something, and her face relaxed. “Good report on your latest blood work. That’s great.”

Both Harper and I waited for her thoughts, almost leaning forward at the same time, eager for the diagnosis.

“I think what we’re dealing with here is walking pneumonia,” Annie said. “I’d like to order an X-ray. You can have it taken right down the hall.”