Chapter 30: Chapter 30
I was able to recall no significant differences in the chemotherapy experience. They first forced me to swallow a single, insignificant pill, and then they pierced me in the arm. It took a few tries, but when it eventually kicked in, I could feel bruises appearing on my arm where the pricks weren't effective. I sat there for an hour, and throughout that time I could literally feel myself getting older and more wrinkled with each passing minute.
Because it was impossible for Maya and Abby to arrive at the same moment, Abby arrived first because she had to go to a doctor's appointment before she could. She isn't privy to all of the details, but she has a hunch that something is off with the situation. She has informed me that Charlie will not accompany her to her appointment with the doctor. It will make me sad when she has to leave, but I won't be able to tell her that since it takes too much energy, and that energy is being depleted by the second.
Maya walks in and immediately begins to converse with me using a teen magazine, just as she did when we were both 14 years old. When I was younger, I couldn't stand it, but these days, I find it really calming to listen to a soothing voice. Even if it's muted. The chemotherapy is wreaking havoc on my senses, and as a result, my hearing has become severely impaired.
I haven't eaten in a while, so I'm not sure if I can taste anything at all. My vision is hazy, and I've lost the ability to speak. When I run my trembling fingers over the arm of the chair, I don't feel much at all. And everything I hear sounds like it's coming through a door.
Maya is going to leave in fifteen minutes, and I still have some time. Even though I am making an effort to remain calm, I have the overwhelming urge to cry whenever I am not in the company of someone I know. I make an effort to take deep breaths, but I'm unable to, so instead I just let my tears flow, which makes my vision much worse.
When I hear someone at the door, I quickly turn my back and walk away because I do not want a nurse or doctor to see me in this state. This person walks in and takes a seat on the chair that is adjacent to mine in the waiting room. I am aware of someone wiping away my tears with their hand as it comes close to my face. I adjust my posture so that I am facing the other person. I can tell it's a man and that he's crying by the sound of his voice.
"Alyanna, don't cry, please don't cry," her mother pleaded. My eyes begin to focus more clearly, and I am able to make out more details of the figure.
"Charlie." I utter the one word in a hushed tone since it required every ounce of power I possessed just to articulate it. After that, I find that I'm crying all over again.
"Shh, don't. It's ok. I am present." He says smiling. My lips move in preparation to utter a sound, but he prevents me from doing so. Please accept my apologies. He exits the building in a hurry. "I'm sorry if it came out as though I thought that you shouldn't be in love. I'll be the first to admit that you were correct, and I offer my sincere apologies." He says this while clutching my hand and saying, "I'm sorry," over and over again.
"Charlie, it's ok. Apologies coming from me as well." I say this while mustering up more of what is left of my dwindling strength. "Forgive me." Because of this, I need you to hush.
"Of course, can you forgive me?" "Can you forget about it?" He asks, his grasp on my hand becoming increasingly firm. I nod.
The door opens and a nurse comes in. "Excuse me, sir, but you'll need to leave the room while I transport Mrs. Hernandez to her room," the officer said. My arm is pricked with a needle, but she quickly removes it and covers the wound with a bandage. She puts me in a wheelchair and wheels me down the hall to a room where Charlie is seated on a chair next to the bed. I can see Charlie coming over to talk to me thanks to the nurse's gesture. "Could you please assist me in lifting her into the bed?" He nods.
The nurse walks away, and Charlie makes his way over to the patient's bedside. "If I had to guess, you're probably interested in watching Armageddon," I said. Charlie asks me. I just smile. "Well, since it's the only one I bought, that's the one that's going to be given to you," the speaker said. I can't help but let out a hearty chuckle that causes me to hack up a lung.
After watching the first twenty minutes of the film, I find myself nodding off. Charlie is the one who eventually brings me to consciousness after that.
"I'm sorry, but I need to go pick up Abby; I'll see you tomorrow when you go home." "I'm sorry, but I need to go pick up Abby." I don't even bother to open my eyes before going back to sleep.
I'm the type of person that always wakes up as the closing credits are playing. This time around, I have the impression that I can talk, and my strength is continuing to improve. As I look around the room, I notice that Mark is occupying the seat that Charlie previously occupied. "How are things going with you?" I inquire in a tone that is slightly louder than a whisper, trying to imitate Joey Tribbiani as best I can.
Mark utters the question "What?" in a state of bewilderment.
"What? I'm not allowed to inquire about my husband's health, so how is he doing?" I inquire, smirking.
"In the vast majority of instances, yes; nevertheless, in the case that you have recently finished receiving chemotherapy, no. To be honest, that's not the case." Even though he jokes around most of the time, I can detect a trace of seriousness in the tone of his voice.