thought of where to begin. “Well, she’s a live one, I’ll give you that. Married now, two little lads. They are beautiful boys, really, they are. She works as an engineer. Big builds, that sort of thing. Does quite well, I believe.”
“Very nice.”
“Loves to travel too. Trekked through South America, did that Picchu thing in Peru.”
“That what?”
“Or was it Paraguay? I can’t remember. I’ve got a picture of it at home. It’s quite famous.” Memories came to her of Kate’s youth, things she wanted to share, but where should she even begin? “You know what kids are like nowadays, they have all these ideas and go off and do it all. Nothing stops them.”
“Not like us.”
“No,” she said, hit by a wave of sadness. “Different generations. To them, anything is possible.”
“I bet you’re a fantastic mother.” Was she? She had put Kate first in many respects, there at every event, giving her everything she could. Tears at the graduation, then at her wedding, and when her two grandsons were born. Never once had she feared Kate would get into any trouble, or that she wouldn’t reach to her for help. That’s what had made Kate’s decision to exclude her even harder to bear. But she hadn’t given up on a reunion yet, and never would.
“Mr. Hale?” Neither of them had seen the nurse approach, but as soon as she heard the name Elizabeth was up on her feet, helping Tom to find his balance. It was a different nurse, and she was smiling, holding the door open. Older than the first, plump about the waist. “Sorry to have kept you, my love,” she said as she touched Tom on the arm. Elizabeth liked her straightaway. “I’m Lynn. Head through to that first room on the right. We’ll get you weighed and ready for Dr. Dawkins.”
Tom propped his stick up against the wall before stepping onto the scales to have his decreasing weight and blood pressure recorded. The effort of that alone seemed to take its toll. Another plastic chair squeaked with heat as he sat down into it, positioning his stick between his knees. Elizabeth took the chair alongside him. The plastic was hot, stuck to her legs.
“Well, you’ve lost a few kilos since your visit to the GP, Mr. Hale, at least according to our scale. Do you think you’ve lost more weight?” Lynn asked as she filled in a chart.
“What’s two kilos in old money?” he asked.
“No idea.” She laughed, and Tom rolled his eyes. He wasn’t in the mood for it, not surprising really, but Lynn took no notice. Perhaps she was used to it. Elizabeth imagined that a lot of cancer patients were like Tom, especially when they first learned of their diagnosis. It must be devastating to hear you had something growing inside you that had the capability to kill you. And as she looked at Tom then, his gray hair cropped close, his skin wrinkled and hands bony, she said a simple prayer: Please let them be wrong. Perhaps Lynn sensed her fear because right then she leaned down, touched Elizabeth on the arm.
“Dr. Dawkins will be with you in just a mo,” she said as she left, still smiling despite it all.
As she shut the door they sat for a while in silence, the only interruption the occasional sound of feet and cheerful voices in the nearby corridor. “She seemed nice,” Elizabeth said, short of something better to say.
“They all are,” Tom replied. “They have to be, don’t they?”
A moment later Dr. Dawkins came in, his head almost brushing the doorframe. Elizabeth tended to compare most doctors to her father, who by anybody’s standards would have been an anachronism should he have been there practicing today. But she recalled that he did instill a certain confidence that she would have appreciated right then. Dr. Dawkins was nothing like her father; too young, with not a wrinkle of experience in sight.
“Nice to meet you both.” Tom took his hand regardless and shook. Elizabeth did the same, noticing that he had slim hands, covered with soft skin.
“Nice to meet you too,” Elizabeth and Tom mumbled in near unison.
The chair creaked as Dr. Dawkins pulled Tom’s notes in front of him. The pages whispered their secrets as he leafed through. Elizabeth noticed Tom sitting up a little straighter. “I understand the GP has informed you about what we think is the problem.”
“Yes,” Tom muttered, his voice quiet. “She said I’ve got lung cancer,” he continued, wincing