when he came to the hospital to see Ophélie.
“We're going to be a family again,” Pip told her mother with a big grin when she got home. It was obvious that Pip loved the idea, but so did Ophélie. It had taken a lot to get her there, too much probably, but she felt comfortable with their decision, and she and Matt were talking about a honeymoon in France, and maybe even taking the kids. Pip loved that idea.
Ophélie was resting quietly on her bed one afternoon, while Matt went to get Pip in school. It was six weeks after the shooting, and she was feeling stronger, but she couldn't drive yet, and she had only been out of the house a few times. She was excited about being able to go downstairs for dinner.
The outreach team had visited her at home several times too. She was thinking about them, when the phone rang and she answered it. The voice at the other end was familiar, but not welcome, and sounded very weak. It was Andrea, and Ophélie thought about just hanging up. But Andrea sensed that, and begged her not to before she could.
“Please… let me just talk to you for a minute… it's important.” She sounded strange and said she'd heard about the shooting and had been horrified. “I wanted to write to you, but I was in the hospital too.” The way she sounded made Ophélie keep listening.
“Did you have an accident?” she asked coolly, but nonetheless concerned. They had been such good friends for so many years.
“No,” Andrea hesitated, “I'm sick.”
“What do you mean, sick?”
There was an endless pause. Andrea had wanted to call her for months, but she didn't dare. And she had to know. “I have cancer,” she said quietly. “They discovered it two months ago. They think I've had it for a long time. I had stomach pains for about a year, and I thought it was just nerves. It started as ovarian, supposedly, but it's in my lungs, and now my bones. It's moving pretty fast.” She sounded almost resigned, but sad. And Ophélie was shocked. No matter how angry she was at her, she didn't want this for her, and it brought tears to her eyes.
“Have you had chemo?”
“Yes, I'm still doing it now. I've had two surgeries, and they'll do radiation after the chemo, but I don't think…I don't think I'll make it that far,” she said honestly. “It looks pretty bad…I know you probably don't want to see me, but I need to know something… will you take Willie for me?” They were both crying by the time she asked.
“Now?” Ophélie sounded stunned.
“No,” she said sadly, “when I die. I don't think it's going to be too long. Maybe a few months.” Ophélie was sobbing by then. Life was so unpredictable, so unfair, so wrong. How did this happen to people? To Ted, to Chad… and now to her. Thinking about it made her all the more grateful for Matt. But she was still shaken by all that she had just heard. No matter what Andrea had done to her, she didn't deserve this, but apparently she didn't agree. “Maybe this is God's punishment for what I did to you, Ophélie. I know ‘sorry’ doesn't begin to cover it, but I am. I've had a lot of time to think about it… I'm so sorry… will you take Willie?” she asked again, and Ophélie just cried. It was all so cruel.
“Yes, I will,” she said through her tears. All she could think of was what Matt had done for her with Pip, and she had only known him for eight months, nearly nine. She knew that Andrea had no one else, and no other choice. She was his godmother, it was right, even if he was Ted's child. It wasn't the baby's fault. “Where is he now? Has someone been helping you take care of him?”
“I hired an au pair,” Andrea said, sounding tired again. “I want him here with me, till the end.” She spoke of it as a sure thing. It was terrible. So unbelievable. She was forty-five years old, and her son would never know either of his parents.
Matt walked in while Ophélie was still talking to her, and he looked puzzled. He could see that Ophélie had been crying, and he walked out of the room again. He didn't want to intrude. He assumed she would tell him about it later.
“Is there anything I can