Year’s Eve, too. She and Bill hadn’t done much when he was alive, anyway. They’d usually watch a couple of movies—Die Hard and Groundhog Day, their respective favorites. Then it would be a glass of champagne, a kiss good-night and off to bed. Knowing there would be no kiss good-night made her sad, but at least she had company now. And she could still watch movies and drink champagne.
“I think you should go out with Charlie and me,” Denise said as they sat in the Westlake Mall Starbucks the next day. “You don’t want to be alone on New Year’s Eve.”
“I won’t be alone. I’ll have Cookie.”
“Dogs don’t count,” Denise said.
“Sure they do,” Catherine said, then changed the subject quickly.
Denise hadn’t been impressed with William’s present, labeling it a sop to his conscience. Maybe it had been or maybe it had been a thoughtful present. Either way, Catherine didn’t want to discuss it.
They shopped a few after-Christmas sales, then went back home, Denise to get ready to entertain Charlie for dinner and Catherine to...entertain Cookie.
William called the next day on his lunch break to see how Cookie was settling in. “You ready to give her back?” he asked.
“Not quite.”
“I knew you’d like her.”
“Just remember, you’re still going to have to dog-sit once in a while,” Catherine warned.
“We can handle that. The boys’ll love it,” he said. Then he whiplashed them into new conversational territory. “Have you told Lila about the chemo?”
She didn’t even want to think about the chemo, let alone talk about it. “No, but I will.”
“Sometime before it starts would be good,” he said irritably. “I don’t want to be the only one dealing with this.”
Funny, she’d thought she was the one dealing with it. “I’ll be fine,” she said as much to herself as him.
“I know you will,” he said. “But don’t shut us out. We want to help.”
“I know.” It was good to hear him say it.
“Tell her today, Mom,” he commanded.
“Don’t worry. I’ll talk to you later,” she said. Then she hung up before her son could find anything more to lecture her on.
“You know, Cookie,” she told the dog, “this is a fine example of how you should be careful what you wish for. Here I was feeling neglected and now all of a sudden my son is turning into a helicopter child.” Although, really, it was rather nice to have William hovering. Once in a while, a woman needed her children in her airspace, needed to know they really did care.
Lila called that evening. “Why didn’t you tell me the doctor didn’t get everything when they did the hysterectomy?” she demanded. “What were you thinking?” Catherine tried to speak but her daughter didn’t give her the chance. “I had to find out from William. William! I’m your daughter. You’re supposed to tell me these things. I mean, when were you going to tell me? Ever?”
“Of course I was going to tell you at some point. You’ve been a little preoccupied.”
“It has been the holidays, you know,” Lila said defensively.
“Yes, I do,” Catherine said. And you’ve been way too busy with your own life to care about what was happening in mine. Oh, how those words wanted to come out, but Catherine resisted the temptation to send another child on a guilt trip. “So there was no sense bothering you with this.”
“Bothering? Mom, are you kidding? When does it start? I’ve got to get the dates on my calendar.”
“Why on earth do you need to put them on your calendar?”
“I’m taking you, of course. How else are you going to get there? Where are you having it done?”
“Virginia Mason, downtown. But you don’t have to take me.”
“I want to take you. Anyway, don’t you have to stay hooked up to that... IV drip or whatever? You don’t want to sit there all by yourself, do you?”
Catherine had been spending a lot of time by herself in the last year. What were a couple more hours, give or take?
“They do let people come in the room with you, right?”
“They do.”
“Okay, then. We can play cards or something. Mother-daughter time.”
Mother-daughter time. Catherine smiled. “I’d like that.” See, Bill, our children aren’t so very selfish, after all.
“Good. That’s settled, then. Text me the dates. By the way, I hear William gave you a dog. What was he thinking?”
“That I’d enjoy the company.”
“I guess,” Lila said dubiously. Then, to her daughter, who Catherine could hear in the background. “I know. I’m coming! Okay, Mom, I’ve got to run.