Feel Like Makin' Love (Rock and Roll Trilogy #3) (25 page)

“They have some test results back from when she came in through the Emergency Room. T
he news isn’t so good, I’m afraid. Seems she relapsed. The doctors are talking to her mum, but it sounds to me like they are telling her no more radiation, no surgery, no anything. With what she has, high-risk Ependymoma, they never know how the patient will respond to the treatment.  Seems she was doing well, and then not,” Hatchet told them.

“What does all this mean
?” Carlee asked with tears rolling down her cheeks.

“It means that for now, we don’t know, and you need to go home and rest. You have good re
inforcements here,” Tamara said as she came out of the room. “Nothing is going to happen tonight. She needs to rest and so do you. Go. I’ll see you in the morning, and I’ll have an update then. Go.”

Hatch
et nodded and said, “I got this. Go.”

~ ~ ~

Carlee cried the whole way home. Matthew allowed her to express her emotions, because he was hurting too.

“
It’s not fair! I’m so mad! She’s so young, Matthew! She’s been sick since she was four! She hasn’t had a chance to experience anything! It’s just not fair!”

“I know, Carlee, but it’s in God’s hands
. We will do whatever we can to help her and Johanna get through whatever is ahead.”

When they returned to the flat,
Carlee went straight to bed and was asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.

~ ~ ~

After she was settled, Matthew went to the kitchen. He’d turned the sound on his phone back on, having turned it off when they were in the hospital. It rang almost immediately. He looked at the display and saw it was Andy.

“
I’ve been calling all evening… calling your phone, calling Carlee’s… I was starting to panic that something was wrong!” he all but shouted when Matthew answered.

“Something is wrong, but i
t’s not Carlee. It’s Kyliejo…”

Matthew talked to Andy and his mom
for a long time, telling them what they had learned that evening.

When he finally went to bed he leaned to Carlee to place a kiss on her cheek
; she turned and scooted closer. “I love you, Matthew.”

Trying to think – imagine – the thoughts running through her head, he pulled her closer and held her in his arms, thinking thoughts of his own.

~ ~ ~

The next morning when Carlee woke, Matthew was
sitting on the side of the bed watching her.

“I feel like I was hit by a truck,” she said.

“I know, me too. I was up talking to Andy and Mom until really late. He’d been trying to call all evening and was worried. I told them about Kyliejo. Come on, we need to get showered.”

Lovingly, he helped her bathe, and then she sat on the bed waiting while he got her clothes. “You’re lookin’ all casual,” she remarked at his clothes.

“I called Deb and Dan; I want to take you today.”

“Why?” she asked.

“Just ‘cuz,” he said with a smile.

“I’m OK, Matthew….”

“I know,” he interrupted, “but I still want to go with you. I want to know what’s going on too.”

~ ~ ~

“I’m hungry,” she said when they were on their way.

“What? I haven’t heard those words pass
your pretty pink lips in a while!”

“I haven’t felt hungry. Today I feel like I want
to eat, not like I have to eat.”

“Do you want something before we go in?” he asked.

“Might oughta wait ‘til we come out,” she smiled. “Just in case…”

Tamara
was waiting when they walked in. “Good morning,” she said, and for some reason, Carlee felt the need to hug her. “Well, this is nice; I was worried about you after last night.”

“I know she’s in good hands,”
Carlee smiled. “I’m more worried about Johanna.”

“Hatchet, as you call her, made her go home
around three this morning to get some rest; she’d been there since nine yesterday morning. I’ve already called and she’s back. Because I know that you know these things, I’m going to explain to you what I know you heard last night. Early on, she was having a hard time with concentration; she was emotional and irrational. They had her tested for mononucleosis and a barrage of other things. They finally found a mass in the cerebrum and went in to remove it. She went through a low dose of radiotherapy and it seemed she was doing well.”

“
When she came to the hospital just before you met her, she was plagued with headaches and pain all through her body. She was unsteady on her feet with some slurred speech. Steroids eased up on some of that, but they determined she couldn’t handle another brain surgery; she was too fragile. So we decided to try a higher dose of radiotherapy this time. It was a good course, but then she wasn’t responding, and then last week we noticed some breathing problems and she wasn’t eating.”

“When Johanna called rescue,
she was having a seizure. With her hair gone, we noticed a thick lump forming at the base of her neck. You heard the term ‘high-risk’ last night, because of the location. It’s spread to the spine. A lumbar puncture - spinal tap – gives the impression that it’s in the bone.”

Carlee had a million questions, but she couldn’t spit any of them out. Finally, the doctor said with a smile, “Let’s go get this over with so you can go rest, because I know you’ll be wanting to go see her.”

~ ~ ~

When she came out after treatment, she was glad to see Matthew there waiting and not Deb this time. “Ready?”

“Mmm hmm.”

“Still hungry?” he asked.

“I am.”

“I have a surprise,” he said, slipping his arm around her shoulder as he led her toward the car.

“Quick, something quick,” she said.

“Under control,” he said and closed her door.

He drove a few minutes and when he turned the corner, Carlee felt a big grin creep across her face. “Six! But Matthew, I’m not dressed appropriately.”

“They’re all waiting for you. Come on.” She pulled the soft cotton beanie cap off and took a bright yellow scarf out of her bag and tied it around her head. Her eyebrows and lashes had fallen out, so she did a quick wispy stroke to her eyes and brow area with a pencil and added a touch of lipstick from her bag. She turned to Matthew for approval.

“Almost perfect.” He lean
ed to kiss her, and then looked, “Perfect now; your lips were a little too pink.”

She smiled
, and he came around the car and took her hand. When they entered, Damon Ware, the manager, was at the desk, hanging up the phone as they approached.

“Mr. and Mrs. Matthew D
avis! We’ve been waiting on you! Follow me,” he said and Matthew held her hand as they went to the private dining room. When she peeked in, Cook was waiting with open arms.

“Good morning, lovely!” he said, hugging her gently. “I’ve got your favorite almost ready to pop out of the oven. Fresh coffee is on the way! I’m so ha
ppy to see you looking so well! I just want to hug you again, but with the mister standing here, I reckon I should just go get your breakfast!” he laughed. She looked, and there was a small vase of daisies on the table, and Matthew slipped his arm around her shoulder.

Once she was seated, Cook returned with fresh warm
brown sugar scones, clotted cream, and coffee. He served and turned to leave them. “Now don’t go slippin’ out without seeing me.”

“Best
I could do on short notice,” Matthew said and took her hand. Bringing it to his lips, he placed a tender kiss there, and nibbled on delicate fingers.

“Don’t think this makes up for that
romantic dinner!” she laughed taking small bites of the scone on her plate, but enjoying it immensely.

“Not a chance!” he laughed.

~ ~ ~

An hour
and a half later, they were at the flat, and Carlee headed to bed for a nap. Matthew sat beside her with his laptop, typing with one hand, rubbing her back with the other. She slept for an hour, and he put the laptop aside and slid down the bed, wrapping his body around hers. “Wake up,” he whispered, nuzzling her neck as he did.

“Hey handsome,” she said with a sleepy voice and Matthew wanted nothing more that to stay right there. But he knew she wanted to go.

~ ~ ~

He watched her when they were in Kyliejo’s room; she looked better to him than she had in a long time. The little girl was awake
, watching a program on TV.

“
What’ya watching?” Carlee asked. Kyliejo looked up and smiled.

“It’s a p
rincess show; I love princesses,” she seemed alert, and Carlee looked around noticing the IV bags, thinking they were keeping her comfortable.

“Me too! I think we should have crowns and be the princesses of the hospital. When I was here
, Matthew would crawl in the bed with me to watch TV; may I join you?”

Kyliejo nodded
, and Matthew smiled as Carlee got in beside her. She wasn’t much bigger than the little girl. “Johanna, how about a cup of coffee?” he asked.

“I’d like that.”

When they were gone, Hatchet came in, “What is going on here?” she said with a big laugh.

“Shh, we are princesses
, and we’re watching a movie,” Carlee said holding a finger to her lips and Kyliejo giggled. “Hatchet, got any pink and yellow paper and a pencil? Oh, and tape and scissors?”

“I have my colored pencils!” Kyliejo added.

“Paper. Tape. Scissors,” Hatchet said, adding, “Your wish is my command, your highness,” as she left the room.

“
But what will we make?” Kyliejo asked.

“We’re gonna make crowns!”

By the time Matthew and Johanna returned Kyliejo and Carlee were in the bed wearing the crowns they’d made. Hatchet came in behind them, and curtsied. Matthew smiled, watching Carlee, and thought,
what a different soul she has
.

~ ~ ~

Later that afternoon, Matthew had an idea. He stepped into the hall and made a call. “Got a minute?” he asked when Andy answered.

“Sure. But real quick,
let me tell you that I’m heading south for a few days in the morning and then I’ll be back Wednesday night. Your Mom’s gonna stick around for another week.”

“
We’ll be anxious for your return. I want to do video chat on the phone, but I want to tell you that Carlee’s up in the bed with Kyliejo, and I didn’t want you to freak out when you saw her in a hospital bed,” he laughed. “They are princesses; do you have a song you can sing to them? I think Carlee will love it.”

He thought a moment, and Matthew heard him call out, “
Percy, Megs, come here, I need your help. The girls are here,” he told Matthew.

Matthew hung up and went to set the phone up for Carlee and Kyliejo. Carlee looked up
, and Matthew smiled as the phone rang, and she smiled even bigger when she saw it was her papa.

“Hey there!”

“I love the crowns! We have a surprise for you!” he scooted Percy and Megs into sight so Carlee could see them, and they could see her and Kyliejo.

“I asked the girls
if they’d ever seen “The Little Mermaid” movie. I remembered that it was Carlee’s favorite when she was really little; she wanted to be Ariel,” he laughed. “They told me they had it, so I asked if they knew the prince song and they said they did. Carlee, feel free to sing along, I know you know it!”

Some day my prince will come

Some day we
’ll meet again

And away to his castle we
’ll go

To be happy forever I know

Some day when spring is here

We
’ll find our love anew

And the birds will sing

And wedding bells will ring

Some day when my dreams come true

And when they finished singing, Andy said, “Jumpin’ jellyfish, Ariel, I’ve never seen you in such a good mood!”

“Ah Sebastian, it’s the music! It’s so wonderful; it makes me want to sing and dance!” followed by laughter and giggles from all of them.

Geni
stood at the corner of the wall, and watched from the dining room.
Rock Star…
she thought and smiled.

“Papa, I’ll call you when I get home.”

“Princess Kyliejo, I’ll see you soon,” he said. “Carlee, I love you.”

~ ~ ~