“Can I ring the doorbell?” Lanie asked as we approached a house. Shelby smirked and lifted Lanie out of the wagon, smoothing out her dress in the process. “Don’t fall on the stairs.” She instructed as we watched her carefully hurry to the front door. She turned to us as if she wasn’t sure what to do.
“Ring the doorbell,” I chuckled. She did and almost immediately an older woman opened the door wide with a smile and a bowl of candy.
“Well aren’t you just precious,” she smiled. She sure was. She was wearing her blue Cinderella gown and a long blonde wig we had picked out from the boutique. She didn’t usually wear wigs because she didn’t like them, but she wanted to add to the costume, so she decided on wearing it. “Are you a princess for Halloween?”
“Yep,” Lanie smirked and held open her bag. “Trick-or-treat!” She cheered. The older lady laughed and dropped a few pieces of candy in the bag. “Thank you.” She smiled politely.
“You’re welcome, sweetheart,” the woman cooed over how adorable Lanie looked and watched us leave the stoop. As Lanie climbed into the wagon with my help, her wig slipped a little. “Oh, my.” The woman sounded so sincere and pitiful. I knew that was how most people reacted, but it almost offended me in a sense. She was still a human. She was just sick. I just felt like we didn’t need the pity. “Is she sick?” The woman came away from the stoop to talk to Shelby and I.
“Y-Yeah,” Shelby nodded with a soft sigh as she readjusted Lanie’s headpiece. “She has leukemia.” She explained. “Come on, baby. Let’s go.” She kissed Lanie’s forehead. “Thanks for the candy.” She smiled politely and began to pull the wagon down the driveway.
“Mommy, why does everybody know I’m sick?” Lanie asked from the wagon as she watched the other kids run down the street to try and get the most candy. “And why can’t I run like the other kids?”
“Honey, people just don’t know what it’s like to have cancer, so when they see you without your hair, they ask questions,” Shelby tried to explain. “It’s no big deal, baby. Don’t let it bother you, okay?” Lanie nodded. “And I promise you when you get better you can run all you want with the other kids.” She grinned. “Deal?”
“Deal,” Lanie smiled from the seat in her wagon. I walked next to Shelby and draped my arm around her.
“I’m proud of you,” I said softly so Lanie wouldn’t hear. Shelby frowned and turned her head towards me.
“Why? What’d I do?” She smirked with a frown.
“You answered her questions perfectly. You’re getting more comfortable with the disease,” I shrugged. “I wish I could be more comfortable with it.” I glanced down at the asphalt as we pulled into our driveway. Luckily, Lanie was satisfied with the amount of candy she had collected from the few houses we had stopped by.
She kissed my cheek and smiled. “Nick, I’ve been trying desperately to be more like you in this situation. You’re so confident and sure of yourself. I’m just trying to mirror you.” She blushed.
That’s when it hit me. We were making it work, day by day. While we were “making it work”, we were rekindling something. We knew we wanted to try “us” again and we were…no fighting, no hatred…just us being supportive of one another. It felt great.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
I sipped on my Diet Coke and waited for her to come. I saw the long blonde hair and smiled, standing up to offer her and her son a seat. “Thanks for meeting me, Leigh.” I sighed. “Hey Baylee.” I smirked at the young boy sitting in front of me that reminded me so much of my daughter.
“What’s up, Nick?” Leighanne asked me, completely concerned by why I had called her there.
“I was hoping you could answer that question for me,” I sighed and leaned back in my chair. “Ever since I’ve had to work on postponing my career, Brian’s been completely unsupportive. He’s the only one that has an issue with me being home with Lanie and Shelby right now…and frankly, I don’t think that’s fair. I mean, I know it puts off touring for him, but the album was released and he gets his money. Why is it such a big deal?” I decided to be forward instead of beating around the bush. She looked somewhat shocked, but understanding.
“Can I take your drink orders?” The waiter butted in.
“Uh, I’ll just have a water. Do you have apple juice in a kid’s cup?” She asked, referring to Baylee. The waiter nodded and hurried off with the order. “Wow, Nick…” she sighed. “I had no idea this was really taking a toll on you.”
“Not to be rude, Leigh, but how would it not take a toll on me?” I shot back and leaned across the table. “Listen, Brian’s one of my best friends. I know we’ve drifted a bit and definitely aren’t as close as we used to be, but that doesn’t mean he can’t be there for me right now. I would be there for you guys if Baylee was sick…” I felt bad even saying it. Leighanne didn’t seem upset and reached across the table to put her hand on mine.
“Honey, Brian loves you, Shelby and Lanie very much and would never wish anything like this on you,” she tried to explain. I knew that. I just wasn’t quite sure why he was treating me the way he was. “It’s hard on him. I think he feels like whenever Baylee gets sick – though it definitely is never as dangerous as Lanie’s illness – he’s not able to just stop touring and come home to us. I know it’s a completely different story, I just think it’s hard for Brian to realize that sometimes,” Leighanne shrugged.
“That’s not fair, Leighanne,” I muttered and played with the rim of my glass as a distraction. “It really bugs me when I’m looking for someone to lean on and he’s not there. It’s like, I have the weight of Shell, Lanie and myself all to hold up…I can’t always do it. And I don’t really get to see friends ever. I mean, unless they come to the hospital or something. Kevin was nice enough to drop by,” I said, as well. She smiled and nodded.
“That’s what Kristin said,” she grinned. “Nick, we all love you very much. If you ever need to vent or need someone to come by and keep you company for a while…please don’t hesitate to call. Brian and I are heading back to Atlanta next week…but we really want you to keep in touch. Please talk to Brian before we leave.” She squeezed my hand and I nodded.
“I’ll try,” I fidgeted with my straw a bit more and cracked a smile. Easier said than done.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Thanks for the reviews!! This is the 30th CHAPTER!! WOOHOO! That makes me very excited =] Review, review, review!! Thanks a bunch =]
