Chapter 2

Gordo placed the receiver down on the phone. He let out a huge yawn.

"I guess that's the new record…" After five hours of talking, he was pretty tired.

Not as tired as Lizzie though, she sounded a wreck

Gordo stretched out and lay on his back, arms resting under his head.

He wondered how Mrs McGuire was feeling, he certainly didn't know how Lizzie was. Well yes, she did pour out her heart to him, but he didn't entirely understand a lot of what she was saying. Something about, not getting a chance to grow-up properly…

"Oh man, this is one thing no one needed. Why, why, why?" It was now Gordo's turn to ask questions. Being Jewish, he had a deeper plea, a plea to someone higher than he, who he wanted comfort from.

"Please, please let them be okay. Please let Lizzie and Mrs McGuire be okay."

Back at the McGuire house, a family meeting was in session. Everyone was sitting in the family room. Matt was sitting on the floor, playing with the fray of the carpet. Sam was sitting next to Jo on the couch, both were red-eyed, but no-longer crying. Lizzie was standing quietly beside the doorway.

"Lizzie," Said Jo, "Whatcha doin' over there, c'mon and sit down here with your dad and me."

Lizzie shrugged. "Its alright. I'm fine here. Thanks.'

Sam and Jo looked at each other. They knew that the cancer was a very strange thing for the kids to understand, to deal with. They were worried about how Lizzie was suffering from the grief. It was as though she was in a state of denial, and that if she didn't acknowledge her mom, she wouldn't have to face it.

Sam cleared his throat. "Um, guys, y'know what this meetings all about, right?"

"yeah." Echoed Matt and Lizzie.

"Yeah," Sighed Sam "Mom's got a cancer, its in a part of her body called the ovaries…its not that big, because the doctors said they found it early."

"How'd they know to look for it?" Matt asked, slightly more open to the situation than Lizzie was.

"Well," Said Sam "A few weeks back…when your mom was having her special women's check-up, well, the doctor noticed something. That's why mom had that operation, so they could get a tiny bit, and see if it had…cancer. Which it…uh…it d-did."

Everyone went silent. Lizzie was taken aback to see Sam leaning forward with his head in his hands, shoulders shaking. Jo was holding him, they were both crying. She wanted to leave, she wanted to go back up to her room. She wanted to be anywhere, science class even. But not here, not when her parents were like this. It meant that everything that was happening, everything from the past few weeks was real. She wanted to leave, but couldn't. She was glued to the spot and her feet were like lead. She needed to get away.

"D-dad?"

Sam looked up, all eyes were on Lizzie

"Uh…h-how long is this g-gonna take?"

"What?"

"I-I have to do home-homework. Homework. In my room."

Sam let out an exasperated sigh.

"Lizzie! This is important. Can't it wait?"

Lizzie sighed and looked down. That was the last time she'd look them in the eye while they were talking about…the topic.

"Yes sir."

"Okay. Because its so early, there's a huge chance that the treatment will work, so its not all doom and gloom."

It sure doesn't feel that way Lizzie though to herself.

"Well that's it guys. Mom'll be starting her radiotherapy in a few weeks."

Matt looked up, clearly astounded, perhaps even angry.

" A few weeks?"

"That's what I said son."

"But…won't that be…too long or something?"

Jo shook her head.

"No, honey, there's some good news, its early enough to wait just a little while. So early, in fact, I have to wait until some of the more…advanced…patients are finished."

One of the many disadvantages of a small suburban public hospital. Waiting lists.

"Will you loose your hair?" Matt asked.

Jo shook her head. "Radiotherapy isn't as strong as chemotherapy. Its just like a really strong x-ray that focuses on the one area, for me, its my ovaries. I wont loose much hair at all."

Lizzie cringed at the thought of radiation concentrating that much on one area.

"Won't that make it spread?" Matt, who was a little less solemn at the thought of radiotherapy than his sister, inquired.

"No, it will be enough to kill off the cancer. I'm not entirely sure just how it works, but its been used for a long time now."

At that moment the phone rang. It was Nana, wanting to know how her baby was.

Finally thought Lizzie A chance to escape.

She went back up to her room, it was almost nine o' Clock, so she decided to go to bed.

Downstairs, following Nana's call, Jo and Sam were discussing their daughters distance issue.

"Its just not Lizzie! she always comes to me with her problems, she was always so supportive. I don't understand it, Sam, I need her!"

Sam placed a comforting hand on his wife's shoulder.

"I don't know, I've never really understood Lizzie since she became an adolescent. I'm guessing she just doesn't want to deal with the whole prospect of your being sick, so she is shutting it out as long as she can by keeping her distance."

Both sigh

"It can't be good for her either." Commented Jo "She needs support as well. I mean, with Matt, he's not at that stage yet, life isn't as awkward for him. But Lizzie is still only finding her feet. Now she has to do that without her m-mother."

With that, Jo broke down, suffering her cancer with the added guilt of feeling responsible for Lizzie's detachment.

Sam shook his head profusely "She is not going to do it without her mother, you'll still be here!"

"But I'll be sick and tired and nauseous. I won't be able to listen to her problems."

Sam straightened up. "Then I'll have to, just while your on hiatus."

Jo stopped sobbing and gave Sam an incredulous look.

"Sam…she's a girl, on the verge of womanhood. She won't want to discuss everything with you."

"If she's on the verge of womanhood, then she'll understand that things aren't always as straightforward as the ideal. Now c'mon honey, I think we should go to bed. You look tired, I'm tired. We can face the problems of tomorrow, tomorrow."

If tomorrow never comes

Would you know how much I loved you

Did I try in everyway, to show you everyday

That you're my only one?

And if my time on earth were through

And you must face this world without me?

Is the love I gave you in the past

Gonna be enough to last

If tomorrow never comes

Au/note

Yeah…

Just so you know, I know the lyrics to "If tomorrow never comes" are wrong, its from a "new" "revised" Treemeadow edition.

If any of you have suggestions, I'd be glad to hear them out. But no flames…im such a sensitive weed…I close up when people stand on me.