Chapter 3
Harmony Hospital...days later
A nervous Teresa paced the halls of the hospital waiting room as she and her brothers waited for news of their mother's condition. Pilar had collapsed that morning and been brought to the emergency room but no one knew what was wrong. Teresa had known her mother was more tired than usual and she had lost a lot of weight but Pilar had always brushed off her concern and so Teresa had let things be, figuring her mother would let her know if something was wrong. So the episode that morning had come as a shock to them all.
"Please God, let her be alright," she murmured closing her eyes n supplication.
Feeling that her legs would give out on her if she didn't sit down, Teresa sank on an ugly pea green chair and continued to plead with God for her mother's life. The sound of footsteps had her lifting her head and a tremulous smile lit her face when she saw Fox rushing towards her, an anxious Chad and Whitney at his heels.
"I came as soon as I got your message. Is she alright?" a frazzled Fox asked his girlfriend.
"I----I don't know," Teresa stammered, her dark eyes bright with unshed tears.
Fox pulled Teresa into his arms and softly stroked her dark hair.
"Pilar is a strong woman, Resa. She'll be alright," he whispered trying to console her as best he knew how.
"Fox is right T-Lo," Chad told her squeezing her hand and Teresa smiled up at him. Chad was one of her best friends in the whole world and she loved him like a brother.
"Everything will be alright, Teresa. You'll see," Whitney added and Teresa nodded but the sick feeling in her stomach warned her that something was terribly wrong.
Before she could open her mouth to reply, she heard her name being called and when she looked up she saw Ethan and Gwen making their way over.
"What the hell are you doing here?" she asked angrily and Ethan's blue eyes widened at the venom in her voice.
"Mother told us that Pilar had been brought to the emergency room and we wanted to know how she was. Pilar's like a mother to me, Teresa and I was worried," Ethan replied.
"You were worried," Teresa mimicked, her dark eyes flashing angrily and her hands shaking with rage. "Were you worried about Mama when you let Rebecca fire her from the job she's held for over 25 years? Or when Miguel lost his job at the Cannery and Mama had to get a second mortgage on the house to pay for Maria's hospital bills? Were you worried about Mama when you evicted us from our home? Were you worried about Mama's health when we got the news of Antonio's death or when Luis went to you and asked you to loan him the money we needed to send Paloma a plane ticket home so she could come home for her brother's funeral? Were you worried about Mama then?" Teresa yelled so angry she was literally shaking.
"Teresa you're not being fair. None of that was my doing. I begged Rebecca to put a halt to her scheme for revenge but she wouldn't listen," Ethan replied.
"You didn't try very hard though did you Ethan? Your guilt over Sara's death allowed Rebecca and Gwen to manipulate you to their whim. It didn't take much talking for them to talk you into adopting my son did it?" she shot back pleased when she saw her words had hit their mark.
"I trusted you Ethan. And you betrayed me in the worst possible way. You turned your back on me just like you did in LA after Gwen's accident, just like you did when we got back from Bermuda, just like you've always done whenever I've needed you. Well you know what? I don't need you anymore. I have my family and my friends and I have Fox. He's ten times the man you will ever be. So do us both a favor and get the hell out of here because just looking at you makes me sick to my stomach," Teresa told him and Ethan cringed at the hatred he saw in her eyes.
"GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE, YOU SANCTIMONIOUS BASTARD," she yelled when he didn't move. "GET OUT, GET OUT, GET OUT," she raged pounding her tiny fists on his chest and with a weary sigh Ethan complied.
Gwen had been right when she'd warned him that he had burned his bridges with Teresa but a part of him had been hoping she was wrong. Tangling a weary hand through his light brown hair, he looked around the room but the sea of stony faces told him that he had no allies here and so he retreated, a petulant Gwen at his side.
When Ethan and Gwen had disappeared Fox laid a comforting hand on her arm.
"Are you alright babe?" he asked and Teresa nodded. Just then they all saw Eve walking toward them and the somber expression on her face warned them that the news wasn't good.
"Eve how is Mama?" an anxious Luis asked and everyone tensed as they waited for Eve to impart her news.
"Your mother's blood tests indicate that she is suffering from acute myelogenous leukemia," Eve replied sadly.
"Leukemia? Mama has cancer? That can't be right," a flabbergasted Teresa yelled. "Dr. Russell run the tests again. There has to be some kind of mistake," she sobbed
"I checked and double checked the lab results Teresa. There's no mistake. Pilar has AML. You're welcome to get a second opinion, if fact I'd recommend it but the diagnosis will remain the same. I'm sorry."
The tears Teresa had held at bay through sheer force of will earlier began to fall and she sank to the floor as gut wrenching sobs racked her small frame. Fox, Chad, and Whitney knelt beside Teresa and gathered her into their arms as she cried.
At the other side of the room a heartbroken Miguel turned to Charity and the slender blond haired beauty opened her arms to her boyfriend. Only Luis remained dry eyed though his eyes were bleak and desolate. Refusing to let his emotions show, he calmly asked Eve if Pilar's illness could be treated.
"Yes, chemotherapy would be a tremendous help and once she's in remission we could perform a bone marrow transplant. But first we need to find a donor and the possibilities of finding a perfect match are slim because of your mother's age. And even if we did there's no guarantee that her body would accept the new organ. She could go into shock and die," Eve replied bluntly.
"But a bone marrow transplant would greatly increase her chances wouldn't it?" Luis persisted.
"Yes Luis it would. But like I said finding a perfect donor will take time and your mother would need to be in remission before we could even attempt such a delicate surgery. Chemotherapy is expensive and your mother doesn't have insurance. The hospital could pay for part of her treatment and there are programs that would also help but we couldn't begin treatment until payment is guaranteed."
"Start the treatment, Dr Russell. I'll have a check for you in the morning," a resolute Teresa replied and everyone turned to stare at her in surprise.
"Teresa you know we don't have that kind of money. Are you planning to rob a bank?" a shell-shocked Luis asked his baby sister.
"I know exactly how to get the money we need and I won't need to rob a bank to do it," Teresa told him. Picking up her purse and jacket she turned back to Dr. Russell. "Start the treatment," she stated again.
Teresa was about to accept a deal with the devil and consequences be dammed.