Denny and Jenny had welcomed a son named Joey in 1964. In 1965, they had another son named Charlie, and in 1966 they had their third son named Henry. It was just weeks ago that they welcomed their first daughter, Kelly.
One day, Della walked into her husband's office. He and Paul were laughing. "What's so funny?" she tried to smile, but it didn't fool them.
"Forget about that. What's wrong?" Perry asked.
"What are you talking about?"
"You look like you're in shock."
"I guess I am." Della took a deep breath, "I've been keeping something from you. You see, I had my mammogram a month ago. Well, they saw something and wanted to do another one to make sure it wasn't a shadow."
"And?"
"It wasn't a shadow. They did an aspiration to test the cells. I just got the results today."
Perry and Paul could tell by the look on Della's face what the results were. "What does the doctor recommend?"
"Surgery to remove the lump and radiation," she answered. "I can't believe this." Della began pacing, "I don't have time to deal with this. We have six children between the ages of five and ten. You have this practice. I can't be laid up. Who will take care of the kids?"
"I will," Perry answered.
"What about the practice?"
"I'll close it for now."
"You can't do that."
"Della, your health is more important. I said I'd close it for now. If you get to a point where you're comfortable with Jenny coming over to take care of the kids without me there, then I'll open it back up. Right now, you need to be the main focus."
"He's right," Paul said. "Gertie and I are here if you need anything."
Della smiled at him, "thank you, Paul."
"Anytime, beautiful," he kissed her cheek, "I'll leave you two."
"When's your surgery?" Perry asked.
"Three days," she said, "he was able to fit me in and the sooner we start, the sooner we finish."
"I'll rearrange some things and talk to Jenny."
"Perry," Della said softly, "I'm scared."
Perry stood and walked over to his wife. He took her into his arms. "It's okay to be scared. We don't really know what's going to happen and the unknown is scary. I'll be beside you the entire time. I'll make sure you get through this." He heard his wife begin to cry, "that's it," he said softly as he rubbed her back, "just let it all out."
While the children had been told that Della would be tired a lot, only Peggy and Nicky knew the exact reason. They were the only ones old enough to understand. Della went home the day after her surgery. She needed a lot of help because it was too difficult to move her left arm at times. Perry would help his wife dress and bathe. He made sure her incision didn't get infected. One day, Perry and Della were watching television when Peggy walked in. "Daddy, could you help me? I have a Civil War test tomorrow and I'm having trouble remembering all of the dates."
"Sure," Perry turned off the television. "Let me see what you have." Perry took the notes from his daughter and looked them over. He quizzed his daughter and helped her find a way to remember at least most of the dates. Peggy and Nicky hardly spoke to Della anymore. Truth be told, they didn't know what to say to her. "Is Nicky still taking you to dinner?" Perry asked.
"Shoot," Peggy said when she saw the time, "I'd better get ready." She stood and rushed out of the room, "thanks, daddy," she called from the hall. Perry smiled and noticed the frown on his wife.
"What's wrong?"
"Peggy and Nicky have been so distant since my diagnosis."
"They just don't know what to say."
"Why can't they ignore it?"
"Della, they're not like their younger siblings. Both have suffered the loss of both of their biological parents. They're probably afraid that they'll lose you too."
Della sighed, "I guess I never thought of that."
"Peggy told me she wishes she could get her license now."
"Of course she does," Della said, "kids can never wait for that freedom."
"No," Perry said, "she wants her license in case you need to go to the hospital and I'm not here."
Della looked at her husband in shock, "really?" she whispered.
"Yeah," he said.
The front door opened and Nicky walked down the hall and into the living room, "you're not ready?"
"What?" Della said. She saw her husband smiling at her.
"I'll help her get ready now," Perry said.
"I don't understand."
"Nicky and Peggy are taking you to dinner," Perry told her. He stood and helped his wife to her feet before taking her upstairs to change.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"They wanted to surprise you. Nicky's early," Perry said, "he wanted to surprise you, but knew you needed extra time to get ready."
Perry helped his wife and then took her back downstairs where the children were. The three left the house and went to Nicky's car. The young man held the door for his mother and shut it once she was inside. When he got in the car, he noticed her struggling with her seatbelt. "Here," Nicky took it from her and gently fastened it. The three had a wonderful time at dinner that night. It was the first time in over a week, that Della's two eldest had really spoken to her. They apologized for ignoring the woman and she forgave them.
As the month went by, Della recovered from her surgery. She wasn't in pain after the first week. There was just some discomfort. The night before her first radiation treatment, Perry and Peggy could tell the woman was nervous. Luckily, the younger children had no clue what was going on. Perry took his wife to her treatment the next day and every day after. However, it was the end of her first week of treatment when Perry called his son and asked him to pick Della up from her treatment. He told Nicky that he had to take one of the kids for a check-up and had forgotten about it, so it was too late to cancel. Nicky agreed to go pick his mother up. Della was so tired that she'd fall asleep during her therapy, so Perry could sneak away.
Nicky walked into the waiting room of the radiology department and up to the receptionist, "hi, my mom, Della Mason, is here for treatment. My dad had to leave and I'm picking her up."
"She should be finishing up. Have a seat and the nurse will bring her out."
"Um, I've never seen my mom right after her treatment. How bad is it?"
"She'll just be tired. You might have to hold onto her," the nurse said sympathetically.
"Thank you," Nicky sat in a chair and waited. Soon, a door opened and Nicky saw a nurse, about his age, wheel his mother into the waiting room. The twenty-three-year-old stood and walked over to them. He crouched down in front of his mom., "hey, mom."
"Hi, sweetheart," she said softly.
The nurse looked at Nicky, "if you want to pull the car around, I'll wheel her out for you."
"Thank you," the young man said. He stood and went to get the car. When he pulled up to the hospital entrance, Nicky got out of the car and opened the passenger side door. He took his mother's hands and helped her to stand. Della moaned when she became dizzy. Nicky wrapped an arm around her. The nurse moved the chair out of the way so she could help the man. They got Della settled and buckled up. Nicky shut the door and turned to the nurse, "thank you, umm..."
"Nancy," she smiled and held her hand out.
"Nicky," he smiled back and shook her hand.
"Listen, if you have any questions or problems," she took out a post-it and wrote on it, "here's my number. Just call me if you ever need anything or any help with your mom."
"Thanks, Nancy," he smiled, "I'd better get her home."
"Drive safely," she said.
Nicky got in the car and drove off. "Did you really just flirt with my radiation nurse," Della mumbled.
"No," he said, "I thanked her and she gave me her number in case I had any questions about your treatment, care, etc."
"Uh-huh, sure," she said.
"What? She did," Nicky said.
"Oh, I have no doubt she gave you her number, but it wasn't for you to call her about me. I know you know that too."
"Sorry," he said.
"Don't be," Della said, "she's a sweet girl."
Nicky pulled into the driveway, "do you need me to carry you?"
"I don't know."
"I'll help you out and we'll go from there." Nicky got out of the car and went around to his mother's side. He helped her out of the car and shut the door. "You okay?"
"No," she sighed.
Nicky didn't hesitate to lift her. He carried his mother into the house and up to her bedroom. He then got her a glass of water and tucked her into bed. Nicky sat in a chair by the bed as his mother slept. Perry got home about an hour later. "You're still here?" Perry whispered.
"I didn't want to leave her. She was so weak and dizzy."
"That appears to be worse each time."
"I had to carry her inside."
"She was able to walk to the door last time. Then I had to carry her." Perry looked at his son for a moment, "you okay?"
"I've never seen her like this."
Perry placed a hand on his son's shoulder, "I know. It's really hard to watch. Just remember that she's really lucky. It could be a lot worse."
Nicky sighed, "I know. Oh, by the way, her nurse gave me her phone number."
"Nancy?"
"Yeah," Nicky answered, "she said to call if I had any questions."
"About your mother?"
"I assume so," Nicky answered, "she never specified."
"Oh, so she gave it to you so you'd call her for a date," it was more of a statement than a question.
"I think so, and so does mom."
"Hey, don't you have court tomorrow?"
"Yeah," Nicky answered.
"Go ahead and go home. I'm here now, so I can keep an eye on your mom."
"I don't know. Maybe I should wait until she wakes up?"
"Go home, son."
"Yes, sir," Nicky gently kissed his mother's forehead before leaving.
Della had three more weeks of treatment. If Nicky hadn't been busy with law school and his internship, he would have volunteered to take her more. Yes, he wanted to support his mother and be there for her. It also didn't hurt that she had a beautiful nurse. Nicky did end up calling Nancy and the two talked for three hours. It started with Della and her treatment before transitioning to their lives. Nicky made a date with Nancy for the end of the week. They had decided to keep it a secret while Della was still in treatment. Nancy didn't know if she'd get in trouble for dating the son of a patient.
All of the adults in the Mason and Street families took turns helping out with Della and the kids. They'd also take turns taking the kids out for dinner or to do something fun. Since his brothers had been born, Nicky had become quite close with Paula. In fact, he asked her about Nancy before even calling the young woman. Paula had spent years being alone and unhappy. She saw what life without her family was like and she hated it. Now, she hated how much her daughter-in-law was suffering. It could be worse, but it was still hard to watch.
Della became increasingly uncomfortable as her treatment continued. Her breasts were swollen as a result of the treatment. She spent a great deal of time in bed. It was difficult and exhausting for her to leave the house every day for her treatment, but she did. Throughout it all, Nicky and Nancy continued to date in secret. Perry had to practically do everything for his wife. Not that he minded. She was too uncomfortable due to her swollen breasts to do much. Della would have to wake Perry up in the middle of the night if she had to go to the bathroom. She hardly saw her children. Peggy and Nicky would sit with her when they could, but the younger ones were too rambunctious. It was hard for Perry to watch his wife struggle so much but grateful that he still had her with him.
