"Bizzy you have to talk to her. You can't just continue to shut her out."
"Susan." Bizzy said in a warning tone.
"Addison's not a child anymore. She can handle it.'
"She's my child. I am not supposed to be her friend. She does not need me to hold her hand."
Bizzy sighed softly in frustration as she stood by the window, facing out. Susan laid in the bed behind her, covered up to the waist in a light blue blanket with a white and purple trim that Bizzy had hand-stitched for her on their last trip to Rome. Moving a few stray hairs away from her eyes Bizzy turned back around to face the love of her life.
"Bizzy?"
"No, Susan. No."
They had been having this same fight for as long as either of them could remember. This being the only thing they fought about. Bizzy refused to have a real and honest conversation with Addison. It was a battle that Susan had fought since Addison was a teenager.
What always surprised Susan was that neither Addison nor Bizzy recognized how they mirrored each other. Both were strong and determined individuals. They had reached places in their lives where they were virtually untouchable. In Bizzy's world she'd reached the point that her social standing was a force to be reckoned with. No one crossed her. Her daughter was exactly the same. As a physician, no one was better than Addison Adrienne Forbes Montgomery. Doctors aspired to her level of expertise, and most would only ever be second best.
Bizzy had told her once she didn't need to have friends as long as she had Susan, and now Bizzy couldn't admit that she may not have Susan for long. They had come to Addison for a miracle... Bizzy had come for a miracle. Susan had come because it was what Bizzy wanted, and to try and repair the riff in the relationship that had widened between mother and daughter over the last year. She would at least do that before she died.
Bizzy's heart fell when she saw the look in Susan's eyes, knowing that she wasn't going to give up anytime soon. It was one of the many things she loved about Susan, the woman never gave up on something she truly believed in. She turned back around to face the window, looking out at the parking lot.
"Bizzy, she may not be able to fix this. I have stage four ovarian cancer. It's inoperable. She's the third doctor to tell me that. You can't expect her to perform the impossible."
"I can."
"Bizzy, be reasonable."
"You are… you are my life, my world. I will not let my daughter sit idly by and throw her hands up while you die. That's not acceptable. Addison has always needed a push to take the next step. She's always wanted greatness, but she has not always been capable of achieving greatness on her own. Me talking to her, me consoling her will stop her from trying. She will try. She will succeed."
"Just tell her you have faith in her."
"No, Susan. I don't want to talk about this anymore."
"I'm going to just say one more thing. Bizzy are you listening to me." Bizzy was still standing with her back to Susan looking out of the hospital room. The people in the parking lot were going about their normal business and she wondered how the rest of the world could still go on. How could they not see that the world was falling apart? Bizzy wiped away the tears that were forming in her eyes.
"Yes." She turned to Susan.
"I may die. Addison may come up with something extraordinary and I still may die. Its not her fault. She didn't give me cancer, and she certainly didn't kill me. Bizzy, she is your child and you need her more than you think. Don't push her away. Hold on to her."
Bizzy stepped over and sat down in the chair next to Susan's bed, taking her hand. She kissed the palm gently before leaning up and placing a soft kiss on Susan's lips. Susan began to say something but Bizzy shook her head.
"I don't want to talk about this anymore."
XXXX
Hope you enjoyed. Please review. Thanks to my Beta reader Mel. You have done amazing work.