Читать книгу The Pink House - Trish MacEnulty - Страница 22

Thursday, June 29

“We got out as much as we could. The tumor was five centimeters and we took out thirteen nodules,” the doctor said, looking down at Lolly. He was a young, corpulent man with a helpless expression on his face.

“But you didn’t get it all,” Lolly said. The incision hurt. There on her left side was a line of folded skin; no nipple, nothing, just a scar. A red slash. They offered to put in an implant, but she refused.

“No, I’m sorry. We didn’t. It was just too advanced. We’ll have to start you on weekly chemotherapy right away. The nurse will go over the procedures with you and you’ll need to sign a consent form.”

Lolly didn’t say anything, just turned to look out the window at the parking garage and the hazy sky beyond.

“When can I leave here?” she asked.

“Well, we’ve got to keep these tubes in you for another couple of days to drain the fluid. And you’ll probably be feeling pretty nauseous for a few days after that, but I guess we could let you go home on Monday.”

“Monday?” she said, trying to keep the bitterness out of her voice. “I have work to do Saturday.”

“You can’t work. Bed rest for the next week.”

Yeah, right, Lolly thought. The doctor checked his watch and left without even saying goodbye.

For the next thirty minutes Lolly lay in the bed snatching at pieces of silence. They had cut her up in pieces and now they would poison her body. She thought of all the people who believed they’d been abducted by aliens. She was the one abducted, and the doctors were aliens, pod people. She didn’t have to go into a space ship to experience it.

“Hey.”

She looked up. Jen had finally come. Lolly didn’t know whether to scream at her or cry.

“Are you okay?” Jen asked.