Thursday, October 04, 2007

A Kernel of Corn ~ The Middle


This is harder than I thought it was going to be. Long story short, Nicole’s life went on according to her master schedule. She met the man of her dreams during the summer between our junior and senior years. Mark was six years older than Nicole, tall, blond, and handsome. He gave her an engagement ring for Christmas, and Nic and I spent the last semester of our senior year planning and preparing for her wedding.

After the wedding, I went back to my hometown and Nicole and I kept in touch. She must have been made for marriage because she said the hardest part about it was trying to come up with ideas for dinner every night. Nicole decided to accelerate her master life plan and, about a year after she married Mark, Nicole gave birth to the beautiful Elizabeth. I went to visit Nicole when Elizabeth was three months old. I was afraid to hold her, but Nic sat me on the couch and put Elizabeth in my arms. Once Elizabeth realized I wasn’t a source for dinner, she put her head down and fell asleep. I can still remember everything about that night, the feel of Elizabeth’s weight on my chest, her soft breathing, and that baby smell. I was afraid to move because I didn’t want Elizabeth to wake up and be taken away from me.

A few months after my visit, Nicole called and told me she had found a lump in her breast while feeding Elizabeth. She made an appointment to see her doctor, but she wasn’t really worried because everyone said she was way too young to have cancer. I asked Nicole how big the lump was, and she said "the size of a kernel of corn."

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

The excellent, moving writing continues...

It is a horrible feeling to want more of the story, but not wanting to hear the ending, for fear of what it is...

#1 Dinosaur said...

Do you even realize how beautifully and completely you evoke the simple sweetness of holding a baby?

Chin up. You can get through this (the telling of the story.)

jmb said...

Ah the title is clear now. I didn't say this last time but you are a good writer. I had a young friend who had breast cancer at 27. Unfortunately, although statistics are in one's favour at that age, it is not unknown.
Be back to read the end... Hoping for hope.
jmb