Page 1 of Axel

Chapter 1

Kahana spelled his name four times before he asked her for pen and paper so that he could write it down for her. If he didn’t love his mother so much he might not have forgiven her for his name. He and his brothers believed her when she said that she’d picked their names from a baby book by picking a page number and then a number down in the names. At least he didn’t end up with Penrod. His brother was never able to live that one down.

“Doctor Tattler is with a patient, Doctor Hathaway. If you’d like to have a seat, I’ll let him know that you’re here.” He thanked her and went to find a seat in the over crowded office lobby. He hated doctors with a passion. Of course, he was one, so he thought that he had a better handle on them than most.

Thinking to himself, he was glad now that he’d not asked one of his brothers to go with him. He didn’t know what they’d say right now if they knew that he was in the office of their family doctor waiting on the results of a biopsy that he’d had done several days ago. They’d more than likely pound his head in.

He might not have worried about it at all if not for helping an elderly woman with her end-of-life paperwork all because she’d left a mole on her shoulder go. Just like he’d done for the last few months when it appeared.

That afternoon, he’d scheduled himself a time to have it biopsied. The surgeon, David Kincade, said that he’d do it for him, and no one would be the wiser. Then, he was called out of town to do a special surgery for someone, and he asked him where he could send the results. The only other doctor that he trusted was their family physician, Elon Tattler.

After being weighed and his blood pressure taken, he was taken to a room. This office, like a great many of the offices, this one and his own, were connected to the hospital. All he’d had to do was go to work and leave his area before ending up in the one with Tattler. No need for him to drive anywhere as he was sure he’d have an accident as nervous as he was.

“Your pressure is up. I’m going to just think that it’s some dame you’ve been eyeing rather than these results. Didn’t I tell you it was nothing to worry about?” He said he’d feel a good deal better if he could have the professionals tell him. “You were never trusting as a child, Kahana. All right. Let’s see what we got.

Instead of reading it to him, Tattler handed the envelope over to him. Pulling out the mostly blank sheets of paper, the words across the top said there was no sign of cancer. Lying his head back on the chair, he had to take several deep breaths before he thought he’d not shed the tears that were filling his eyes.

“You all right there, Kahana?” He nodded, and the tears broke free. “Had I known you were this nervous young man, I would have brought them to you last evening. I’m sorry about this. The report also states that your bloodwork came back clear of it as well. You’ll need to keep that wound clean and dry for a few more days, but other than that, I think you’re about as healthy as a horse.”

“I wanted to believe you. I did. But you know how it is when you get something stuck in your head. There is no shaking it lose.” Tattler asked him if he needed to call his parents and brothers. “I didn’t tell them anything. I didn’t want them to worry. I was doing enough of that on my own.”

He looked shocked, and he asked him if he thought that wasn’t right. “Not to tell your family is treading on thin ice, Kahana. They’ll worry about you twice as much now because they’ll believe that you’re not as forthcoming as they had hoped. Trust me on this. They’re going to find out. Someone is going to let it slip, and you’re going to be in the doghouse for a long time.”

“I never thought of that. My only concern is that my dad, you know about his recent illness.Mom’s been fretting over him for the past couple of months. That’s why I did it here and not someplace more specialized on this sort of biopsy.” He told him that was good thinking, but he should have told at least his parents. “You’re right. I’ll tell them…we’re all getting together tonight for dinner, so I’ll tell them all then. I don’t know what I was thinking now that you’ve pointed out to me how hard they’d take this.”

“And if the results would have come back differently, they would have been doubly hurt knowing that you didn’t tell them so they could get you treatments sooner. Or whatever goes on in the mind of parents.” Tattler laughed. “My wife and I had no children, and I’m so old now that I don’t remember even what it was like to be a child. Time sure does slip by, young man. Remember that. They’re not going to be around forever, so enjoy them for as much time as you have.”

He’d had his calendar cleared for the day so that he could deal with whatever was going to be told to him. Deciding that he was going to go and see his parents, he closed up the office, telling the nurses who worked for him that they could have the day off with pay. He made his way home. Lucky for him, he supposed, his parents rarely left the house through the weekend, and he’d have them all to himself. Kahana started perfecting the speech he was going to tell them. By the time he was at their home, he’d cried twice more and had an upset head. Not a headache but his head was stuffy and paining him because of what he was going to have to do.

He saw his dad first. Dad loved to work crosswords and was good at it. When he asked if mom was home, she came into the room and kissed him on the cheek when he hugged her. He didn’t know how to start so he just started at the beginning.

I found this mole, or that’s what I hoped it would be on my shoulder a couple of weeks ago.” His mom started to cry, but she didn’t say anything. “I had surgery just in the office of a friend of mine, and he sent it off to be tested. It’s not cancer. Just a mole like I had hoped it would be.”

“You didn’t tell us because you were worried about me, weren’t you.” Though it was a statement, he told his parents that it was part of it. “I’m not sure if I want to know the rest. While I appreciate your reasons for not telling us when you found it, I’m still not happy that you didn’t ask for our support when you did. We would have been there for you, son.”

“I know that. I honestly did. I just wanted to…honestly, I just wanted to shelter you from bad news. I would have told you if it was cancer, I swear to you on that. Just that…well, I didn’t want you to be fretting over me all the time.” He’d meant it as a joke, but neither of them were laughing. “I was wrong in that. I know that now, Doc Tattler pointed out that I should have told you before.”

“Would you have told us when you found out that you didn’t have cancer?” He told his mom that he’d thought not to worry them. “I see.”

“Mom, please don’t be upset with me. I just didn’t want to worry you. And you would have too even though it came back noncancerous.” He got up off of the chair he’d been sitting in and went to his mom. Bending down on his knees, he took both her hands into his. “I love you with all that I am. You know that, don’t you? No other woman will ever be like you, and I’ll more than likely never get married because I would be comparing them to you, and they’d surely fall short. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I do wish now that I had.”

“Because we’re upset with you?” He said that wasn’t it but that he didn’t have anyone to lean on when he had not told anyone. “You didn’t even tell your brothers? That’s not like you. You share everything with them.”

“I didn’t because I didn’t want them to worry either.” He put his head on her lap and let the tears fall. “I’ve been an idiot in this. Please forgive me.”

“You’re not going to leave me soon. For that, I’m grateful.” She yanked his head up from her lap and looked him in the eye. “You pull another stunt like this again, and I won’t hesitate to take you out to the barn and beat your bottom. Do you understand me?”

“Yes, ma’am.” She put her hands on his cheeks and then smacked him. “I deserve that and more.”

“See that you remember that in the future. I’ll not put up with your shenanigans again. Do youhear me?” He told her that he did, loud and clear. “Good. Now, as punishment, you’re going to be peeling potatoes for dinner tonight. And we’ll need a good many of them.” She looked at him again. “I love you, Kahana. I hope you understand that in the future as well.”

“As I said, no one will ever come between my love for you and dad. You’re first in my book no matter what kind of person that I meet along the way to love or marry.” She snorted at him and told him she couldn’t wait until he met the right woman. “I don’t care if I ever meet her, mom. I’m at my happiest just being your son.”

He did have to peel potatoes. He didn’t mind so much, but he was careful with the peeler he was using. The sucker was all kinds of sharp, and he didn’t want to have to go get any kind of medical assistance after today. Besides, he was sure that his mom would knock him off the stool if he were to get hurt peeling some spuds.

Working in the kitchen with his mom was a rare treat. She didn’t care for people in her domain when she was busy, but he had a feeling that she was all right with it today as he’d been hurt. That’s what she’d think of it as too. That she’d not nearly lost him but that he’d been hurt and needed extra care today.

By the time he was finished making tea for tonight, his shoulder was hurting. Asking mom for something to take for it, had her sitting him down to see what had been done. As soon as she pulled the gauze back, her hiss of breath had him trying to turn to see it, too. From his angle, it looked all right to him.

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