Page 14 of Frosty the Biker

“Then why did you look worried?”

She heaved a sigh and the lines between her eyes deepened. “I didn’t want to tell you until I knew more.”

“Knew more about what, Mom?” Alarm bells were ringing in my head.

“At my last mammogram they discovered a few masses. I had to have a biopsy. Today I went in for the results. I should’ve known it was bad when he wouldn’t discuss it over the phone.” She bit her lip and thrummed her fingers on the counter.

“And?” I definitely didn’t get a good feeling about this.

“It’s malignant,” she softly murmured, and the floor fell out from under my feet.

I tried to get a grip. I was a nurse. I dealt with shit like this all the time. Yet, this was different. This was my mom. She was my rock—myeverything. It had almost killed me to move away from her.

“When are they removing it?”

“I have a pre-op appointment next week. He said he wants to be aggressive with this, so he referred me to a surgeon. He told me they will look at the surgical schedule and we’ll decide then.” She gave me a reassuring smile. “It will be okay.”

I wasn’t sure if it was me she was trying to convince or if it was herself. That envelope and the visit could wait. She didn’t need any more stress right now.

“Uncle Bowie needs to know.”

For a moment, she looked like she wanted to cry. “I know.”

“Hey, it’s almost closing time. Why don’t we go upstairs and decorate the tree? Ralph can handle closing. There’s no one here right now anyway,” I suggested.

“I think that sounds wonderful,” my mom said with a sniffle she tried to hide.

Ralph was restocking and straightening the shelves. He looked up when I approached. After I explained Mom was tired and we were going upstairs, he shooed me away. “You two go up and visit with that sweet boy. I absolutely have things covered.”

I kissed his weathered brown cheek. “You’re the best.”

He scratched his salt-and-pepper beard as he ducked his head. “Aww, Miss Ryian, you know you and your momma are like my family. Besides, I’m just doin’ my job. Have a good night and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Ralph had been working at the store since he retired from the Army—back when I was around six or seven. He lived in the same small two-bedroom house sandwiched between a couple of bigger homes. It was up past Burgundy Street, and he’d bought it after he returned to the area. He’d been like another uncle to me and between him and my Uncle Bowie they’d been my male role-models.

He had been in the Army with my dad. They’d been deployed together when my dad was killed in action. The sad part was that they were both on the verge of retiring. Mom said Ralph had promised my dad that he’d look after us if anything happened to him. He’d stood by his word. It was my cousin on my dad’s side that I’d gone to Chicago to stay with.

“See you tomorrow, Ralph.”

I went back to the office to grab my stuff and Anson’s bag. When I came back out, I saw Ralph give my mom a hug. He looked like he had tears in his eyes. I was glad she told him.

Over the years, I’d always wished my mom and Ralph would’ve gotten together. But it seemed they were just friends and that worked for them.

Ralph kissed the top of Mom’s head and they separated. “We’ll talk more tomorrow,” I heard him say to her.

Then Mom and I took the stairs up to the third floor. We stopped by to get Anson from Holly’s then went next door to Mom’s place. At first, Anson was upset he couldn’t stay with Daniel, but he quickly got over it when we pulled the decorations out.

Mom put the beans on and we all ate. She promised Jambalaya this weekend. I could not wait. I hadn’t had really delicious Jambalaya since leaving Louisiana. Once everything was cleaned up, we got to work unboxing everything.

She had little twinkling lights that ran the length of the balcony year-round, but we set up her actual outdoor Christmas decorations. Then we moved on to the inside.

I’d always loved that Mom set the Christmas tree up in front of the double doors in the living room. It was visible from the street, and I thought it was the most beautiful sight. By the time we were done, the house looked like a winter wonderland and Anson’s eyes were heavy.

“I’m going to take Anson and put him to bed. Why don’t you take your bike for a spin?” Mom offered.

“I can put him to bed. You go rest,” I insisted.

“Girl, if you don’t get your butt out of here,” she warned with a smile.

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