Page 12 of Weatherman

“I’ll be fine in a minute.”

A moment later, Natalie appeared in her zipped-up robe and slippers. Her hair was gone now, and she wore a scarf wrapped around her head. Weatherman pressed his lips together, knowing this bothered his mom a lot, but again, there wasnothing he could do about it. This feeling of helplessness bugged the shit out of him and made this whole situation worse.

She slowly made her way into the living room and sat in her big recliner. “I hate this crap.”

Weatherman agreed. “I’m sorry you have to go through it, Mom.” He poured some tea into a glass filled with ice. “I hope this will help settle your stomach.”

“Doctor told me to keep my fluids up no matter what or else I gotta get an IV,” she groused. “I don’t want any more needles to deal with than I have to. Bad enough with this damn portacath in my neck.” She took a cautious sip of the brew. “Yeah, that’s good. Thank you, dear.”

“No problem.”

She contemplated the glass in her hand. Mickey Mouse danced under the hundredth-anniversary logo. “You remember when we went there, when you were around six or seven.”

Weatherman smiled. “Yes, I do. We walked right into the Main Street Parade as soon as we got there. I was fascinated and a little scared. First time I’d ever been on a plane.”

“I wasn’t exactly a world traveler either. I figured driving would take too long outta our vacation time, so flying was a better way. I let Disney Travel make all the arrangements. Kinda nice just to pay one price and let someone else take care of it.”

Weatherman sat on the sofa next to the chair. His mother continued to sip at the tea, which she seemed to be keeping down so far. “I remember the rides, the shows, the food. Space Mountain was my favorite, I think, but then we went to Animal Kingdom the next day.” He smiled at the memory. “That was a great time.”

“We had some good ones, didn’t we? How ’bout the camping trip in Chattanooga?”

Weatherman laughed. “Oh shit, yes. We got the tent set up, and it rained like hell for three days. Flooded the whole damncampground. We still did the caverns and the aquarium but slept in the car. I still remember it was a fun trip.”

“Sometimes you have to adapt.”

Weatherman’s chuckles continued as he picked up his own glass of tea. He remembered how that phrase came from his mother’s mouth many times during his childhood. When she had to figure out a janky DIY repair at their apartment because the landlord couldn’t be bothered. When she had to leave work and take him to the emergency room because he’d fallen off his skateboard and broken his arm. When she got laid off from the bank and needed to come up with another income source for several months.

Sometimes you have to adapt.

Weatherman regarded the glass in his hand. This one had Dixie Stampede printed on it. “We did so many camping trips all over the place. Georgia, West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky—some really cool places. If you had a trip you could go on right now, what would you choose to do? Camping again or something nicer?”

“I liked the camping thing, but if I had the strength and the time, I’d go on one of them big tropical cruises. One that has the little paper umbrellas in the drinks. Never had one like that.” She paused. “I always thought I’d do that someday, but I’m not so sure I’ll get that chance now.”

Pain cut into Weatherman’s heart, clean and sharp. No, he wouldn’t acknowledge that thought by saying it aloud. Uttering those words would put some weight behind that possibility, and he wasn’t ready for that. Not yet. Not when there was any ray of hope.

His mom had been a powerhouse of a woman his entire life. The person to give him roots so he could grow wings. He would forever be grateful for all the sacrifices she made to give him the best life she could. And now, when faced with the ultimatechallenge, he wanted to give back all he was able. “I’ll make sure you get your cruise, Mom. You just gotta work a little harder to beat this thing.”

Her laugh was loud and weak at the same time. “I’ll do my best, dear, but it’s not up to me. Emma should be here soon. Why don’t you go get your ass outta here before you’re late? You want to give me something? Go find me a daughter-in-law who’s gonna take care of you when I’m not around.”

There it was again. “Mom, I wish you wouldn’t say shit like that.”

Natalie sighed. “Sweetheart, if I had the choice, I’d be here forever just to see all the great things I know you’re gonna do. Reality is, I might not. I promised you I’d fight the good fight as long as I could, and we’ll see if that’s enough. Lord knows I’d love to see you with someone special and with kids of your own.”

Weatherman sniffed. “I’m working on it.”

“Hey, y’all,” a voice called out. A minute later, an African American woman in scrubs came in the door carrying a plastic grocery bag of yarn. “Hey, Miz Natalie. I brought some yarn I found on sale over to Walmart. Lord ha’ mercy, them people there is crazy. I saw a woman shoutin’ down one of the clerks over a buy-one-get-one candy bar. She wanted the free one without paying for the first one.” Emma shook her head. “Don’t make a lick a’ sense.”

Natalie laughed. “I’d spend good money for that kind of show.”

Emma did the routine of checking vitals, then asking about symptoms, aftereffects, and general health. Weatherman stood from his spot to allow her to work.

Natalie joked about her sickness. “I always wanted to lose that extra twenty pounds, but I didn’t think it would come off this way.”

He had to laugh to keep from crying.

Emma chuckled. “Now that we got the business end of things done, let’s get down to what’s really important. I hope you’ll put down the cross-stitchin’ and show me how to cable knit today.”

Seconds later, the TV was on some afternoon talk show, and the two women were bent over needles and yarn.

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