Page 32 of Before the Storm

“You liked Ethan Hawke, right?” Tara remembered.

Josie cackled. “You liked him, too.”

Tara grimaced into a smile. She knew exactly why Josie was saying that. It was because Donnie and Ethan Hawke hadn’t been dissimilar back in the early 2000s; they’d both been rocker-esque types with long hair and big opinions.

That was the thing about having a sister. They didn’t let you forget a thing.

A nurse came to get them and led them down a long, brightly lit and white-painted hallway to a big room. Tara hadn’t thought for a second that Josie might not want her in the room, but when they entered, Josie gave her a look that seemed to meanwhat are you still doing here?

Tara realized that Josie had gone to every cancer appointment by herself. It was probably strange to share something so private.

But Tara didn’t want to go. She was there to talk Josie into taking whatever treatment was available.

“Can I get you anything? A water?” Tara asked.

“I’m fine. Let’s just get this over with.”

Tara sat and tore at her nails and waited. The clock on the wall ticked loudly.

Dr. Addison Franklin entered a few minutes later. She was in her late thirties or early forties, not so far off from Tara’s and Josie’s ages, and she wore skinny gold hoop earrings and a pair of high-waisted trousers under her white coat. Tara watched Josie, wanting her to acknowledge how great it was to have a female doctor. But maybe Josie was accustomed to that back in Manhattan.

“Hi, Josie. Hi, Tara,” Dr. Franklin began. “Thank you for coming in.”

“Thanks for having us,” Josie said. She sounded vaguely bored.

Per Josie’s request (after Tara’s urging), Josie’s Manhattan doctors sent her files to Dr. Franklin, and Dr. Franklin assessed Josie’s current cancer treatment strategy.

“I understand you want to cease chemotherapy and radiation,” Dr. Franklin said.

“It wasn’t worth it,” Josie announced firmly.

“It’s heinous,” Dr. Franklin agreed. “I can understand why you’d want to stop.” She folded her hands on her lap and continued to look Josie in the eye. “But here in Nantucket, we work directly with the cancer research center at my alma mater, Harvard. Because of this, we’re offering an experimental treatment plan to cancer patients such as yourself—patients who have struggled with chemo and radiation and seek other alternatives.”

“I’m not seeking other alternatives,” Josie said.

“Are you interested in hearing about the treatment plan?” Dr. Franklin asked.

Josie sighed. “I guess so. We already drove all the way here.”

Tara shot her a look that meantbe nice.

Dr. Franklin laughed gently. In layman’s terms, she described the experimental treatment plan, one that involved “tricking the body’s cells into attacking the tumors.” It sounded sensible to Tara.

But when Dr. Franklin finished describing the plan, Josie said, “Haven’t my cells been tricked enough?”

Dr. Franklin raised her eyebrows. Tara guessed she wasn’t accustomed to facing someone as hard-edged as Josie, someone so set on quitting.

“It’s the most advanced treatment plan available,” Dr. Franklin said. “It isn’t an option for most cancer patients across North America.”

“It should be,” Josie shot back.

“It’s on its way,” Dr. Franklin said quietly. “But the medical field is a difficult one. Pharmaceutical companies are never easy to deal with, either.”

Josie looked like she was about to rip into Dr. Franklin about the medical field and pharmaceutical companies. Her eyes spat fire.

Tara spoke, hoping to calm Josie down. “I told her it would be good to get a second opinion.”

“It always is,” Dr. Franklin said. “And my opinion is that this treatment could be beneficial for you.”

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