The Life of Reba McEntire Blackstock

Part 15

Reba's P.O.V.

This decision is a very terrible one for me to make. It's haunting me like the dark rain cloud in Mario Kart, waiting to strike me or move on to someone else as soon as I make contact with them. I can't seem to focus on anything for longer than 5 minutes without having to remind myself that I have a decision to make. I finally crutch myself into Narvel's office and sit down in the plush chairs across the desk from him. I bring my knees up to my chest and set my chin on top of my knees. He looks up from his computer as I get settled in. Without saying anything, he gets up from his chair and comes over to me. He picks me up and brings me into the circular room overlooking the pond. He sets me down on the loveseat and takes a seat next to me. We just sit there, looking at the ducks swimming back and forth, quacking at each other. The tears I've been holding back all day start to roll down my face and Narvel brings my face to his shoulder. He lets me sit and cry on his shoulder for what feels like years. He never says a word, just runs his hands through my hair and wipes the tears off of my face. That was the best medicine for me. I usually don't get to just cry stuff out. I am always so busy that there is no crying breaks. I get a whole lot of "take 5"s and "10 minutes 'til showtime"s, but never have time to let my emotions take over. When all my tears dried up, I asked Narvel, "What do you think we should do?" He turns out to look at the pond then talks quietly, "The survival rate for the stage 2 cancer is 74%. That is very high and you are more stubborn than a fact. I know that you will thrive throughout the treatment stage. Personally, I do not like the idea of chemotherapy, because you are going to push yourself through the times you are fatigued and hurt yourself worse. The fans will be alright if you miss a show because they know what you are going through, but you won't. You will beat yourself up mentally if you miss a show for *air quote* selfish reasons. I like the idea of a lumpectomy or mastectomy with daily radiation treatments." I look at him with awe, amazed by how hard he has thought over this. Here I am, trying to get some housework done, but can't because I have this decision haunting me, and then there is Narvel who worked all day, sorting out Kelly's tour, arranging mine and Caroline's scatter dates, ect., and still managed to think this hard about me. I squeak out the words, "Thank you," and he looks at me very confused. He questions, "For what?" and I answer, "For believing in me, caring for me and loving me unconditionally." He giggle and grabs my hand, "Oh baby. You don't have to thank me. I always have and always will do those things. You don't even have to have me at gunpoint! It's my job... In fact, it's my favorite job." He leans over and pecks me on the cheek, then stands. He continued, "Ok, so there's my opinion. I think you need a couple more though, so why don't you call your Mama? She is a wise ol' owl and may have a different idea than I do." I nodded my head at the reasonableness of Narv's suggestion then crutched my way to the kitchen to retrieve my phone.

Narvel's P.O.V.

Usually the stress of working gets my mind off the stress of my personal life, but today working doesn't seem to cut it. My mind always seems to wander to what Reba might be thinking about. I mean, this is her decision and it's a very hard one to make. I think about the options long and hard between phone calls, until I tell myself not to worry any longer. Reba is a very strong, smart, independent woman that will do fine making this decision. With my mind at ease I continue with my computer work until Reba crutches into my office. She takes the seat across from me, bringing her knees up against her chest. This is very unlike her, so I get up from my desk and carry her bridal style to circle room overlooking the Cumberland River. We usually don't come in here, so I figured a change of scenery for this moment would be wise. I set her down on the floral loveseat then took the place next to her. I wrap my arm around Red then we sit and gaze at the movements in the river. After I break my stare from the ducks, I look over at Reba and see tears rolling down her face. Reba rarely cries, so when she does it breaks my heart. I ache to say something, but I also know that sometimes silence is the most comforting thing in the world. I stare at her, running my hands through her hair and wiping the tears from her stained cheeks. After her tears dry from her face and her voice no longer cracks when she talks, she asks, "What do you think we should do?" I look out the window and my opinion kind of just spills out of my mouth. ""The survival rate for the stage 2 cancer is 74%. That is very high and you are more stubborn than a fact. I know that you will thrive throughout the treatment stage. Personally, I do not like the idea of chemotherapy, because you are going to push yourself through the times you are fatigued and hurt yourself worse. The fans will be alright if you miss a show because they know what you are going through, but you won't. You will beat yourself up mentally if you miss a show for *air quote* selfish reasons. I like the idea of a lumpectomy or mastectomy with daily radiation treatments." I keep looking outside, realizing what I just said. I didn't mean to tell her how I felt, I didn't want to influence her decision. I wanted her to make this decision herself and be as happy as a newly diagnosed cancer patient can be. I turned back to her and her eyes were glazed over. I was about to have a full on panic attack for making her cry with my opinion when she whispered, Thank you." I look at her, bewildered by her statement. Why would she be thanking me for ruining her life? I finally stutter out, "For what?" She replies with stars in her eyes, "For believing in me, caring for me and loving me unconditionally." All I can do is giggle. Honestly, I am so relieved that I didn't hurt her. I wrap her hand in mine and reply, "Oh baby. You don't have to thank me. I always have and always will do those things. You don't even have to have me at gunpoint! It's my job... In fact, it's my favorite job." I lean over and kiss her on her cheek, stand from the couch, then continue on. "Ok, so there's my opinion. I think you need a couple more though, so why don't you call your Mama? She is a wise ol' owl and may have a different idea than I do." Reba always thoroughly enjoys talking to her mama, so I figured that this phone call was a good idea. She nods, then I leave to return to my work, worry free.

Thanks so much for all of the votes and comments!!!! I love getting them, they inspire me to write as quickly as possible! Keep reading, voting and commenting!! :)