The Life of Reba McEntire Blackstock

Part 17

Ok guys. I am going to keep writing this story due to the nice comments you all had! I will also write the treatment stages in a sequel to this story if you pinkie promise to keep reading it! :) So, without further adieu, part 17!

Reba's P.O.V.

Narvel and I enter the silent kitchen and walk to the seating closest to Mama and Susie, which happens to be at the kitchen table. Narvel pulls two chairs out and sets them right next to each other, facing Mama and Susie. He takes his seat and I sit as close to him as possible, practically on top of him. He snakes his arm around my shoulder and I take his other hand in mine. I look up at him and he winks at me telling me it's time to give the news. Susie, who has always been and always will be impatient, urges, "Come on guys! The suspense is killing me!" I squeeze Narvel's hand and he squeezes my shoulder as I take a deep breath. "Mama. Susie... I have breast cancer." My voice cracks as I said the menacing word, "cancer." I looked up from my lap to see Susie silently crying and Mama sitting there emotionless. I get up to hug Susie and she cries into my shoulder for some time. This gives me time to ponder why Mama has no emotion and almost get a little angry at her. Susie lets go reluctantly, expecting Mama to come by and take her spot. When she too realizes that Mama has no emotion displayed on her face, she looks concerned. Luckily she is able to ask questions easier than I am, so she questions, "Mama, why aren't you sad?" Mama answers simply, "Reba's is a tough nut to crack." I've always heard her use the expression before, but never with my name in it. I try to figure it out, then it hits me. Mama thinks I'm strong! I've never been the strong one. That was always Alice or Pake. After hearing that Mama thinks I'm strong, I feel rejuvenated and ready to fight. I go over to Mama and engulf her in a big hug. While hugging her, I whisper in her ear, "Thank you Mama." When we pull away, she replies, "You're welcome baby." "Ok people," I declare, "let us move to the living room to have part two of this discussion... treatment options," sarcasm heavily lacing my tone. We all get out of our seats and amble into the living room. Mama and Susie take the couch and Narvel and I take the loveseat. I sit down on Narvel's lap and he plays with the ends of my hair. "Okay. So, the potential options for treatment are 1) lumpectomy or mastectomy with daily radiation treatments for 6 weeks. Or, 2) chemotherapy, which you take in cycles of 7 to 21 days for about 12 treatments. Who wants to give their opinion first?" Susie's hand shoots up like a second grader who knows the answer. I nod my head, giving approval to start talking, and she begins. "I think that you should go for a lumpectomy with radiation. I've heard that if you do that, the cancer is less likely to come back. I wouldn't do a mastectomy because the recovery time after surgery is longer and then you would want to do breast reconstruction. If you do the lumpectomy you could still keep performing." I give Susie a grin, realizing that my family always looks out for me. I respond, "Ok, so far the score is lumpectomy 2, chemo 0. Mama what is your idea?" Mama looks at me as if she was confused by my statement. She then asks, "Who else voted lumpectomy?" I respond, "Narvel did. I was crying earlier then he came to the rescue to cheer me up. His opinion kinda slipped form his mouth without him knowing." I turned toward him and gave him a quick peck on his lips. Mama nodded her head in understanding then started on her explanation. "The best form of healing is not always from the medical field. Reba, in 2001, when you first released I'm a Survivor..." She looked up at me seeing if I remembered. I nodded yes then she continued on, "You used to call and tell me about all the people who sent you fan mail and how your song changed their lives for the better. Let those people encourage you the same way you encouraged them." With that, her explanation was over. She didn't need to tell me what to do with the doctor. She told me what to do with my personal life, which was much more helpful than simply answering lumpectomy or chemo. With tears in my eyes, I say, "Thank you for both of your opinions. Now, who's hungry? Susie can you help me in the kitchen?" She says yes, then I limp my way into the kitchen.

Jackie's (Mama) P.O.V.

Reba and Narvel enter the room, hand in hand. Narvel pulls out a chair for both him and Reba. As they sit down, I notice that they are both very tense. The way that Reba sits so close to him and how she looks up at him are dead give aways. I automatically brace myself for the worse so that I'm not devastated when the announcement comes. I've already experienced grief, as I lost my long time husband last year, so I know how to deal with it. I go back to watching Reba's actions when I hear Susie's voice pierce the silence, "Come on guys! The suspense is killing me!" I see Reba squeeze Narvel's hand as she takes a deep breath. She turns so that her body is facing us, then looks at the floor. She clearly states aloud, "Mama. Susie... I have breast cancer." Her voice wavers at the end, telling me it's still new to her too. It breaks my heart that she has to go through this, but this is nothing compared to what some people deal with. I consider Reba very lucky that she is going through this now, when she is at a steady place in her career and has a great man by her side. I glance over to see Reba and Susie in a tight embrace, with Susie crying on Reba's shoulder, and Narvel lovingly looking up at Reba. Susie lets go of Reba, waiting for me to give Reba a hug. When I don't come in for a hug, Reba and Susie both look at me, obviously confused by my actions. Susie is able to form a question quicker than Reba and asks, "Mama, why aren't you sad?" My answer is simple, but I know it will mean a lot to Reba when she unravels my coding. "Reba's is a tough nut to crack." I can see the gears in my daughter's head start turning as she tries to figure out my statement. I can tell when she finally crack open my riddle, because her eyes light up and her ego gets a boost. I normally don't consider Reba the strong one. That was always Alice or Pake. Reba and Alice were my little girls, so they didn't get much credit for anything. Reba comes over to me and wraps me up in her arms. She whispers in my ear, "Thank you Mama." When we pull away, I reply, "You're welcome baby." Narvel just has the goofiest grin on his face. Reba sighs and with a load of sarcasm says, "Ok people, let us move to the living room to have part two of this discussion... treatment options!" We make our way into the living room and I sit on the couch next to Susie. Narvel leads Reba to the loveseat and as soon as he sits down, Reba plops right on top of him. He plays with the tips of her hair as she starts the conversation, "Okay. So, the potential options for treatment are 1) lumpectomy or mastectomy with daily radiation treatments for 6 weeks. Or, 2) chemotherapy, which you take in cycles of 7 to 21 days for about 12 treatments. Who wants to give their opinion first?" Susie's hand shoots up into the air like a firecracker and Reba motions for her to talk. She starts, "I think that you should go for a lumpectomy with radiation. I've heard that if you do that, the cancer is less likely to come back. I wouldn't do a mastectomy because the recovery time after surgery is longer and then you would want to do breast reconstruction. If you do the lumpectomy you could still keep performing." Reba grins, letting Susie's opinion sink in. It's nice to see Reba asking her opinion, because they usually get into fights when Susie gives hers. Reba, ready to hear my opinion, says, "Ok, so far the score is lumpectomy 2, chemo 0. Mama what is your idea?" I look at her confused as to who else gave her an opinion. I question her, "Who else voted lumpectomy?" She responds quickly, "Narvel did. I was crying earlier then he came to the rescue to cheer me up. His opinion kinda slipped form his mouth without him knowing." He looks embarrassed by the fact the Reba sold him out. I think it was very nice that he cared enough to give thought to the treatments. Clark wouldn't have done that. Reba turned to Narvel and gave him a quick peck on his lips, as if apologizing. I nodded my head, then gave her my opinion. "The best form of healing is not always from the medical field. Reba, in 2001, when you first released I'm a Survivor..." I looked up to her to make sure she was remembering this as vividly as I was. She nodded her head yes, so I continued. "You used to call and tell me about all the people who sent you fan mail and how your song changed their lives for the better. Let those people encourage you the same way you encouraged them." Reba looked up with tears in her eyes and thanked us both for our opinions. She and Susie walked off into the kitchen to prepare dinner, leaving me and Narvel in the living room alone. The silence was so thick you could cut it with a knife. I finally asked, "How many times has she cried?" He stiffened up as I asked him this question. He mumbled, "Like 7 or 20 times." I laughed at his joke, but he was too tense to laugh with me. I looked at him and made him look me straight in the eyes. "You are a very good man Narvel. Thank you for being everything you are to Reba." I could see the tears forming in his eyes as a grim took shape across his lips. Suddenly, from the other room came a stark calling, "Dinner's almost ready. Everyone come into the kitchen."