Six Letter Word [Kaylor]

November 2016 (Part 2)

My second PET scan was pretty uneventful. Having done it once, I knew it wasn't a bad test to take, and fairly painless. I still had to let them test my blood sugar using a finger prick, the test using blood from my port took hours to process in a lab instead of a few seconds using the kind of glucose monitor they use for diabetes. It was worth the poke to save hours sitting in an exam room. The fact that I even had that thought was pretty surprising, as the girl whose hands usually shake at the very idea of needle sticks. They hooked up the IV to my port this time, and thanks to the use of a little numbing cream, the port access didn't hurt at all. Feeling the cold from the tracer spread through my chest was a little disconcerting, but not unexpected, since I'd felt it in my arm when I had the first one. Karlie was once again able to talk to me from the booth with the radiologist, and this time my radiologist was musically inclined, so I could hear him singing along with Karlie's playlist. She'd spent a lot of time on it, I could tell, because the songs were clearly themed, and chosen so I could listen without feeling compelled to air piano or air guitar along.

We were so much better prepared this time, for how the test worked, what it would feel like. I didn't even change into a gown this time, instead opting for soft fleece pants and a loose necked shirt so they could access my port. And really warm socks. I remembered how many blankets they'd had to pile on top of me last time. I hadn't worn any jewelry other than my wedding rings since Karlie and I had date night at the steakhouse, so it wasn't too difficult to pass those off to her for safekeeping. I noticed as she bent down to give me a kiss before the scan that she was wearing both of our pendants, her K and my T. I hadn't worn a necklace since before the surgery, letting it heal, not wanting to irritate the skin. I hadn't realized how much I missed it until I saw her wearing it. She's always changing up her jewelry, often picking pieces because they came from her big contracts. But she'll usually throw in at least one piece besides her wedding rings that has sentimental value, rather than monetary. The pendants are like that.

After the test, she'd slipped my ring back on my finger, and then took one pendant from her neck and clipped it around mine. We walked to lunch a few blocks away, enjoying some fall sunshine, Jeff following discreetly behind us, just in case. I spotted a girl not far from our age wearing one of Karlie's Like a Kloss shirts down the block and urged my girl to go say hey. I always try to stop for people wearing my tour shirts when I can, so I figured that girl would be happy to meet someone she admired, and I was totally right. She stood on the corner, waiting for the light to change so she could cross, and Karlie approached from behind, stopping to stand just next to her at the light, like she wanted to cross too. The girl wasn't noticing, so I thought I'd give her a little poke. Pulling out my phone, I dialed Karls, smiling when her phone started playing the chorus to You Are In Love. She looked at the phone, a look of confusion crossing her face until she realized, and picked up. Hearing her voice was the nudge the girl on the corner needed to realize Karlie was standing there, and considering I'd hung up the second Karlie said 'Hey, babe,' Karlie was able to fully appreciate the squeal and huge grin she was gifted. They hugged and took pictures, and I got to take a moment to see what some of my fan interactions looked like from the outside.

When I saw the pictures on Instagram later, I was forced to look at the pendant around my neck. The one Karlie was wearing in the picture had a T on it, so I had to check mine, and sure enough, it was a K. She was out on a run with Sean, so I had time to wonder if she knew. Maybe she'd grabbed the wrong chain or something. But if she did know, if she did it on purpose, why? Another little piece of her that was with me even when she wasn't? She's always worn K jewelry, since long before I met her. Her sisters do the same, and they often have matching pieces. So probably she meant to take the K and simply mixed up which one went where. But a small part of me hoped it was a meaningful gesture, and not just a twist of happenstance. I forgot to ask. She got home from the run all glistening with sweat and rosy cheeked from the cold and suddenly I didn't care what she was wearing, jewelry or otherwise, as long as I got to help her take it off.