Patience

Chapter 15 - Old Friends

It's been a week since we got into Canberra, sparking the halfway mark of our trip. I've taken Mike to some of my favourite places to eat, see and experience while visiting Dad in his care facility, letting Mike and Dad become closer. I feel like their bond is very special already.

Today, we're going to see Mum. Mike found her a new bouquet of her favourite purple flowers and I found an old picture of her to put in her memorial cabinet.

We walked up to the familiar grave and I kneeled down to kiss her.

"Morning, Mama. I hope I didn't wake you. You were never one to get up so late anyway." I smiled, taking my summer hat off my head, letting the beaming sun on my hair.

"Mike's here again. I've been showing him around Canberra."

I gestured Mike to come kneel beside me and with a bright smile and more confidence than last time, he did so.

"Celia has been taking me to all these great places. It almost makes me not wanna go back home." He chuckled lightly, taking his sunglasses off his face.

"We brought you some flowers, Mrs Porter. I heard these were your favourite so I spent a lot of time trying to get the right ones. I hope you like them." Mike stood up and removed the dying flowers from the vase on her grave, replacing them with the brand new fresh ones. I stood up and opened her cabinet to place the old picture along with the others before we kneeled back in front of her.

"What's on the picture?" Mike asked.

"It's a picture of my mother and Tony when he was a little boy. He would've been 4 here."

"He has no hair? Or... Eyebrows? Does he have alopecia? His hair now looked fine to me." Mike asked, his expression curious.

"Oh, no, no. Tony got cancer when he was 2. Didn't get better until he was 5. This picture was... I think it was at one of the Ronald McDonald charity houses for kids. Apparently Mum was in one of the first ones made."

"Cancer? Really? Shit... I'm sorry." Mike put a hand on my shoulder.

"Don't be. It made him into a little shit." I chuckled.

"So... If you don't mind me asking... How did your mother pass away?"

"Breast cancer." I shrugged.

"And your grandfather?"

"Lung cancer."

"Grandmother?"

"Her heart gave out at old age."

He sighed in somewhat relief.

"Well... Uh... Seems like cancer likes to run in your family." He said softly, in an almost worried tone. "Have uh... you been tested for the BRCA gene, babe?"

"Uh... Um. N-no I haven't." I looked down at my hands. I've been avoiding getting tested for the BRCA gene. If I have it, I worry that my chances of getting breast cancer are inevitable. Some people can live with BRCA and not get cancer but Mike is right, I have an entire family who has had or still has cancer. It's a really scary thing to think about.

"Did you want testing done? I can conclude it for you, send it to pathology in Overlook."

"I'll think about it... but thank you." I smiled up at him.

"Mike, you should tell Mum about what it's like being a doctor." I nudged him lightly. He nodded with a smile.

He sat there and told her all the things he loves about being a family physician. Never have I heard such a passion in his voice about something he loves so much. He says he always love educating people on medicine and making the world a better place for it. He told a bunch of funny stories about delivering babies and working with kids, some of the weird adult patients he gets and the inevitable 'herbal, natural' patients. He sat there for a good 20 minutes talking about his work and it made me so happy. I think it made Mum very happy too.