Helpless | A Modern Hamliza Story

Chapter Thirteen

"Any progress on the cat endeavor?" Amy asked when she entered Eliza's cubicle on her last day of treatments for her third cycle. She began washing her hands, looking at the couple sitting across from her.

Eliza was of course in her usual sweats, though she wasn't as cheery as she usually was on her last session of a cycle, and quite frankly, she didn't even want to talk much today.

As this cycle continued on, she got sicker and sicker each week, and the oral chemotherapy drug she was taking in combination wasn't helping much either. There was scarcely a day this week she wasn't either tired or slightly dizzy, and today was no exception.

Eliza looked exhausted and was already nauseous just thinking about the medication that was about to be infused into her body and how the rest of her day was going to be spent. She was only sitting up so much because the back of her chair was holding her up.

"We agreed on getting one a few months after all of the therapy is finished," Alexander explained, getting up out of his seat to help pull Eliza hair up and out of the way. She usually had it up during her sessions, but must have been too exhausted this morning to get it up. "I'm still not so sure about it, but she really wants one. I'm sure it will be fine as long as the demon creature stays away from me."

Nurse Amy laughed. "That's exactly what my husband had said when we first picked out our kitten. He tried resisting our cat for months, but eventually he gave in. I don't think I've ever seen him love an animal more!" Amy recalled, reiterating the story she had told them last week.

Alexander gulped, hoping the situation would be different for him. Alexander hated a lot of things and a lot of people, but there was nothing he hated more than being wrong, except maybe admitting to Eliza that he was wrong. If Nurse Amy was correct, he was somehow going to become a cat lover, and he was not prepared for that.

"Well, Eliza promised that this would be her kitten, and I'm planning on it staying that way," Alexander explained as he finished pulling Eliza's hair out of the way and stepped away for Nurse Amy to continue her work. "She's already been talking about what kind she wants and what she wants to name it."

Eliza nodded, still not wanting to talk much. "I want a boy cat named Milo," she confirmed, moving her eyes away from the IV needle that was about to be placed. "I just have a feeling Alex is going to get attached to the fur baby."

"I wouldn't be shocked," Amy admitted once the IV was connected. "In fact, I'd be shocked if he didn't. Husbands always act tough about the fur babies until they get ahold of them. Be sure to sneak a picture of them together and show me at your follow ups."

Eliza nodded as Amy washed her hands once more and headed to the next cubicle.

"Milo? Really?" Alexander said once Amy had left.

He was really warming up to the idea of getting Eliza a kitten, but that name? He hated it. Of course, it would be Eliza's kitten, and it would completely be her choice on the name, but he really would have preferred it to be something different.

"I like it. Can't you just see a little grey and white kitten—Milo—curling up with us at night and nudging our faces?" She thought for a moment, forgetting about the scrapbook. She felt too tired to work on it today anyways, and would rather just talk for the remainder of the therapy.

Alexander rolled his eyes playfully, smiling at his sweet wife. "I'm okay with a kitten curling up with you all night. But you really like the name Milo?"

"Well, what would you rather name him?" Eliza retorted, smiling at her difficult husband. She slid up so she was sitting up more in her chair and took a sip of water to keep herself hydrated.