Chapter 22

Bette swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat as she stood in the gallery where she and Megan were constructing what the art magazines were now calling ‘the most passionate show of the decade’. Bette blinked back tears as she began to see each piece in front of her take on new meaning.

Bette walked up to the piece she had been working on and let her shaking fingers pass over the firm surface as her mind raced through several thoughts quickly.

“I wonder if this is Janet.”

Bette blinked back tears, shaking her head trying to silence the emotions she worked to bottle up, as they begged to be expressed.

“How would Janet feel knowing Megan won’t fight for their daughter?”

Bette slumped into the stool that was set up in front of the large sculpture she created from the ground up with Megan’s expert advice and guidance. She put her face in her hands and allowed the tears to fall freely down her face.

She looked up as a hand gently touched her shoulder to break into her thoughts. Bette looked up and met a pair of warm and expressive eyes.

“Why aren’t you fighting?” Bette’s thoughts began to spill out of her mind.

“That’s your first question?” Megan asked surprised to be met with a saddened Bette rather than an angry one, given she had kept her true intent from Bette. “I would have thought you’d be mad.”

“I am mad, but not for the reasons you think I am.”

“You believe you know what I think?” Megan challenged.

“I watched my own father decline treatment and spent every moment I had trying to hold onto him when it wasn’t meant to be. I think I have a slight idea how you feel in terms of hopelessness, but you don’t have to take the same path.”

Megan pulled up a stool and turned Bette’s to face her head-on. She held Bette’s shaking hands in her own and offered a warm smile. She closed her eyes briefly, opening them only after taking a calming breath and a moment to gather her thoughts.

“I want to start at the beginning,” Megan said softly as she leaned forward to be closer to Bette. “I can tell that Tina’s told you what’s going on and likely about my unorthodox request. I can only imagine that you have a million questions running through your head…”

“You’re still young,” Bette began to plead. “You have time still to fight.”

“I know I’m not your Dad’s age Bette, but it doesn’t make my decision any less valid.”

“You have a daughter!”

“And so did your father,” Megan said calmly as she watched Bette’s tears flow down her face. “You said so yourself the night Angelica came home drunk, you never stop being a parent, even when your children are grown. You’ve made peace with his passing, but you seem at odds about my choice. The only difference between your father and me is that Sarah won’t be grown up and watch me die. I’ll do it when she’s young and can’t understand what’s going on.”

“Have you even gone and gotten the best medical care you possibly can?” Bette challenged.

“Now you sound like your wife,” Megan smiled warmly. “I’ll tell you what I told her. I’ve been given a 20% chance at beating it and it isn’t even long-term. They are certain it will come back, surgery is not an option, the only way to rid myself of cancer is through treatment and I won’t spend my life in and out of hospitals so Sarah can spend her young life watching me die. She can’t be put through that.”

Bette blinked, surprised at the comparison between her and Tina, given how hard she had been on Tina, accusing her of being somewhat resigned to Megan dying to obtain her dream of another child.

“Tina fought you on this?”

“Tooth and nail, but it only reinforced my decision that she’s an amazing person and one that I want in Sarah’s life to shape it and guide her.”

“I don’t agree with your decision to just give up.”

“It’s a good thing I’m not asking you to,” Megan still remained calm. “I’m just asking that you respect it. You need to learn to respect what you don’t understand.”

“I respect things that are well thought out and have purpose and meaning.”

“Bette,” Megan scolded her friend. “How many pieces of art do you hang on these walls that have as many interpretations as they do viewers? You don’t always agree with those interpretations, but that’s why you celebrate art. It’s the diversity that challenges us to grow.”

“This isn’t art. This is your life and the life of your child!”

“Bette,” Megan tried to calmly reason with her pained friend. “Let’s review the facts. There is nobody that I love more than my daughter. This is why I am making arrangements and sparing us both an uphill fight for it to end the same. What if I give myself a chance, and that’s all it is at this point, at prolonging the inevitable? All I’ve done is allow Sarah to get older and make more memories of me that cause her pain when I’m gone.”

“You can’t do this,” Bette said in a weak voice, shaking her head and crying.

“I have to do this,” Megan held Bette close to her as she rubbed her back and whispered close to her ear. “This is the scariest, hardest, most painful thing I’ve ever done. To give up the one person that I love, but it’s because I love her more than I love myself that I must put those fears aside and do what’s right for her. Any amount of time that I buy, means more pain for her, and the same ending Bette.”

Bette clung onto Megan with flashes of memory running through her head. The first, Melvin in her house calling out for her mother while Tina held her close beside his bed. The second, providing water for her dying father through an eyedropper.

“Describe your Dad in one word,” Shane prodded.

“Dying.”

Bette began to cry harder as Megan held her close. She closed her eyes as thoughts raced through her head once more.

“We have to turn her over and check the baby,” Davina said.

“What is that?” Bette asked worried trying to hold a writhing Tina lying before her in pain.

“The baby is in distress, we need to move this to the hospital.”

“Don’t let her die Babe,” Tina begged in the ambulance. “God don’t let her die Bette.”

Bette cried harder as she began to remember the night of Angelica’s birth, drawing her closer to Megan as a mother understanding the love of another mother.

“I couldn’t do it,” Bette said pulling back and wiping her tears. “I could never leave Angelica.”

“I pray to God you’re never faced with the choice,” Megan said through her own tears. “It was the single hardest decision I’ve ever had to make and it scares me to even think about how I did it. It was like instinct took over, my mother’s intuition took over and I made the best decision I could for Sarah.”

“You love her,” Bette said sniffling. “I can see that.”

“With more than I ever thought I was.”

“How long were you given?” Bette asked not sure if it was insensitive to do so.

“A year at most, but I used a few months of it to mourn Janet and take care of Sarah,” Megan said. “I clung to Sarah at a time where, if she hadn’t survived, I would have definitely ended things because it was so painful.”

“She saved your life,” Bette said quietly.

“Now I’ll save hers,” Megan said back. “I want to talk to you about the request I made of Tina.”

“Tina,” Bette sighed feeling a sense of guilt form in her stomach. “I accused her of not arguing with you for her own self-serving purpose.”

“Not at all, she argued my head off.”

Bette chuckled as she wiped her tears away once more.

“Dare I say she might be worse than you,” Megan smiled as she held onto Bette’s hands once more. “I asked her first because she had the complete story in front of her and confronted me with it. I was a little shocked that she hadn’t gone to you first.”

“I’m sure she wanted the entire picture before she did that,” Bette said. “She’s painfully anal about fact finding before developing her opinion or escalating anything.”

“It’s what makes her good in business.”

“And better in our personal life,” Bette smiled for the first time since she woke up that morning. “You’d think I’d learn already.”

“I want to go knowing that Sarah will be taken care of Bette,” Megan said almost pleading with her old friend. “I want my mother to have access to her until she dies, but she’s old and has numerous health problems too.”

“I don’t know that I can do this,” Bette said shaking her head and fighting back tears. “I don’t think I can watch you die.”

“Then watch me live,” Megan pleaded. “For as long as I have, watch me live with Sarah and then when I’m gone tell her how much I loved her. Tell her everyday how she was my life, my one bright spot in this saddened world.”

Bette hung her head low and began to cry once more. The weight of the request was immense, the feeling of helplessness that Bette had with Melvin was back, and she struggled with the concept of raising another woman’s child.

“I’ll beg if I have to,” Megan began to cry. “Give Sarah a chance at the life Janet and I wanted her to have when we agreed to start our family.”



Angelica packed her backpack for school, working on the details of how to sneak out later that night for the dance. She had planned on going to Cathy’s house to get ready with her, then heading to the dance as if nothing were out of place.

“Angelica!” Tina bellowed from the kitchen. “Let’s go or you’ll be late.”

Angelica quickly made her way into the kitchen to see Tina packing her briefcase for work, looking tired and edgy.

“Are you ok Mom?”

“Fine,” Tina said quickly. “I’m going to take you to school today because Mama B is at work already.”

“I heard her leave early this morning,” Angelica said worried at how her mother looked. “Are you guys ok?”

“We’re fine.”

“I think I heard what you were arguing about.”

“You think?” Tina turned to face her daughter annoyed already with Angelica’s behavior and Bette’s hasty exit. “You must know to bring it up because you were listening.”

“It’s hard not to when Mama B is yelling.”

“We’re fine Angie.”

“Does it matter what I want?” Angelica knew she had made a mistake by the look that crossed Tina’s face.

“Clearly not,” Tina said angry. “What matters to me right at this moment is you getting in the car, me dropping you off, and you giving me the least amount of trouble today because I’m in no mood.”

“Sorry,” Angelica mumbled her apology.

“I don’t care about anyone’s opinion at this moment aside from my own.”

Tina grabbed her briefcase and purse and motioned for Angelica to move through the door and into the car quickly. Tina locked up the house desperately wanting nothing more than to have some quality alone time. She phoned into the office as she and Angelica began to make their journey to school.

“Clear my schedule too,” Tina requested politely. “I need some time today so if you can push everything aside, including my meeting with Helena, I’d appreciate it.”

Tina hung up once her assistant confirmed she’d move Tina’s scheduled meetings to other days at the beginning of the following week. Tina pulled up to the curb and put the car in park.

“Have a good day,” Tina mumbled as she watched Angelica get out of the car and begin walking toward the school. As always, Cathy and Renee were standing at the double doors waiting for their third of the group to arrive. “She’s always the last one.”

Tina shifted gears and began to drive toward the movie studio, desperate for some time alone to concentrate on brainstorming tactics to discuss Megan’s condition and request without Bette becoming angry.

Angelica walked through the double doors with her two friends as they began to try to reason with her once more.

“You can’t sneak out after how much trouble you’ve been in,” Renee pointed out logically.

“I have no choice. I already said I was going.”

Cathy rolled her eyes dramatically and then sighed, beginning to walk away from Renee and Angelica.

“What?” Angelica challenged.

“Nothing,” Cathy turned back around. “You won’t listen to me anyway.”

“Try me.”

“I don’t agree with you going to a hotel party, but especially now since you were just picked up at a party drunk!”

“You don’t understand!” Angelica shot back.

“I do, and you’re my best friend so I understand even more. You want to fit in, I get that.”

“It’s easy to get that from the sidelines!”

“I’ve always been there for you Angelica,” Cathy shot back with anger in her eyes. “I’ve always stood by you even when you came up with one stupid plan after another to get what you want from people. This I won’t stand by you for.”

“Fine, I’ll get ready at Tracy’s house then!” Angelica turned quickly and walked down the hallway angry at both her closest friends for not supporting her decision.

“You always have a choice Angelica,” Renee mumbled as she put her arm around a crying Cathy. “You just always make the worst ones.”

The bell signaling the beginning of class rang throughout the halls. Both Cathy and Renee looked up at the speaker above their heads as the bell silenced and classroom doors closed one after the other down the hallway. Standing near a small group of secluded lockers was Darren and a few of his other football friends. Given they were older, the only reason they knew either Cathy or Renee was because they were on the cheerleading squad.

“What’s up?” Darren flashed his winning smile making Cathy’s stomach turn.

“I gotta go Renee,” Cathy turned and left without waiting for Renee to respond.

“Hey,” Renee politely smiled back at Darren and his friends.

“You’re coming to the party right?”

“At the hotel?” Renee asked.

“That’s the one,” Darren smiled once more as he slid his hand in his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. “It starts after the dance and Angie will be there.”

“I’m sure she will,” Renee rolled her eyes as she started to walk down the hall. “Thanks for the invite but I don’t think my date and I can make it.”

“Well if you change your mind, we’re at the Holiday Inn up the road.”

Renee waved over her shoulder to indicate she heard him, but something prompted her to turn around quickly. She saw Darren opening his wallet and taking out a row of attached packets, dangling them before his friends.

“I’ll need some for tonight.”

“Not so fast,” Darren pulled the packets away from one of his friends. “I need a few for Angie.”

Renee strained her neck to see what was being exchanged between the friends, unable to tear her curious eyes away from the scene in front of her. Darren ripped a packet off and handed it to his friend with a smile.

“Remember the saying,” Darren laughed. “Don’t be silly and wrap your willy.”

Renee’s mouth flew open at her discovery of Darren and his friends exchanging condoms.

“I can’t wait to get Angie alone,” Darren twirled a foil packet in his fingers. “I hope she likes the surprise I have in store. I got us a separate room down the hallway from the party so we can have some alone time.”

Renee hid behind a group of lockers as the young men disbanded their group when a teacher began to verbally threaten them if they didn’t hurry and get to class.

“Oh my God,” Renee whispered as she retrieved her cell phone. “I have to warn Angelica.”

Renee stopped her fingers from dialing the number, knowing there was no chance that Angelica would actually listen to her about her discovery. Angelica held Darren in high regard, which was obvious as she struggled to keep up with his antics. Renee scrolled through her phonebook, stopping only when the emergency number came into the window on her screen.

“She’ll hate me if I do this,” Renee reasoned in her head. “Maybe I should talk to Cathy first.”

Renee shut her phone and walked down the hallway in the same direction Cathy headed to make it to her class.

“Cathy will know what to do,” Renee mumbled as she stuck her face in the room’s window and motioned for Cathy to come out. “I hope it’s not to use the emergency number, God I hate this.”

Renee slumped down the wall and sat on the floor waiting for Cathy to leave the classroom and meet her to discuss what Renee had heard.