Chapter 44

Miss Harris can appreciate and understand Cheryl's unrelenting refusal to believe that her child's going to die; desperately holding onto the false notion that Nadine will somehow miraculously survive this fatal disease. She's seen this dozens of times before; parents having an extremely difficult time reconciling with the painful truth concerning the unavoidable approaching demise of their dying children. She totally gets it. But she doesn't want to see Nadine miss out on what may be her one last chance to have one of her wishes come true on account of Cheryl's maternally-derived, obstinate denial of her daughter's impending fate. So, she, well-meaning but fool-heartedly, re-enters the ‘minefield'; just as Corrine's bringing the salad out to the dining room table. "Mrs. Martin; I totally understand how you feel. But don't you think that under the circumstances…for Nadine's sake…you allow us the chance to offer her a request for something that she may want before…" An irate Cheryl furiously explodes. "We don't need your damn wish! Now get the hell out of here, lady!" Corrine rushes to the door and stands behind Cheryl. "Mom; what's the matter? What's going on?" Indignation once again appears in her inflection. "This…woman…came here from the Make-A-Wish Foundation. For some insane reason, she wants to offer your sister some sort of dying last request or something. I've tried to explain to her that your sister's going to be fine; and that we don't require her services…but she doesn't seem to be able to get it through that thick skull of hers." A somber expression suddenly takes over Corrine's countenance. She puts her hand on Cheryl's shoulder; causing her to immediately turn to look at her daughter. She softly utters, "Mom." Cheryl curtly responds, "What?" With immediate resignation carried out in her tone, Corrine quietly mutters, "Never mind. Forget it." Cheryl watches Corrine sullenly walk away; then turns back around to Miss Harris. "Well…what are you still standing here for?" At this time, after having heard the muffled commotion upstairs, Nadine and Adele are coming down the stairs. They see Cheryl standing at the door glaring at the woman. Nadine turns to Corrine displaying an inquisitive visage. "She's from the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Na." Cheryl snaps, "Corrine!" "Sorry, Mom; but don't you think that…" "That's enough, Corrine!" Miss Harris makes a brazen attempt to speak to Nadine by calling from outside, "Nadine…hi, dear…my name's Audrey Harris, and I'm…" A fuming Cheryl sharply interjects, "Leaving! Good day…Miss Harris." She angrily slams the door shut, then turns and hastily heads for the kitchen; while saying aloud in passing, "Dinner will be ready in ten minutes, girls." Hardly a word was spoken during dinner. Adele could sense the abounding tension in the air; and it took away from the appeal of most of the meal for her. Dessert was a success however…it was strawberry ice cream. Now that Adele spends most of her time over there, the Martins make sure that the freezer always has a supply on hand for her. She hasn't faced any situation yet where she wasn't able to enjoy eating a bowl of the refreshingly cold, creamy delicious treat. It always seems to make things better; even if just for that moment. But after dinner, when they went back upstairs to Nadine's bedroom, that feeling of hers returned; and Adele couldn't stop feeling that something was wrong. She can't ignore it anymore. "Nadine…who was that lady at the door? Your mom looked really mad at her. Why?" "I don't know, Adele. All I know is that Corrine said she was from the Make-A-Wish Foundation; that's all." "What's the Make-A-Wish Foundation?" Nadine delicately attempts to answer Adele without divulging too much information about it. "It's a…well…they sort of go around and grant wishes to sick kids; like me." "Grant wishes? Like what…ooh…could they turn you into a bird…" Adele raises her arms, stretching them out from her sides, and starts to slowly move about the room as if she were soaring along a current of air, "so you could fly way up high in the sky and look down and see everything really tiny like? That would be so amazing." Nadine laughs. "Yeah…that would be pretty awesome. But I don't think they can do that. They grant a different type of wish, Adele; ones a little more practical, and less on the magical side. But I do think your idea about being a bird is wonderful though."