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"We should head back, huh?" Jennifer said.

The hot summer sun blazed on them from above, and she was glad that she decided to put on sunscreen that morning,even though it had been cloudy. On the trek back down the hill toward the lake, Jennifer's phone started buzzing. It hadn't made a noise since they arrived at the trail earlier that afternoon, so the noise sounded so foreign to her at first. And then she realized it was the sharp trilling ringtone she assigned to the hospital so she knew that it was them calling right away.

All the calm and relaxation Jennifer had found in going out for a hike evaporated in a second. She answered the phone in a hurry, slapping the screen against her face.

"Hello? Jennifer Wright speaking," she said.

"Hi Miss Wright, this is Tammy Grey from Portland General, I'm calling about your mother, Arabelle Wright, who is one of our patients. I believe you brought her in this morning for her regular tests?"

"That's right. Is everything okay? I thought she wasn't supposed to be done for a few more hours."

"I'm so sorry, but there's an emergency. Dr. Carlton is asking for you to come back as soon as possible," Tammy said.

"What happened? Is it serious?"

"I'm sorry, but we can't discuss those details over the phone. We'll have to wait until you get here in person."

"Okay. I'll be there in twenty."

Jennifer hung up the phone, her heart in her throat. She felt guilty enough about leaving her mom's side at all during the tests and treatments, but Arabelle had insisted on sending Jennifer away. For most of the time she was supposed to be at the hospital today, anyway, and the doctors and nurses couldn't have Jennifer in the same room. So, Arabelle had convinced Jennifer to go out and enjoy herself until the evening.

Now Jennifer was regretting that decision.

How serious was the emergency? Was her mom going to make it? Why couldn't they at least give her an idea of how bad it was? Now she was going to assume the worst.

Her legs started moving, and she was jogging down the hill before she registered Lily's voice in the back of her head.

"Jen! Slow down! What's going on?"

She slowed just enough for Lily to catch up, but she kept on at a hurried pace. "It was the hospital—there's been some kind of emergency. They need me there right away."

Lily's eyes widened. "Then go! Don't worry about me."

They hugged each other really quickly. "We'll do this again sometime, okay?"

Before Jennifer heard Lily's response, she was already on the move, pumping her legs with every last bit of strength to make it down to her car.

***

Arabelle lay in her hospital bed, noisy machines beeping around her. She had a red floral scarf wrapped around her head to hide her balding scalp, and she looked so old and frail. Far older than her forty-five years.

Jennifer's lips trembled as she pulled a chair closer to her mom's side, taking a seat beside her. Her mom's eyes were closed when she entered the room, but she moaned when the chair scraped against the floor.

"Mom, it's me," Jennifer said. "Are you awake?"

Her mom groaned. "They put me on the good stuff."

Tears prickled Jennifer's eyes, but she managed a laugh. "Yeah, sounds like it. I wanted to give you more time to rest, but ..."

Morphine always made Arabelle a bit loopy, but she only got it when she was at her worst. Jennifer talked to the doctors before coming to see her mom—only because they wouldn't let her see Arabelle before she did—and it had become very clear, very quickly, that the situation was at its worst yet.

But Jennifer wasn't one for jumping straight to the bad news. Her mom was still her mom, not the cancer.

"How are you holding up?"

"Oh, you know." Arabelle chuckled, and coughed, and Jennifer placed her hand on top of her mother's, squeezing it tight. "Better now with the medicine and you here."

Jennifer swallowed, thinking back to everything Dr. Carlton said about Arabelle's chemotherapy. Today was just supposed to be a routine treatment, followed by some extra tests, but the doctor's explanation about what happened, and alternatives, all muddled up in Jennifer's head. All she could think of was doing everything possible to keep her mom with her.