Must Read: Hannah

7 years ago

Must Read: Hannah

TWO YEARS LATER

Hannah hovered in the wings with Ruby as she
waited for her cue to hit the catwalk. This was
their third appearance in the annual mother
daughter fashion parade fundraiser. Last year,
Ruby insisted on shaving her hair because
Hannah ‘s chemotherapy left her with nothing
but baby fuzz. They’d worn matching punk
outfits and received a prize for being best
dressed. This year they’d opted for a more
conservative look, both sporting shoulder
lenght haircuts and strappy floral dresses.

Hannah had been lucky. The surgeon had
recommended a lumpectomy to treat her
tumor and performed a partial reconstruction at
the same time. She had scars, and the radiation
therapy had left her hair fall out in handfuls.

But she’d gotten through it.

Joe had rubbed her back and bought her
scarves and hats to keep her head warm
through winter. Ruby and Ben had played
board games with her. Her mother had come
up with a million different ways to tempt her
with food, even when she had next to no
appetite at all. Joe’s mother had made sure the
house ran smoothly so Hannah and Joe could
concentrate their energies where they needed.

They’d started talking soon after Hannah ‘s
surgery, in time for her friend Kelly to attend
her wedding. Hannah had decided that if she
was only going to be around for a short time,
she wanted her days to be as positive and full of
happiness as possible. That meant forgiving and
moving on and being a part of the new life her
friend had brought into the world.

But it was looking more and more likely that she
was going to be around for a long time. She’d
seen her doctor for her regular six months
follow up last week. Her scans were clear and
she was officially in remission. She’d been
tested and did not carry the b0s0m cancer
gene, which was another point in her favour.

If her luck held, she would pass the five year
mark and be officially classed as a survivor.

She was going to get there. She knew it. She
already felt like a survivor.

The music changed and the stage manager
pointed at Hannah and Ruby. They smiled at
each other and caught each others hands.

Heads high, they started down the catwalk,
strutting their stuff.

She still got nervous before doing things like
this. She still hated fussing over her hair and
makeup and much preferred jeans to shirts and
dresses. But she enjoyed the sheer fun of it so
much now, the being alive-ness of it. Especially
when she looked into the audience at the end
of the runway and saw Joe standing there, arms
crossed over his chest, a small satisfied smile on
his face as he watched his wife and daughter.

Their gazes locked for a long moment and
Hannah imagined how the evening might
unfold, how they’d go home after the fundraiser
and pore over the photographs Ben was taking
and teasing Ruby about her growing vanity.

How Joe might UnCloth her slowly and kiss each
newly exposed swath of skin. How they ‘d make
love with tenderness and patience, or passsion
and urgent need. And how they might then lie
in each other’s arms and make plans for the
future.
She smiled and Joe smiled back, his face full of
love and heat and more than a little lust.

Another good day together, with another to
come tomorrow, and another after that.
It was all anyone could ask for.

Right there in her heart, she felt complete,
wholesome, happy and then Peace. It dawned
on her that she is in LOVE…………..

***THE END***

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