Wish Upon a Star by Jim Cangany Read Free Book Online

they were gone from our sight, Annie took my hand. "She's got
a childhood form of leukemia. She's only fourteen. Today was her
second round of treatment." With a long sigh, she opened her book
and sank into her chair.
    A little while later, Therese returned with a large syringe
that she told us contained the Cytoxin. She inserted it into Annie's IV
tube and spent the next half hour or so chatting with Annie while she
infused the bright red medicine. Shortly after the Cytoxin was
infused, chemo round one was complete. At Annie's request, the desk
clerk scheduled the start time for her next treatment to coincide with
Staci's.
    It was a quiet drive home. I was afraid of saying the wrong
thing, so instead I said nothing. Annie had leaned the seat back and
closed her eyes, so it was just as well, I suppose.
    When we got home, Annie went straight to her Alienware
laptop. "Time to fill the world in on Cassandra's condition. You'll be a
dear and let Samantha know I'll have a statement for her tonight,
yes?"
    While Annie worked on her statement, I kept busy with a
little housework and made dinner. She made a few tweaks while we
polished off our steak and chicken fajitas. When I finished cleaning
up in the kitchen, she gave me the go-ahead to send it to
Samantha.
    "Does this mean I'm your official assistant now," I said as I
settled in front of her computer. I pulled up Samantha's email
account.
    "Oh, you're much more than that." She draped her arms
around me and laid her head on my shoulder. "Thanks for staying
today. You'll have a glass of wine with me, yes?"
    We each had a glass of Riesling while we waited for
Samantha's response. My glass was almost empty when Annie's
e-mail dinged. I cracked my knuckles while I studied the message.
    "Samantha says she's fine with it. She'll get it posted on your
website first thing tomorrow morning. After that, she'll issue a press
release asking people to please respect your privacy." I looked at
Annie. "Okay by you?"
    She nodded and drained her glass. "Fine. Maybe I'm crazy,
but it seems like the Neulasta injection's already making me achy.
I'm going to draw a bath and head to bed."
    I shot an email to Samantha to let her know Annie agreed
with the plan but was too tired from a stressful day to chat.
Otherwise, all things considered, she was fine.
    Annie's computer was lightning fast and powerful beyond
belief, so I logged onto the net and unwound with another glass of
wine and some mindless surfing.
    A blog analyzing the upcoming European cycling season had
me so absorbed that when Annie placed her hand on my shoulder I
almost jumped out of my skin.
    "I'm off to bed love, goodnight."
    "Okay, but first there's something we need to do." I got to
my feet and led Annie into the kitchen. I opened the junk drawer and
pulled out a sheet of paper on which I'd drawn eight squares. With a
couple of magnets, I secured the paper to the fridge.
    "Tonight marks the beginning of our countdown." I handed
her a marker. "Pick a square, any square, and write today's date in
it."
    She uncapped the marker and wrote "2/17" in the top left
square.
    "Congratulations, Annie." I took her in my arms. "One down,
only seven more to go."

Six
    Still half asleep, I reached out to put my arm around Annie,
but missed. My eyes popped open and I pawed her half of the bed.
The retching sounds coming from the bathroom solved the
mystery.
    In a flash, I was at the door. Annie was on her knees, heaving
into the toilet bowl. My first aid training kicked in, so I went to the
sink and ran cold water over a washcloth. Once it was good and
soaked, I wrung it out and placed it on her neck. The heaving had
stopped, but she was still taking in ragged, deep breaths.
    After a few minutes, she flushed and sat back on her
haunches. "Guess I should have taken the anti-nausea medication,
huh?" She shuddered and leaned against the bathroom wall. "Can I
get another washcloth, please?"
    I soaked a fresh one and placed in on her forehead. A tear
ran