Thrill Me

She still wore her hair short, with glasses perched on her nose. She snapped gum and looked ready to take on the world.

“You’re back,” she said to Maya, then nodded at Elaine. “We’re doing a new roast beef sandwich with a horseradish cream. The bread is from the bakery. Trust me, order that, or you’re an idiot. What would you like to drink?”

They both ordered iced tea.

“I’ll give you a minute to look over the menu,” Wilma said with a sigh. “Not everyone listens to me.”

When she’d walked away, Maya leaned toward her friend. “I think I’m getting the roast beef sandwich.”

“Me, too. How was the photo shoot yesterday?”

“Good. Long.” Maya shook her head. “Your son can be stubborn. He seems to have forgotten I’m in the business. He had ideas about every location.”

“Good ones?”

“We’ll see when we start editing.”

Elaine smiled. “I can tell by your tone, you’re thinking he’s made some bad choices.”

“They’re his to make. As I said, we’ll see. Maybe he’s secretly brilliant.”

“If he is, he wouldn’t make a secret of it. Trust me, none of my boys would.”

Wilma returned with their iced teas. As Elaine ordered the sandwich, Maya noticed there were shadows under her eyes. She studied the other woman more closely and couldn’t help thinking she seemed tired. No, not tired. But there was something off.

Maya waited until their waitress had given them a choice between fruit, chips or fries and then walked away. She picked up her tea, put it down, then decided to simply spit it out.

“Are you okay?” she asked, doing her best to keep her voice from sounding abrupt. “Tell me I’m crazy, but I feel like something isn’t right.”

Elaine’s eyes widened. “Why would you say that?”

“I have no idea. Am I wrong?”

The other woman hesitated just long enough for Maya to realize she’d stumbled on the truth. Even if she didn’t know what it was.

“Tell me,” she said gently. “Please.”

Elaine nodded. “I hadn’t planned on saying anything to anyone. You weren’t supposed to guess.”

Normally Maya would have made a joke about being perceptive, but somehow this didn’t seem like the right time.

“I need you to promise not to say a word to anyone,” her friend continued. “I mean it, Maya. You have to swear.”

Maya was clear on the danger of making a promise without having all the facts. Even so, she didn’t hesitate. “I promise I will keep your secret for as long as you tell me to. No matter what it is.”

“Thank you.” Elaine gave her a shaky smile that faded quickly. “I have breast cancer. The tumor is small and was caught early, but still. Cancer.”

Maya’s stomach tightened as she did her best not to visibly react. Fear for her friend ripped through her. She reached across the table and grabbed Elaine’s hand. “What? No. I’m so sorry. What can I do to help? How can I make this better?”

“By keeping my secret.”

Maya drew in a breath. “You’re not telling Ceallach?” she asked in a whisper.

“No. Or the boys. I don’t want them to know. They won’t take it well. You know they won’t. The last thing I need right now is to be making them feel better. I just want to get through it.”

Maya nodded, even if she didn’t agree with the decision. Elaine would need support from more than her. She was dealing with a scary diagnosis and the treatment that would follow.

Elaine explained how her routine mammogram had detected a small mass. It had been biopsied and she’d gotten the diagnosis. She paused as Wilma returned with their lunches.

“Eat up,” the older woman instructed before leaving.

Maya stared at her sandwich and knew she would have to take it home.

“We have to eat,” Elaine told her. “Not only because Wilma will yell at us if we don’t, but because not eating won’t help me. We’re both going to need our strength.”

“Okay.” Maya reluctantly took a bite. “So what’s the treatment plan?”

“A lumpectomy followed by six weeks of radiation.”

“You have to tell them,” Maya said quietly. “They need to know.”

“They don’t. Maya, I appreciate what you’re saying, but this is my decision. I’m going to get through this, then I’ll deal with my family.” Her dark eyes narrowed. “You gave me your word.”

“I know, and I’ll keep it.” Even though she knew her friend was wrong. Ceallach and her sons would want to know. They would want to be there for her.

“I’ve rented a studio apartment in the same building as Morgan’s Bookstore,” Elaine told her. “A place to go rest after my radiation. I’ve heard the treatment can make me tired. I can get myself back and forth to the clinic or whatever it’s called for that, but I will need help after the lumpectomy.”

Maya forced herself to chew the bite she’d taken, but the sandwich had no flavor and she knew she wouldn’t be able to get down much more.

“Of course. What can I do?”

“Drive me there, then bring me back to your place. I’d like to stay the night.”

Because she would have had surgery, Maya thought. “Can you schedule for a Friday morning? We can say we’re having a girls’ weekend. You won’t have to go home until Sunday. By then you should be feeling better.”

Elaine gave her a grateful smile. “Thank you. They said the lumpectomy shouldn’t take long.”

“However long it takes, I’ll be there.”

Maya was more than happy to take care of her friend, but she now regretted the promise to keep the secret. Elaine was making a mistake. But as of now, it didn’t seem as if she could be talked out of it.

CHAPTER FIVE (#u6c99cbdf-c241-5751-b34f-e265cba94e3e)

DEL STUDIED THE screen in front of him. “You were right,” he said flatly. “The sunrise doesn’t work at all.”

Maya barely glanced up. “There’s too much light and it’s in the wrong place. It was impossible to make the shot and keep you in the center. So it feels off.”

He saw she had identified the problem. While he hadn’t been able to define what was wrong, he’d sensed it. Now he was able to see how he wasn’t in the middle of the screen. Although he was supposed to be the focus, he was off to the side, with the sun making a glaring appearance.