Love of Rose

Chapter 3

Rose sat at her favourite spot, breathing heavily. The heavy breathing mostly because of the exhausting walk as far as here and a to a smaller part due to a mix of a longing sigh and the consequences of what she saw. But Rose dragged her thoughts to the appointment. Today she would get the newest test results and discuss the further treatment. Her heart was starting to stumble again. It had started about 3 months ago that she noticed slight and small changes. She started to have problems to wake up in the morning, that´s really fun when you can´t even drink coffee because your body reacts to strong to the caffeine. Even a nice cold shower makes your heartbeat irregular, your breathing troubled and the trembling of your muscles causes in the worst case a bad asthma attack, so not an option either. The last one was still clearly present in her mind. Concentrate on the good things she reminded her self. Taking in the beautiful view of the ocean. Rose loved this bench by the ocean. It was placed under a tree so that in the summer the heat was bearable for her there. The bench had a small plaque on which was written: „ If we had our life to live again, we would try to find each other sooner, so we could love each other longer. A+S“. For Roses taste, the text was a little too cheesy, but she could understand at the same time the wish of finding your soulmate as soon as possible so that your time with that one person would be as long and as fulfilled as possible. Rose closed her eyes for a moment in silent prayer „Please let me have more time!“. There was so much she wanted to see, to experience and to feel. On the other hand, Rose knew that she would have problems letting someone in, especially knowing that her time was running out. She had become weaker these last months, the burning in her lungs a constant reminder. Only when Rose was buried in her work and completely consumed by it she could forget her condition, another reason why she loved to work so much. Looking at her watch she stood up and went back, past her apartment and directly to her car. It was a blood-red mini cooper with tow white stripes on the bonnet and a white roof. She loved her small „Speedy“. Yes, she named it. The drive to the doc was short and uneventful. She could drive there practically in her sleep, as a result of years of repetition. Dr Monroe´s office was nice, bright and with a beach-themed interior. It was soothing for her but not today. Today Rose had a little uneasy feeling and was a little restless. Amy the receptionist smiled sympathetically at her. Rose tried to smile back but less successfully as she hoped. This office is well organized and she rarely had to wait more than 15 minutes in the past. So Rose wasn´t irritated as the Doc called her in. Doc Monroe was a nice man in his fifties, married with 3 children. He had gained weight over the years, due to the cooking of his wife and his love for food. Rose had picked up many stories and things about him and his family over the last 20 years. Yes, she knew him this long. He was kind of an elderly friend to her with daughters only a few years older than her. The doc smiled but his eyes had a little sadness in them. Rose knew it was because of what he would tell her. „Please Rose come in and have a seat“. Doing as told she sat down and took a shallow breath before saying “Hey Doc please cut the small talk and tell me what the results showed.“. A small smile appeared on his lips answering. “Yes Rose I know and I won't beat around the bush or try to divert you with stories about my family. I have been with you for more than twenty years and I have always hoped that I never have to say that, but I´m at the end of my possibilities. I´m sorry. I have spoken with many other specialists I even showed your case at the conference, but every one of my colleagues had the same opinion. There is only symptomatic treatment left and I have a place in the silver valley clinic for you starting tomorrow. They are specialized in high-end wellness but have a small number of beds for medical patients with lung diseases.“. With these words, he gave her a stack of papers with all the necessary information for her stay there. The only thing Rose could do after this speech from her doc was to swallow and concentrate on her breathing. The interesting thing is that she felt a bit relieved. No extended treatment meant less nausea and perhaps a little more appetite. After a period of silence doctor, Monroe said: „Please Rose, promise me that you´ll check in to that clinic tomorrow.“. Meeting his eyes she only nodded, not trusting her voice at the moment. Rose knew that what the doc said to her was that she reached the last and most likely lethal part of her disease. So she stood up and went around the desk to hug him shortly. Taking a deep breath before answering „ Yes doc, I promise. We´ll talk soon.“. With that Rose went home packing for the clinic tomorrow.