Chapter 138
993 Words
“Five hundred thousand dollars? With more to come?” Liv was thunderstruck. “What the hell, Em?”
“Yeah, I know, right?” Emma tried to smile, but her hands were shaky as she put her cup of tea to her lips. “Chemo and spinal taps and stem cell transplants aren’t cheap, huh?”
“And I imagine that five weeks in isolation post-transplant was expensive, right?” Jenny asked.
“Oh, yeah. According to Helen Carrow, that’s what really racked up the numbers, actually. The isolation ward, the drugs afterwards, the twenty-four-hour care. But if I take into account chemo for the next six to eight months for sure, just that alone will push me up well over seven hundred thousand. Forget about my drugs and blood tests, and anything unexpected.”
“Fuck.” Kat’s green eyes were glittering. “This is bullshit. You get sick through no fault of your own, and you go through hell, and now you’re going to be bankrupted?”
“Well,” Emma said. “I do have a plan.”
“What?” Liv asked. “You’d better not be going back to work, Em, I swear to God. I’ll have Dean barricade you in his house, I promise you.”
Emma smiled. “No, that’s not what I’m thinking, at all. You want to give me the number to your real estate agent, Liv?”
The women stared at her.
“You’re going to sell your apartment?” Kat said.
“It’s the best solution.” Emma tried to look positive. “I ran the numbers last night, and I figure that after I pay off the rest of the mortgage and the agent’s fees, and if I sell all my furniture, I’ll be left with close to seven hundred thousand dollars to put towards my medical bills. I may be able to start almost from zero debt afterwards, if I’m lucky.”
“No.” Jenny’s voice was clipped. “You’re not going to do that. I’ll give you the money before I see you homeless.”
“I’m not going to be homeless,” Emma said. “I can live with Dean. He’s been asking for a while, and I was thinking about it anyway.”
“Yeah?” Liv said, delighted.
“Yeah. I thought I’d rent out my own place, keep it as an investment. But if that’s not in the cards, that’s OK.”
“Oh, Emma.” Jenny sighed. “I hate this.”
“No, it’s OK. Really. I mean, if I had a choice between keeping my apartment or keeping my life, which one do you think I’d rather hang on to?”
“Yeah,” Kat said grudgingly. “But personally? I’d rather you kept both.”
Emma laughed. “I know… but that’s not how this works.”
“What does Dean say?” Liv asked.
“He’s furious. I mean, beside himself f*****g furious, since he didn’t want me to move in like this. But he’s going to talk to Dallas about me, since the lease between them is only for one person. If Dallas says it’s OK, I guess we’ll start the selling and moving process.”
“Oh, my God.” Liv grinned. “We’ll be neighbors!”
“I know,” Emma said. “We can meet up for chats on the front porch in the morning.”
“No.” Liv shook her head. “That’s Dallas and Dean’s thing… I don’t want to interfere with that.”
“What?” Jenny asked.
“Yeah. The boys meet up most every morning for a chat over coffee. Dallas is on his porch, Dean’s on his, and they hang out in their pj’s and talk about who-knows-what.”
“That’s actually kind of cute,” Kat said.
“It is.” Emma giggled. “Some days, man, I’d love to be a fly on the wall.”
“Yeah, me too.” Liv reached for another cookie, enjoying the fact that she didn’t feel even one bit guilty about it being her fourth one. The best part of not being a model anymore was actually being able to eat again, and the other women watched with approval as she took a big bite, obviously loving her newfound freedom around food.
“So – what?” Jenny said. “You’re really going to be OK with selling your home?”
Emma gazed at her friend. “I’ll make a new home, honey. One with Dean.” She took Jenny’s hand. “This doesn’t have to be a horrible thing, you know.”
“No, I guess not.” Jenny blinked away her tears. “You’re right.”
“Speaking of making a home with a man,” Kat said. “How’s it going with Chris? He’s been there for two weeks now, right?”
“Actually, not bad at all. I really like seeing him in the mornings before he goes to the gym, and I like knowing that someone’s coming home, you know?”
“And the touching?” Emma asked gently.
“Still just holding hands.” Jenny looked down. “I was thinking that I might almost be ready to try – to try him touching my face.”
“That’s very intimate, hon,” Emma said. “You sure?”
“No. But I want to give it a shot, anyway.”
“OK.” Emma nodded. “You talked to Lori about it?”
“Yeah, yesterday.”
“So… I hope you enjoy it, Jenny.” Liv’s dark eyes were serious. “Having a man touch you gently on your face is beautiful, really moving. I hope you can experience that again.”
“Yeah, me too.” Jenny tried to look confident, but she was scared to death. “I’ll let you know how it goes.”
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