The drive back to the small apartment she shared with her little boy, Taylor, was short. The smell of greasy food clung to her skin and hair and she looked forward to getting home and showering. One of the only perks to the job at the diner was the closeness to her home. If anything were to happen with Taylor she could always be back with him within ten minutes. So far, Jackson had been okay when she’d to leave urgently. She couldn’t help but wonder how much longer that would go on for.
She opened the front door and headed inside. It was dim in the apartment, the curtains drawn to help keep out the heat. The air conditioning had stopped working over a month ago, and she hadn’t had the money to get it fixed yet since all her money was going towards Taylor’s hospital bills. Though the windows were cracked open, it did little to ward off the heat and the air felt heavy and sluggish.
Just another thing to add to the list of things that needed fixing.
Sally slipped off her shoes by the door, her feet grateful for the break from the uncomfortable pumps that she wore to work. Then she headed into the lounge. Where she found Mrs. Harris from next door fast asleep in her chair, as usual. Taylor was playing on his own with his cars on the rug by her feet. Two cars racing each other along an invisible track.
He looked up at her and smiled.
That smile took her breath away. Every single time.
“Mama!” Taylor jumped up and ran to her, knocking Mrs. Harris’s chair and waking her as he did.
Sally scooped up her little boy into her arms and hugged him tightly, kissing the top of his head. She looked at Mrs. Harris over his shoulder and smiled. Taylor was still dressed in his pajamas, but she didn’t mind. He was comfier wearing just the soft cotton t-shirt and pants instead of rough clothes with buttons and zippers that would dig into his sensitive skin.
Mrs. Harris was a little over seventy and loved looking after Taylor. Her own grandchildren had moved away to Canada with their mother and father sometime last year, and she rarely saw them anymore. But she was getting on in her years now and looking after a sick but bouncy five-year-old was hard work for anyone.
“You’re early, did your day go okay?” Mrs. Harris stood up, shuffling her feet back into her aging pink slippers and headed to the door to go home as she spoke. Her hair was thick, and almost pure white, and always tied into a tight knot at the base of her neck.
Sally nodded. “It did.” She smiled without pause, not wanting to worry the older lady with her problems. Everyone had problems, it didn’t matter who they were, it was how you dealt with them that made you strong or weak. Sally believed she was strong. She had to be. “How has he been today? Did he manage to eat anything?”
Taylor’s nausea was what bothered him the most. He had gone from a happy five-year-old eating burgers and French fries to feeling sick constantly, nausea ruling his life and stopping him from wanting to eat anything.
“He’s been a delight as always. And he ate a little, but not much. I’ll see you tomorrow, Taylor.” Mrs. Harris picked up her overly large knitting bag and opened the front door. “Four-thirty, right?” she asked, looking back in.
Sally shook her head and placed Taylor down. “Go play, baby. I’ll be over in a minute.” Taylor went back to his cars, happier now that his mamma was home. Sally met Mrs. Harris by the door, but couldn’t meet her gaze. “No, I won’t need you tomorrow. There’s no shift for me. Jackson said the diner is too quiet.”
“Poppycock!” the old lady cried loudly, drawing the attention of Taylor. He smiled and carried on playing. “Poppycock,” she repeated, quieter this time. “You know what his game is. You have to tell the owner. You can’t keep losing out on shifts. You need the money.”
“I know, I know, but they’re away. They’re always away, and he’s their son, who are they going to believe, me or him?” She shook her head again. “It’s fine, I’ll think of something. I might struggle to pay you this week though.” She met the old ladies’ eyes. She’d always been told to be respectful of others, and she knew it wasn’t fair to keep short-changing the woman for babysitting, but what could she do?
Mrs. Harris reached out, placing a wrinkled hand on Sally’s cheek. “Sweetheart, I don’t care about the money, you know I don’t help for that reason. I care about you two. You pay me to make you feel better, not because I need or even want it.” She smiled, stroking her thumb across Sally’s cheek, and seeing the tears well in Sally’s eyes. Sally nodded once and Mrs. Harris left, clicking the front door softly closed behind her, and giving Sally the privacy she needed to pull herself together.
Sally wiped her eyes dry and turned back to her son.
Through everything that they had been through together, she had never regretted having him. Not even once. He was the best thing that had ever happened to her, and no matter what she lost—or who—that would never change. She’d thought she couldn’t love anyone as much as she’d loved his father, but then Taylor had come along and the love she felt for him blew everything else out of the water. There was nothing she wouldn’t do for her son. Nothing.
“Just getting changed out of this grubby uniform and grabbing a quick shower. I’ll be right back, baby and then I’ll fix us something to eat.”
Taylor nodded and flashed a smile to her, and then continued to play. Sally smiled at him and headed to her bedroom, collecting the post from the kitchen worktop as she passed. She untied her apron, dropping it into the washing basket, and then she sat on the edge of the bed and flipped through the four envelopes, knowing what was inside three of them without opening them.
Bills. Bills. Bills. A constant stream of bills. She left them on the bed unopened and turned her attention to the last one.
It was a hospital letter. Her fingers tore into the envelope, and she fumbled to get the folded white piece of paper out. Her eyes scanned over the words, over the numbers, her heart sinking and soaring at the same time like a bird in flight as realisation sunk in.
This was it.
This was what she had been waiting for. What they had both been waiting for. But she wasn’t ready; she hadn’t saved enough. Her insurance had covered the first operation and its proceeding treatment, but it wouldn’t cover it this time. Sally had been saving every cent she earned for months now. Working all the hours she could get, yet it still wasn’t enough.
Putting her head in her hands, she began to cry, softly at first, and then eventually getting louder and harder, until her cheeks were damp with tears that stung her eyes.
“Mama?”
She sat up and wiped at her cheeks. “I’ll be out in a minute, baby. I’m just getting ready to take a quick shower.”
Her thoughts strayed back to the woman from earlier today. She thought of the pie she’d given to that poor woman and Sally hoped that it had brightened her day, just a little at least. Though right now, she couldn’t help but regret paying for it, because she needed every cent she could get.
The woman’s words echoed in her head… It’s not so much of a sacrifice if we’re doing it out of the love for another.
With shaking hands, she pulled her cell phone from her pocket and dialled the number she knew off by heart without hesitating. It rang five times before anyone answered it.