Chapter Ninety-Four: The New Challenge at Work
The email arrived on a Tuesday morning, and Lina knew immediately that something was wrong.
It was from Victoria Henderson, her biggest client. The wedding was supposed to be in three months. Everything was planned. Everything was perfect. Victoria had been thrilled with every detail.
But the email was short. Cold. Professional in a way that felt like a door closing.
Lina,
We need to talk. It's urgent. Please call me as soon as you get this.
—Victoria
Lina's heart began to pound.
She picked up the phone and called.
---
Victoria answered on the first ring.
"Lina. Thank you for calling."
"What's wrong?"
Victoria was quiet for a moment. Then she said, "My daughter's cancer is back."
Lina's blood went cold.
"Oh, Victoria. I'm so sorry."
"The wedding is off. Again. I don't know if we'll ever have it. I don't know if she'll ever be well enough."
Lina's eyes filled with tears.
"What can I do?" she asked.
Victoria was quiet for a long moment. "Nothing. There's nothing anyone can do. I just wanted you to know. I'll handle the cancellations."
"Let me help."
"You've done enough."
"Victoria—"
"I said I'll handle it."
The line went dead.
Lina sat at her desk, the phone in her hand, and cried.
---
Lina told Ethan that night.
They sat on the couch, the twins asleep, the penthouse quiet. Lina's eyes were red, her voice hoarse.
"Her daughter's cancer is back," she said. "The wedding is off."
Ethan pulled her into his arms.
"I'm so sorry," he said.
Lina leaned into him. "I don't know how to help her. She won't let me."
"Sometimes people don't want help. Sometimes they just want to be alone."
Lina shook her head. "That's not what she needs."
"What does she need?"
Lina thought about the question. "She needs someone to show up. Even when she says she doesn't want anyone. Even when she pushes them away."
Ethan kissed her forehead.
"Then show up," he said. "Even when she pushes you away."
---
Lina showed up.
She went to Victoria's house the next day, uninvited, unannounced. She brought flowers and a card and the particular stubbornness of someone who had been pushed away before and refused to stay gone.
Victoria opened the door. Her eyes were red. Her face was pale.
"I told you I didn't need help," she said.
Lina held up the flowers. "I'm not here to help. I'm here to sit with you."
Victoria stared at her.
"I don't want to sit," she said.
Lina walked past her into the house.
"That's too bad," she said. "I'm sitting anyway."
---
They sat in the living room, the flowers on the table between them.
Victoria stared at the wall. Lina stared at Victoria.
"I don't know how to do this," Victoria said finally. "I don't know how to watch my daughter die."
Lina's heart ached.
"You don't have to know," she said. "You just have to be there."
Victoria's face crumpled.
"I'm so scared," she whispered.
Lina reached over and took her hand.
"I know," she said. "I know."
---
Lina visited Victoria every day for the next two weeks.
She brought food. She brought flowers. She brought the particular stubbornness of someone who had been through hell and refused to let anyone go through it alone.
Victoria stopped pushing her away.
They talked about everything and nothing. About the wedding that would never happen. About the daughter who was fighting for her life. About the fear that consumed them both.
"You're a good friend," Victoria said one day.
Lina shook her head. "I'm just a person who's been where you are."
Victoria looked at her. "Where have you been?"
Lina thought about the question. "I've been afraid. I've been alone. I've been certain that I couldn't survive what was coming."
"But you did."
"I did. Because someone showed up. Someone refused to let me give up."
Victoria's eyes filled with tears.
"I don't know if I can survive this," she said.
Lina took her hand.
"You don't have to know," she said. "You just have to keep going."
---
The Phone Call
Three months later, Victoria's daughter died.
The call came on a Sunday morning. Lina was making pancakes. The twins were arguing. Sprinkles was begging for scraps.
"She's gone," Victoria said. Her voice was flat. Empty.
Lina sat down at the kitchen table.
"I'm so sorry," she said.
"She's gone, and I don't know how to live without her."
Lina closed her eyes.
"You don't have to know," she said. "You just have to keep going."
Victoria was quiet for a long moment.
"I don't know if I can," she said.
Lina's heart broke.
"You can," she said. "I'll help you."
---
The Funeral
The funeral was small.
Just family. Just friends. Just the people who had loved Victoria's daughter and wanted to say goodbye.
Lina sat in the back, Ethan beside her.
Victoria stood at the front, her face pale, her eyes empty. She read a poem. She lit a candle. She said goodbye.
Lina cried.
Not for Victoria's daughter. She had never met her.
For Victoria. For the mother who had lost her child. For the grief that would never fully heal.
---
The Aftermath
Lina visited Victoria every week for the next year.
They sat in silence. They talked about nothing. They remembered the daughter who was gone.
Slowly, gradually, Victoria began to heal.
Not completely. Not entirely. But enough.
"You saved my life," Victoria said one day.
Lina shook her head. "You saved your own life. I just showed up."
Victoria took her hand.
"That's the same thing," she said.
Lina squeezed her hand.
"Maybe," she said. "Maybe it is."
---
End of Chapter Ninety-Four