mom’s age. Or at least half the age her mom would have been if she was still alive.
The shower usually woke her up. She cranked up the heat until it stung the skin on her back. Then she shampooed twice just like she’d learned by reading Young Ms. magazine. The magazine was the discovery of the year. Everything from healthy roots to getting rid of pimples to being sexy enough to get any man she wanted. She felt a little weird reading some of the more graphic articles. Of course, those were the ones she read twice. The writers at Young Ms. knew their stuff.
Even though she was already running late, she stayed in the shower longer than normal. She couldn’t shake how tired she felt over the last couple of weeks. Sleep wasn’t the problem. She was actually getting more sleep than normal, napping throughout the day and crashing early at night. Still, her body ached for more.
She hoped she wasn’t coming down with something. The weekend was coming up and her friend Gertie’s parents were out of town, the perfect opportunity to invite some boys over. Maybe even Bobby Mazingo. The thought put a smile on her face and was enough motivation to get her going. She turned off the water and toweled dry before climbing out of the shower.
Steam covered the bathroom mirror. When she wiped away the condensation she gasped at the image of herself. There was something strange on her chest and shoulders. The image disappeared in an instant as the steamy room fogged up the mirror again. She reached out and wiped it away with her towel.
Faint purple botches covered her skin. They were around her breasts, up to her chest and throat and down her shoulders. It looked like someone had beaten the hell out of her the night before.
She turned to run out of the bathroom and to go show her dad. This was exactly the kind of thing he’d told her to look out for since the therapy started. But she stopped herself. He’d overreact like always and they’d be off to the hospital for more tests. She had better things to do. Cathy stepped closer to the mirror to examine the spots. The blotches looked like bruises but when she pressed on them they weren’t sore at all. She inspected the rest of her body put found no other sign of the marks anywhere else. That made her feel better. The blotches were probably just a reaction to something she wore.
Still, it was weird. And being so tired all the time made it worse. She worried that maybe the medicine wasn’t working and the sickness was back. She didn’t have a check up until next week but her last visit hadn’t shown anything. Her dad told her the therapy was a sure thing, that she was lucky to get it because not many people did. That was why she wasn’t supposed to tell anyone about it. Her dad said if she told anyone then the medicine would be taken away. And people died from what she had.
Now, looking in the mirror at the purple splotches, she couldn’t decide what to do. It was times like this when she missed her mom the most. She was past feeling angry that she was gone and just felt miserable and lonely instead. But Cathy couldn’t ask her mom, the cancer had taken care of that, so she decided to keep it to herself. There was no way she’d ever ask her dad’s new wife. Barbie was the last person Cathy would trust with a secret.
She pushed the whole thing out of her mind. If she wore a high collar, no one would know. She’d just take it easy for the next couple of days and the marks would go away. She cursed under her breath when she remembered it was Wednesday. She had to work after school. Working had been a battle with her dad and she knew he was waiting for her to give up on it just to say he told her so. She could call in sick but if word got back to her dad that she hadn’t shown up for work then the party at Gertie’s this weekend would be off for sure. She couldn’t let that happen.
Cathy Moran threw on her clothes, double checked the mirror to make sure none of the purple
The shower usually woke her up. She cranked up the heat until it stung the skin on her back. Then she shampooed twice just like she’d learned by reading Young Ms. magazine. The magazine was the discovery of the year. Everything from healthy roots to getting rid of pimples to being sexy enough to get any man she wanted. She felt a little weird reading some of the more graphic articles. Of course, those were the ones she read twice. The writers at Young Ms. knew their stuff.
Even though she was already running late, she stayed in the shower longer than normal. She couldn’t shake how tired she felt over the last couple of weeks. Sleep wasn’t the problem. She was actually getting more sleep than normal, napping throughout the day and crashing early at night. Still, her body ached for more.
She hoped she wasn’t coming down with something. The weekend was coming up and her friend Gertie’s parents were out of town, the perfect opportunity to invite some boys over. Maybe even Bobby Mazingo. The thought put a smile on her face and was enough motivation to get her going. She turned off the water and toweled dry before climbing out of the shower.
Steam covered the bathroom mirror. When she wiped away the condensation she gasped at the image of herself. There was something strange on her chest and shoulders. The image disappeared in an instant as the steamy room fogged up the mirror again. She reached out and wiped it away with her towel.
Faint purple botches covered her skin. They were around her breasts, up to her chest and throat and down her shoulders. It looked like someone had beaten the hell out of her the night before.
She turned to run out of the bathroom and to go show her dad. This was exactly the kind of thing he’d told her to look out for since the therapy started. But she stopped herself. He’d overreact like always and they’d be off to the hospital for more tests. She had better things to do. Cathy stepped closer to the mirror to examine the spots. The blotches looked like bruises but when she pressed on them they weren’t sore at all. She inspected the rest of her body put found no other sign of the marks anywhere else. That made her feel better. The blotches were probably just a reaction to something she wore.
Still, it was weird. And being so tired all the time made it worse. She worried that maybe the medicine wasn’t working and the sickness was back. She didn’t have a check up until next week but her last visit hadn’t shown anything. Her dad told her the therapy was a sure thing, that she was lucky to get it because not many people did. That was why she wasn’t supposed to tell anyone about it. Her dad said if she told anyone then the medicine would be taken away. And people died from what she had.
Now, looking in the mirror at the purple splotches, she couldn’t decide what to do. It was times like this when she missed her mom the most. She was past feeling angry that she was gone and just felt miserable and lonely instead. But Cathy couldn’t ask her mom, the cancer had taken care of that, so she decided to keep it to herself. There was no way she’d ever ask her dad’s new wife. Barbie was the last person Cathy would trust with a secret.
She pushed the whole thing out of her mind. If she wore a high collar, no one would know. She’d just take it easy for the next couple of days and the marks would go away. She cursed under her breath when she remembered it was Wednesday. She had to work after school. Working had been a battle with her dad and she knew he was waiting for her to give up on it just to say he told her so. She could call in sick but if word got back to her dad that she hadn’t shown up for work then the party at Gertie’s this weekend would be off for sure. She couldn’t let that happen.
Cathy Moran threw on her clothes, double checked the mirror to make sure none of the purple
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