Take a Chance by Annalisa Nicole Page B

kiss and a promise to pick me up in a few hours to head next door. I greet Amelia and get to work. The short workday goes by fast, soon Asher is standing at my desk, and it’s time to go.
    “Are you ready , sweetheart?” he asks.
    “As ready as I’ll ever be.”
    Walking hand in hand next door, it’s funny how the first half of my treatment I was running and hiding from Zoey because I had no one. Now I have a boyfriend who has been here for me every step of the way.
    “Willow, Zoey is ready for you. Come on back,” the receptionist says holding the door open for us.
    Asher stands and takes my hand. With a deep sigh , we head back to the treatment area. I am sitting nervously in my chair waiting for Zoey to come in and hook me up, still holding Asher’s hand. He squeezes my hand and smiles at me.
    “ Are you doing alright?”
    “I am now , with you here.”
    Zoey comes in to connect my last treatment and says, “You know you get to ring the bell this visit right?”
    “The bell, what bell?” I ask confused.
    “The last day of chemo, patients get to ring the big bell. You made it through treatment, and it signifies the end of a chapter and the beginning of the rest of your life.”
    Being unhooked for the last time is very scary , like I said I almost want to do more treatments. What if it isn’t gone? I don’t know if I could do all of this again but then again, I have Asher in my life now. I can’t believe I was so naive to think I could’ve done it on my own to begin with. We walk over to the bell hanging from the ceiling. Asher takes out his cell phone and snaps a photo of me ringing the bell with a goofy grin on my face. He takes another one of me hugging Zoey. He hands me a long narrow gift-wrapped box with pink paper and a white bow on it.
    “What’s this for?”
    “Open it, sweetheart.”
    Lifting the lid , I pull out a platinum necklace. A breast cancer charm dangles from the center. It’s encrusted with diamonds and says ‘I kicked cancers butt’. I hurl myself into his arms with tears streaming down my cheeks, and kiss him all over his face.
    “Thank you, it’s beautiful . I love it. Will you help me put it on?”
    Holding the chain out for him, he takes the two ends while I hold my hair in my hand. Clasping the ends together, he places a soft kiss at the nape of my neck. Chills run down my arms.
    “I’m so proud of you , sweetheart,” he whispers in my ear.
    Turning , I look around the room one last time. I look at the others faces, from first timers to recurring patients. I feel sad for their journey and happy that mine is almost to an end. I still have some tests to do, probably for the rest of my life. Right now, I just want to take it one day at a time and enjoy what I have. Walking together, hand in hand back to the parking garage, Asher helps me into the car.
    “So where would you like to go to celebrate?”
    “Gosh, I don’t know.”
    “Well , I was hoping you would say that, I made reservations for us.”
    Pulling up to a nice restaurant , he valeted the car. We walk into the restaurant with my arm looped through his. We are escorted to a table in the back. Immediately, I see an arrangement of pink roses laying in the middle of the table. On the plate is a small box wrapped in soft pink paper with a pink bow. When did he have time to pull all of this off?
    “Asher , this is too much. You didn’t need to do all this. You already got me the necklace. I love it so much. Really, you didn’t need to go to all this trouble.”
    “ Nonsense, and stop taking the fun out of spoiling you. I want to, so I am. So get used to it.” Pulling out my chair, I take a seat and pick up the box.
    “Go ahead open it, ” he says.
    “Asher , you really didn’t have to do this.”
    Ever so carefully I open the b ox trying not to rip the paper. Opening the lid, I gasp. Inside is a thick platinum rounded rope type bracelet, with one pink heart charm with pave diamonds. It’s stunning. I look