Talania - a Trip Down Memory Lane... (22 page)

“Mom,” I whisper.

“Yeah son?” she answers back on the other end of the phone line.

“It’s time. Can you call her father please?”

She agrees. I can hear the tears forming and her voice breaking down.

“Thank you. See you in a few minutes.”

I hang up and go after my infinity.

I find her still in the same spot, standing in front of the mirror crying. I grab her hand, turning her towards me.

“Come here baby,” I pick her up and carry her down the stairs.

“Tristan, it’s time. Can we please just get this over with? I’m tired and upset.”

I make my way over to the kitchen bar, sitting her gently on a stool.

“Baby, please, I just want to shave it all off now and get it over with.”

I chuckle at her, causing her to scowl at me. “We will; just trust me.” I hate making her upset.

Just when I think I might have to spill my guts, everyone starts coming into the house.

“Tristan, what is this?”

I grin and wink at her. “What do you think it is baby?”

She shrugs and just hugs everyone as they come in.

“Why are Adella, Drake, Kyle and Shawn here?”

I don’t get to answer because behind them comes my parents and her father along with her shitty mother.

“Tristan, what the hell is going on,” she whispers.

Everyone strips off their shirts, revealing the t-shirts we had made.

“What in the he—” she throws her fragile hand to her mouth. The shirts are white with the gray lettering that has come to represent brain cancer. The shirt is to remind her that she has already beat brain cancer and that she can beat Leukemia too.

The shirts read ‘Team Bald’ on the back, and the front says ‘Helping Evelyn Kick Cancer’s Ass’.

“What do you mean ‘Team Bald’?” she whispers.

Right then, Adella and Drake start setting out clippers.

“It’s a shave party babe.” I grin.

“Oh no, no, no! Y’all are not shaving your heads. You can’t; please no!”

I shrug. We made up our minds to do this long ago. “You’re out numbered babe. You’re not going to win this one,” I whisper.

She loses it right then. Her body starts shaking with sobs while she lets the tears flow freely down her face.

“My mom is going to shave her head?”

I look over at Alexandra and silently tell her that she had better answer this one.

“Yes little one, I’m shaving my head too. It’s the least I can do for all the wrongs I’ve done.”

Evelyn just nods and cries more.

Her eyes widen and she starts shaking her head. “No Adella, you can’t shave your head. What will you do with all those colorful streaks you put in it?” she whispers.

Adella steps over to her, leaning on the counter and says something only Adella can make funny. “And what; miss all this?” She gestures with her hand, “Miss being bald? I fucking think not.”

Evelyn envelops Adella in a hug, sobbing while Adella rubs her back.

“You guys know I appreciate this more than anything, but I still don’t like being bald,” she whispers, causing Adella to pull away.

“Of course we know that. That’s why your father and the Monroes have set us up an appointment at one of the best wig shops in California. We have an unlimited amount of money to spend after we go bald.”

Evelyn stares at Adella like she has lost her mind before my father breaks in.

“Yes, little ladybug. After all, you women shave your heads, you get to go pick out some beautiful wigs. Get ones with colors in them or whatever,” my father brushes off.

“You’re kind of amazing, you know that Daddald?” she cries.

“Well, I would hope so,” he chuckles, trying to lighten the mood.

“Me first!” Adella chirps, sitting next to Evelyn.

“I still don’t want you doing this.” Evelyn pouts.

Adella frowns. “I don’t care what you want. Just because you have cancer does not mean I am letting you get your damn way all the time. Suck it up friend.”

Evelyn’s eyes widen before she lets a chuckle escape those beautiful lips. “You’re a bitch,” she laughs between whispers.

“Yeah, yeah, tell me something I don’t know already.” Adele grins and bumps shoulders with Ev.

Mom picks up a pair of clippers, turning them on. “Ready Adella?” She flips the switch on and off several times, causing the entire room to go into a fit of laughter.

“Make me ‘Team Bald’ already.” Adella gestures toward her hair.

“I just want this on the record that I tried to tell you guys not to do this. Its apparent those t-shirts should read ‘Team Stupid’, because this is absurd. Okay, I’m done. Proceed,” Evelyn says in a whisper.

Two and a half hours later, the entire group is bald, except for Evelyn.

“Are you ready baby?” I whisper, kissing her cheek.

“I can’t believe you shaved all that hair I loved running my fingers through.”

This causes me to groan. I loved when she did that. “It will grow back, right?” I reassure her.

“Yeah, I guess,” she giggles.

She sits up straight and closes her eyes. She inhales and exhales before the sweet words come out of her mouth. “Make me ‘Team Bald’. I’m kicking cancer’s ass.”

“You got it baby.” I kiss her sweet lips and gesture for my Mom.

Mom walks over to Evelyn, whispering something in her ear. Evelyn’s face lights up and she looks me directly in the eyes with the smile that has reserved just for me.

“I promise,” she whispers to my mom.

After fifteen minutes, Evelyn is completely bald and has a smile on her face.

“Where were you guys the last time I had to do this?” she whispers, wiping happy tears away while the whole group turns to look at her mother.

“I know I screwed up,” her mother whispers.

I need to lighten the mood a bit. “So baby you want to go to the wig shop today or tomorrow?”

She contemplates for a second, smiling. “I’m actually a little hungry, so maybe tomorrow.”

She’s hungry? Oh damn, she’s hungry! She is hardly ever hungry anymore.

“Baby, what do you feel like having?”

“I want pizza, but don’t tell the doctor,” she grins.

I do not care if she wants pizza or steak. When she is hungry - which is never -I will let her eat whatever she wants.

“I’ll order the pizza,” her mother calls out.

She is doing her damnedest to make us forget what she did, but it will not work. The only reason everyone is getting along with her is for the sake of her sick daughter.

“Make sure you order at least ten pizzas mom. This group can really put them away,” she laughs.

I cannot believe they went to this extreme to help and honor me. I am really at a loss for words. I manage to eat an entire piece of pizza, which is rare when I’m in chemo and on such a strict schedule. Tristan lets me have a sip of beer too, which, for obvious reasons doesn’t ever happen. Everyone is telling me goodbye until tomorrow when we women go buy our wigs. I am so excited for the wigs.

“Tristan, I love you,” I whisper.

He stops cleaning up the pizza party mess and comes over to me.

“I love you too baby,” he whispers, kissing my lips.

I want to go blonde. I wonder what he would think if I bought a blonde wig?

“Babe, can I get a blonde wig?” I ask.

He pulls back with a grin.

“You could get a pink wig if you wanted and I wouldn’t give a damn baby, because it’s just hair.”

“Thank you.”

He picks me up and cradles me to his chest. “Let’s head to bed, yeah?”

I giggle, wrapping my arms around his neck. “Are we going to sleep?” I ask. He quirks an eyebrow at me, grinning that handsome Tristan grin.

“Well, I was hoping for some lovin', but if you don’t feel up to it we could go to sleep.”

Is he nuts? He has not touched me in over a week! “I don’t want sleep,” I whisper.

Tristan picks up the pace to our bedroom. “What do you want baby?” he growls.

I smile wickedly, or at least I think I do. I use all my strength to bring his ear to mouth and whisper, “I want you.”

“Then you’ll get me,” he whispers, brushing his lips lightly against mine. “Nice and slow baby.”

Oh, I love nice and slow. He is caressing me, making my body melt and my mind forget about everything else.

“You sure you don’t care that your girlfriend’s bald?”

He lays me down slowly on our bed.

“Is your heart still the same?”

I look at him, trying to decipher that question. “What do you mean, is my heart still the same?”

Tristan unsnaps my pants, pulling them down. “I mean do you still love me? Are you still my Evelyn?”

I look at him with an ‘of course I do and am’ look, causing him to chuckle.

“Then I don’t give a shit that my girlfriend is bald.”

That satisfies me and I realize he really doesn’t give a shit if I am bald. That makes me love this man even more.

He lifts my shirt over my head, unsnapping my bra, leaving me just in panties.

“Tristan, don’t I need to be fully naked?” I tease while rubbing my hand over his newly smoothed head.

“Yes, but I’m making love to you slowly.” He lays my body back down and moves between my legs. He kisses his way up the calf of my right leg to the inside of my thigh, fingering the hem of my panties before sliding them down.

“So beautiful baby,” he whispers against my core.

I run my hands over his scalp, loving the feel of his shaved head, causing him to groan against me. “Baby, that feels incredible,” he mumbles.

He climbs up my body, obviously too excited to finish what he just started. I laugh into his mouth when it descends on to mine.

“I love you baby, so much,” he groans as I fight to unzip his pants.

“I love you too, so please get naked,” I giggle.

Tristan pulls away grinning and I stare into his eyes. I forget about the cancer. I forget about having no hair. I forget about being in pain. He makes me forget
every
bad thing.