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thought it would encourage me about the things that Hannah will eventually be able to do.”
    Sylvia opened a jar of salsa and poured it into a bowl. “I think it’s a wonderful idea. And you know Hannah will be cared for. She’ll be right down the hall.”
    â€œI’m thinking about it.” Tory took the vegetable plate and a bowl of chips to the living room, set them on the coffee table. Cathy followed with the dip, and Brenda brought the glasses.
    Cathy plopped wearily down into an easy chair, and Tory and Brenda sat on the floor near the food. Sylvia came in, dusting her hands. “Okay, what am I forgetting?”
    â€œNothing,” Brenda said. “Come sit down.”
    â€œDrinks!” Sylvia hurried back to the kitchen. “I forgot your drinks. Iced tea okay for everybody?”
    The three agreed that it was, and she hurried back with a tray. “Now, that should do it.”
    Cathy watched Sylvia as she sat down. Her face looked tight and preoccupied, and dark shadows beneath her eyes spoke of her fatigue. “Sylvia, are you sure you didn’t overdo it today?”
    â€œI’m sure.” But as she said it, she averted her eyes.
    â€œSo what did you find out at the doctor?”
    Sylvia’s smile faded. Pink blotches colored her neck. “Just a bad case of anemia. That’s what’s causing me to be so tired and weak.”
    â€œWhat do they do for that?” Tory asked.
    â€œIron and vitamins. I’ll be all right in no time.”
    Cathy laughed. “Well, what a relief! I was worried it was something more serious.”
    Brenda looked as if she didn’t quite buy that diagnosis. “Are they sure that’s all?”
    Sylvia grew quiet and looked down at her fingernails. “Well…not completely.”
    Cathy sat up straighter. “What is it, Sylvia?”
    Sylvia snapped her face back up, forcing a smile. “Well, you know how doctors are. If they’d stopped at the anemia, it would have been just fine with me. But no, they have to keep looking until they find something else.”
    â€œWhat did they find?” Dread flattened Cathy’s voice.
    Sylvia picked up her glass and a napkin, wiped the dampness off of it. “It’s probably nothing. I shouldn’t have even told you. I’m not worried about it in the least.”
    Tory got off of the floor then and looked down at Sylvia. “And?”
    â€œIt’s just that they found a lump in my breast.”
    â€œOh, no.” Tory’s whispered words voiced what Cathy was thinking. But she told herself that it could be nothing. She’d had lumps in her own breasts, and they’d turned out to be nothing.
    â€œDid you go for a mammogram?” Brenda asked.
    â€œSure did.” Sylvia sipped her drink. “It’s there, all right. I saw it myself.”
    â€œWhat are they going to do?” Brenda’s voice held steady.
    â€œWell, tomorrow I’m going for a biopsy. I’m really optimistic, girls. I mean, just think about it. I’ve got so much work to do in Nicaragua. The children need me so badly, and Harry…” Her voice broke off, and she swallowed back her emotion. “I don’t believe the Lord would afflict me with breast cancer right now, so it’s not even something I’m worried about. I’m going to go for the biopsy, find out it’s benign, then go on back to my work. I refuse to worry about it until I get the results.”
    â€œI had a lump in my breast once.” Brenda’s voice was too quiet to inspire confidence. “It turned out to be just a cyst. No big deal.”
    Sylvia nodded. “See? That’s exactly what this is. I guarantee you.”
    But Cathy wasn’t satisfied. “What did the radiologist say?”
    Sylvia looked at her as if she’d been caught.
    Cathy leaned her elbows on her knees and locked onto Sylvia’s face. “I know you