“Let me start by saying I’ll give you a lot of information today, and it can be overwhelming. I like to go over things in person, but everything is in these papers I’m giving you.” Lauren noted a pad of paper and a pen on Jeni’s lap. “You’re welcome to take notes, but don’t worry if you just want to listen and ask questions. It’s all here for you to look through after you get home and have time to process everything.”

Lauren looked at every member of the family as she spoke, and they watched her in rapt attention. Each time her eyes met Andrew’s, she felt her face heat. It embarrassed her, but she kept going, trying her best to ignore his perfectly sculpted bone structure and long legs stretched out in front of him, his left foot a mere three inches from the tip of her peep-toe heel.

She was a professional.

She didn’t even know him.

He was a patient.

She began by telling him the logistics of receiving chemotherapy, including where the infusion center was and why he needed to have a port placed in his chest for intravenous access. “Dr. Patel has prescribed a chemotherapy regimen called ABVD, which is just an acronym for each chemotherapy agent. You’ll hear all of us—myself, Dr. Patel, the infusion nurses—refer to it by this shorthand name. ABVD has four chemotherapy drugs—”

“Four?” His mom stuttered. She started to cry, and Lauren handed her the box of tissues sitting next to the sink.

“Mom, calm down,” Jeni said, rubbing the older woman’s hand with her own.

“Why does he need four? Is it that bad?” she sobbed.

Lauren leaned forward and rested her forearms on her knees, clasping her hands. “I know it sounds like a lot, but most patients get multiple chemotherapy drugs at once. Cancer is sneaky, and a drug that works on some cancer cells may not work on others.”

“Wily bastards,” Andrew put in.

Lauren flicked her gaze to him and grinned for a second. “That’s one way to put it. That’s why we mix several drugs together that work in different ways, to make sure we hit them all.” She moved to squeeze Mrs. Bishop’s hand at the same time she looked at Andrew. “Dr. Patel is the one to speak about response rates, but I can say in your type of cancer, ABVD typically works well.”

There was a beat of silence.

“It will work, Mom.” Jeni’s tone was resolute.

“You’re right.” Mrs. Bishop sniffed and took a deep breath. She moved her hands in a repeated motion near her face, as if to waft fresh air toward her. “We have to keep a positive outlook about this.”

“We?” Andrew raised an eyebrow. “You’re the only one crying.”

This brought on a fresh wave of tears. “You’re my s-son! And you have c-c-cancer.”