“I’m aware.” His tone was deadpan, but he put his arm around her shoulders.

“Andrew,” Jeni admonished. She pulled another tissue out and handed it to her mother. “Stop making Mom cry.”

“Seriously? Don’t get mad at me.” He turned to Lauren. “Don’t I get a free pass? A card to put in my wallet or something? An ‘I have cancer, so give me a break’ card?”

“Uh…” Lauren shifted on her stool. He was joking, right?

“For heaven’s sake. Can we let her tell us about the chemo?” The dark-haired woman standing against the wall spoke up for the first time.

The blond sister wiped a tear from her cheek.

“Yes, let’s get back on track,” Lauren said with a nod. Heat rushed through her when she turned her attention to Andrew, but she pressed on. “You’ll come in every two weeks for chemo and get all four drugs each time. Two rounds of chemo make up one cycle.”

Once she got in the groove, she relaxed and regained the confidence she usually felt when talking about the drugs she knew so well, spending the next half hour reviewing side effects he could experience. She mentioned which ones were common—fatigue, increased risk of infection, nausea, and vomiting. And a few that were rare but serious enough to mention—lung toxicity, heart damage, neuropathy.

She also told him about the nausea medications she’d send in for him to use at home in between cycles.

Lauren’s eyes met Andrew’s brown ones. “Everyone has a different experience. Dr. Patel or her PA, Emma, will see you after your first chemo to find out how you did after you got home.” And just because he was a guy, a young guy, and they were sometimes hesitant to be honest about their symptoms, she added, “They can’t fix something they don’t know about. You have to speak up if you have any issues. Okay?”

Andrew nodded at the same time his mother said, “We will.” Andrew shook his head the tiniest bit, and Lauren bit her lip to contain her smile.

“Will we see you, too? When we come back?” his mother asked.

“Actually, this is my last day in this clinic. Starting tomorrow I’m moving to a different one. But there are several clinical pharmacists in the building available to Dr. Patel and her staff if any medication questions come up,” Lauren said, burying the disappointment she felt that she wouldn’t be following Andrew’s care. “What other questions do you have? About the chemo?”

“Will he lose his hair?” Jeni asked.