Momma rolled her eyes heavenward and harrumphed loudly. She was having no part of exercise, if I knew her. And also, it would be a bitter cold day in hell before Katherine Jensen took advice from anyone. But the nurse had offered a point to consider. Maybe balance was the devil behind her falling. That would be considerably better than a brain tumor, which was what I had been thinking she had. Then, in a moment of optimism, I had a thought that maybe her other tumors didn’t mean anything. Maybe she’d been born with them. I had heard of that happening. And I wondered how she was feeling about her diagnosis. If it had been me, I’d be terrified to know there was something growing inside of me that would most assuredly kill me eventually unless something else got there first. If I was possibly facing radiation or chemo or surgery I’d be terrified. Cancer was very scary stuff. But perhaps this terrible news would make her realize she wasn’t really living her life. If she would begin moving herself even in the smallest ways, it could lead to getting out of the house to go places besides the hospital. Like, maybe she’d like to go to Gwynn’s or to Croghan’s Jewel Box just to have her diamond washed. Maybe she’d like to go to church, which would be my first stop if a doctor told me I had the smallest tumor of any kind.

Traffic on the way home was miserable. All through Mount Pleasant, it was bumper to bumper, and I caught every single red light. I decided to stop at the Publix to buy something to make for supper, and on a lark, I took the plunge and filled out a job application. Something told me there was a job waiting for me and that I should seize the moment. I was like the scout bees, seeing what was out there within range of the hive. Sure enough, Publix was hiring and I was given a part-time position in the bakery. Should I take this job? Why not? I thought that it was the fastest interview in history. The pay was only minimum wage, but there were other advantages, like flexible hours. But first and foremost, it was going to save my sanity. Second, I could add the money to my Maserati fund. I had a pipe dream about someday owning a gorgeous sports car.

“You’ll be reporting to Andrea Blatt. She’s been here forever,” Barbara Hagerty from Human Resources said. “I hope you like decorating cakes. We sell a lot of birthday cakes.”