12. One step forward. One step back?
Lloyd and Marcia Eldridge knew happiness, and they knew how it felt when happiness turned to pain.
Lloyd was an engineer, and a good one. Marcia, creative and outgoing, worked part-time in a trendy boutique in Magnolia Promenade. They rented a cute little house in the Foundry Cove section of Willow Creek.
Both of them wanted children badly, but they had given up on having a family of their own. So, they adopted a beautiful toddler, Felicity…and a year later, Marcia discovered she was pregnant. Jamie was robust and healthy, and he looked a lot like Lloyd. Now the Eldridges were a family of four, and Lloyd and Marcia were over the moon.
Unfortunately, their happiness turned out to be short-lived.
Lloyd lost his job when a colleague accused him of stealing his work. That colleague happened to be the son of the firm’s owner, so Lloyd was never given a chance to tell the truth. He found work in Oasis Springs, serving as a jack-of-all-trades at the Community Center. Marcia settled in there, too, teaching painting and yoga. It looked like the Eldridges had found a new, happy home.
Again, the joy wasn’t destined to last.
One blazing summer afternoon, Felicity and Jamie were playing on the Community Center playground. Felicity, always a daredevil, climbed to the top of the monkey bars and began to walk across them, stepping from rung to rung.
Jamie watched her, shaking his head. “Felicity, you know Mom and Dad told you not to do that.”
Felicity giggled. “Don’t be silly. This is easy!”
Those were the last words Felicity would ever speak. She took four more steps, lost her balance, and fell awkwardly, striking the monkey bars on the way to the ground. Jamie screamed and ran to get his parents, but it was too late.
Jamie had never been a terribly social child, but now, wracked with grief, he became even more withdrawn. He cried easily. Mean kids teased and bullied him mercilessly. He was lonely and miserable.
The Eldridges were only too happy to leave Oasis Springs. Thanks to a friend of Marcia’s from her UBrite days, they ended up in San Myshuno. Eleanor Langdon found Marcia a job as a fundraising specialist, and Lloyd discovered he could make a decent living as a freelance programmer. They moved into an apartment in the Arts Quarter and settled into their new lives.
https://i.imgur.com/zl26RIh.jpg
Eleanor and Marcia, left to right, relax together at the spa.
Jamie, too, felt right at home. His classmates were diverse and welcoming, and nobody cared if you marched to the beat of a slightly different drum.
The Eldridges spent several very happy years in San Myshuno. Jamie grew into a teenager, making good grades and developing an interest in the theater. He joined the Drama Club. He planned to attend UBrite, just like Lloyd and Marcia had.
https://i.imgur.com/eXyiAkX.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/IHc3m7G.jpg
And, once again, things changed.
Marcia paid no attention to the fatigue. She was a mom, and she had a challenging, rewarding career. Being tired was her normal. When she started losing weight, she chalked that up to her habit of forgetting to eat when she was especially busy. Some evenings, she didn’t bother to change clothes before she collapsed onto her bed.
https://i.imgur.com/AreHh23.jpg
But when she blacked out at her desk one afternoon, she ran out of excuses. She needed medical attention, and quickly. However, she hadn’t been inside a doctor’s office in years. She found the number for her doctor’s office. Her fingers trembled as she punched it into her phone.
“Good afternoon,” the office manager said. “T. Pose Medical Practice. How may we assist you today?”
“I need to make an appointment with Dr. Mason Ross,”
The manager paused for a moment. “I’m sorry, ma’am. Dr. Ross has retired.”
“I..I see.”
“Most of Dr. Ross’s patients are now seeing one of the doctors who have recently joined our practice,” the manager explained. “Dr. Jeremy Xu and Dr. Angie Reynolds are both very talented physicians.”
She checked the doctors’ calendars on her computer. “Dr. Xu can see you tomorrow morning at 9:00.”
“Thank you. Please schedule that appointment for me.” Marcia gave the manager her information.
I won’t tell Lloyd or Jamie about this until I hear what the doctor has to say, Marcia told herself. I don’t want to worry them, and it’s probably nothing.
If I’m wrong, and there is something wrong…I’ll think about that when the time comes.
