Cuckoos on the Mersey. A Scream in the Darkness. by Conrad Jones

Author:Conrad Jones [Jones, Conrad]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Red Dragon Publishing LTD
Published: 2024-03-23T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17

The distant echo, of faraway voice boarding faraway trains...

JO LILLY WAS FEELING frightened but putting a brave face on for Lenny’s sake. She knew Lenny was doing exactly the same. Lenny fidgeted in the plastic hospital chair, the worn vinyl creaking with each restless movement. He clutched at her hand, and she could feel how clammy his skin was. Jo smiled at him, her eyes sparkling as always, a stark contrast to the worry etched on her face. The fluorescent lights were casting sterile shadows across the waiting room. Every seat was taken, occupied by a sufferer and their loved ones, all with one thing in common. In contrast, through the window, the city hummed with the pulse of life as people went about their business, oblivious to the suffering inside the hospital. The city was a hub of excitement and entertainment with an energy you can feel, a stark contrast to the sterile silence in the waiting room. People spoke in whispers, not wanting to disturb the sound of silence. No one asked anyone else why they were there, because everybody knew.

Cancer.

The word hung heavy in the air, a dark cloud threatening to engulf them. It had been six weeks since Lenny had first mentioned the lump in his neck and there had been a whirlwind of consultations, scans, biopsies, sleepless nights, and relentless fear. Today was the day of his sixth scan, the PET CT scan, another window into the battle raging within him. The doctors still hadn’t said that it was or wasn’t cancer, but their concern was obvious, and research had told Jo the PET scan was the most detailed image available to map where a cancer was situated, not if it was there. Waiting for the diagnosis was torture and the anxiety unbearable.

She glanced around the room, filled with people united by an invisible thread of worry. An elderly woman, eyes closed, rosary beads clutched in her frail hands, whispered a prayer under her breath. A young man, hair thinned by chemo, nervously tapped his foot, his gaze fixed on the TV screen. They were all stories untold, battles fought in silence, hopes and fears swirling in their own quiet storms. The scent of disinfectant and desperation mingled in the air, a potent cocktail that made her stomach churn. She didn’t want to be here, she didn’t want Lenny to be here, she didn’t want anyone to be here. No one deserved to go through this nightmare.

She closed her eyes, forcing herself to breathe deeply, picturing Lenny’s laughter echoing in their home, the feel of his hand in hers and she could not envisage him not being there. Her unwavering optimism was straining at the seams, her infectious strength was weakening, every biopsy, blood test and scan ate away at her insides. She could only begin to imagine what Lenny was feeling. He was a man who was never sick or unwell, never complained, never moaned or bitched about the situation. His demeanour was stoic, yet she knew beneath the surface he was frightened.

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