PART 1
| New York Memorial Hospital |
A doctor walked into Janine Hines’ hospital room with X-Ray
scans in his hands. Behind him came Antonio, Antonio Jr., Addison and Jiselle.
Inside the hospital room with Janine was Genevieve, the youngest Bovin child.
“Think positive thoughts, mom,” Gigi told her mother, then stood up from the
bed and walked to the doctor, standing with the rest of her family.
“This area and this area,” the doctor pointed to the x-rays
of Janine’s lungs. “Cancerous tissues. The trouble breathing she’s been having
is because there is air escaping. The cancer is eating through.”
“Oh please, it’s just asthma,” Janine, 41 years old,
divorced, and lying in bed with a mask on her face, took the mask off and
dropped it to the ground on side of the bed.
“Not my mommy!” Gigi burst into tears right then,
immediately being cradled by her father who was now trying to figure out how to
deal with his upcoming business trips while his childrens’ mother was in the
hospital with cancer.
“I don’t even smoke!” Janine continued.
“Is this early detection or should we be worried?” Jiselle
asked with tears in her eyes.
“We won’t know until we get the Biopsy done to be sure.” The
doctor started, “if its stage 2, or early 3, we can do a combination of chemotherapy
and radiation therapy over the course of 4 weeks. If after the first week
things are not progressing as they should, we’ll also do surgery to help it
along.”
They hung out with the doctor a few more minutes to talk
about what he’d just presented, then paperwork was brought in for Janine to
sign, then Addison, who was named power of attorney in case the worst happened
and decisions needed to be made without her immediate consent. Jiselle and
Genevieve left the room to deal with their rolling emotions while the men stood
around Janine’s bed, Lucky and AJ looking at the papers together, “DNR …” AJ
held onto that one, “we’re not signing this one.”
“Yes … You are.” Janine took a breath and got ready to plead
with him.
“Mother,” AJ sat on her bed, “you’re only 41.”
“Cancer doesn’t care if youre 41 or 4. If it wants you out
of here, you have no choice. If I have to be hooked up to a machine in order to
live, I don’t want to be here. It’s ridiculous.”
“What about us?” Lucky’s face began to turn red. “I won’t
sign it.”
“You don’t have to. I can …”
“Janine, lets think about this.” Antonio finally stepped in.
If Janine died, he would have to deal with Gigi himself. Not that he wouldn’t
want to as Gigi looks a little like him, but a 16 year old girl with a single
father is not the way to live life, especially with a new wife. “Your children
need you.”
“You just don’t want to deal with them yourself,” Janine
rolled her eyes, “they’re grown, Antonio.”
“Gigi can stay with me or Elle,” Lucky said through a
clenched jaw, “but it wont come to that. You can leave, Antonio,” putting the
paperwork in AJ’s hands, he put his hands in his own pockets and walked to the
window. “My mom is sick, I don’t need your bullshit in here right now.”
“I always wondered where your mouth came from. It wasn’t
your mother.”
AJ remained quiet. Caught in the middle as usual. He loved
his father but not the way he treated his siblings or him, for that matter.
After a small stretch of silence, he took a pen and walked the DNR over to
Lucky. Lucky took the pen and signed, giving Janine the peace of mind she
wanted but not disobeying her at the same time. He declined the DNR and stuck
it with the rest of the paperwork to turn in. He and AJ gave each other a nod
and left the room to deal with the doctor. Antonio hovered around Janine’s bed
and she rolled her eyes again, “you can go now. No need to look concerned. Your
girlfriend will be worried that you were gone from her sight for 2 whole
hours.”
He ignored her comment, “the doctor said roughly a month,”
he picked up the mask she’d thrown down earlier and put it on the bed next to
her, “do as the doctors ask. Please,” he paused, “Genevieve will leave for the
London Olympics in a month and a half and I have business to tend to so … I’m
going to get her a car.”
“WHAT? I do NOT want her having a car right now!”
“She is 16. Responsible. She has a license, her grades are
perfect and she needs to get to and from the track and gym for workouts.”
“You could take her!”
“I’m busy.”
“Jiselle will take her. Addison will take her. AJ will take
her … Antonio please. That girl sings ‘Call Me Maybe’ like it’s the only song
ever written. She’s too bubbly for driving.”
“I’ll get her something safe.” Still ignoring his ex-wife,
he kissed Janine on the forehead and left the room.
A few seconds later, Janine heard Jiselle and Gigi in the
midst of an argument with Antonio, leaving Gigi crying … As usual. They came in
the room and Gigi sighed, “I can’t drive with you in the hospital. I’M TOO
WORRIED! What if I hit a dog?”
“I’ll take you.” Jiselle kissed her sister. Jiselle was an
athletic-built 5 foot 10 while Gigi was 5 feet tall, also athletic-built but a
little thicker than her big sister. Her dark brown hair that was generally
wild, curly and unruly, was done only days earlier with a Brazilian Blow Out in
preparation for the Olympics. Now it was flowing down her back to her waist.
Her dark olive skin tone was accentuated with big light brown eyes, a beaming
smile, Antonio’s thin nose, and heart shaped mouth. Gigi was sight for sore
eyes, a sight her brothers, and sometimes Jiselle, paid for dearly, getting in
many fights if one guy said something to her that they didn’t like. But as
sensitive as she was, it was warranted. Jiselle put an arm around her sister
and then smiled at her mother, “everything’s gonna be fine. You’ll be out in
time to come to London with us.”
Janine nodded, “I know.” She sighed, “please save her from
herself,” laughing a bit as she referred to Gigi.
“I’ll do my best.”
