Trust And Hope

Chapter 11

"I've been told about you," the woman said. "Jazmine, Sierra, and Sadie, right?"

I was surprised she knew my name, given I didn't know hers.

"That's it," I said, smiling.

"It's very nice to meet you," she smiled. "I'm Lydia." She stuck out her hand to shake.

"You as well," we each said, taking turns shaking her hand.

Lydia turned her attention toward my mother. "Do you want coffee or anything?"

"No thank you," Mom said. "I think I'll be at the bookstore across the street if that's alright. How long do you think you'll be?"

"Of course," Lydia smiled politely. "I would suspect an hour or so."

"Perfect," Mom said. "Thank you so much for letting her help out. It's been a hard year with Richelle in and out of the hospital and I would rather Sadie not sit at home all day. This way she can help out and do it with friends."

"Of course," Lydia smiled. "How is Richelle, by the way?"

"She's in some pain," Mom said. "Her last chemo treatment for a month or so was a couple of weeks ago."

"That's good," Lydia said. "I'll be praying for her."

"Thank you," Mom said. "We really need it. I'll be leaving now. Sadie, call me when you're done if I'm not here."

"Yes ma'am," I nodded to her.

"Has Sierra told you about what's going to happen?"

"No," I shook my head.

"We need some workers in the music department," Lydia said. "What do you girls think?"

I looked at Jazmine and Sierra. We loved singing. "Yes!"

"That's great," Lydia said," As you know at least one-fourth of our congregation are people staying for a few months while they or a family member receives specialized medical care, being so close to the hospital."

She brought out a notebook and flipped it open, then showed it to us. It had a picture of each kid that was attending and some facts about each of them.

"Some of the kids don't even go to church," Lydia said. "They're just here because their parents need someone to watch them."
Sierra giggled and pointed to a brown-haired boy making a silly face.

"That's Gabriel," she said. "He loves superheroes and wears a cape every day to school. He's in Cynthia and Cecelia's class. He's so adorable."

"This is Lillian," Lydia pointed to a picture of a girl who had blonde hair draped over half of her face. "Her mom's having heart surgery. She's extremely shy. I'm hoping camp opens her up a little."

Charlotte's coming to camp?" Jazmine brushed lightly a page with her fingertips.

"Yes," Lydia said. "She hasn't said a word since the doctors stopped letting her see Cici. I hope camp isn't too much for her."

"Who are Charlotte and Cici?" I asked.

"Daniel Griffin's daughters," Jazmine said.

"Daniel's daughter has...cancer?" I asked. I knew one of them had cancer, but I didn't know they were so young. They were Eva's age when she was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, and Eva was far too young to deal with all of it.

"Childhood cancer runs in Daniel's family," Lydia said. "They have Hereditary Leukemia. Like it does in yours, Sadie."

"Charlotte and Cici are twins like Richelle and Eva," Jazmine said.