Mama Tiger

Chapter 4.

Chapter 4.

The kids slowly gathered in the living room and sat down. Stef was sandwiched between Lena and Callie, who had hurried to take her spot; she had been there from the beginning, and it seemed important to her to be there now. Jude snuggled against his sister, resting his head on her shoulder, and the twins and Brandon sat across from them.

Lena was crying openly, grasping Stef's hand, and Callie sat with her head hanging down, her hair a curtain around her face. Stef reached over and grabbed Callie's hand, like Lena had done for her. She was pleased when her daughter squeezed her fingers in return.

"Moms, you're really starting to freak me out," Jesus suddenly announced.

"Me too," Mariana nodded. "What's going on?"

Stef sighed. Her headache was still pounding in her temples, and her eyes felt sore from crying. But she had to keep going for her babies. She had to be strong for them.

Brandon studied her questioningly, leaning forward. "Mom?"

She felt Lena squeeze her hand, encouraging her to go on. Taking a deep breath, she opened her mouth to speak. "As you know, I went to the doctor this morning. I had an appointment to get the results to some medical tests I recently had done. And today I found out that I have a malignant tumor in my breast."

"What does 'malignant' mean?" Jude asked, looking up from Callie's shoulder.

"It means she has cancer," said Brandon, his voice breaking. He covered his face with his hands and began to cry.

"B.," Stef sighed, getting up and going to her son. "Honey..."

Brandon wrapped his arms around her neck and she hugged him tight, rocking him, like she'd done since he was small. "It's gonna be okay, my love," she promised him, wiping her own tears away with the back of her hand. She hoped with all her heart that she was telling him the truth.

"I'm scared," Mariana whimpered. "Mom, are you gonna die?"

Like the protective brother he was, Jesus took Mariana in her arms to comfort her, whispering to her in Spanish, as he sometimes did.

Before Stef could answer her daughter's question, Lena spoke up. "Mom is not going to die, sweets. She's going to have surgery and she's going to get better."

"Are you gonna lose your hair?" Mariana asked.

Maybe it was a reflex, but Stef's hand immediately flew to a lock of her blond hair. She gripped it between her fingers and sobbed, and Callie let go of Jude and hid her face in her side. "Yes," she finally told them. "I'm going to be having chemotherapy treatments after my surgery, so I will most likely lose my hair."

As her words sunk in, both Mariana and Jude burst into tears.

"Don't cry, my precious babies," Stef sighed. "It's just hair. It will grow back." If only she felt as sure of herself as she sounded. She had been so busy, she hadn't even begun to think about the loss of her hair. Now that it was on her mind, a strong memory came back to her, of when she was a little girl. Every night, her mother would sit behind her and brush her hair one-hundred strokes. Then she would braid it so it wouldn't get tangled while she slept. She closed her eyes, willing the mental image away. "And if any of you have anymore questions," she added, "please don't be afraid to ask."

When no one spoke up with further questions, Lena stood up."We need to get out of the house," she announced. "How about we go out to eat tonight?"

"Really?" Jude asked, his eyebrow raised. "But we never go out to eat."