This is the final installment in a series, so if you have not already done so, you might want to check out Part I and Part II before continuing.
The next day Anna’s mom paid a visit to her own mother. “Clara, what a pleasant surprise! Come in.”
Several minutes later, when they were both sitting at the kitchen table with mugs of coffee and had gone over the pleasantries, Clara got down to business. “Mom, I came to see you because Anna was very upset when she came home last night.”
“She should be, after the way she spoke to me. If you had tried to talk to me like that when you were her age, I would have whooped your hide.”
“She is sorry that her temper got away from her, but she was upset because she’s worried about you.” Clara reached across the table and laid a hand over her mother’s. “You know how much she loves you. We all care about you so much and it’s hard to watch someone you love suffer instead of doing something about it.”
“I’m not suffering, I’m just getting old. It’s part of the circle of life and you’ll both have to come to terms with that sooner or later.”
“Mom, this is not a normal part of the aging process and you know it. There are people who can help, you know.”
Her mother snorted.
“I mean it. You know things have gotten better, but by refusing to ever go to a doctor, you’re letting them win.”
Her mother’s head snapped up to look at her with fire in her eyes. Her nostrils flared a warning, but Clara pressed on. “I mean it. I know what they did to do was awful, but those days are gone. But by refusing to get help from people who could really help you, you’re no better off than you were when they were in charge.”
Her mother straightened her back and squared her shoulders. Clara knew it was supposed to be a warning, but all she could think was that it emphasized Anna’s point about how small and frail she looked. “How dare you? You were just a child. You don’t remember what it was like. How can you tell me I’m no better off now when I’m allowed to live on my own and take care of myself and-”
“If you truly appreciate being able to take care of yourself, then you should take advantage of it by actually taking care of yourself.”
Her mother’s lips compressed into a thin line and her eyes narrowed as she regarded her daughter. “I didn’t go through all that and raise you just to have another person boss me around.”
“I’m not bossing you around. I’m telling you that, as your family, we love you very much and it hurts us to watch you getting sick when there are treatment options available.”
“How do you know there are treatments available for whatever you think I have?”
“How do you know there aren’t?”
Her mother looked down at her coffee, but Clara could see the muscles in her jaw working, which she knew was a sign of her mother wrestling with an idea she didn’t like. Clara gave her a few minutes to process the information before she said, “You know that women can become doctors, too, now, right? We completely understand if you don’t want a man to examine you, but you do have options.”
When her mother looked up again, Clara was surprised to see she had tears in her eyes. Her voice was softer and weaker than Clara thought she had ever heard it when she said, “I just don’t think I can go into a doctor’s office again.”
“There are still a few doctors who make house calls. We can ask around.”
“But they’ll bring those instruments…”
“No, mom. No one uses those instruments anymore.” Clara squeezed her mom’s hand and was reassured when she squeezed back. “I can stay with you the whole time if you want me to. I don’t have to be in the room with you, but near enough that I can come in and kick some ass if they try anything.”
Her mother laughed through her tears and Clara counted that as a victory all by itself.
The end.
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