After the third interruption, I lost my train of thought again.
“It must have been a lie,” my mother quipped.
Why the hell would I lie about this? And who came up with that stupid saying in the first place? (I do a quick Google check) Apparently, everyone’s uncle, bubbe, and mother, that’s who.
“Ma, you know I hate when you say that! It's because you interrupted me again. Do you want to know what happened at the appointment or not?”
“Jesus Maura, relax, it’s just an expression,” my mother said and rolled her eyes.
“Just stop, ok?”
“I’ll try, honey.”
“The doctor ordered an MRI to confirm….”
“Did you go to Dr. Gilbert, like Auntie Helen recommended?”
“Yes, I did. The doctor is concerned….”
“Did you remember to park a block away on Elm, so you wouldn’t have to pay for parking? The parking is very expensive. When your father was sick, I racked up a hundred and fifty dollars in parking fees in just the first week, until Auntie Helen told me about that shopping store lot. She was a savior!”
“Yeah, Ma, I did. Listen, if you don’t want to hear what the doctor said, I will just go home. Bob wants to get over to his parents’ place by three o’clock anyway.”
“NO! Don’t leave, Maura. I’m listening.”
“They also scheduled a biopsy, but they wanted the MRI results beforehand, to see if there is anything else concerning.”
“Concerning? What do you mean anything else concerning, Maura?”
“Ma…”
“But they haven’t even tested anything yet….”
“Ma, let me finish. He said…”
“You need a second opinion,” she said, tears filling her eyes.
“The doctor said that he’s looking for signs of…there was a word he used, something about the liver. Jesus, Ma! I forget what I was saying!”
“Well then,” she said as she pulled me into her arms, “it must have been a lie.”