Best Friends Forever by Kimberla Lawson Roby Page B

today, not when it had taken every prayer she could muster, trying to prepare for her biopsy appointment. And now that it was over, she had to concentrate on meditating and praying until she received her results.
    When Celine was fully dressed, Tina knocked on the door and walked back in, smiling. “How are you feeling?”
    “Fine.”
    “The area where the needle was inserted is still numb, but even when the numbness fades, you shouldn’t have much soreness. If you do have some discomfort, taking Tylenol or ibuprofen should help. Then, of course, if you find that you’re having severe pain or you see swelling or redness, you should call us right away. And here’s some postbiopsy information you can take with you,” Tina said, passing a couple of documents to Celine.
    Celine took them but didn’t say anything.
    “Do you have any questions?” Tina asked.
    “No, not really.”
    “Well, if you do, just let us know.”
    “Thank you, and all I can hope is that we have the results sooner rather than later.”
    “I hope so, too. With your having your biopsy this morning, though, there really is a good chance we’ll have your results by late tomorrow afternoon. At the latest, on Thursday.”
    Celine grabbed her handbag.
    Tina opened the door to the examination room. “You take care, and please call us if you need to.”
    “I will, and thanks again.”
    Celine left Dr. Jones’s office and went out to the parking lot. When she sat inside her car, she debated calling her brother. She’d been wanting to call him all along, but for whatever reason, she was still holding out and waiting to see what her final diagnosis was. So she decided to stick to the plan.
    She pulled out the postprocedure paperwork and scanned it. She read down the list of dos and don’ts, and she was kind of bummed when she read that she was supposed to take it easy for the rest of the day. She didn’t feel sick or tired, and since there was a great chance she’d be having surgery soon, she needed to get as much work done as possible. She had two marketing campaigns to complete, and although this was the final month for both of them, she always liked working and doing all she could for her clients until the very end. She went above and beyond, trying to give them the kind of service they’d paid for and then some.
    But in addition to those two clients, Celine had also heard from a top advertising firm in Chicago that she’d been wanting to contract with for a long time. However, now she would have to wait until she heard from Dr. Jones. The last thing she wanted was to have to pass on working with them, but she might not have a choice.
    It took Celine about twenty minutes to get home, and now she was turning into her driveway. She pressed the garage door opener, but instead of driving inside, she did something she hadn’t done in months. She sat admiring the exterior of their beautifully landscaped tan brick home. Mostly she thought about the day she and Keith had first looked at it and how thrilled they’d been. Kassie had only been four years old, but even she’d been excited when she’d seen it. Celine and Keith had found their dream home, and they couldn’t have been happier. But that was then; six years ago, when every aspect of their lives had been full of bliss. Celine hadn’t been able to imagine a life better than the one she had with Keith and Kassie. She hadn’t counted on all that was happening now with her marriage.
    Celine went inside the house, and while she knew she wasn’t supposed to be working, she grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator and headed down the hallway to her office. She sat down and scrolled through her email. She opened and answered only those messages that were important, and eventually she reviewed her to-do list.
    But then she thought she heard someone coming inside the house, which didn’t make sense because it wasn’t quite noon yet. She also rarely forgot to set the alarm system, even in