Bridget & Robby

Robby was worried when he didn’t hear from Bridget for a while. Around three forty-five he stopped pacing and sat down on his bed. Then the phone rang. “Hello?”
“Hey you,” Bridget said like she had just woke up from a very deep sleep.
“You just wake up?”
“Yup, five hour nap. Very good,” She said stifling a yawn.
“Oh,” Robby said quietly. Bridget had never taken naps or been tired. Now she was taking five-hour naps after a night of seven hours of sleep. “Are you feeling okay?”
“No. I’m really tired and I miss you. The doctor called today and saw that our names were down and he asked if you and I could go tomorrow instead of Tuesday I said I would check with you. Is that okay?”
“Yeah. What time?”
“Nine. We’ll leave at eight. Who’s driving?”
“I will. Pick you up at eight right?”
“Yup see you then. Bye.”
“Get some sleep. Bye.” They hung up and Robby went to find his mother. His mother had been on a weird sleep schedule partly because she was a painter and partly because her first and only love had died ten years ago and she was still not over his death. She was working on a night sky scene at the moment so she would sleep from dawn until she woke up. He gently shook her awake. “Hey, I’m going for my blood work tomorrow and not Tuesday ok?” When she had nodded her consent he went into the kitchen to make himself some dinner. After he had dinner he went up to his room and focused on trying to sleep before he had to go for his blood test.



Bridget went into the kitchen and tried to eat some toast. She got sick halfway through and had to run to the bathroom. She went upstairs and laid down in her bed thinking, Sono ammalato? Bene, naturalmente sono. Che cosa stavo pensando? She had picked up a nasty habit of thinking in Italian. She spoke fluent Italian and sometimes she confused English with it and spoke both at the same time. She was thinking about being sick and how stupid she was to ask herself if she was or not. She fell asleep thinking about Robby and how she didn’t want to disappoint him by getting sick.



Robby woke up an hour before he had to leave and showered and dressed. He drove to Bridget’s house and waited outside for a few minutes. It was seven forty-five and Bridget wasn’t outside yet. He turned off the car and went outback to her kitchen door. He went under the mat for the key and let himself inside. He listened for a moment but all was quiet. He went up to Bridget’s room and saw that she was still asleep. He gently shook her awake and whispered, “Hey, we have to go or we’ll be late for our blood work.”
“Oh. Ok,” She stood up and swayed. Robby caught her as she fell.
“You okay?” He asked not extremely worried because when Bridget woke up she usually took a while to be able to move around and do stuff.
“Yes. Just dizzy. I think I’m getting sick. I need to use you to balance.” So she leaned on Robby as she changed her pants and her t-shirt. Robby asked if she could walk out to the car and she replied, “I don’t think so.” So, he carried her out to the car and put her in the front seat. He drove to the hospital. On the way they talked and Bridget woke up a bit more. She was able to walk when they got to the hospital. Robby held her hand as they walked just to make sure though. They waited in the waiting room until their names were called.
After their blood was tested and they had something to eat they sat in the doctor’s office and waited. When the doctor walked in and sat down rubbing his eyes, Bridget started to cry. “Something’s wrong isn’t it doctor?”
“Yes. Bridget, this is a medical mystery and extremely rare. I’m not exactly sure how it happened, either. I have asked for second third and even fifth opinions from others doctors here and we all agree on what happened. We don’t have any idea what could have happened.” He stopped for a breath and a sip of water, “Well, you’re out of remission and we need to put you in the hospital for observation and treatment.” At this, Bridget got up and walked out of the room.
“Doctor, may I?” Robby said and without waiting for an answer he followed Bridget.

Bridget could not believe what she had just heard. She walked outside his office leaned against the wall, slid down it and started to sob. She had thought her cancer was gone for good. She felt Robby’s arms around her and him holding her. She felt safe and unafraid. After she got her tears under control they went back into the office and listened to what the doctor had to say.
“Have you noticed any unexplained bruising lately, Bridget?”
“Yes. I have bruises all up and down the back of my legs. I didn’t know where they were from.”
“Dizziness?”
“Yes, that too.”
“We’re going to have to keep you here for treatments. You can go home and get some things together. Here are your room number and phone number.”
“Thank you doctor. Come on, B. Let’s go get you packed.”
“Ok,” Bridget said numbly as she followed Robby out of the room. He led her to the car and tried to help her into the front seat. When he did so she snapped, “I can do it myself I’m not dysfunctional. I just need to tell my parents and pack some things and then I’ll be fine.”
“Sorry.” He started to drive them home when Bridget asked him to pull over. He did so and asked, “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t want to be sick again. I’m scared.” She started to cry and Robby pulled her onto his lap. He rocked her and she calmed down.
“We’ll get through this. I’ll be here every step of the way.” She knew he would be and she was glad for that. She took a few deep breaths and turned towards Robby.
“Robby, I know you’ll be there for me. I love you,” She leaned up and kissed him on the mouth and heard him whisper something. “What?”

Robby put her back in her seat and looked her in the eye as he said, “B, don’t say that.”
“Why not?” she said now getting angry. “Don’t you love me?” He started to drive home as she said, “If you don’t love me then why are we doing this?”
When he didn’t answer she just turned and looked out the window. He drove up to her house and watched her walk inside. He knew she’d call her parents and tell them and she’d pack up her stuff and then she’d be out.
He felt bad about not answering her question. He did love her, but he didn’t want to love her then have to watch her die. She’d had cancer since she was eight years old. Ten years ago. She went into remission after two years of treatment. He knew how hard it would be for them to cure her this time. He waited for her to come out for ten minutes then twenty then thirty. He was getting worried and decided to go inside to see if she was okay. “B? B, are you okay?”
“Robby, I can’t move,” He heard her whisper quietly from the stairway. He went over and she was sprawled out at the bottom.
“Oh my god, what happened?” Robby asked going over to sit next to her but without moving her.
“I was dizzy. I was coming down the stairs and I fell, I tumbled all the way down,” she whispered crying. Robby put his arm under her neck and the other by her waist and legs so she looked like a baby being carried.
“Are you okay? What hurts?” Robby asked when he had set he safely down on the couch.
“My head and this arm,” she said pointing to her left arm. He tried to move her wrist and she screamed.
“Okay, I’m sorry. I’ll get your stuff.” He kissed her forehead and did just that. When he had gathered enough clothes for a few days he put it in the car and grabbed her cell phone and purse. He laid her down in the back of the car and she fell asleep almost instantly. He drove to the hospital and he carried her up to her room. When they got there he asked the nurses to call her doctor.
He didn’t know if she would be okay. But if she wasn’t he would always blame himself. He would never forgive himself if he let something happen to Bridget.


Bridget woke up tired and in pain. She saw two dark figures outside her doorway and called to them, “Hello?”
Both figures ran to her bedside and she saw Robby and her doctor. “You gave us quite a scare, Bridget,” her doctor said to her.
“What happened? Why does my leg hurt?” Bridget talked with her doctor and Robby for a few minutes and found out what happened and that she had broken her left wrist, had a concussion to her head, and had fractured her right leg below her knee and right above her ankle. “How long will I be here for chemo?” she asked when they had stopped talking for a few seconds.
“About six weeks for chemo and the day you leave you should be getting your wrist cast off as well. The leg cast will have to stay for a while longer I’m afraid.” The doctor gave her a miniature hug and walked out of the room leaving her alone with Robby.
“Bobby,” she started, “about what I said—,”
“Forget it.”
“No. I need you to call my parents.” She was very confused at why he had told her to forget about calling her parents. They needed to know that she was here and why. She handed Robby her cell phone and listened as he told her parents the horrifying truth that her disease had relapsed. Robby got off the phone and told her that her parents had said they’d send money and they hoped she got better. She started to cry and Robby cradled her.

Robby rocked Bridget to sleep then he let her stay on his lap the way she was. She slept for a long time. He suspected that he too nodded off for some time. He woke and found that they were side by side and she was sleeping peacefully. He watched her for five minutes then she woke and moaned, as if in pain.
“Buon moring, quello piccolo,” Robby whispered to her.
“Buon? Non!” She said back to him. It was a tradition that they had, speaking in Italian when they wanted to show deep emotion. He had said, ‘Good morning, little one,’ and she had replied, ‘Good? Not!’ “My head hurts and so does the rest of me.”
“Oh, well let me make you feel better,” Robby said as he lifted her chin and kissed her. She must have bent her right arm while he kissed her because an alarm went off at the nurses station and a nurse came in yelling. Robby, Bridget and the nurses all giggled when they realized why the alarm had gone off.
“I’m sorry,” Robby started to say to the nurse when she walked in. When she had shushed him he went back over to Bridget and sat down next to her. “You hit your head pretty hard. How far back do you remember?”
“I remember telling you that I had to pack my stuff and call my parents then we pulled over for something and my mind goes blank.”
“Oh,” Robby said very pleased that she could not remember what had happened or what she had said.
“Why. Did I embarrass myself again?”
“Oh. No. I just wanted to make sure you remembered that your cancer was back. You do remember that far don’t you?”
“Yes. Unfortunately I do. When do I start chemo?”
“Tomorrow morning. I wanted to talk to you.”
“About what?”
“Università. I think you should live with me in the apartment I’ll be renting down there,” Robby said slowly. When he saw the look on her face he added quickly, “I know our parents wouldn’t agree. If...I mean when. When you get better you should do what you want and not what your parents want. Right?”
“Yes. Definitely. Of course. I was going to mention something about that when I got better. I am going to get better aren’t I?”



“Bridget, I can’t promise anything. I came out of remission two years ago and it was tough to get back to remission. You have to think positively. No negative thoughts. Think about us spending our weekends studying on the beach together in college,” Robby said slowly. Trying to get Bridget to think good thoughts would be hard but he’d have to do it. The doctor said no negative thoughts or she may not make it through this time.
“Ok. I’ll try my best. Per voi, lo farò.” She’d do it for him. No one else but him.
“No! Not for me, for you,” he whispered grabbing her hand. “Don’t do this for anyone but you. You need to do this for you.”
“Ok. I’ll do it for me,” Bridget whispered then she let him hold her until she fell asleep.


Robby looked down at Bridget and when he was sure she was asleep he slipped his arm out from under her and walked out of the room. He walked out of the hospital. He got in his car and started driving. He wasn’t sure where he was going until he pulled off of the main road. He saw the sign that said “British Cemetery.....10 miles” and kept driving. When he got to the cemetery he got out and went to the site marked Robert Menzel. He bent down and read the grave stone:

Beloved father and husband. Loved all. 1958-1996

Robert Menzel was his father. He was Robert Edward Anthony Menzel III. His father died of leukemia ten years ago. Two years before Robby found out he had leukemia too. Robby sat down and started to cry. He hadn’t cried over the loss of his father or the fact that Bridget’s cancer was back. He hadn’t cried over anything sad in years. He sat there and let the tears flow, silent and steady they came. He stayed for an hour or so then he found he couldn’t cry anymore.
Heading home Robby found himself very happy and joyous. He was angry with himself for feeling this way and he felt guilty. Guilty that Bridget would know how happy he was. He went to bed that night feeling better than he had in a long time.



Bridget woke up to the sound of laughter. She saw Robby there in her room reading a newspaper and laughing. She was angry for about a millisecond before she realized that as long as she was happy they’d get through this. She watched him laugh then started to laugh too. He looked up when he heard her and he gave her a big kiss on the cheek.
“What’s got you in such a good mood?”
“A comic in the paper. Are you ready? They told me to bring you down as soon as you were ready,” he didn’t have to explain where they were going, for Bridget already knew. They were going down to the chemo room.
“Yes, I’m ready.” Robby helped her into a wheelchair sitting in the corner of the room and wheeled her into the elevator. On the way down he held her hand and hummed the song from Annie, The sun’ll come out tomorrow. He made her feel a little bit better by being in such a happy mood.
“Robby?” Bridget whispered with tear stinging her eyes.
“Hey, don’t cry,” he said back while wiping the tears from her cheeks.
“I am deathly afraid of what I’m about to do. And I don’t think that any amount of sunshine is going to take that feeling away right now.”
“Ok. Well hold on,” He said excitedly and wheeled her out of the elevator and over to the waiting area of the chemo wing. She saw Kelly standing there with a really happy look on her face. “Surprise.”
“Kelly! What are you doing here?”
“I thought I’d come and see my maid of honor before her first chemo treatment. When you’re done I have a really important matter to discuss with you!”
“You’ve never seen anyone after they’ve had chemo have you?” Bridget asked smiling.
“No, why?” Kelly asked, looking confused.



Robby jumped in and said, “Kelly, after a person has chemo, they get sick and aren’t very able to talk or discuss things.”
“Oh, well, maybe tonight?” Bridget asked. “I’ll feel better by then.”
“Tonight I have a few things to do but how about Friday? I’m busy until then.”
“Ok. See you at five on Friday bring that guy you’re engaged to, ok? If he doesn’t mind hospitals. We can double!” And with that, Robby wheeled Bridget into the chemo room for her first treatment. Since Bridget wasn’t getting radiation chemo, but IV chemo, he could stay in the room and talk with her. They played Rummy five hundred and Bridget won by about three hundred points. By the time they finished the Nurse had started to pack Bridget up and get her out of the bed. When she was back in the wheelchair she looked at the clock on the wall. It read 2:38. She was wheeled up to her room and Robby helped her into bed. He then reached into the bag by her bedside and pulled out a book, Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine. Her favorite book. He opened it to the first page and began to read.
For each creature or character he would use a different voice. He made her giggle. When the part of the book came that was fairly dull, she fell asleep. He put the book down and covered her with a blanket. He went in the corner and started to make a list of books that he would need to get from the store. His mother had read to him after chemo so he wouldn’t get sick. It worked well. So, he tried it with Bridget it worked well with her too.



Bridget woke up to see Robby asleep in a chair in the corner of the room. She watched him for a few minutes then she went back to sleep. They pretty much did this for two more days. Then it was Wednesday. Robby had been going home for an hour or two every day to shower, eat some normal food, and make dinner for Bridget. Then he’d come back and stay until he had to shower again. When he left to shower Bridget was sponge bathed and the nurses washed her hair. Other than showering and hanging out in Bridget’s room, they went down for chemo sessions and they read out of the book. On Wednesday, she was brushing her hair after her nurse had washed it and she noticed that she was getting large chunks of it in her brush. She was standing in front of the mirror and she collapsed on the floor. She started to sob just as Robby walked in. He knelt beside her and hugged her tightly.



Robby had been walking down the hall when he had heard the smack of Bridget’s cast hit the floor. He saw her sobbing and wrapped his arms around her. He let her cry it out. When she stopped crying she whispered to him, “It’s starting to fall out.”
“Oh, B. It’s okay. It’ll be okay,” He knew immediately that she meant her hair. Her beautiful, long, dark hair was falling out because of the chemotherapy. He got her over to her bed and took the brush out of her hand. He gently started to brush it. When he had gotten through it, it was much thinner and he could tell.
“It really is, isn’t it? I’m going to have to cut it off, aren’t I?”
“Yes. Do you want me to do it now?” Robby asked lightly knowing how painful this would be for her. She slowly nodded her consent. Robby went out to the nurses’ station and asked for a pair of scissors. The nurse on duty said, “Hair?” When Robby nodded she handed him a pair of scissors. He went back to Bridget’s room and sat down next to her.
“Robby,” she asked when he sat down, “will you still date me when I’m bald?”
“Of course. Why wouldn’t I?”
“I don’t know. You can start cutting.” Robby started to cut off her hair. He stayed close to her head so the hair was about an inch long. When he had cut it all off and thrown it away, he went back to the bed and sat with Bridget.



Bridget asked Robby to help her into bed and read to her from the book. He helped her into bed and pulled out the book from her bedside table. He was reading for only five minutes when she had fallen asleep. He put the book into the nightstand and went over to the other hospital bed that had been set up, courtesy of her parents. He climbed in and went to sleep.
Bridget woke in the middle of the night with a searing pain in her left wrist. She screamed. Robby rushed to her side. He pushed the nurses aide button and held Bridget’s other hand. She felt as though her hand had been put in a fire the size of the sun. She passed out after a minute or two from the intense pain.



Robby was chilled with fear. He thought she was dying. He didn’t know what to do. The nurse asked him to leave the room so he did. When she called him back in he saw Bridget sitting up and taking three different colored pills. He knew that what had just happened was not normal and needed to be checked into by her doctor.
After a few minutes Robby and the nurse had finally got Bridget to tell them what had happened. The nurse went into her office and called the doctor. He came in immediately. He took off Bridget’s cast and x-rayed her arm. He said that it was healing but that her bone didn’t have enough calcium so it wasn’t growing the right way. He put her on a medication to build up her calcium level and put a new cast on her. When he left Robby settled down on the bed next to Bridget and said, “Wow.”
“What?”
“You, my dear, are a very dangerous person.”
“What?”
“A broken leg, broken wrist, concussion, low calcium level, what else could happen to you?”
“Hopefully, I could get over cancer,” she said quietly.
“You will, honey, you will.” And they both fell asleep holding each other in Bridget’s hospital bed.



Bridget woke and looked at the clock on the wall it was 6:45 in the morning. She decided to go for chemo a few minutes early and not wait for Robby to wake up. She shuffled over to her wheelchair and wheeled herself down the hall. When she got in the elevator she pushed the button for floor four. The doors opened and she started to wheel herself across the room. About halfway over a doctor came up behind her and wheeled her into the room. “Thank you.”
“Sure. Anytime.” He said then left the room. The nurse came in and started hooking Bridget up for chemo.
As she was plugging in IV lines and putting different machines on she asked Bridget, “How old is that handsome boy always here with you?”
“Twenty-two.”
“Oh, he looks about there,” Bridget sat there for a while thinking. After about an hour Robby walked in looking half asleep.
“Good morning beautiful,” he said leaning down and giving her a kiss.
“Good morning. Rummy?”
“Of course.” So they played Rummy for about an hour and Bridget won again. When it was over he wheeled her back to her room and read to her from the book. He finished it just as she went to sleep.



Robby went down into the visitors’ lounge and used the computer. After he checked his e-mail he made Bridget a card on the graphics program on the computer. He printed it out and went to the gift shop to get her flowers. When he went back to the room she was still sound asleep. He put the flowers and the card beside her bed. She had to wake up in a few minutes.
As though reading his mind she woke up a minute later and smiled at him. “I’m so tired, Robby.”
“I know, but I have to go home and shower and make us dinner. You got to get your bath too.”
“Ok.” Robby helped her into a sitting position and kissed her good bye. As he passed the nurses station he said, “She’s ready for a bath.”



Bridget was huddled under the blanket of her bed for a long time. Her head was under and her feet were under, she was completely invisible. When Robby walked in he said, “Wake up, B. I’ve got spaghetti.”
“I’m not hungry.” I can’t come out from under here. Not like this, Bridget thought. I’ll stay under here until all my hair comes back. The nurses had been washing her hair when she told her that it was falling out completely. The nurses tugged gently on in and Bridget was now completely bald.
“Ok. How about I read to you?”
“No.”
“B, what’s wrong?”
“I’m bald.”
“I know I’m the one who cut your hair remember?”
“No. I mean completely bald.”
“Oh, B.” At this she crawled out from under the blanket and hugged him fiercely. He hugged her back and urged her to cry. “You’ll feel better.” So she did. She cried and cried. She cried until she had no energy left. She then crawled under the blanket and went to sleep. Robby went over to his bed and ate some spaghetti. When he finished he went into Bridget’s bathroom and washed out the container and went back to his bed. He read the newspaper for a while and went to bed when he got tired.

Robby woke up in the morning to the sound of laughter. He looked over at Bridget and saw that she was sitting with her brother laughing and enjoying herself. He knew Bridget hadn’t seen her brother in about two years and that she needed some time with him so he slipped on his shoes and walked out. He went downstairs to get some coffee.



Bridget was happy and sad when she saw Robby walk out of the room without saying hello to her brother. She wanted to introduce them, because the last time her brother came Robby was out of town with his mother, but she also didn’t want her brother to get upset about Robby.
“Hey, what’s the sudden sad look for?” her brother asked concerned.
“Oh, I wanted to introduce you to Robby, but he left.”
“Who says I want to meet your roommate? Why do you have one anyway? Why didn’t mom and dad pay for a private room?”
“Well, it is a private room. He’s not my roommate. He’s my boyfriend,” she said this carefully, watching his face the whole time. He went from confused to angry in seconds. “Oh, Drake, don’t get angry.”
“Why shouldn’t I be angry? You’re living, in a hospital, with your boyfriend.”
“I have leukemia,” Bridget said getting tears in her eyes. “You were in Africa and mom and dad are in Paris again and I was really upset. I would have died if he hadn’t been here.”
“Oh, B, you aren’t that sick.”
“No, but I fell down the stairs that’s why my leg and arm are in casts,” she said, getting angry. “You aren’t going to tell Frankie and Faith any of this are you?” she didn’t want her twin siblings to know about any of this, her sickness, again, Robby, or anything. “What you could tell them is that I applied to FSU and I’m going to live with Robby if I—,” she stopped short.



“Bridget? What is it? What’s wrong?” Drake asked while moving around to the top of her bed.
“What if I don’t live? What if I don’t go back into remission?” what will happen to Robby?” Bridget asked, wishing that Robby were in the room to hug her and tell her that everything would be okay. “You should probably leave for now and come back later when you can control yourself and not start to worry me.”
“Fine. I’ll be back later. And yes I will tell Frankie and Faith they deserve to know.” As soon as he left Bridget put on her slippers and sat down in her wheelchair. She wheeled herself into the elevator and went down to the lobby and cafeteria floor. When the elevator doors opened she turned right and wheeled her way down the hall.
“Hello gorgeous,” Bridget heard an extremely masculine voice behind her say.



Robby knew that Bridget would go down to the gift shop to find a scarf or hat to wear tonight for when Kelly was coming. He watched her turn around and he saw that she looked worried. “Hey, what’s up?”
“Drake. He...he...he’s mean and horrible and cruel and hurtful.” She started to get angry and wheeled over to Robby.
“What’re you talking about?” Robby asked taking her hands and looking into her eyes. “Did he hurt you?”
“Yes and no. He hurt my feelings and was very rude.”
“About what?”
“You.”
“Oh. Well we knew that he and your parents would get upset.”
“He’s going to tell Frankie and Faith. They’re the twins. I think you should stay away from here tonight. Frankie might—,”
“Hey, I don’t care. I’m staying right here.”
“No, you don’t understand. Frankie is huge; when he was eighteen he could lift up Faith and me and carry us around for a long time,” she told him this to scare him. She could see him thinking about it thoroughly and after a few moments he responded.
“How long am I staying away?”
“Well Kelly’s coming at five and that’s three hours after chemo. So after we read after chemo I guess you’ll leave. Until about eight I guess. This will break my heart.”



Bridget talked to Robby for a few more minutes then he wheeled her into the gift shop to get a scarf. When they were done it was time for chemo. They played Texas Hold ‘em and when she was done he read to her.
“Good night,” Robby whispered after she fell asleep and he kissed her head. On his way out he asked the nurse on duty to wake Bridget at four thirty so she’d be ready for Kelly. He also went as far as to call Kelly and tell her not to bring her fiancé because he’d be the only guy and he’d probably feel uncomfortable.



Bridget woke up around four o’clock so the nurse didn’t need to wake her. She didn’t like waking up with Robby not there. She didn’t like it at all.
She got up and dressed quickly. When Kelly didn’t show up at five fifteen Bridget called her cell phone.
“Hello?”
“Hey, its Bridget, where are you?”
“Oh, well my car broke down and my ride is late. I’ll be there within the hour okay?”
“Okay, see you then.”
Bridget was waiting for Kelly when Her brother and sister walked in. Faith held her hand and Frankie got angry.
“Where is he?” Frankie asked while balling his hands into fists.
“I sent him home. I don’t want you to kill him.”
“Well get on the phone and bring him back here so I can kill him.”
“Look,” Bridget started, getting very angry and getting out of bed. “I can do what I want, when I want, how I want, okay? I’m eighteen years old and I’m moving out of mom and dad’s soon. Please, unless you’re here to be nice and help me feel better, go away.” She got up and got sat in wheelchair and left the room. Her siblings knew to wait about twenty minutes before following.
It was very hard to wheel herself with a broken arm. When she made it to the teen lounge, she picked up the phone on the table and called Robby. She asked him to come back immediately. He’d be there in ten minutes.