Hence, Lace always kept her bald pate covered with something.
She laughed wryly.
That hadalsobeen a challenge. Finding just the right weight of material to cover her crown. When she bundled up too much, sweat she hadn’t known she was capable of producing would bead up on her scalp and drip down her face in riverlets. When she attempted a wig, it slipped off her bald head, wasalsosweltering, and phenomenally itchy.
Lace had finally settled on wrapping her scalp with a neck warmer that kept her toasty, but had a vent at the top that let her woman-made-steam escape.
All in all, just another day fighting cancer.
Lace had just removed her shoes and flopped down on the couch when her phone chimed.
She picked it up to look at it, and saw it was from Bobbie.
How did chemo go this morning?
To lie, or not to lie…
Maybe a distraction.
Well, I puked, which is nothing new, but then I was run into by a real cutie. Or…at least I think he was, because I couldn’t really see his face.
Answering bubbles appeared.
Oooh! Was he wrapped in bandages like the invisible man?Bobbie texted back.
Her bestie’s love of old movies was epic.
Nope. Nothing quite so mysterious. He was dressed like a clown.And for some reason, I haven’t been able to get him out of my head. Do you think I secretly have a clown fetish?
There was a hesitation; bubbles, then nothing, then more bubbles.
Why the heck was Bobbie hedging? Didshehave a clown phobia of which Lace was not aware?
Hello?Lace texted.Did I lose you? I assure you he looked nothing like Pennywise. He was more of a Bozo type.
This time, Bobbie didn’t hesitate.
I’m calling you right now, and you better pick up.
What the hell?
Lace was intrigued. As much as a few minutes earlier she’d wanted nothing more than to lay back and block the world out, her curiosity was now piqued, and when the phone rang, she quickly hit the button to connect.
“What’s going on, Bobbie? Have you secretly been attacked by a clown in a former life and wear garlic to keep them away?” Lace joked.
“That’s vampires,” Bobbie dismissed. “Now tell me what he looked like,” she demanded without missing a beat.
“Okay. Fine. He was tall. He had on a tented costume that didn’t give me even the slightest hint of what was underneath all those polka dots. His face was slathered in white paint. He had a big, red nose, and a ratty looking red wig on his head, and… Oh, yeah. His eyes were this stunning shade of hazel.”
Was there anything else about him that stood out?
Uh, huh.
“He was nice. A gentleman. He bumped into me, apologized sweetly, then produced a flower out of his sleeve that he gave me.”
Lace looked at the slightly crushed item laying on the couch, and actually smiled. She’d never received a gift from a clown before.
Lace continued. “He wondered out loud how anyone could deal with the big C, and then worried he wasn’t funny enough to make the kids in the peds unit laugh.”