Betsy agreed to give the relationship a little more time. Just because they were different in many ways didn’t make Davina a bad person any more than it made her a bad one.
Late in the summer, they went over to Davina’s parents’ house to go swimming in their pool and enjoy a barbecue with friends and family. The following week, Davina’s parents were to be out of town for a couple of weeks.
Present at the barbecue was Delmar as well as a buddy of his and a few friends of Davina’s parents.
Betsy felt comfortable within the small group and found Laurina looking lovely as usual and definitely not at all like a doctor. This amazed her every time she saw her. She just seemed too young and too attractive to be a doctor. She knew that times had changed, but she still pictured an older, average-looking woman when she thought of female doctors.
Laurina wore a floral sundress with colors of gold and green that went well with her golden hair and fair skin tone.
Betsy could tell Laurina was glad they had worked things out and remained together, even if Betsy wished she could feel more confident about the relationship than she did. Something just wasn’t there. She wasn’t sure what was missing from the relationship, though. Maybe she simply wasn’t ready to be in one or if she ever would be. One thing she was sure of was that it definitely would’ve been weird if Davina had been the one for her and she ended up with a mother-in-law just eight years older than her if they married.
They helped themselves to some burgers and hotdogs that Davina’s father cooked up on the grill in back by the pool.
Betsy found the backyard to be both spacious and well-kept, and she could tell they likely hired someone to keep it in such good shape with their busy schedules.
Davina sat down on a bench swing next to her mom, who sat with one leg over the other as she held her plate under her chin with one hand and a hot dog in the other.
“Hey, sweetie. How are you doing? Ready for a swim soon?”
Davina nodded as her mother finished her food and placed her plate down on a small glass table next to them. Then she gathered her smaller daughter in her arms and said, “You ain’t going anywhere for a while. I’m not going to be able to see you for a few weeks.”
Then she kissed her on the head, and Davina said, “Oh, Mom. You make it sound like you’re going away for a year.”
Betsy laughed. Now that was a mom who truly loved her daughter.
Soon everyone was in the pool, Davina in a hot pink bikini and Betsy in a black one-piece suit speckled with blue-green leaves. Davina happily swam up and down the pool, mingling with everyone else who settled at the sides of the pool to chat. Davina was definitely the center of attention. People smiled at her as she floated by, gave her a compliment, or teased her by making as if they were going to grab and dunk her or something like that.
Just then, Davina announced, “Mom, Amy might have cancer.”
All heads turned in her direction with concern and confusion written all over their faces.
“Look at the red spot on her chest,” she told her mother. “You taught me well. That’s a precancerous spot, isn’t it?”
Betsy watched as the tall and beautiful doctor crossed the shallow end of the pool, yellow bikini fitting perfectly despite carrying a child, to look at a spot on the woman’s chest that her daughter pointed out.
“Yeah, it could very well be,” said Laurina. “I would have your doctor look at that at your earliest convenience so they can spray it with liquid nitrogen if need be.”
“I told you,” said Davina, seeming to be prouder of her discovery than concerned with its meaning. “You learn a lot with a parent that’s a doctor.”
Laurina explained to Amy a little bit about the various kinds of skin cancer. “It doesn’t necessarily mean it will become cancerous, but it could.”
“Does the treatment hurt?”
“Liquid nitrogen may sting a bit, and then the spot will blister and itch a little as it heals after it’s been frozen, but no. You don’t have to worry about any significant pain with that. It’s if it advances that it could become a problem, like if you have to have laser surgery or anything like that. That can be painful as well as disfiguring. So, good going, kiddo, in catching that.”
“Yeah,” Amy said, looking at Davina gratefully, “I’ll get it checked out and let you know what happens.”
The afternoon wore on, and both Betsy and Davina decided they’d had enough food and sun. They got out of the pool and began drying off. After changing back into their street clothes, they were sent home with some leftover goodies.
Davina’s parents hugged her on the way out and reminded her not to hesitate to contact Delmar or one of her aunts if she needed anything while they were gone.
Once back at the apartment, they ate a few of the cookies they took home with them, and Betsy made a point of not neglecting Davina. Sweet little young naive Davina who seemed so happy and carefree. She wished she could feel the same way. Sometimes Betsy wondered if she would have a different outlook on life and if she might have long since been in a successful relationship if she’d chosen a different career.
A few weeks later, Betsy could no longer deny the fact that she just couldn’t get into the relationship. There simply was no way she could make herself feel something she didn’t feel.
She thought of a way to break the news to Davina as gently as she could, but there really was no dancing around the subject. The problem was that she still cared about Davina. Just because she didn’t love her didn’t mean she didn’t care. She did care. Davina had no place to go but back with her parents, so it wasn’t like she would be tossing her out on the streets. But she knew that as much as Davina adored her parents, going home was the last thing she wanted to do. However, it was important that Betsy be honest with her even if she knew that her honesty was going to hurt for a while.
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