CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED and NINETY-TWO
(part five)

“Your brother thinks you don’t want to lose your mother again,” Camila said. “Is this true?”

“My mother came just a couple days ago and…” Valerie’s eyes welled with tears. “She…”

“I love my Mother very much too,” Camila said. “She came to me when I had my children. I didn’t want to have them so I could spend more time with her.”

Valerie walked to the exam table. With Camila’s help, she got on the table.

“What was your mother like?” Camila asked.

“My mother was… is… smart and kind,” Valerie smiled. “She worked really hard but she always had time for me. She’d wake me up every day and was there every night when I went to bed. When I left for college, she would call me every Sunday to remind me to do my laundry. I never thought for a moment that she didn’t love me, you know like most girls do. She was the source of everything I did.”

“But she never smothered,” Camila touched Valerie’s arm and she lay back on the table.

“Right,” Valerie said. “Everybody was jealous because I had such a great mother, and a great Dad but Mom was… I mean everyone loved her and…”

“You can’t bear to say good-bye again,” Camila said.

“My brother and Delphie, you know about them?” Valerie asked.

“Delphinium is well known to me,” Camila leaned over conspiratorially. “I sent my daughters to her when they were going to get married. She talked my youngest into waiting another year. Good thing too. Her boyfriend’s other girlfriend got pregnant.”

“And now?”

“She’s with a lovely young man,” Camila said. “When I heard about Blane, I went to see Delphie. Was he going to help me? My ladies? Sure enough. He’s been a miracle. Even the worse, most difficult pregnancies, he is there to make it all better – during and after.”

“What does Blane do?” Valerie asked.

“Acupuncture,” Camila said. “The little needles keep the pain away. Only healthy ladies and happy babies. Let me take a look.”

Valerie put her feet in the stirrups and scooted down.

“Jake and Delphie get to see Mom all the time,” Valerie said. “I haven’t seen her since she died… She practically raises Katy, that’s Jake’s daughter. But me… I…”

Fat tears dropped from Valerie’s eyes.

“You don’t want to lose her again,” Camila said.

“I can’t lose her again,” Valerie sobbed in earnest.

“It seems to me…,” Camila’s voice came from between her legs. “I’m going to feel around a bit.”

“Okay.” Valerie said between sobs.

“It seems to me that if your mother almost raises your brother’s daughter and Delphinium sees her all the time, she must be here a lot.”

“Sure.”

“But you can’t see her.”

“I can’t see her,” Valerie said.

“And seeing her is the only thing that matters?”

“No, but…”

“Do you feel your mother?” Camilla asked.

“Um…” Valerie said.

Denver Cereal continues tomorrow…

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