Free Raising Rain by Debbie Fuller Thomas Page A

open the door. The pregnant couple came back, and this time the man was supporting the woman as he hurried her out the door. The receptionist turned to Rain and said that her appointment would have to be postponed. Dr. Lazenby was on her way to the hospital.
    Rain wondered who would hurry her to the hospital when her time came.

    Rain got a call from William that evening asking her if she could take Jude in for her treatment. The doctor was trying an experimental drug in an attempt to improve her quality of life. He had an unavoidable business trip on the following Thursday, and Rain would need to stay until he could make it back from the airport that afternoon. Rain said she would, and asked if her mom had agreed to it. He responded that, for once, it was out of Jude’s control.
    Rain arranged to take the day off and drove over to the Bay Area in the wee hours on Thursday morning to avoid traffic on the bridge. Her mother was dressed and waiting, and said it really hadn’t been necessary for her to interrupt her day.
    Rain drove her to the oncologist’s and waited in the seating area while her mother checked in at the desk. People at different stages of illness shuffled through, some sitting with family members and others waiting alone. Some wore scarves and looked extremely tired, and one man had an oxygen tank. Jude sat poised with her chin lifted, keeping her gaze on a magazine, and flipping pages occasionally. Her attention settled on an advertisement for a new diabetes drug, even though diabetes wasn’t an issue for her.
    The nurse called Jude back for her treatment, and Rain was surprised when it didn’t take long. Jude said that it was due to the fact that she’d had a catheter embedded in her chest after her veins collapsed.Rain suppressed a shiver as they left the office. Jude moved slowly and deliberately, speaking of other things as though her appointment was just one of many errands she had to run that day.
    Rain could tell that her mother was worn out, and over her protests, she supported Jude’s elbow as she made her way up the stairs to her bedroom. The bedroom was in her signature disarray, and smelled stale and medicinal.
    She offered to make Jude some lunch, and after an initial squeamish look, her mother asked her for Jello from the refrigerator.
    Rain headed down to the kitchen, remembering back to the luncheon when Jude had driven herself. She must have been on the point of exhaustion when she returned that day. Rain felt mildly irritated with William for not insisting on driving her.
    Rain opened the immaculately clean refrigerator and took out the container of Jello. She scooped the wobbling mass of orange Jello into a bowl and wiped down the sides before returning the container to the refrigerator shelf. She set it on a tray along with a glass of ice water and climbed back up the stairs.
    â€œSince when do you eat Jello, Mom?” she asked.
    â€œIt’s basically flavored sugar water. At this point, I need all the fluids I can get.” Jude labored to sit up and prop herself against the headboard. Rain arranged the pillows behind her for support and set the tray across her mother’s lap.
    Rain stood gazing out the window at the busy street below while Jude ate her Jello. A messenger went by on a bike and was almost clipped by a van turning right. The day was gloomy with drifting fog and a chilly 60 degrees. What a difference from the 100 degree heat that simmered Sacramento the day before.
    Rain turned at the clatter of Jude’s spoon in her empty bowl. She removed the tray and left the water on the nightstand with the TV remote. “Is there anything else you need?”
    Jude hesitated. She gave Rain a brief sidelong glance and said, “Well, actually, I need a new patch.” Jude directed Rain to where she kept her medicines. The bathroom counter looked like a pharmacy,filled with prescription bottles, suppositories, and other supplies. Rain tried