“She has,” Lara conceded. The afternoon’s arguments weighed heavily on her. “She could have been more persuasive with our parents though.

“I think she was walking a tightrope,” responded Helena, giving Lara’s hand a gentle squeeze. “She couldn’t push too hard or they would have dug their heels in even further.”

It had taken nearly an hour but the Perkins eventually relented and deferred to Lara’s suggestion of a simple oak casket. In retrospect, Lindsay had been the key to wrangling them into doing the right thing. After the wake, which lasted precisely two hours and not a minute longer, per Charlotte’s directive, Lara and Helena accepted Lindsay’s invitation to spend some time with her family before slipping away for a late supper. All that was left was the funeral, followed by the reading of the will. Lara was hoping to fly out immediately after, but Helena was quietly attempting to get her to spend a day or two getting to know her sister. Lindsay was doing everything she could to make amends with Lara despite Lara’s inability to acknowledge her sister’s efforts.

“Do you think she knew all along that Charlotte was having a little fun with us from the great beyond?“ Lara sipped her Appletini. “I mean she did take our side, even if it took her forever.”

“I think, like us, she took Charlotte’s side,” Helena smiled, “and that’s all that really matters.”

The early reports from the operating room were both frightening and encouraging. As Dr. Wilson feared, the tumor had invaded Dana’s uterus. The plan was to deal with what was outside first. If they were successful and Dana and the baby were stable, they would perform an intrauterine procedure, which meant that the baby’s head and shoulders would be outside the uterus while the doctors worked to remove the potion of the tumor that was on that side of the uterine wall. The vascular surgeon would then deal with the tumor’s blood supply. Alice’s eyes grew wide when they told her that the surgery could last twelve hours or more. The third report, some six hours into the operation, was cautiously optimistic. They’d removed the tumor entirely and the baby and Dana were both doing well. The vascular surgeon had begun repairs to the uterine wall two hours earlier than originally expected. Alice nodded her understanding. She’d barely spoken since the surgery began. Every ounce of her energy was dedicated to willing her wife and baby to survive.

Shane had forgotten what a great cook Beth was. They were both ravenous by the time they realized that they hadn’t eaten in more than a day. In half an hour they were back in bed, feasting on pan-roasted chicken breast sandwiches, dressed with a fresh mango salsa. They were simply delicious. Shane could not remember feeling so comfortable with anyone in her entire life. She laughed heartily as Beth took a huge bite, leaving as much or more on her chin and breasts as made it to her mouth.

“Let me help you with that,” she said, deftly easing Beth onto her back. She paused to brush Beth’s hair from her eyes. “You are so beautiful.”

“I’ll bet you say that to all the girls,” Beth teased. Shane actually blushed. “Hey,” Beth said softly. “You make me feel beautiful.”

“And you make me feel,” Shane paused and Beth offered an encouraging smile, “I don’t know the right word… I’ve never really felt this before.”

Ten hours after the surgery began, the vascular surgeon completed her work and Dr. Wilson returned the baby’s head and shoulders to the safety of Dana’s womb. As she began the work of closing the incisions, a slight nod sent her resident back to Alice to let her know that they were finishing up and that both doctors would be out shortly to speak with her personally.

“Thank God,” Tina hugged Al who was too relieved to reciprocate. “This is wonderful news!”

Alice’s mind raced ahead to the next step. Dana would have to take it easy and build her strength so she could start chemotherapy as soon as the baby was born.

The monitor sounded loudly just as Dr. Wilson tied the final suture. Dana’s blood pressure dropped rapidly and her heart began beating erratically. The baby’s distress set off another monitor almost immediately.

“Kill those damn things now,” Dr. Wilson snapped. “She’s bleeding out!”