We sit opposite a young mum who has one screaming new born on her knee and a two-year-old who is shouting mummy every two seconds. She looks harassed, tired and defeated.
Izzy leans into my ear and whispers. “Isn’t she the best advertisement for Johnny’s?”
I nod my head, giggling. “Hell yes. Here’s to safe sex and no babies.”
“Miss Brown.” The receptionist shouts out, pulling us both from our whispering.
Izzy pales as she grabs her bag and stands to her feet. I squeeze her hand and follow behind her.
The doctor is a woman in her early to mid-thirties with brown hair tied in a perfect bun. She barely glances up as we enter, as she types furiously on her computer. We sit for a minute in silence while we wait for her to speak.
“So Miss Brown, what can I do for you today?” she smiles, turning and giving Izzy her full attention.
Izzy gulps. “I found a lump in my breast.”
The doctor nods, her face full of empathy. “I see and when did you first notice this lump.”
Izzy chews on her lip and she looks down at her tightly clasped hands. “About three weeks.”
The doctor nods and points over at the examination bed. “I’ll need you to take your top and bra off and hop on the bed whilst I take a look. I’ll ask the nurse to come in and be present for the examination. You just pop yourself behind that screen and give us a shout when you are ready.”
Izzy glances at me, and I give her a supportive smile. She hurries off behind the screen whilst the doctor rings through and asks the nurse to come in and supervise the examination.
WE LEAVE THE SURGERY ten minutes later with Izzy clutching the appointment letter for the local hospital. The doctor confirmed there is a lump and suggests Izzy is referred to the breast clinic to get it properly checked out.
I stop and turn when I realise Izzy isn’t beside me and I find her frozen still, clutching the letter with tears falling down her cheeks.
“Oh, Izz,” I say, rushing back to her and pulling her into my arms. “Come on. Let’s get you in the car.”
“I’m too young to die, Ev. I want to go to uni and get stupid drunk and go on crazy holiday adventures.”
“You aren’t going to die. I won’t let that happen. You heard the doctor, she thinks it’s likely a cyst, but she wants it checking out properly.”
Izzy nods, letting me guide her to the car.
“I don’t think you should drive in this state,” I tell her.
Izzy nods again and she silently slides into the passenger seat.
“I’m going to ring Grayson, okay? Or we could ring Dom?”
Izzy shakes her head firmly. “No. I don’t want Dom to know. He’ll smother me with love and care, and I can’t cope with that now.”
I want to argue with her but she pleads to me with her eyes and with a sigh; I pull out my phone and hit call on Grayson’s number.
“Hey Manchester.” His warm voice brings a smile to my face.
“Hey. I need a favour.”
“Everything okay?” he asks me.
“Can you come and get me and Izzy, but not tell Dom?”
“Hold on a sec.” I hear him say something to whoever he’s with and then a few seconds later he comes back on and the background is much quieter. “Okay, what’s going on? And why am I being asked to lie to my best friend?”
I sigh. “Gray, just come please. We’re at Drayton medical centre.”
“I’m on my way.”
TEN MINUTES LATER, Grayson’s car pulls up in the car park. I pull open the rear passenger door and guide Izzy inside before sliding in the front passenger seat. Grayson looks at me and then at a tearful Izzy in the back seat.
“Everything okay?”
I nod as I buckle in. “Can you take us back to mine?”
Grayson’s eyes meet mine and they are full of questions, but I just shake my head at him and he drops the car into first and pulls out of the car park.
I turn the radio up to drown out the silence as we drive. Grayson reaches over the centre console and takes my hand in his. I look over at him and smile. If there is one thing I love about my man, it is that he knows when not to push. The radio cuts out as Grayson’s phone rings and the screen on his car shows its Dom.
“Hey pal.” Grayson greets.
“Hey. Where are you? And also have you seen Izzy and Ev? They seem to be AWOL.”
“I don’t know, bud. I’m just heading home, Ems is at home for the day and I’m just going to nip home and check on her.”
I gesture to Grayson and point to my crotch area and mimic the movements that I hope demonstrates waxing.
Grayson cocks his brow at me and shakes his head.
“Uh, okay. You any idea where our girls are?” Dom asks him again.
I roll my eyes as I point again at my crotch and then at the hairs on my arms and make a fast motion up my arm.”
Grayson looks at me, clueless. “I uh, think they went to get pussy piercings.”
I stare open-mouthed at him. WTF?
“Really?” Dom replies, his voice hitching in interest.
“Yeah, man.”
“That’s kind of hot,” Dom says. “Okay, the bells just gone, I’ll see you later.”
“Sure,” Grayson replies, and the line goes dead.
“Seriously?” I ask him. “We went to get our pussy’s pierced. That’s what you took from my actions?”
Izzy breaks out in laughter from the back of the car, pulling both our attention. When I turn to her, she’s crying with laughter. “Oh god. Dom thinks I’m getting my vagina pierced. That’s hilarious.”
I chuckle, and Grayson joins me. “Remind me never to play charades with you, posh,” I tell him.
“What? You were pointing at your pussy, babe,” he says in defence.
“Yeah, and then I pointed at the hairs on my arm and made the motion of waxing.”
Izzy
