Mama Tiger

Chapter 3.

Chapter 3.

"Baby, aren't you going to eat?" Stef asked her daughter. Callie hadn't said a word on their way to the hospital cafeteria, and her salad sat in front of her, virtually untouched. Once in a while, she took a sip from her can of ginger ale, but that was it.

Callie shrugged without looking up, pushing a cherry tomato around with her fork.

"Do you want to talk?" Stef pressed. She slid her hand across the table, and clasped Callie's hand in her own. "Please, sweetheart. Say something? You're worrying me."

"I guess I'm just not very hungry," the teenager sighed, pushing her tray away.

"Callie," Stef pleaded. "I want you to eat at least a little bit of your lunch." She forced a playful smile, even though her heart felt as if it were being pulled down by a weight. "If you can eat half, we'll go out for ice cream."

Callie gave her a sullen look. "Ice cream doesn't solve your problems."

"It always seemed to solve Mariana and Jesus's problems," she replied with a small laugh. Then, she noticed how pale her daughter's face was. "Never mind, honey." She patted her hand encouragingly. "You don't have to eat it if you don't want to. And we'll still get ice cream."

"I don't want any ice cream," Callie told her, standing up. "I'll be right back. I have to use the bathroom."

She hurried across the cafeteria and into the hall. Stef quickly ate the rest of her sandwich, waiting for her to return. When she was alone was when she started to think about things, and she wasn't ready to think yet. Several minutes passed, and it seemed like Callie had been gone a long time. Becoming concerned, she threw their trash away and went to look for her.

The ladies' room was right around the corner, so she went inside. Through the bottom of a locked stall, she could see Callie's sneakers. "Callie, love?" she softly called. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Callie answered. The toilet flushed. "I'm coming." Finally, the door unlocked and she emerged. She went to the sink, turned it on, and rinsed her mouth.

"Oh, honey." Stef placed her hand on her daughter's back. "Did you get sick?"

Callie looked at her through the mirror. "Yeah. I probably just ate something bad. I just want to go home. Please?"

Stef bit her lip, studying her daughter's face. "You know mommy's here for you, right?" She tucked a piece of hair that had come loose from Callie's ponytail behind her ear. "I'm here to listen to you, if you need to talk."

"I know," Callie nodded, turning her head away.

When they got home, Callie went straight upstairs, saying she wanted to lay down. Once she was out of earshot, Stef went into the kitchen and dialed Lena.

"Stef, honey!" Lena answered breathlessly. "I've been waiting to hear from you all morning. What did the doctor say? And where's Callie?"

Stef sat down at the table, trying to compose herself. But telling Lena the news was going to be so hard, especially so soon after her wife lost Frankie. She decided to start with the easiest question. "Callie is with me," she explained. "She wanted to come along on my appointment."

"You let her miss school?" Lena asked, a hint of surprise in her voice.

"She called me mom," Stef sighed. "I couldn't say no. She overheard us talking, and she was worried."

"She called you mom...," Lena breathed, sounding pleased. She paused for a moment. "But what did the doctor say?"

Stef sat in her chair, holding her phone to her ear. Her eyes stung with tears. "It was bad news," she confided, her voice breaking.