Compassion for Candy

Harold Carpenter passed away at age sixty-eight after a three years battle with lung cancer. At his side during the Winter of his life was Candy, his loving wife of twenty years. She cared for him till his very last day loving him unconditionally to he made his way to Heaven. After the funeral she returned to the big empty home she once share with her Harold. Harold bought the home thirty-five years earlier when he was with his first wife. They had one daughter and raised her well in that home unto their eventual divorce.

Harold’s daughter Dorothy never took to her new step mother; they always had a rocky relationship. Dorothy didn’t respect Candy as a pre-teen, teen or young adult. She resented the woman replacing her mother and did everything to be a problem in their marriage. Candy was no push over either. She gave it as good as she got it. She refused to allow a child to slight or disrespect her. Harold spent years playing referee between the woman he loved and his only child. He kept things as civil between the two as he could. No he was gone.

A little over a year later Candy was hospitalized in the same hospital where her husband received his diagnosis and treatment. She was still a very hard woman, unkind to the staff and her healthcare providers.

“Ma’am these tests should help us to gain a better of understanding of how we should proceed with your care.”

Candy snapped at the young doctor.

“Well if you could read you would see right there in my chart that I have been through this before. Please take a moment to think about what you’re going to say before you say it.”

The doctor didn’t respond to her rude comments; he simply just left her to her nurses. Candy was known as Cantankerous Candy around the hospital. Everyone expected her verbal abuse so no one was surprised or took great offense. They understood her to be a hurting woman sharing her pain. One day as she was being treated she was overheard on a telephone call.

“Look, I don’t have time for this right now Dorothy. I am here in the hospital. What? I have a broken ankle, now if you would please I’ll talk to you about all of this later. Goodbye!”

She abruptly ended the call in a huff then looked up and started fussing at people. Candy cut at everyone in the room with her razor sharp tongue. A few minutes later, a young blonde haired woman stormed into the examining room. When she and Candy locked eyes the staff could see that this interaction had the potential of becoming quite volatile.

“Dorothy what are you doing here?”

“I should ask you the same question. I thought you broke your ankle. It doesn’t look broken to me. What the hell are you up to now?”

“What the hell do you mean what the hell am I up to? You’re the one who’s always playing games!”

“Well you know why I am here. It has been a year and I am tired of you jerking me around.”

“What? You want the money, take the damn money.”

“It’s not about the money and you know it. I want my father’s house! The house I was raised in.”

“Let me tell you somethin’ missy! I have been living in that house for twenty years and your father would want me to spend my last days there. It’s my home!”

Just then a nurse interrupted them.

“Excuse me young lady we need Mrs. Carpenter to remain calm right now. Please wait out in the waiting room please.”

Dorothy paused then gave one last harsh look at Candy before allowing the nurse to lead her out of the area. When they got to the waiting room Dorothy had questions about Candy’s health.

“So what’s wrong with the drama queen anyway? She certainly did not break her ankle.”

“I’m not sure if I can share with you her medical information. Are you family to Mrs. Carpenter?”

“Well you can say that. She was married to my father for twenty years. He died early last year.”

The nurse looked down at the chart she was holding then continued on.

“I guess sharing information with you wouldn’t hurt. She needs a support group. I don’t think anyone has ever accompanied her to an appointment.”

“Why would she need someone to accompany her; what’s wrong with her?”

The nurse paused again.

“She has stage three pancreatic cancer. She doesn’t have much time left.”

Dorothy was shocked, she couldn’t believe her ears. Her father died of cancer and now Candy was ding from the same disease less than a year later.

“Are you sure there is nothing that can be done?”

The nurse simply shook her head before answering.

“No ma’am. You may want to go in and talk to her, calmly. It would be a good time to make your peace.”

She patted Dorothy on the shoulder as she walked off to attend to other patients. Dorothy looked back to the examining room. She couldn’t bring herself to go back in and speak with Candy at that time. Dorothy was suddenly overcome with great emotion. It was coming on like a storm. She made her way to the bathroom and burst into tears as soon as she hit the door. Dorothy didn’t understand where all of her sudden sadness had come from. It was hard to understand, was she still grieving for her father? Was she genuinely sad about Candy dying. Or was it just too much loss in such a short period of time?

Thirty minutes she sat in her stall weeping and whimpering until she was interrupted by a concerned citizen. The woman inquired about her well being.

“Are you okay in there?”

Dorothy didn’t answer initially. The woman continued on.

“I don’t want to overstep my bounds or anything but I know what it is to be sad and I know far too much about grieving.”

She paused to compose herself before continuing on.

“Sometimes you just want to crawl up into a little ball, be as small as possible, escape the noise of the world. I don’t know what your troubles or hardship is but I ask that you soften your heart, let love in. You’re crying because you are in pain. Would you mind if I prayed with you?”

Dorothy wiped her nose and cleared her throat. Her tears had dried up, eyes swollen, throat sore she answered.

“No, I wouldn’t mind.”

“Lord I ask forgiveness for my sins as I come to you with a humble heart and great praise. One of your children here are in pain. She’s struggling with her feelings and feels somewhat lost. Jesus I pray that you lift this burden from her heart and replace it with joy. Jesus I pray you impart wisdom and guidance upon her so that she may know in her heart which way to go. I pray for healing in her spirit, heart mind and soul Jesus. We praise you Father and thank you for your benevolence, grace and mercy. In Jesus’ Holy Blessed name we pray Amen!”

With that the woman washed and dried her hands then exited the bathroom. Dorothy whispered out to her.

“Thank you.”

Dorothy blew her nose and stood. She stomped her right foot three times, she had been sitting so long that her foot had fallen asleep. She thanked God once again then slowly opened the door to the stall. The bathroom was empty; she made her way to the mirror. She smiled at herself. Dorothy had a new resolve and direction. She knew what she had to do.

Dorothy exited the restroom and headed toward the examining room where Candy was located. When she arrived there and pulled back the curtain, Candy was gone. Dorothy questioned a nurse as to where she was.

“Ma’am she has been moved to a room. I’m sure they’ll allow you to see here once she gets settled. You may want to see her today if you can.”

Again Dorothy was patted on the shoulder and led to where Candy had been moved. She was now hooked up to all kinds of machines. Dorothy looked through the window for a moment before entering the room. She sucked it up, slowly turned the door knob and walked in. Candy opened her eyes as Dorothy approached her bedside. Using a remote control she slowly raised her bed till she was sitting up right. Once sitting

Up Candy was immediately on the defense.

“What, did you come in here to yell at me some more?”

Dorothy smiled wide as her eyes filled with tears again.

“No Candy, no. I just came to talk to you. Why did they move you in here. I thought you were only here for a check up.”

Candy rolled her eyes to the ceiling trying not to get emotional.

“The tests came back and they didn’t look so good so their going to keep me for a while.”

“A while? Candy I know how sick you are and I am sorry. I know you never liked me…”

Candy interrupted.

“You didn’t like me!”

Dorothy softened, she didn’t want things to escalate.

“You’re right, I never did give you a chance.”

“You didn’t like me because I wasn’t your mother. You wouldn’t have liked any woman your father married but I loved that man with all my heart. I still do.”

“I’ve never taken the time to thank you for taking care of my father. I’m sorry that I couldn’t be there.”

“You were welcome to come.”

“Candy you were so nasty whenever I came around.”

“Is that really what stopped you from seeing him?”

Dorothy paused to digest what Candy said and the truth behind it.

“You’re right. You were there everyday taking care of him as he steady declined. I told myself I couldn’t bare to see him like that. But I was being selfish while you were being selfless. Again I thank you for doing what I was not strong enough to do.”

Dorothy went in and hugged the ill woman; Candy hugged back and held on tight. When they released their embrace both women were wiping tears. Candy responded to Dorothy’s words of kindness, contrition and appreciation.

“Kido I never wanted to keep you from that house. If you wanted to raise a family in the home you grew up in I’m all for it. But, let me finish my days first. It’s yours; it always was going to be. I just didn’t want to be uprooted from the home I’ve lived in for the past twenty years. It was all I had left of your father and this last year I have been desperately holding on to every bit of him I could. Well it don’t seem like I need to hold on anymore. I’ll be seeing him soon enough.”

“Don’t talk like that Candy.”

“It’s the truth baby, and I ain’t scared of it. I’m ready. I never wanted to be here without him anyway. You and I are going to fix this before I go. You are his only child and you will receive what you are entitled to. All I ask is that you show me the compassion I showed your father in his last days and that you let me live my last days in my home not some cold hospital room.”

Dorothy embraced the woman once again while whispering in her ear.

“Only if I can be there with you. Please Candy, give me the opportunity to do for you what I was too weak to do for my father. You are my family ma’am and I love you.”

Candy never answered Dorothy she just held her as they wept quietly, happily together. They both now understood their great importance and connection to one another allowing Dorothy to finally show Compassion for Candy.