Wow. So much of the month gone, and it seems like I just started the project. I was worried I wouldn’t find anything to write about this year, worried I had written myself out on the topic, but it seems there is always more to say. And I did have this Enjoli piece I had been wanting to write for a long time. You are probably wondering what happened to Megan after yesterday. Well, I am finishing it up today…the final part of the slogan…W.O.M.A.N. Megan hardly has time to think about perfume, even if she could afford Enjoli, but her life is more representative of the lives of real women than that shown to us as young girls by the Enjoli commercial…or any manner of other glamorous women in movies or on TV. So tonight, we will finish Megan’s story….well, not really finish it, of course, because whatever story is ever completely finished? She will simply move on, this part of her story complete.

Okay, now, five famous woman:

• Geraldine Ferrraro, first female candidate for vice-president of the United States

• Hilma af Klint - artist of abstract works

• Paola Longoria, best female racquetball player in the world

• Maryam Mirzakhani - Iranian mathematician

• Toni Morrison- author

W.O.M.A.N.

 Megan was at work when the doctor called. Michael had been particularly nice to her ever since she took off for the biopsy, and now he came to get her rather than bellowing her name across the store. She pulled her hands out of the dishwater, wiped them on a damp towel, and dripped toward the phone.

Dr. Osborne was on the other end. “I have your results”, she began. Megan tensed. “You have…a fatty cyst.”

“Is that…bad?” Megan whispered.

“No, dear, that is good. You do not have cancer.”

“What do I need to do? Should I take medicine?”

“The only treatment for a lipoma…a fatty cyst…is surgery. But they’re not dangerous. People have them removed if they are unsightly, but I don’t think I’d recommend that at this time. It isn’t a problem for you, is it? Causing you any pain?”

Megan shook her head, then realized the doctor couldn’t see her over the phone. “No. I didn’t even know it was there until my husband…felt it.” She blushed.

“Then I would recommend just keeping an eye on it. I don’t think you’ll have any problems, but if you get a lump that gets bigger, you will want to be seen again. Do you do regular breast exams?”

 “No. I…don’t know how.”

“You should research it online. There are a lot of sites that can tell you how to do it. Or they could show you at the clinic. It isn’t difficult, and only takes a few minutes a month, but it can save lives.” Dr. Osborne said a couple of other things that Megan barely heard, and rang off.

“Well?” Michael was standing behind her, trying to listen.

“It’s…just a cyst. A…lipoma, I think she said.”

The entire crew was crowded around now. During the slow period, most of them would welcome any diversion from the busy work cleaning that kept them occupied until the dinner rush.

“Is that bad?” Angie breathed on her. Megan wrinkled her nose. Angie’s breath always smelled like onions.

“No, I guess not. She said I don’t need to do anything. Surgery if I want to, but it isn’t necessary unless it looks bad or causes pain or something.” Megan wished they would quit staring at her.

“Well, she was wrong about one thing. You do have to do something. There’s a whole sink full of dishes that need to be washed. Now get back to work, everyone.” Michael shooed the crew back to the line. He turned to Megan. “I’m glad you’re going to be okay. Honest.”

Megan returned to the dishes with a lighter heart. She felt like she was carrying a heavy weight on her back ever since Brady felt that lump. Now she could relax and go back to her life. She started to think as she washed the dishes, and made plans for her life now she knew she wasn’t going to die.

Mom was thrilled with the news. Mia reached for her, not sure why her mother and grandmother were so happy. She wiggled to be put on the floor as soon as Megan took her, and crawled toward the cat. The cat had a lot of experience with Mia, and fled under the couch as soon as she saw the girl coming. Megan enjoyed the first honest laugh she’d had in two weeks.

Megan had made two stops on her way home; she whispered her plans to Mom. She was worried her mother would disapprove, but to her surprise, her mother encouraged her and told her she was making the right decision. “And if Brady says no, you just tell him…well, you tell him he’s not the boss of you.”

“But, Mom, you always said let the man be the man.”

“Did I? I didn’t think I ever said anything so stupid.” Mom took Megan in her arms and they stood for a minute, two women enjoying a rare moment together. They would have stayed like that if Mia hadn’t brought them back to the moment by wailing. She had bumped her head on the coffee table, and Megan rushed to comfort her.

Megan stared at the traffic light, willing it to turn green. She wanted to get home and get dinner. Michael had snuck her a little of the hamburger meat before she left, and they were going to indulge tonight by having hamburger in the Hamburger Helper. Mom had been raising tomatoes in her kitchen, and had given Megan two fat red tomatoes she could slice for a side dish. She felt rich…well, okay, not rich, but at least not poor.

Brady slipped up behind her as she was stirring the dinner, and slipped his arms around her waist. He planted a big wet kiss on her neck and slipped his hands around her butt. He was in a good mood tonight. Megan was glad. It would make things easier. He stopped and tickled Mia, safe in her swing, before he headed upstairs for a shower.

Dinner was on the table by the time he returned. “Wow, that smells good”, he said. “Where’d we get the meat?”

“It’s a secret”, she whispered. “Don’t tell anyone. Michael let me have a pound from the store. He was…so glad to hear my news, he thought we should celebrate.”

“Your news? What news?” Brady dug his fork into his dinner with enthusiasm. It was rare to have meat in the middle of the month, although they would be getting meat from his father soon, and then they’d eat better until it ran out.

“Dr. Osborne called.” Megan paused. She wanted him to worry about her for a minute before she told him the good news. It was nice to see him worry for a change.

“What?” He put down his fork and leaned his elbows on the table, resting his chin on his hands and staring at her.

“It is…” She paused again, savoring the moment. “A fatty cyst.”

“Oh.” Brady looked puzzled. “Is that bad?”

“No, it’s good. It’s just some fat cells…a lipoma, she said. I looked it up at the library. It’s not serious. There’s no treatment, except surgery, but if I’m not having problems, there’s no need. Unless it bothers you too much.” She smirked at him, the flirty smirk she hadn’t used in a while.

“Nope. Doesn’t bother me if it isn’t gonna kill you.” Brady returned to his dinner. “Glad that’s done. We need some good news sometime.”

“I…stopped somewhere else, too.” Megan held her breath.

“Oh? Where?”

“The community college.” She rushed to finish, talking over him when he tried to interrupt. “I signed up for classes. I’m going to be a dental hygienist, if I can get into the program. It pays well, and I would be able to work regular hours, not all these weekends and nights. We could be together more.” She glared at him, daring him to tell her no.

“How we gonna pay for that?”

“I filled out a lot of forms. The woman said I can almost certainly get enough grants to cover most of the cost, maybe all of it. She also said I can probably get a job at the school that can give us a little more money. They pay better than minimum wage, and I could work my schedule around my classes.”

“Gee, you thought of everything.” Brady frowned. “What about me? You’re gonna get so smart, you aren’t gonna want to hang around with me anymore.”

“I thought about you.” Megan shoved some pamphlets at him. “You can go to school, too. I don’t know if we can go at the same time, but if I get a good job, I can help pay for you to go.”

“I’m no good at school, you know that. What would I do, be a doctor or something? That’s a laugh.”

“They have welding. You always said if you could weld, they’d give you a promotion at work. Or…look at this. They have a construction program. They say people get really good jobs out of that. Or maybe…here. Automotive. They have classes in engine, in body work, all kinds of things. You could be anything. And you are so smart. You just never had anyone who thought you could do it before.” Megan stopped, overcome with the passion of her conviction.

Brady stared. “Wow. You really want this, don’t you?”

Megan nodded, but didn’t speak. She hadn’t known how much she wanted it until the night she threw the pamphlet in the trash. She had dreamt about it every night since then, and thought about it all the time.

Brady looked at the pamphlets she handed him, and read several paragraphs. He touched the welding one as if it were pure gold.

“If you don’t wanta do all the classes…you know, the general ed classes like English and everything…and I could help you with them if you did…you could just get a certificate. That doesn’t require as much.” Megan crossed her fingers, willing him to go along. She had decided she was going to do it, no matter what, but she did want his support. It would make it a lot easier.

“I don’t know. It sounds good, but…what about Mia?”

“I already leave her with Mom when I work. Mom could take her during the day. You could watch her at night, like you do now when I work a night shift. And…well, the school is opening a day care soon. They have classes for day care workers, and they’ll have some spots for the kids of students…to help them out. Then I could visit her when I’m not in class, and spend more time with her.”

“I…” Brady stopped, his attention caught by something behind Megan. “Look.”

Megan turned. Mia had been crawling around her blanket full of toys, and had pulled herself up using the back of Megan’s chair. Now she was standing, her finger in her mouth, watching her parents. Megan held out her arms. Mia took two tentative steps forward, and fell on her butt. She started to wail. Megan rushed to pick her up, but Brady beat her to it. He held Mia and cooed.

“You walked. My little girl really walked. And I got to see it…the first steps.” Brady bounced Mia in his arms until she stopped crying. He looked at Megan over her head. “I think…this was a sign.”

“A sign?”

“Mia thinks you need to go to school. And I do, too.” Brady handed Mia to Megan.

“I want you to be proud of me.” Megan smiled at Mia. “I want her to be proud of me.”

“I will be.” Brady put his arms around his two girls, as he called them. “We will be.”

 THE END