Mending The Doctor's Heart. Sophia Sasson

was easy, but not truthful. He knew how to construct a building but he knew nothing about what it took to run a hospital—Maria had done all that. She had been his partner in every way; his dreams had become her goals. Being with Anna made him forget that, and he wanted to make sure he reminded himself. He owed Maria.

      He pointed to various features of the EHR as Anna navigated his mother’s chart.

      “Looks like she has stage 3 breast cancer. That’s serious, but not fatal. She hasn’t seen a breast surgeon, which is what I’d recommend. They may suggest surgery or send her to a radiation oncologist. I know some good people in California if you fly her over.”

      Nico shook his head. “She doesn’t want to leave the island.”

      Anna gaped at him. “Are you crazy? This is her life we’re talking about. She doesn’t have to move there forever, just for treatment. There are even some medical assistance programs if you can’t afford the treatment.”

      He bristled. “It’s not the money. This island has been her whole life—she wants to die here surrounded by family, in her home. She doesn’t want to live out her last days thousands of miles away in a sterile hospital.”

      “But she doesn’t have to die! The five-year survival rates are pretty good. Treatment means more years of life for her...”

      “Yes, but at what cost? Being sick all the time, lying in a bed? She wants to enjoy her last days and go out as the vibrant woman she is. That’s how she wants to be remembered, not as a sick old lady.”

      Her wide eyes and slight pout told him that she not only disagreed, but wanted to dig her heels in and make him see things her way. And he wanted nothing more than to pick her up and kiss the pout right off her face.

      “It’s okay, Anna, I appreciate what you’re saying, but you know it’s not the way we do things here. My mother wants to die with dignity. She doesn’t want to linger on and be a burden to her family.”

      “As a doctor, it’s my job to save people, and your mother is by no means terminal. If you want to be obstinate, fine. There’s only so much I can do.”

      “It’s not your place to say how I should or should not live my life.”

      Nico turned to see his mother standing there and groaned. Why couldn’t he catch a break? First Uncle Bruno and now his mother. The look in her eyes told him he was in for a long lecture. Approaching her, he spoke softly in Chamorro. “Nana, Anna is trying to help. Please don’t start something. We don’t have to listen to her.”

      “You do know I speak Chamorro, and my hearing is perfect.” Anna’s tone reminded him of the time he’d taken her to see the Fish Eye Marine Park and she’d been asked to pay the tourist fee, which was twice as much as the residents’ ticket price. She had planted her feet and given the baby-faced teenager working the counter an earful about how she was just as much a resident as Nico. The poor kid probably hadn’t received that kind of scolding since he was a toddler.

      He gave her an exasperated look, remembering why they’d had to buy the house in Tumon Bay to begin with. For some reason, Anna and his mother just rubbed each other the wrong way and he always had the misfortune of being caught in the middle.

      Anna stepped up to his mother, and short of physically separating them, Nico realized he wasn’t going to avoid an argument today.

      “Nana, I understand that you want to die at home, I respect that. But you don’t have to die at all. Women survive breast cancer and go on to have happy, healthy, productive lives. You can see your grandchildren grow up. Surely that’s worth the sacrifice of getting treatment.”

      She’d called his mother Nana. That’s what Anna had always called her. When he’d first introduced the two women, Anna had insisted on calling her Mrs. Atao. That had changed when they got engaged, but it warmed his soul to know she still thought of his mother as Nana.

      “Child, when you’re my age, you’ll see that life is about quality rather than quantity. It’s time for me to go. You mainland people fight to the end, painfully eking out every breath. That’s not how we do it here.”

      He watched Anna blow out a frustrated breath. She didn’t understand; never had.

      “Thank you for looking at her chart,” Nico said. “Let me drive you back.”

      She blinked up at him, then shuffled her feet. “Is there someone else who can give me a ride?”

      It was just as well. They’d just fight all the way back, and it wasn’t worth it anymore. “I’ll arrange it.”