Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

already. “Is she just having a checkup or something?”
Tibby was walking right alongside Bailey’s mother, though
she hadn’t really been invited to. Who was the stalker now?
Bailey’s mom stopped short, and Tibby just about ran
past her. “Do you want to sit down with me for a second?”
Mrs. Graffman asked.
“Sure. Okay.” Tibby studied the woman’s face. Her eyes
were red and tired. Her mouth was a little like Bailey’s.
Mrs. Graffman led Tibby over to a couple of chairs in
a quiet corner. She sat down. There was no chair across
from Mrs. Graffman, so Tibby sat right next to her and
leaned far forward.
“Tibby, I don’t know how much you know about what
Bailey’s been through. I know she doesn’t talk about it.”
Tibby nodded numbly. “She doesn’t talk about it.”
“You know she has leukemia. Cancer of the blood.”
Tibby nodded again. That seemed like such a bleak way
of putting it. “It’s pretty treatable, though, right? Don’t kids
get better from that?”
Mrs. Graffman’s head seemed to loll a bit to the side, like
it was getting too heavy to hold up. “Bailey was diagnosed
when she was seven. She’s had eight rounds of chemotherapy,
radiation, and a bone marrow transplant last year. Bailey
has spent most of her life in a treatment center in Houston,
Texas.” She let out a ragged little gasp and then collected
herself. “Whatever we do, it keeps coming back.”
Tibby was so cold her teeth were chattering. All the
little hairs on her arms stood up straight. “Aren’t there
more treatments they can try? Aren’t there?” Tibby’s
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