All the way to the end. Arianna cringed. “Let’s not put it that way.”
“Yes, let’s. They can go with us to the end of the story, however it turns out.”
Arianna took a deep breath. “Okay, I’ll make an appointment with Michael, and I’ll call Sunny.”
Sunny was enthusiastic when Arianna told her what Mia wanted to do. “This is going to be fabulous,” she said. “And it’s so brave of your mom. It will resonate with a lot of women. When do you want to do it?”
“The sooner, the better. For everything,” Mia said when Arianna checked with her.
Michael booked out weeks ahead, but on hearing what was going on and what Mia wanted to do, he promised to juggle his schedule and set aside time for her the very next day.
“I’ll get Mel to come in and do her makeup so she can rock the new look,” he said. His wife, Melody, was heavily involved in the business and was a gorgeous woman. Arianna knew having her help would give her mother an emotional boost.
The following day, before Mia’s appointment, Sunny positioned Mia and Arianna on the living room couch, two mugs of coffee on the coffee table in front of them, along with a small floral arrangement. Mia looked beautiful in a teal-colored blouse and jeans. Arianna was also in jeans and a pale blue blouse. Both outfits had been vetted by Sunny, as well as their makeup, which was understated. For Arianna that meant concealer, blush, eyeliner, mascara and lipstick. Mia had never been big on makeup and wore only some lipstick.
“I didn’t see much point in putting on more,” she said to Sunny, “not when Michael’s wife is going to do that later.”
“You look fine,” Sunny assured her. “You both know what you want to say?”
Mia nodded.
“Okay, let’s see if we can do this on the first take,” said Sunny. “Be sure to hold your smiles for a sec before you start talking. On three.”
Smile? No way.
She counted them down. Arianna forced a half smile. It was the best she could do.
“Hi there. I’m Arianna, your host ofTo Your Healthand this is my mom, Mia. We’re going to be doing a series of videos together, and this will be for all of you who are facing big health challenges like we are right now. Mom, you want to tell them what’s going on?”
Mia nodded. Cleared her throat. “I have esophageal cancer.”
And they were supposed to keep talking casually about this, like it was no big deal. Arianna bit her lip, swiped at a corner of her eye.
Mia didn’t miss a beat. “As you can see, this is hard on my daughter. But we’re going to fight it together.”
Her mom was a trooper. Arianna sucked it up and kept going, talking about the symptoms, confessing how guilty she felt for not noticing. Mia fessed up about not wanting to face what was happening and postponing telling her daughter.
“At first I didn’t think it was anything serious, and I didn’t want to worry her,” she said. “But really, I shouldn’t have waited. And I would encourage you to not wait when you feel something is off with your body. Deal with it right away and don’t let it get away from you.”
“Speaking of dealing with things right away, we are off to our favorite hair salon where Mom is going to cut off her hair,” Arianna chimed in.
“Before I have to watch chemo strip it off for me,” Mia added.
“You are welcome to join us for that at Ross Michael Salon, and you’re welcome to join us as we battle this thing. Mom is determined to show you how to be your best even when you’re not at your best. Wish us luck.”
That was it. She took her mom’s hand, tried her best to smile for whomever would be watching and held the pose.
“Wow, one take. You two were great,” Sunny raved.
Arianna took in a deep breath. “I feel like I’ve been dragged into a dark alley and beat up.”
Mia, however, was beaming. “I feel like I just summited Mount Rainier.”
“You’re my hero,” said Sunny.
“Mine, too,” Arianna said, and hugged her.
“Don’t be swelling my head,” Mia said. “I’m just trying to get through this.”
