“Lets go over to the Planet.”

Shane suggested as she led Carmen through the carpark of the hospital. After two days of observation, Dr Washey gave Carmen the go-ahead for out-patient treatment. That meant that Carmen can go back to leading a normal life, as long as she took her chemo pills regularly, and go back to the hospital three times a week for her radio therapy sessions.

“Hmm…” Carmen hummed, she wasn’t feeling very enthusiastic about going over to the planet, having just downed her pills and her stomach was churning inside out, but she didn’t want to turn Shane down. Besides, it was also a good chance to meet her friends outside of the hospital environment. In the end, even though Carmen’s insides were protesting, she smiled and said “Okay.”

“Great!” Shane flashed Carmen a huge smile. As they settled comfortably into the Jeep, Shane threw Carmen’s overnight bag to the back seat. Before she started the engine, her cell phone vibrated and she flipped it open to read the text message that came in. Shane grinned coyly but when she stole a glance at Carmen, her grin died, somewhat suspiciously. She cleared her throat and flipped the phone back shut, then instead of depositing it back into her jeans pocket, she left it on top of the dashboard.

Carmen saw Shane’s response to the text message, and as she eyed the phone from it’s place on the dashboard, she asked as casually as she could muster, “Who’s that?”

Shane, concentrating on turning out of the carpark, said absentmindedly “Huh?”

“Who sent you that text message?”

“Huh… oh… that… erm… no one…”

“Hmm… Okay.” Carmen tried to keep it light, blocking out all that nagging suspicion she had. Eyeing the phone again, she fought the urge to grab it and flip it open. She constantly reminded herself that she was not a possessive girlfriend, and that Shane was entitled to her own privacy, Carmen gripped her hands on her jeans and tried to relax herself.

Shane stole a loving peek at Carmen, and with a happy grin, she reached across and held Carmen’s hand, bringing it the her lips. As Shane held on to her girlfriend’s hands, cushioning her cheek with it, Carmen felt much better and relaxed more into her seat. ‘Must be the chemo swinging my mood and making me overly sensitive.’ Carmen reasoned.