WIMBLEDON, England — After my mother shaved her head during her chemotherapy two years ago, my sister sorted through a basket of all the sweet, hand-knit beanies that had been given to her. Mom rolled her eyes at each one until my sister pulled out a black baseball hat with blue lettering. It said “RF.”
“Give me that,” mom said, snatching it.
She had her cancer hat.
RF is Roger Federer, of course. Our mother is obsessed with him. Throughout her illness, she watched Federer compete against younger contenders in a rapidly evolving game as if her survival and his were intertwined.