Bethany remained by her bed for another five minutes, saying a silent prayer, until Rod came by. “Matteo fell asleep, too,” he said, helping Bethany to her feet and guiding her out the door.
Before they left, Bethany asked that the couple move in together. The nurses on staff said they needed to talk to the doctor, but that it would probably be okay, at least until both Helena and Matteo were in the clear.
“I think they’ll love waking up and seeing one another,” Bethany said to Rod as they left the hospital and walked to the car. “I certainly love waking up to see you.”
Rod blushed, as though hearing something like that still touched his heart. Bethany made a mental note to say lovey-dovey things more often—even after the baby was born, even after they were underslept. They were about to enter a strange and exhilarating phase of their marriage. But there was no one in the world she’d rather spend that time with.
When they reached the Sutton House, they found—to absolutely no one’s surprise—that Rebecca had salvaged the meal. Everything was perfect: the turkey, the stuffing, the cranberries, the mashed potatoes, and the brussels sprouts. They sat for the blessing, linking hands as Victor said a prayer of thanks. Bethany closed her eyes and felt a rush of love for every person at the table.
She prayed that in a year, Helena and Matteo would be here with them. She prayed that her and Rod’s baby would be sitting in a high chair, smiling and basking in the love they all gave.
25
Aweek after the transplant surgery, and after a series of tests and checkups that seemed to last days instead of hours, Matteo was finally cleared to go home.
But the celebration was short-lived when they learned it would only be Matteo.
“We need you to stay a little while longer,” Dr. Scott told Helena, his face stoic. “It’s not that anything’s wrong. It's the common procedure in cases like this. Your body has gone through the brunt of the stress, as it were. Matteo’s liver has begun to regenerate, incredibly. But we want to be close by in case your body rejects your new liver.”
Helena looked over at Matteo, who sat up in bed, scowling at the doctor. It was clear that he didn’t want to leave, that he wanted to stay with Helena, to wake up with Helena in the hospital room and complain about how bad the breakfast was, and watch television till they took their multiple daily naps. They’d been cozy, strange days—days they wouldn’t forget. But now, now that Matteo’s body had healed enough in the wake of losing part of its liver, it was time for him to move on.
Other people needed his hospital bed, Helena knew. She reached over to squeeze Matteo’s hand.
“I’ll be here all the time,” Matteo assured Helena. “I’ll be here in the morning when you wake up, like always.”
But the doctor shook his head. “I really need you to keep tabs on your health back at home, Matteo. You need to rest just as much when you’re there as you did here, if not more. You need to eat healthy foods and drink plenty of water. Read the pamphlets I gave you. Memorize what you need to do. Those pamphlets are the key to moving beyond this and getting stronger.”
When the doctor left Helena and Matteo alone, Matteo rolled his eyes.
“You need to take what he says seriously,” Helena said. What she didn’t want to say was,If you get sick from giving me your liver, I will never forgive myself. I won’t forgive you either!
“But I want to see you,” Matteo said.
“I’ll be home soon,” she said. “I don’t want you to risk anything. Please.”
With the doctor's clearance, Matteo got dressed and kissed Helena goodbye. “I love you, Helena,” he said, stroking her cheek and gazing into her eyes.
At this moment, with the weight of what had happened and what they still had to go through on her chest, Helena wasn’t sure if she could respond.
“I’m not going to leave till you say it back,”Matteo said with a laugh.
Helena blinked back tears. “I love you. I love you so much.”I love you so much that it terrifies me, she didn’t add.
“There we go,” he said. “I’ll see you soon.”
Helena watched Matteo being wheeled out of the hospital, where Rod was waiting to pick him up and take him home. Bethany was going to come by later, Helena knew. But in the meantime, she allowed herself a brief and painful pity party.
The three weeksthat Helena was in the hospital were some of the strangest of her life. Every day, she was closely monitored, her body and blood tested to see if Matteo’s liver was assimilating into her system. “So far so good,” Dr. Scott said over and over again. But Helena always half expected him to say that something had gone wrong, that suddenly it was over. She didn’t know how to get over that fear.
In mid-December, Matteo came to the hospital to pick her up. She’d seen him nearly every day since he’d been released, but she hadn’t seen him like this: strong-looking with all his color back, wheeling her chair down the halls and helping her from the chair and into the passenger seat. Because they were renting it for the time being, he closed up the chair and put it in the trunk before leaping in, cranking the heat, and kissing her.
Helena had the strangest idea that they’d just gotten married, that they were leaving the cathedral where they’d said their vows. But in actuality, what had happened was way weirder and more wonderful than that. Matteo had given her a piece of his body.
Maybe she really was going to live.
Tears shot down her face. Matteo brushed them aside and said, “I’m cooking all your favorite foods.”
“I’m starving,” Helena said.
