AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Didn’t you hear me?” she laughed. “I liked that you treated me normally, Spencer. I loved it.”
A tall man with white hair approached the glass doors and knocked. “Can I come in?” he asked.
“Come in, Dr. Caldwell,” Cricket instructed, waving him in. “Caldwell, this is Spencer Blackwell,” she said, introducing me. “Spencer, this is my nephrologist, Dr. Caldwell.”
I stood and shook his hand. “Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to finally put a name to a face,” he said.
I looked down at Cricket and she shrugged. “You came up a lot during dialysis.”
I smiled at her.
I gave the doctor his stool but he refused it. “No, no, sit. I won’t be long.”
“Thank you.”
He sighed, making my blood pressure spike. “Well, it’s happening, and frankly, sooner than I thought it would.”
Ellie and Cricket nodded but my blood ran cold. I didn’t understand.
“We ran a screen,” he continued, “and your levels were through the roof, Cricket.”
She nodded as if she expected this.
“I want to do an ultrasound within the hour or so.”
“Okay,” she said.
He squeezed her foot and waved to everyone else. “I’ll be back,” he said. “Hang tight.”
Ellie looked at Cricket and sighed. “I know,” Cricket said, smiling. “Everything will be okay,” she told Ellie, who began to cry. “Oh, Grandma, things are different now.”
“They feel the same,” she said, swiping beneath her eyes.
“Medicine has improved, Grandma. This is not a death sentence.”
Ellie reached forward and grabbed her other hand. Cricket squeezed her hand, then turned to me.
“This is how my mother died,” she said, shocking me to my core.
I swallowed, my mouth bone dry. “How old was your mother?” I rasped.
“My age when she was diagnosed,” she answered.
I nodded, my eyes burning. “And this?”
“Yes, she died of advanced kidney disease.” She squeezed my hand tightly. “Did you hear what I said?” she asked. “This is not a death sentence.”
“What does this all mean then?”
“Well,” she said, turning away from me, avoiding my eyes, “I’ll need a transplant more than likely.”
“And, uh, do you have one in mind?”
She looked at me but barely. “I’m on a list.”
Ellie stood when her cell phone rang. “It’s your Pop Pop. He’ll be downstairs with everyone and he brought clothing for me. Will you be okay?” she asked Cricket.
