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He leaned over and kissed me. Then, he pulled me into his arms and we sat nestled together and listened to the Beatles, a mix of their hits from the 60s. One of my favorite songs came on – one that had so much meaning to me. “And I Love Her”.
“This is my favorite.”
“I know,” he said and squeezed me.
“I want to come and listen to Mersey some night when you’re playing it.”
“We’re playing new material now, but I’ll see what I can do.”
I smiled. That was a huge thing for Drake – letting me in to his life so completely that I had an open invitation to go to hear them play. I hadn’t gone yet, wanting to leave it as his “with the guys” thing, but I had gone with him to the O’Riley’s for Sunday dinner.
Now, with Thanksgiving was fast approaching, I was already wondering what I could get for Drake for Christmas. He had everything he could want. He lacked nothing – nothing except his father.
It was then, as we sat in the living room sorting through Liam’s things, that I decided I’d buy us plane tickets to Ethiopia, hire a guide to take us to the Bale Mountains where Liam’s plane crashed and then the Harenna Forest where Liam’s ashes had been buried. It wasn’t too far from there to Kenya, and the Loisaba Lodge north of Nairobi. We could stay in the lodge for a week and sleep under the stars.
Drake had talked about a trip to a warm climate in February and was going to arrange his schedule so that we could go for two weeks. I wasn’t taking any classes and was focused on writing my thesis and doing research, so I could take time off with no problem.
So I had one gift out of the way. We promised to only buy two gifts for each other. It wasn’t that we couldn’t afford to buy more but I wanted the gifts to be personal and special – not just spending money for its own sake. Now, I had to figure out what else to get the man who had everything. Not quite as easy a task as I first thought.
Drake
Out of the blue, late in the afternoon while I was at the hospital, a colleague I hadn’t spoken with for at least several months called me, his name showing up on my cell. I was sitting in my office, poring over patient files in preparation for the next day of surgery and pulled out my cell from my pocket, thinking i
t might be Kate but it was Jim Kerrigan, an oncologist who helped with Liam’s treatment earlier in the year.
“Drake, I thought I’d let you know that Maureen and Liam are back in town for a follow-up and because Liam is having a few issues with his liver enzymes. I know she’s pretty sticky about you becoming involved, but I thought you should know just in case she hasn’t told you. It’s his nine-month check and they have him in the children’s ward to treat the liver issues.”
I rubbed my forehead, biting back a bitter comment. “Thanks, Jim. I appreciate the heads-up. You’re right about Maureen. She doesn’t want me to see him.”
“Not really fair, in my opinion, considering you saved his life…”
“There’s not much I can do, and I don’t want to cause any real issues in their family. I’ll call her and see if I can at least see him from a distance.”
Jim sighed audibly and I could tell he didn’t agree with Maureen on the need to keep Liam from any contact with me so he wouldn’t be confused.
“If worse comes to worse, you let me know and I’ll see what I can do to facilitate a meeting. She stays with him pretty much 24/7 but there might be an hour here and there where she leaves him alone. If so, I’ll give you a call.”
“Thanks,” I said, a sense of gloom settling over me. “I appreciate it.”
I ended the call and sat staring out my window at the courtyard. I was furious that Maureen was in town with Liam, and with Liam being sick but she hadn’t contacted me to let me know. Liver complications after bone marrow transplant could be life threatening. As his biological father and as the one whose stem cells saved his life, I should at least be told.
I called Maureen’s cell. Surprisingly, she hadn’t changed the number, although she didn’t answer and my call went to voice mail.
“Hi, Maureen. I hear through the grapevine that Liam is here for his nine-month check and is having problems with his liver enzymes. Can we talk? You have my number.”
I hung up and then, despite knowing I shouldn’t, I left my office and went to the children’s ward. I wouldn’t barge in on Liam, but I would go to the waiting room and let the nurses know I wanted to speak with Maureen.
On my way, and to my surprise, Maureen called. “Drake? Who told you we were here?”
“Who told me doesn’t matter,” I said, fighting to keep control over the tone of my voice. “What matters is Liam. I want to see his chart, and talk to his team. Considering I saved his life, it’s the least you can do if you won’t let me see him personally.”
There was silence on the line. I climbed the stairs and waited. I could practically hear steam coming out of her ears, but she held her anger in.
“I don’t want him becoming confused, Drake. He’s only known one father all his life. Chris.”
“Chris is his father. I know that. I just want to see him. I could pretend to be just another doctor checking on him.”
She didn’t say anything for a moment. “You can look at his files and talk to whomever you want. I’ll think about whether you can see him.”
