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Mom squealed from the other room. “Look what I found, Alex!”
I walked slowly into the living room where my mom held up a framed photo from high school graduation. I had my arm around Grace, and she seemed to be leaning into me. Duncan was on her other side, looking like a third wheel, but he seemed oblivious to that. He smiled away, nonetheless.
“I think you should call them.”
“Yeah, maybe I should.” I knew I needed to. I remembered Rachel’s words. I needed to stop running.
I finished the beer and stepped outside, taking out my phone. I dialed the last known number for Duncan and prayed it was still correct.
A familiar voice answered.
“Hello?”
“Duncan, is that you?”
“Who is this?”
“It’s Alex.”
There was an audible silence.
“Alex? Wow, man… I almost can’t believe it. I have been trying to reach you for years. What the hell happened?”
Chapter 4
Grace
I heard the words I’d been dreading since the day I found out about my son’s condition. Ollie’s doctor was an older man with kind eyes, and I knew what he was about to say based on the sadness written on his face.
“We are putting your son on the transplant list. His kidney is failing, and it won’t be long until he’s in complete kidney failure. We need to get him started on dialysis right away.”
“Jesus,” I gasped, closing my eyes to try and focus on slowing my heart down. “Already? I thought we’d have more time.”
“I’m sorry, Ms. Winslow. I’m assuming you’ve been checked as a match?”
“I have,” I said softly. “As have all my family members. None of us match.”
I wiped a stray tear from my eye, knowing more were not far behind.
“What about the father?”
I choked up at those words and looked over at my sweet boy fighting for his life in the hospital bed not too far from us. His shaggy brown hair and dark eyes were straight from his father; he was a dead ringer for him.
“His father isn’t in the picture,” I answered quietly, trying to not lose control. I tried to steady my voice, to remain strong even though I was on the verge of falling apart. I had to be strong, for Ollie’s sake.
“Well maybe it’s time to get him in the picture.”
I nodded and dabbed at my eyes. “I know, I know… and trust me, I’ve tried. And I’ll keep trying.”
The doctor placed a hand on my shoulder and gave it a squeeze.
“For now, we will put him on the transplant list and get him started on dialysis. We’ll do everything we can for your son, Ms. Winslow.”
“Thank you, Dr. Stevens.”
He glanced down at Ollie once more before slipping from the room, leaving me alone with my sleeping son. It seemed like that’s all my boy did these days - sleep. He was only three, he should be a happy, lively little boy getting into trouble, not confined to a hospital bed with all these tubes coming out from him.
The tears fell freely now. I allowed myself a moment to cry silently, careful not to wake him. I had told him that he would be fine, I had promised him this and it hit me that I made a promise I might not be able to keep. There were no guarantees here.
