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Back in Burlington, Tara’s doctor confirmed she didn’t have the gene for polycystic kidney disease. I gave her a huge hug and kiss right there in the waiting room. I’d been worried too, honestly. I saw us spending our lives together, and I didn’t want that time to be cut short.
“So I won’t need both of them,” she said thoughtfully, then turned back to the doctor. “Could you find out my blood type, too?”
“Sure.” He returned a moment later. “You’re an O—the universal donor.”
Her face paled slightly, and I could tell this was all becoming real to her.
“We have brochures on kidney donation, if you’d like one,” the doctor said.
“That’s okay. I’ve been researching online, and I feel like an expert already.”
I’d seen her putting in the time. She was online for hours a day lately, and every time I woke up in the middle of the night, her face was illuminated by the blue light of the screen. She responded to my texts during the work day, which meant she was likely doing research on her phone. I had a feeling that she’d picked up a few books about kidney disease, too.
It was odd, though. Normally when I saw her on her phone, she’d let me see what she was doing, kidney-related or not. Last night, though, she’d shut it off the moment I opened my eyes. She’d seemed stressed, or maybe guilty. I must have misinterpreted that, though. I trusted her completely.
I took her hand as we headed out. I’d long since had a feeling she was leaning toward giving her kidney to Ava, and although I may not have agreed with that choice, I respected it more than I could say.
“I won’t necessarily be a match,” she told me. “My blood type is fine, but that’s only the first step. Next I’ll have to find out whether there’s a tissue match between my white blood cells and Ava’s, and then there’s the crossmatching test where they find out whether our antibodies will play nice with each other.”
I understood what she was getting at. The fact of getting checked didn’t mean she’d end up actually donating a kidney.
“I have to at least find out,” she said.
I squeezed her fingers. “I know you do, baby.”
To move forward, she was going to have to let Ava know what she was up to. So I sat beside her in her bedroom, my fingers laced through hers as she dialed the phone.
“Hello, Tara?” Ava was on speaker. “How are you doing?”
“Hi,” Tara said. “I’m good. Um… and you?”
“Good.” Ava sounded almost as awkward as Tara did. “Are you still in Boston? Did you want to get together again, maybe talk about your dad?”
“No, I’m not. And I don’t.” Tara paused for a long moment, and I stroked the back of her hand with my thumb. “Ava, I’m willing to see whether I could be a donor match.”
Ava gasped loudly. If any part of me had wondered whether she had only been interested in Tara’s kidney this whole time, that fear was laid to rest. She seemed to have almost forgotten that was an issue, and she’d been genuinely happy to hear from Tara just to talk. I was confident that she wasn’t using Tara, and that she wanted to be part of her life. Tara had a real aunt now.
Tara had already spoken to a doctor in town for an appointment, and Ava immediately agreed to the date and time she’d chosen. She said the travel was no problem, which was fair since Tara had gone to her last time—plus there was the whole matter of this possibly saving her life.
Less than two weeks later, I sat in a hospital waiting room with Ava and her husband Don. Tara had been whisked off into a private room what felt like hours ago, and I was feeling antsy as the wait stretched on. I was sure Ava felt a hundred times more anxious.
“All done.” Tara emerged wearing nothing but a hospital gown and a smile.
“Your niece here passed every step of her medical screening,” the doctor told us. “Physical exam, chest X-ray, radiological testing, gynecological examination, and cancer screening—all A-1. Tara is in excellent physical condition.”
“And the match?” Ava asked nervously.
“That’s the next step,” the doctor said. “If you’ll follow me, we’ll take a blood sample from each of you. We’ll use those for—”
“Tissue typing and crossmatching,” Tara said. “I know all about it, don’t worry.”
“This will only take a minute, then.” The doctor nodded to me and Don as he took Tara and Ava away. They returned almost immediately. “It may take up to several weeks to get your results,” he informed us.
“How can I wait that long?” Tara grimaced.
“I should be the one asking that.” Ava patted her on the arm. “We’ll get through this. Together.”
They promised to call each other often, and we all headed home. Ava and Don had a long ride back to Boston, and Tara and I needed to relax after the stress of the day.
