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Mom patted my knee. “Let them get it out first, Bye.” I nodded and bit my lip, but sat with my ass hovering on the edge of my chair.
“There’s the option of surgery. It’s your best bet, in my professional opinion. However, it’s expensive, to say the least. It needs to be done by a highly specialized surgeon.”
Mom nodded along, her brow furrowed as she processed everything. “Alright. Okay.”
“How do we find this surgeon?” I asked.
“I’ll give you a list of names,” said the doc. They leaned forward and laid a hand on Mom’s knee, their white coat swishing as they looked in her eyes. “You need to know about the cost of the surgery. It can have a price tag of up to one hundred grand.”
This time, I did jump out of my chair, making it hit the wall with abang. My neck extended out of instinct, the seven vertebrae lengthening, my skin turning tan with big brown patches all over, lifting my head until it literally hit the ceiling. I was already tall in my human form, but as a giraffe I was eighteen feet total, far too big for human spaces, like that hospital room.
“One hundred thousand dollars?!”
“Bye, calm down.” Mom patted the side of my long, spotty neck. The way I was staring down at the doctor was not kind and not safe, and they didn’t deserve it. Slowly, I shifted until I was fully human again, and had my head back on my shoulders, in every sense of the phrase.
At a time like this, I wished I had more support. I wished we had more support, but it had always been just us two, Mom and me, ever since I was little. My O-Dad passed away when I was young, and we’d clung to each other ever since, taking care of each other.
In the past several months, Mom had gone from having a hard time getting up and down the stairs for being out of breath, to having a hard time getting through the day because of fatigue, to getting dizzy whenever she stood up, to having abdominal pain that left her bedridden, to finally fainting while she was working out in the yard.
A couple of weeks of testing and imaging had led us here, to my worse nightmare. I had always been strong and independent, but right now, I wished I had a shoulder to lean on.
My mind whispered,My mate.
If I called him, would he come to me? Fat chance.
“I’m sorry, doc.” I sat down in my seat, lead in my veins weighing me down. “What are our payment options?”
The doctor sighed. “With the way our medical system works here in the US, I have a feeling that you getting this surgery covered is going to be tough, to say the least. It’s best to consider all your options.”
I leaned forward, needing to catch every single scrap of valuable information. “Such as?”
“If you can’t get the surgery covered through your job, and SSA gives you a hard time, which they almost undoubted will, you can look at going overseas.”
“Like, out of the country?”
“Exactly.” They went ahead to explain our options. The surgery would cost as little as twenty-five percent the cost in the United States, depending on where we went. India was a possibility, as was Turkey, Spain, and Switzerland. We’d need to pay for travel and expenses while there, but it would still be a massive savings. Unfortunately, it was still insanely expensive, but it was a much better option.Your mate has enough to cover all of this and a hundred more surgeries,my brain said.I know, I said back,but we can’t stand each other. We were never actually meant to be together. Fate got it wrong this time.I ran my hands up and down my arms, rubbing them. Why did I suddenly feel so cold?
Mom and I left the doctor’s office. We dragged through the parking lot, shoes scraping on the blacktop. The beautiful day was so much more dreary than when we came in. We got in my car, shut the doors, and just sat there, staring forward into space. My hands were on the wheel, grip tightening from the stress.Trevor, I need you.I wanted my mate by my side. Even if he was dead broke, I would have wanted him close enough to reach out, to hold me. I pushed the thought down.
“You’re officially retired,” I said.
Mom’s head whipped over to look at me. “Says who?”
I pointed at her abdomen. “Says your liver.”
“Who has retirement money? I still have five years until I get my full pension.”
I shook my head slowly. “You’re not gonna make it, Mom. You gotta retire now. As a matter of fact, you might have to quit before the retirement goes through, depending on what kind of leave you’re able to take.”
Mom’s face went pale then. “What am I supposed to do without a job? I’ll go stir crazy!” Not only that, but she needed to be able to eat and pay her bills. All those concerns burned me up.
“We’ll figure it out. We have to get your liver fixed first, then we’ll worry about how to keep your hands busy. I don’t need you hanging around the house all the time driving me up the wall.” I gave her a wan smile and squeezed her shoulder. The problem was, if we didn’t get her surgery in time, she wouldn’t be around at all. “What do you say we go to our favorite spot?”
Mom forced a smile, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “I could go for my usual. Let’s do it.”
We were silent on the road, both lost in our own thoughts, trying to process what was going on.Should I call...? No, hell, no.We couldn’t stand each other, and if I called him up for the first time in years just to beg him for money, he’d laugh in my face and then hang up. That was, if by some miracle I ever got to talk to him. A billionaire like him must have about fifty gatekeepers in front of him. No, I’d never even get close enough for him to know I was still alive. He probably thought I was dead, and was glad about it. Unfortunately, my fated mate wasn’t an option. I had to find something else.
Mom had no idea about Trevor and I, and it felt wrong to keep it from her. However, I knew she had her pride, and she’d view it as begging and refuse a “handout,” anyway. What she wouldn’t understand was why I wasn’t by my fated mate’s side.
