“Ms. Evans? We’ve found a donor for Bella.”
I dropped the phone. It slid under my desk and I scrambled to pick it up. “Oh my goodness. Thank you.” I grabbed my books and backpack and rushed out of my Western Civ class.
My professor knew what was going on, and gave me an understanding nod as I scrambled out of her room. “Bless you,” I said to the nurse as I headed toward the exit. “I’ll be right there.” I bit my lip. I hated to bring this up, because I didn’t want to ruin Bella’s chances, but I thought it best that we were clear up front. “I don’t know how we’re going to pay for it yet.”
“It’s been taken care of by an anonymous donor. All the costs of Bella’s treatments, including the hospital stay, have been covered. However, we can discuss this later. We will begin the surgery immediately.”
How was that possible? Richard would have been the obvious answer, but I’d left him with no explanation. “Thank you so much. I’m leaving now.”
I didn’t wait for the bus, but took a taxi. I figured my sister having a kidney transplant was a good enough reason to splurge on the cost. Plus, it was more time I’d get to spend with Bella.
I jogged to her room, taking care not to crash into patients or staff. Most people inside the hospital understood that I was running for a reason and gave me sympathetic looks. I was breathless by the time I got to her room.
I rushed to hug her. “Hey, Sweetie-Belle. How are you?”
“Kinda nervous.”
“I am too.”
“I heard the doctors saying someone paid for the whole thing. I tried to listen but I couldn’t understand how much. It was a lot! Maybe it was a hundred dollars?”
I loved Bella’s eight-year-old perception of how much was a lot of money. Of course, there were times when even one hundred dollars was as out of reach for the two of us as one hundred thousand dollars. “It was something like that.” I kissed her forehead. “But don’t worry about that.”
“You think we have a fairy godmother?”
“I bet we do. Someone wanted you to be well.” I wondered if the Wish Maker had arranged to pay for Bella’s surgery, but I doubted it. I assumed she’d be pretty displeased with me for walking out on one of her best clients.
I wasn’t going to spend my precious time with my sister fixated on the money. “We got lucky, for once in our lives. So we’re going to sit back and enjoy it.”
I opened my bag. “Guess what? Your class made get well cards for you. They can’t visit because the doctor didn’t want any germs around you, but they all wanted to say hi.” I scooped out a banner and around twenty brightly colored get well cards. “Your teacher will be coming to see you pretty soon — the doctor said she can visit as long as she isn’t sick.”
At first, Bella lit up as I taped the cards and banner to her wall. Then she scrunched her nose up. “I don’t think you’re supposed to put tape on a wall. We can’t do it at school.”
I put my finger to my lips. “Shhh. Don’t tell then. You and me, we’re partners in crime.”
Bella broke into a fit of giggles at that.
Way too soon, the nurse came to let us know that it was time. I squeezed Bella tight around the shoulders. “I love you, so much. I’ll be here when you wake up.”
I bit my tongue so I wouldn’t cry as the nurses took Bella away. I kept smiling as she waved to me, but once I was back in the waiting room, I let the tears flow. I didn’t sob, but tears rolled down my face in a steady stream. The surgery would be long. I laid down on one of the short couches and let my mind wander.
It had been days since I’d heard from Richard. And even though I’d made the painful decision not to see him again, I missed his texts and voicemails. I missed hearing his voice. More than that, I missed his face, and I longed for the time we spent together.
Thanks to the money he’d given me after the trial period, I had enough money. I had only been going to class, and not working. I’d been spending time with Bella. Hopefully the money would get us through the next two weeks while Bella was still in the hospital. I’d saved all of it, because it was going to have to last until I could find a third job.
I picked up the phone to call my mother. I wanted it on record that she’d failed to visit her child in the hospital during a kidney transplant. My mother didn’t answer, so I made a mental note to add the date and time of my call to my growing list once I got home.
Unable to rest on the small couch, I went to the cafeteria for a cup of coffee. I took my time, knowing it would be at least an hour before I even got an update. When I got back to the waiting room, it was no longer empty.
Richard stood in the middle of the room. He was dressed in his usual bespoke suit, but the expression on his face was one I’d never seen before.
He looked … sad. Sad and resigned and lonely.
I pulled my arms into my chest, clutching my coffee to keep from reaching out to him. “What are you doing here?”
“I wanted to be here with you while Bella’s in surgery. I don’t want you to wait alone.”
That was kind of him. I had insisted that Lily not miss work today, because I knew I’d need her help in the coming weeks, but waiting alone was hard.
“Thank you. I appreciate that.” I stepped past him and sat in one of the hard backed chairs. “How did you know it was today?”
“When you were still staying with me, I told the staff I wanted to cover everything, even the transplant and care afterward. They weren’t supposed to tell me any of the details, but one of the hospital staff contacted me today to finalize the payment.”
I put my coffee on a side table and covered my face with my hands. The tears were back. For Richard, this was a generous act. For me, it was everything. Even if the transplant had been covered by insurance, the portions not covered could have set us back so far that we’d ended up homeless. I’d seen it happen before to people we grew up with.
Not only had he saved us from financial ruin, he had done something much bigger.
He had saved my sister’s life.
This time the tears weren’t silent. I sobbed. Soon my hands were wet from my tears. I felt a tentative hand on my back. I didn’t pull away — Richard’s touch was comforting.
