Chapter Forty-One
Graham
Just a few days after I found out that Parker was my brother, I got the news that everything checked out: I could donate a kidney to Parker if I wanted, and chances were good that his body would not reject it.
I went over to see him at his father’s house. It was the first time I’d ever been there, and the first time I’d seen Parker since the day he was taken to the hospital. Craig’s house wasn’t that far from Chloe’s parents’ place, actually, and it was also similar in size, with its immaculate, green lawn and long, winding, seashell driveway.
Parker was in the living room, sitting on the couch, scrolling on his phone when I walked in. He tossed the phone down and stood up when he saw me.
“Hey,” he said, a bit of a sheepish smile crossing his face.
“Don’t get up,” I said.
He waved me off. “I’m feeling better. A little bit. Taking it easy.”
“That’s good.”
We both sat down on the couch. He did look like he was feeling a little better. “I still can’t believe this,” he said, shaking his head. “All these years we’ve been giving each other shit at the races and all along you were my brother. That’s fucking crazy.”
“Yeah. It was unexpected.”
“I’m glad we know, though!”
“I might actually have to feel a little bad next time I beat you in a race.”
Parker laughed, but only for a second. “I don’t know,” he said. “My days of racing might be numbered. Racing mountain bikes and dialysis aren’t two things that really go hand in hand.”
“I don’t think you’ll have to spend much time doing dialysis,” I said.
He gave me a confused look. “What do you mean?”
“You can have one of my kidneys. We’re a match. I had the testing done and it looks like we’re compatible.”
He opened his mouth but didn’t say anything right away.
“And this is something I offered to do; your dad didn’t ask or anything.”
“Holy shit. I ... I don’t even know what to say.” He shook his head slowly. “That’s completely not what I was expecting to hear from you. I don’t even know if I should accept it. I mean ... shit. You don’t even know me.”
“Of course you should accept it,” I said. “This way, you won’t have any excuse next time we race against each other and I beat you.”
He grinned. “Yeah, I don’t see that happening ever again. You just got lucky that time, seeing as, you know, one of my vital organs wasn’t functioning properly.”
I returned his grin. “We’ll just have to see about that.”
*****
I hung out with Parker a while longer. After I left, I went for a little drive, which took me past Lorraine’s. It was Monday, right around lunchtime. I pulled into the parking lot and saw my mother’s car. I figured I’d go in, say hello, see how she was doing. She was walking out though, as I was getting out of the truck. I held up a hand and waved.
“Hi, Mom,” I said.
“Well, you’re about the last person I expected to see here. I just finished eating! I would’ve waited if I knew that you were going to be around.”
“I was just driving by and thought I’d stop. I know you’re always here for lunch on Mondays.”
“That’s nice of you. Let’s sit over here for a minute.” She gestured to one of the wooden benches under the blue and white awning. “So,” she said. “Anything new with you?”
“You know, the usual. Working, hanging out with Chloe ... oh, and I met my father.”
She blinked. “You what?”
“I actually met my father. Interacted with him.”
“So, your father has acknowledged you.” My mother didn’t look particularly pleased about this, though I couldn’t say I was expecting her to.
“He has,” I said. “He’s actually not a bad guy. Would you like to know why it was we had this interaction?”
“I suppose.” She was trying to look uninterested, but I could tell that she was dying to know.
“He has a son. Two sons, actually, and a daughter. So my half-brothers and sister.”
“I think I knew that.”
“Well, one of those sons, Parker, is actually someone I’ve known for a while now, because we race bikes against each other. Funny, isn’t it? I’ve been competing against this guy for years now and I had no idea that we were actually related.”
“Your life is sounding more and more like a soap opera.”
“Anyway. Parker needs a kidney transplant.”
My mother widened her eyes. “Your father didn’t ask you to donate one of your organs, did he?”
“No; I offered. I happen to be a match, too, so I’m going to do it.”
“Really.”
“Yeah. Otherwise he could be on the waiting list for years.”
“No one else in his family was a match? I find that hard to believe.”
“His sister was a match, but it’s more than just finding someone with the same blood type. There was another test they did and his blood cells attacked hers. It’s called cross-matching, and even if you have the same blood type and the cross-match is positive, you can’t be a donor. For that person, anyway. It just won’t work.”
“I see.” My mother nodded slowly. “The timing seems a little convenient, wouldn’t you say?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, your father spends your entire life not talking to you, but now that his son needs a kidney transplant, he’s suddenly appeared in your life.”
“It’s just the way it happened. I wouldn’t have known about any of this if I hadn’t happened to be with Chloe and her mother at the yacht club that day. I guess there’s a possibility that maybe Parker and I would’ve gotten talking at some point and he would’ve mentioned who his father was, but ... no. Dad had no idea that I’d be a match. And he didn’t ask me; I offered.”
“Then you’re a far better person than I am, I guess. I don’t know if I could do that for someone who had decided to ignore me for my entire life.”
“It’s not for him, though. It’s for Parker. He’s my brother.”
“Half-brother.”
“Whatever. He’s someone that I’ve known now for a while, even though I didn’t know we were actually related. That’s kind of crazy! It’s a trip.”
“Life is crazy, isn’t it,” she said. She shrugged. “If you’ve made this decision on your own and your father isn’t trying to pressure you into it, then I’d have to say it’s a pretty admirable thing you’re doing.” She patted my knee. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, because I always knew you were that kind of person.” I waited for her to say that I had gotten that characteristic from her, but she didn’t. “I’m proud of you,” is what she said.
“Thanks, Mom. Also, I wanted to tell you that Chloe’s art opening is tomorrow.”
“Is it?”
“Yes. It’s at Harborside Art Gallery. It starts at 6 o’clock.”
“Is this an invitation?”
“I think it’d be nice if you went and showed your support. I know she’d be happy to see you.”
“Well, I’m actually working.”
“Okay. I wasn’t sure if you would be or not, but I wanted to let you know that it was happening.”
My mother smiled. “I appreciate it. You know, I think I might try and see if I can get the night off.”
*****
That night, Chloe was a bunch of nerves. I left work early because she called and I could hear that she was kind of freaking out. I stopped and got a pizza on the way home, but she was only able to pick at it, despite saying how hungry she was.
“I just keep thinking that I’m not really seeing the sculpture, since it’s my own. I mean, I’m seeing it one way, but really, it’s not as good as I think it is.”
“You’ve just got to take a deep breath,” I said. I slid her plate of pizza closer to her. “And maybe eat something. You said you were really hungry.”
“I know, I thought I was. But now I’m not. I really just want tomorrow to be over with.”
“It’s fine to feel nervous, Chloe, but I bet it’s going to go a lot better than you think. You’re kind of psyching yourself out over it.”
She ripped the crust off the pizza and nibbled at it. “And you want to know something else? Claudia asked me if I wanted to keep the sculpture, or if I wanted to sell it,” she said. “I hadn’t even considered that.”
“Yeah? What’d you decide?”
“Well ... she said unless it was something I had 100 percent decided on keeping, then I should at least put a price tag on it. I told her I had absolutely no idea what to charge for something like that. So she told me that she could give me a starting price, if I wanted. And she did.” Chloe’s eyes widened. “It was way more than I could ever consider charging for a piece!”
“But I thought you said it came out great. I thought you were really happy with it.”
“I am. I still couldn’t imagine charging that much, though. I would feel ... I don’t know. I would feel weird, I guess. Like a fraud or something.”
“You’re not a fraud, though. And if someone wants to buy your sculpture, for whatever price you set it at, they should be able to.”
“That’s what Claudia was saying.”
“She’s right. I, for one, cannot wait to see how it turned out.”
“I do appreciate your vote of confidence, even if you’re probably obligated to tell me that it’s good, even though it’s not. Can we talk about something else? How’d it go with Parker?”
“Good. We hung out for a while and that was cool, and we’ll be setting up the appointment for the surgery soon. But I wanted to wait until after your opening. The recovery period for me shouldn’t be that long.”
“It’s such a great thing you’re doing for him. You’re a good egg, you know that?”