Let Him Live by Lurlene McDaniel Read Free Book Online

tell me all about Donovan. I have a ton of questions for you.”

E
ight

    B RETT BOUNDED INTO the backseat, and Donovan’s mother wearily got into the front. “This is very nice of you. For some reason, the bus doesn’t seem to run on schedule on Sundays.”
    “Hey, this car is neat!” Brett blurted, bouncing on the leather seat. “Is it yours?”
    “It’s mine,” Meg said.
    “Put on your seat belt,” his mother insisted.
    “That’s the rule in my car,” Meg told him as he began to protest. When she heard the buckle snap into place, she asked, “So, how was Donovan today?”
    “Crabby,” Brett announced.
    “He wasn’t feeling well,” Mrs. Jacoby explained. “Dr. Rosenthal said his electrolytes were imbalanced and his potassium levels were elevated. It’shappened before, and it always makes Donovan spacey and incoherent. The doctor says it’s hard on his heart too.”
    “He kept talking like we were back home,” Brett chimed in. “He kept telling me to call Lauren for him and tell her he was picking her up for their date. That’s dumb.”
    “I explained it was because his blood was messed up,” Mrs. Jacoby said over her shoulder. “He didn’t know what he was saying.”
    “He didn’t even listen when I told him about the fort I’m making in my bedroom.”
    “Please, Brett, he couldn’t help it.”
    Meg thought Mrs. Jacoby sounded on the verge of tears. “I have an idea,” Meg said. “Before I take you home, how’d you like some ice cream? My treat.”
    “Yeah!” Brett’s voice filled the car. “Chocolate.”
    “Don’t go out of your way for us.”
    “I was going to get some for myself when I saw you. There’s a minimall not too far from here.”
    “It’s kind of you,” Mrs. Jacoby said. “I don’t want any, but Brett will follow you anywhere if you feed him.”
    Meg laughed. When she reached a small strip center, she parked and the three of them went inside an ice-cream parlor decorated like an old-time country store. They ordered, and while they waited, Mrs. Jacoby handed Brett two quarters for a game machine tucked back in a corner. While he was preoccupied, Mrs. Jacoby leaned againstthe booth and shut her eyes. “I’m exhausted. Thanks again for offering us a ride.”
    “Too bad you live so far away from the hospital.”
    “Believe me, I tried to get closer, but the immediate vicinity had no rental apartments. I’m afraid the homes there are out of my league.”
    “Donovan told me about your home in Virginia. He misses it.”
    “So do I, but once we were told he had to have a liver transplant, I knew we had to be closer to the transplant center. The call could come anytime, day or night. The closer we are, the sooner we can get here. I’m sure you understand how critical timing is for something like this.”
    Meg nodded. “Maybe the call will come soon.”
    “Maybe. I have mixed feelings, however.”
    “You do?”
    “Think about it. His life, the liver he so desperately needs, depends on someone else’s dying. I think about that. I think about some mother losing her child, and it makes my heart ache. But my son is living on borrowed time—every day is one less that he has to live. And every day brings him closer to either dying or surviving with a part of another mother’s child inside his body. These days, medical science gives us strange choices.”
    “Sometimes it seems like doctors play God, doesn’t it?” Meg asked.
    “Don’t get me wrong … I’m grateful for the technology, grateful for men like your father who’ve devoted their lives to bringing recoveryand longevity to the dying. Organ transplantation is a wonderful thing, but human beings are always involved, and that makes it complex, not simple at all. Life and death never is.” Mrs. Jacoby studied Meg and smiled sheepishly. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get so philosophical. It’s been a long day.”
    “Now that you’ve moved to the city, will you stay even after Donovan’s