by Claire Adams
“That was you?” I asked.
“Yeah. I vouched for you.”
“But you didn’t even know me.”
Craig shrugged. “You’re right, I didn’t, but I felt like it was the least I could do.”
I paused, thinking back to that most recent loan statement I’d received. “I’m going to go out on a limb here and assume that you also paid off the remaining balance of the loan? Because I recently got a statement informing me that it’s at zero. I haven’t really been paying much attention to it, other than making sure the payment is on time every month, which gets deducted automatically, so I guess it’d be more accurate to say I haven’t given it much attention at all.”
“Yes, I paid it off. There wasn’t that much of a balance left on there.”
“There was enough.”
“You’re right, but again, it’s something I wanted to do. You’d never made a single late payment, and even without ever having stepped foot in your shop, I could tell that you were doing well. I was happy to be able to do it for you, Graham.”
“Well ... thank you.” I didn’t know what else to say. The past few hours had been almost a blur, yet also stunningly clear at the same time. I was sitting here next to my father. The father I had grown up my whole life not knowing, yet he’d been there anyway, watching out for me in his own way.
40.
Chloe
After Graham left for the hospital, my mother and I ordered some food, but neither of us was very hungry. The mood had turned rather somber, so I asked her if she would give me a ride back to his place.
“Were he and Parker close?” she asked.
“They knew each other, but I didn’t think they were really that close.” I kept my gaze on the trees as they rushed past the passenger side window. I wanted to call Graham, or text him, but I knew that right now, he needed his space. For whatever it was that he had to do.
“I hope everything is going to be all right.” She reached over and squeezed my hand. “I’m sorry all this is happening.”
“It’s not your fault.”
“Well, that isn’t, but, you know what I mean. Here I am driving you to his house, because you’re no longer staying with us.”
“There are a lot of kids my age who live on their own,” I said.
“I know, but that wasn’t the plan for this summer. I certainly wasn’t expecting that to happen. And I know our lunch date got cut short, but I can tell that Graham is actually a very nice young man and that you two are quite fond of each other. Is he who I’d pick for you? Maybe not, but you’re right; that shouldn’t matter. I’m not the one who’s dating him.”
Her voice shook a little as she spoke and I could see her eyes were welling up with tears. I squeezed her hand. “Oh, Mom. You don’t have to cry. Maybe it needed to happen this way. I’m sure I’ll come back to the house again. Dad will change his mind.” But even as I spoke those words, I could hear the note of uncertainty in my voice. There was a good chance that my father wouldn’t change his mind, even if it was about something like this. He definitely lived by the idea that once you said you were going to do something, you didn’t go back on your word. Would he really forbid me from ever going back to the house again if I didn’t break up with Graham? I could hope that wouldn’t be the case, but if it was, I wouldn’t be entirely surprised.
My mother seemed a little better when she pulled up in front of Graham’s. The tears were gone and she gave me a smile. “Here we are.” She looked at the front of the cottage. “This place is actually very cute.”
“It’s not bad.”
“So, you’re okay? You’ll call me if you need anything?”
“I will.”
I leaned over and we hugged and she kissed me on the cheek. “I’ll try to talk more with your father,” she said. “This silliness just needs to stop. Let me know if you hear anything about Parker.”
I got out of the car and waved as she drove off, then went inside and changed out of the dress, into a pair of shorts and a tank top. I thought about calling Tara, but decided to go work on my sculpture. I needed to be doing something, more than just talking or pacing around, waiting for Graham to get back. I could feel the thoughts in my head pinballing all over the place, and I knew the only way to get them in check was to focus on something that required all of my attention.
I did text Graham though, just to let him know that’s where I’d be in case he got back before I did.
Hope everything is okay, I typed. Went down to the art center but will be back later on. I paused, thumbs hovering over the screen. Love you, I typed, and then hit send before I could delete it.
*****
I stayed at the art center until it closed, at nine. I had made good progress and the sculpture would be ready for the first firing tomorrow. Graham hadn’t responded to my text, and when I got back to his place, he wasn’t there yet.
I tried to keep myself occupied; I didn’t want to text him again even though now, with nothing to really focus on, my thoughts were ramping up again, wondering what was happening, why he was taking so long, if everything was okay. I washed the dishes, wiped down the counters, took a shower, brushed my hair. I tried to watch TV, but there was nothing on, and since it was getting late, I decided to just go to bed.
I thought it’d be difficult to fall asleep, but the next thing I knew, I heard the door open. I looked over at the clock, not feeling as though I’d been woken up, but saw that several hours had passed.
“Graham?” I said.
I switched the bedside lamp on right as he came into the room. He looked exhausted, but he smiled when he saw me. “Hey,” he said. “I didn’t mean to wake you up.”
“I was up,” I said. “At least I think I was.”
“I wasn’t expecting to be gone that long.” He came over and stretched out on the bed. “Ah, this feels good.” He let his eyes fall closed. “I’m sorry to just run off like that.”
“It’s okay; you don’t have to apologize.”
“I got your message, though. I was going to text you back, but then I just decided I’d rather wait and tell you in person.” He opened his eyes and looked at me. “I love you, too.”
Warmth spread across my chest hearing those words. I grinned and then leaned down and slowly kissed him. One of his hands went to the back of my head and held me close, the other to the small of my back. It would’ve been more than easy to just wrap myself around him and try to forget about everything that had happened earlier, but I could tell that he wanted to talk about it. So I pulled back from the kiss and nestled myself next to him.
“So, how did it go?” I asked.
“First, I think you need to know the reason I went down there to begin with. Craig is my father.”
“He is?”
“I’ve known for a while, but I never actually talked to him. I had just always assumed he didn’t want anything to do with me or my mother. And also, there was a part of me that didn’t know what to say. What are you supposed to say to someone in a situation like that? ‘Oh hey, you’re my dad? Why didn’t you ever want to be a part of my life?’ I guess there was a part of me that was afraid he’d deny it or tell me to fuck off or something. And the older I got, the less important it seemed. But after what happened at the yacht club, I realized I had to go down there. I needed to talk to him. Except he knew who I was. He knew I was his son.”
“Wait a sec,” I said. “So, you’re Parker’s brother? He’s your half-brother?”
“Yeah. Can you believe that? All this time we’ve been racing against each other and giving each other a hard time, and we’re actually family.”
“Wow.”
“I know. And so I ended up talking with Craig for a while when they were running tests on Parker. The conversation went nothing like I’d ever imagined it would, but it was good. It was good just to talk with him.”
“And how’s Parker?”
“He was diagnosed with glomerulonephritis.” I waited for him to elaborat
e. I had no idea what that was, but it didn’t sound good. “It’s a kidney disease, basically. And apparently he’s had it for quite some time now but didn’t say anything or go to the doctor’s.”
“Shit,” I said. “But he’s going to be okay, right? Now that they’ve caught it.”
“Well ... he’s going to need a kidney transplant.”
I nodded. I knew what that meant. Well, sort of: one of the girls I went to college with had a twin sister who needed a kidney transplant. She’d been on the waiting list for two years and had to do dialysis multiple times a day. It was certainly not an easy way to live.
“Shit,” I said. I reached over and took his hand. I could only imagine how badly his mind was reeling over everything that he’d found out recently.
“The waiting list could take years, though.” He paused. “I’m going to go in tomorrow for an evaluation to see if I’d be a good candidate for a living donation.”
“Really?” I looked up at him as he nodded.
“Yeah. No one asked me to, but I want to. Craig’s blood type isn’t compatible with Parker’s, they already know that. His mother will get tested, and so will his sister. But the two brothers are under eighteen, so they’re not eligible yet.”
“That’s a really big deal,” I said. “That you’d even consider doing that for someone.”
“I guess. But if I can help him out, I should. And I know my blood type: O positive.”
“That’s the universal blood type, right?”
“Yeah.”
“You know, I’m not even sure what mine is.”
“You’re not alone, there. A lot of people don’t know.”
“So, if you’re the universal blood type, then you already know you’re a match?”
“In that regard, yeah. But there’s other compatibility tests they have to do, and they make sure you’re in good physical shape and psychologically okay with it, too. But I think I am. We’ll have to wait and see.” He yawned. “Right now though, I am wiped out. And the only thing I could really think about was coming home and being able to get into bed with you.”
41.
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, sea-shell 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 lunch time. 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 six 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.
