Ties That Bind

by Rachel Ann Nunes

  He almost had. Like today. Marc swallowed, suddenly wishing he could drink a huge glass of water.

  “Zack and Rebekka are going to be tested,” André said. “Mother’s talking on the phone to Dr. Juppe right now.”

  Marc nodded absently, remembering the doctor who had not only performed his first transplant, but who worked at the most prestigious transplant facility in Paris. He had a high level of confidence in the man.

  “That explains why Mom didn’t come in first,” he mused aloud for something to say.

  “Yeah.” André stared again at the monitor as the blood pressure cuff tightened around Marc’s arm. What he saw must have pleased him because he gave a curt nod. Marc refrained from looking at the monitor, knowing it couldn’t be too much different from the past six times he had checked.

  “There’s no use in calling Louis-Géralde yet.” Josette rubbed the heel of her hand across the upper portion of her belly. “Wow, this guy’s a kicker. What was I saying? Oh yeah, no use in calling Louis-Géralde to come home when Rebekka and Zack might be good candidates.”

  “There is a risk,” Marc reminded her. “Are you sure you’d be willing to let your husband go through with it? I mean, you’ve almost got five kids now. That’s a lot of responsibility.”

  “Very low risk,” Josette corrected him. “And without a transplant you could die. Of course we’re willing.”

  That was what it all boiled down to—Marc’s likelihood of dying. The dilemma was exactly the same as the last time he’d faced kidney failure. While a kidney was one of the easiest organs to transplant, he knew that each year many people with difficult cases like his own died before they received one. Marc hated the helplessness of his situation, but what could he do?

  “Is Rebekka all right?” Marc had to ask.

  André took his eyes from the numbers on the monitor, his expression stoic. “She’s worried, but she’ll be fine. We’ll all help her through this.”

  “She’s part of the family now,” Josette added, tracing an invisible pattern on Marc’s blanket.

  André frowned. “She always has been, hasn’t she?”

  Marc didn’t know to whom the question was directed. “I’ve lost a lot of time with her,” he said. “I have to make it up to her. It’s just . . .” Should he tell them of his premonition? He looked closely at Josette with the tears shimmering behind her large brown eyes, and André’s faux impassiveness. No, he couldn’t tell them.

  Besides, my view of a short time might not be the same as the Lord’s, he thought. Hadn’t he always been taught that earth life was but a blink in the eternity of time? Perhaps his family would once again go through life’s refining fires, but that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Their faith in the Lord would carry them through and they would become stronger—whatever happened.

  The next family members to visit Marc were his father and Marie-Thérèse. The love in their eyes made a lump come to Marc’s throat, and their hope buoyed his own. He felt fortunate to have such a close-knit and loving family.

  “Your mother will be back with Rebekka soon,” Jean-Marc said. “They’re arranging a few things. I have to hand it to you, son. You sure took a long time finding a girl, but you’ve got a great one.”

  “I know, Dad.” Marc felt pleased at his father’s comment.

  “Mathieu’s going to be tested, too,” Marie-Thérèse said. “He’s Danielle’s cousin, after all. He could even be a better match than the others. His family’s genetic lines should be similar to ours.”

  “Thank you. Tell him thank you.” Marc was beginning to feel drowsy, though whether it was a result of the low light level in the room or something the nurse put in his IV, he didn’t know.

  “Dad, will you give me a blessing?” Marc remembered how often his father had done so during his first bout with kidney failure.

  Jean Marc clasped his shoulder. “Yes, we’d like that very much. As soon as your mother and Rebekka return from their appointment making, we’ll do it. André is still outside waiting. And Zack has probably arrived by now. Maybe Mathieu as well.”

  Within an hour, Rebekka and Ariana returned and the entire family received permission to be present during the priesthood ordinance. Jean-Marc laid his hands on his son’s head. The words he spoke seemed to confirm Marc’s premonition. “The Lord will give this family the courage to endure the trials and losses that may come.”

  Not exactly the promise of recovery Marc had hoped for, but it did hold hope of a sort. For now, it was enough to caress Rebekka’s hand and feel his family’s love.

  Ariana touched Rebekka’s shoulder. “I can stay with him for a while.”

  She shook her head. “I have nothing to do. I can stay here all night, if they let me.” By the determined tone of her voice, Marc knew the hospital workers would have no choice but to give in.

  “I’ll call later then.” Ariana kissed Marc on the cheek and softly stroked his forehead.

  Marc noticed the new lines of worry on her face. “It’ll be okay.” He purposely didn’t say “I’ll be okay.” He hadn’t been able to promise that, not even to Rebekka, though he would fight to achieve their dreams.

  Ariana gave him a wide smile. “I know that. I’m glad you do, too.”

  Chapter Five

  Marie-Thérèse left the hospital more depressed than she’d felt in a long time. She hadn’t experienced such sadness since before she decided to pursue adoption in Ukraine. Marc had appeared so horribly frail and human in the hospital and for a moment, she had seen her mother in the bed, then her father, and lastly Pauline, her dear little sixteen-year-old sister. All taken from her, one at a time.

  While she didn’t dwell on their loss, she admitted to herself a deep fear of losing more members of her family. Because of this fear, she knew she overreacted a lot. Both Larissa and Brandon had been to more doctor appointments individually than Josette’s four children combined. But her peace of mind was worth the extra trips.

  “Is your phone back on?” she asked André as they arrived at his car. The hospital personnel had requested that cell phones be turned off while visiting, and she wondered if her children had tried to call.

  “I forgot.” He reached into his pocket briefly before opening the car door for her and Josette.

  “I can’t bear to see him suffer,” Josette said, entering the back seat. Her voice was unusually subdued.

  “He’ll be all right,” André replied gruffly. “Rebekka and the others will be tested tomorrow, and then we’ll know. Louis-Géralde only had three matching antigens out of six, I believe. Not the best.”

  “Well six out of six would be like identical twins,” Josette said. “I’m his twin—I should have at least been closer.” She bit her bottom lip and stared at her fingers in her lap.

  “But even if you were compatible, you’ve had so many children,” said Marie-Thérèse. “That makes the chances of success go down, doesn’t it?”

  “Yeah.” Josette sighed. “Maybe we should call Louis-Géralde’s mission president today, just in case.”

  “It’s not like he’s going anywhere,” André said dryly. “He’ll be there for the next two years. And we don’t want to worry him yet.”

  Josette’s laugh was nervous. “I know but . . .” She shivered, though the late September day wasn’t cold. “Sometimes it pays to be safe.”

  When they arrived at Josette’s, André bid a hasty good-bye in order to return to his wife. Inside Josette’s large apartment the children were peacefully playing another board game, except for Stephen who was asleep on the carpet and Brandon who was watching TV from the couch. Marie-Thérèse breathed a silent sigh of relief that everyone had survived their absence.

  Larissa popped up from the floor immediately. “Well? What happened?”

  “Uncle Marc’s kidney is failing, but he’s stable now. They are doing testing to see who’ll be able to give him a new kidney.

  “I’d do it,” said Brandon.

  Larissa shook her head
. “You’re not old enough.”

  “Well, I wish I was.”

  Marie-Thérèse reached in her bag for her car keys. “Come on, kids. We should go now. Your dad had to go back to work from the hospital, but he’ll be home for dinner.”

  Larissa started for the door, but from his position on the couch Brandon coughed and moaned.

  “What’s with you?” Marie-Thérèse asked.

  “He’s been coughing, and he’s got an ugly rash on his leg,” Larissa said. “It’s gross.”

  Marie-Thérèse exchanged brief looks with Josette. “Let’s see it,” she told Brandon. He sighed, coughed again for a long minute, and then rolled up his pant leg. Marie-Thérèse was shocked to see a swollen, ugly red rash line with deep, painful-looking groves. “When did this happen?” she demanded.

  Brandon shrugged, his light brown eyes innocent. “Yesterday, I think. It just came.”

  “Have you been scratching it? That’s what it looks like.”

  “No, it hurts if I try.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me about it?”

  “It just got bad today. I only noticed when you were gone.”

  “Pull up your shirt.”

  He gave her a horrified glance. “Mom!”

  “Everyone out!” Josette ordered.

  The kids grumbled as they ambled from the room. “Don’t know why he cares,” Larissa muttered, wrinkling her nose. “He’s a boy, isn’t he?”

  “He has a right to his privacy,” Marie-Thérèse answered. Brandon had always been rather modest and rarely took his shirt off, even at the swimming pool.

  Brandon didn’t seem to mind showing his chest to Marie-Thérèse and his Aunt Josette, who was his second mother. To their dismay, his entire chest was also filled with the rash, though it looked less severe. Further investigation revealed that the red patches on his legs ran all the way up to his thighs, and that he was having trouble breathing as well.

  “You’d better take him to the doctor,” Josette said, giving her a sympathetic frown. “Larissa can stay here.”

  Over his protests, Marie-Thérèse drove Brandon to the doctor, trying not to fear the worst. Brandon was coughing badly by the time they arrived.

  After a fifteen-minute wait, the doctor examined the rash on Brandon’s leg. “I think this was caused by a bite.”

  “A bite?”

  “Yes. Has he been in the woods lately?”

  Marie-Thérèse thought for a moment. “Well, ten days or so ago we went to my parents’ cabin in the mountains. But he’s been fine since then.”

  “It’s not uncommon to have a delayed reaction,” the doctor said. “Possibly his body fought off whatever it was, but then something he picked up in the past few days caused the breakout. It’s difficult to know.” He picked up a pad and began writing. “I’m going to give him a cream for the rash and he’s to apply it twice a day to affected areas. Since the cream is rather inexpensive, I’m prescribing a large jar so that you can use it if he has any recurrence. And because the rash is fairly severe, I’m giving you another medication to take by mouth. Take it until it’s completely gone.”

  Marie-Thérèse nodded. “What about his breathing?”

  The doctor’s brow creased. “That’s probably related to his allergic reaction to whatever caused the breakout. Given his history, I’d like to do more allergy testing once this has all cleared up. Why don’t you bring him back next week? Of course, if it becomes more severe in the meantime, please come in sooner.”

  With an inner sigh, Marie-Thérèse agreed.

  As they walked out to the car Brandon asked, “So, how long is Uncle Marc going to be in the hospital?”

  “I’m not sure. I mean, they’ll let him come home as soon as it’s safe for him but he needs a kidney transplant. He’ll have to go back in.”

  Brandon shook his head. “That’s bad. I’d like to see him. Maybe take him a new book or something. I got a new one he’d like. It’s sci-fi.”

  “I’m sure he’d like that.” Marie-Thérèse started the engine. “But that’s only if you’re feeling better.”

  He coughed for a minute. “I will as soon as we get that medicine.”

  “We’ll be at the pharmacy in a minute. Just lie back and rest.”

  Marie-Thérèse let a few moments of silence go by before saying, “Brandon, I think you should know that your dad’s going in to be tested tomorrow, to see if he’s a good enough match for Uncle Marc.”

  “I hope he is,” Brandon said. “If I was older, I’d try to give him my kidney. Uncle Marc’s cool.”

  Feeling a little guilty, Marie-Thérèse silently thanked heaven that he was too young. “There are others who can donate. Besides, we’ve got to work on getting you better.”

  “Yeah, I guess.” Brandon stared out the window, but Marie-Thérèse had the feeling he wasn’t seeing the passing buildings.

  “I wonder what it would be like to be dead,” he said after a long pause. “I would like to see it for myself.”

  Marie-Thérèse breathed in swiftly. Brandon glanced at her, and seeing her expression, he added, “Not to stay dead. I’m just curious. To see what’s there for myself.”

  “I think you’ll see for yourself after a long life,” Marie-Thérèse forced her voice to be light.

  It doesn’t mean anything, she told herself. Just a child’s curiosity. At times in her life, she had been curious as well. After all, her birth family was waiting for her in the next world, and she had often wondered what it would be like when they were together again.

  They stopped for the medicines at the pharmacy and then returned to Josette’s to pick up Larissa. As soon as Larissa was in the back seat of the car, she started in on her usual request. “Mom, can I play with Jolie when we get home?”

  Marie-Thérèse wasn’t impressed with Larissa’s choice of friends, but she tried not to make an issue of it. “I don’t think so. It’ll be dinnertime soon, and we might need to go over to Grandma’s tonight. We’d like to begin a family fast for Uncle Marc.”

  “You just don’t like Jolie,” Larissa said, slapping her hand in indignation on the back of the front seat.

  That’s accurate enough, Marie-Thérèse thought, but she wasn’t going to admit it. “Besides, we need to discuss some changes that we’ll be making once the new baby is with us. Or babies.”

  Larissa gave a disgusted sigh. “I don’t know why we have to adopt a baby at all. It’s just going to be a lot of work. Look at poor Preston. With all of Josette’s kids, he’s always baby-sitting.”

  “Josette doesn’t go out all that much,” Brandon said. “And Preston likes to watch his brothers. I wouldn’t mind a brother, even if I did have to watch him.”

  “Well, I don’t want a brother or a sister. It’s too much work. Jolie’s an only child and she gets anything she wants.”

  Marie-Thérèse was shocked at her daughter’s comments and was about to say so when she realized that eliciting such a reaction had been Larissa’s intent. “I’m sorry you feel that way,” she said calmly, “because your father and I feel very strongly that we are supposed to have another baby.”

  “Just so long as I don’t have to take care of it!” Larissa folded her arms and sat back in her seat, lips clamped tightly together.

  Marie-Thérèse didn’t understand her daughter. She’d thought Larissa would love the idea of a little sister or brother to mother, but since they had announced their decision to adopt last night, Larissa had made no secret of her ill feelings toward the idea. Maybe we should have told her sooner, to let her become accustomed to the idea.

  Sitting in the front passenger seat, Brandon’s hand stole over the space between them to gently pat Marie-Thérèse’s shoulder. “I think it’s a good idea,” he said in a soft voice. “Larissa’s just mad ’cause she wants to go on that ski trip with Jolie’s parents.” He made a disgusted noise in his throat.

  Marie-Thérèse thought that for almost eleven he was pretty smart. She smiled at him, and he s
miled back.

  “I won’t share my room, either,” Larissa added loudly. “So you might want to think about moving.”

  Chapter Six

  The next morning, at Marc’s insistence, Rebekka left him in Ariana’s care and went home for a shower and a change of clothes before her appointment at the transplant facility. Marc looked much better this morning, and both his blood pressure and his hormones had leveled off considerably. The doctors hoped that with the added medications he would remain stable until his transplant. Since his body had not reacted well to dialysis previously, everyone felt this was Marc’s best chance.

  The doctors planned to release him that afternoon, and Marc had reluctantly agreed to stay with his parents until his health was stable. Rebekka reminded herself to move some of her belongings to Marc’s apartment so she could go there when she needed time away from her own parents.

  Rebekka’s cherry-stained baby grand glistened in the morning light as she passed her parents’ music room on her way from the bathroom. With her wet hair up in a clip and wearing a white terry-cloth robe, she sat at the piano and played the song that had haunted her the day before. Not a single mistake marred the beauty of the melody that today sounded much more hopeful than foreboding. She would marry Marc, and she would play this song for him. She would also find the perfect title for the piece, one that epitomized their relationship.

  She felt someone watching her and turned around to find her parents in the doorway. “That was beautiful,” Danielle said.

  Philippe nodded in agreement. “How’s Marc?”

  Rebekka arose from the bench. “Better. Or stable anyway. They’ll be letting him go home today. They told him not to go to work or anything, but André says he can handle the slack until Raoul returns.”

  Her father’s blue eyes narrowed slightly at the mention of Raoul, but to Rebekka’s relief he didn’t comment on her brother or his new wife.

  “Does this mean you’re postponing the wedding?” Danielle questioned.

  Rebekka shook her head. “Not yet. I want to see how much time it’ll take to get the transplant set up when I go in for testing today. If we can get it scheduled soon we won’t have to change our plans, even if we are still a bit sore.” She paused, feeling awkward as she added, “The Perraults have made significant donations to the clinic over the past years, so I think they’ll be willing to work us in more quickly than normal, provided Marc has a live donor.”