“Hello,” she said as she hit the button on her phone. Looking outside she realized it was still dark. Had something happened to Davey? Suddenly awake, she grasped the phone and checked the caller ID. It was the hospital. “Hello? David?”
“Sarah? It’s Betsy, from the cardiac unit. I’m sorry to wake you, but Dr. Benton said you’d want to know.”
“Know what, Betsy? Is something wrong with Davey?” she asked as she jumped out of bed. She was sure she had left a pair of work pants lying out on her bedroom chair.
“I’m sorry, I don’t know anything about Davey,” the unit coordinator said.
Sarah sat down hard on the chair that she’d been balancing against as she tried to coordinate her legs enough to get them into her pants. “Betsy, it’s—” she looked over at the clock by her bed “—four o’clock in the morning—can you please tell me why Dr. Benton wanted me called?”
“Oh, yeah, it’s Lindsey. He wanted you to know that they have a heart for her,” Betsy said.
“Hang on, just a sec,” Sarah said.
She finished pulling on her pants, and then started looking through her closet for a shirt.
“Are you still there?” Betsy asked her as she came back on the phone. “The charge nurse wants to talk to you.”
“Sarah, it’s Tammy. Sorry about all this confusion, but Dr. Benton said that you could help.”
“Of course, what do you need?” She’d be glad to help if someone would just explain to her what was going on.
“It’s Hannah. We can’t get her on the phone,” the charge nurse said. “We’re going to get Lindsey ready, but we really need to get her mother here.”
Sarah found a pen and wrote down an address. It wasn’t far from the hospital, but it wasn’t a neighborhood that she was familiar with. “I’m headed out now. Tell Dr. Benton that I’ll have her there.” She just hoped that it was a promise she could keep.
An hour later, Sarah drove into a small group of apartments that had seen better days, though it was doubtful that they had ever been much to look at. Checking the house number on the piece of paper, she knocked on the door and waited. A startled Hannah came to the door and soon Sarah had her dressed and on the way to the hospital.
“I’m sorry. I worked closing last night, and then I had to study.” Hannah said.
“What are you studying for?” Sarah asked, though she had seen the books lying out on the small table in the small living room.
“I’m taking nursing courses,” the young woman said, then looked away. “You probably think I’m wasting my time.”
“I think that is great. Does Lindsey know?” Sarah asked.
“Yeah, but I didn’t want her to say anything,” Hannah said.
Sarah pulled into the parking place and turned toward her. “Lindsey loves you and I know she’s proud of you. I’m proud of you too. This transplant will change both of your lives and if I can help, I will. I mean that, okay?”
Sarah was beginning to realize that Hannah had been too proud to ask for help or maybe she hadn’t felt that she could ask for help. As Sarah watched her head down the hallway at a run toward her daughter’s room, she thought of the other person she needed to see that didn’t want to accept help.
David jerked awake. He hadn’t meant to fall asleep—he’d just been going to rest his eyes for a moment. He looked down at his watch and saw that he’d slept most of the night. Stretching, he stood to check on Davey who seemed to be sleeping comfortably, and was shocked to find Sarah asleep in the chair across from him. He’d assumed that she had gone home hours earlier. After checking Davey’s forehead and pulse, he moved over to Sarah.
“Sarah,” he said as he squatted by her chair. He watched as her eyes blinked open then widened when she saw him. “What are you doing here?”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to fall asleep,” she said, then gasped, “What time is it?”
“It’s early. Why?” he asked, then moved away from her, away from the temptation to take her in his arms. He needed to keep her at arm’s length until he could learn to control himself better around her.
His life had never been a peaceful one. It had been messy and stressful with an ex-wife that had cared more for her career than for their child who needed a lot of medical attention and care. He had accepted that this would be his life after Davey had been born and Lisa had left. And as Davey had lain there in his crib, not knowing that his mother had walked out on them, he had promised his son that he would always be there for him, that he would make whatever sacrifice he needed to take care of him. Turning away Sarah had to be the hardest sacrifice he had ever made.
“Did Dr. Benton call you?” Sarah asked as she moved over to where he stood beside Davey’s bed. “About Lindsey?”
The little girl’s name brought him back to whatever it was that Sarah was saying.
“What about Lindsey? Did she have a relapse?” he asked. The girl had seemed to be improving when he had last seen her. Had that been two days ago or had it been three days? The days were all starting to run together now.
“No, it’s a heart, David. They have a heart for Lindsey,” Sarah said as she grabbed both his forearms with her hands.
“That’s wonderful. I know Dr. Benton had his doubts that she’d get a transplant in time, but that doesn’t explain why you’re here.”
“I thought you might want to assist the transplant team and I knew you’d feel better about it if there was someone to
