Leah looked at James with shock. They were getting ready to leave and only had a small window of time. “How soon can we get all of this done? I mean the donating and all,” James asked grimly.
“Well, it takes 2-3 days for the testing to be complete. The surgery requires 4-5 days in the hospital for the donor, then about 4-6 weeks of light duty. Your liver—we’d take about half of it—will regenerate quickly, as will the portion donated to your mother here. It will grow to full size in a month or less. Do you have any time constraints?” The doctor was pretty sharp and had picked up on James’s uneasiness.
“Yes, I do,” he admitted reluctantly.
“But I don’t,” Billy crowed. “Come on, let’s go stick me and see if we can give Mom a bit of moi. The sooner the better, I’m sure.”
Billy was at the doctor’s side and wasn’t going to be dissuaded. “I’m serious as a heart attack, or would that be a case of liver cancer? Let’s move it!”
“Okay, Ms. Stephens, it looks like this is going to be easier than I thought. Our records didn’t show any next of kin on your last visit…”
“Well, we’re here now, aren’t we?” Billy threaded his hand into the doctor’s crooked elbow and waved good-bye to everyone. “See you in a little while. Love you loads!”
Bibb sat forward in the bed, her hands folded in her lap. She shook her head slowly, the incredulousness of the miracle showing in her smile. “I really didn’t think I had a chance,” she said to the empty spot in the room. She changed her focus to James. “I know you have to go back, but I wanted to see you before you left and ask you if you would please send your father back to me. I know it’s selfish, but I…I want him back.” Bibb broke down with her request. Cancer and death didn’t scare her, but not seeing Marty again was more than she could handle.
James walked up to her and put his hand on her shoulder. “Hey, you let me have him for 28 years—I think you deserve a few, too. I’ll send him back if I can. But you have to get better now. God, I hope Billy’s a good match. It’s not that I don’t want to be there for you. Shoot, if I could just drop off a lobe of liver and leave it, I would, but that can’t—won’t—happen.”
“James.” Leah had come up next to him without being heard. The look of dread she had earlier was back. Whatever had been bothering her was manifesting itself now. “What’s your blood type?”
“Shoot, I don’t know. What difference does it make if I’m not going to be Mom’s donor?”
“It makes a lot of difference if I’m going to have babies. I mean have healthy babies, safely…”
“He’s O negative,” Bibb said. “Just like his father and just like me. You see, I had the Rh factor thing going on, too. After the first one, Billy, it was real important to know. You see,” she explained to James, “when a woman with Rh negative blood has a baby with a man who has Rh positive blood, and the baby inherits the father’s blood type, the baby can build up antibodies in the mother’s system. That means if she has another child with an Rh positive father, and that baby has Rh positive blood, the mother’s immune system will attack and kill the baby. There aren’t any complications if the baby has Rh negative blood. And there are no problems if both the mother and father have Rh negative blood. What’s your blood type, Leah?”
“I’m O negative, too, so I guess we’ll be fine. Shoot,” she said, her spirit lifting quickly, “I know we’ll be fine—both with the babies and with the donating. You see, we’re both universal blood donors, and whoever is supposed to get that blood transfusion will have two available donors.”
“Three,” corrected Bibb. “Marty is O negative, too.”
“Four,” added Leah. “Mom is O negative, also. Well, there should be enough blood in us to take care of a major problem. I sure hope it isn’t either one of them.”
“Did you ever see the other letters or remember them?” James asked, changing the subject.
“I saw them, but remember very little. There was one about a Genevieve or Jenny and Scout. I…I think they’re my ancestors. By the way, you’re part Cherokee. That’s where you get your lovely coloring and smooth body hair. You do have a nice beard, though. You got that from your father. I sure hope he comes back soon. I miss him terribly.”
“Yeah, me, too,” James said softly, as he patted her hand one more time, “Me, too. Thanks for keeping up with the memorization of the second letter. We’re going to leave now and let you rest. Make sure Billy calls us when he verifies that he’s a perfect match as a donor for you. I really doubt there will be a problem, but the doctor’s verification will be nice to hear, too.”
**46 A Simple Wedding
August 15, 2013, 9:30AM
“Well, this isn’t the first wedding I’ve performed in a hospital room, but at least the bride and groom are both in good health. Usually the bride’s in labor. Now, I don’t care if you’re pregnant or not, but at least you don’t look like you’re ready to drop a baby any time soon. It got real close there a couple of months ago…” Jake said.
“No, we don’t have to get married, we want to get married,” James said emphatically. “Now, Mom, are you feeling up to this? I mean, we could wait one more day.”
“No, no; I’m fine,” Bibb said, her grin stretched taut across her swollen face. “I don’t want you two to have to wait any longer for the wedding night. I mean, you’ve known each other for less than two weeks, right?” James and Leah nodded. “Well, since you seem to be comfortable with the fast pace, don’t let me slow it down. Now, where’s my other son?”
“Right here, Mom,” Billy announced as he strutted through the door. “We couldn’t have this fine lady getting married without a veil and some flowers, now, could we?” Billy handed Leah a small bouquet of orange and lavender rose buds.
“Orange and purple?” James asked. “I mean, they’re lovely, but orange and purple?”
Leah took the bouquet from Billy and gave him a long, hard kiss on the cheek. “Orange means passion and excitement, and lavender,” she snuggled into James’s shoulder, “means love at first sight. My mother knew—knows—all about roses, the varieties, hardiness and the meanings of the colors. I picked up a few things along the way.”
“Here, let me,” Billy said. He set the veil on the top of her head and laid the edges evenly down the side of her cheeks. “I know it’s old fashioned, and you didn’t have time for a proper gown, but my housemother at the orphanage gave me this for my bride when it came time for me to get married.” Billy started to look uncomfortable and stammered, “Well, I mean, you need it now. It’s the something old and borrowed.” Billy would explain his lifestyle to his mother later. Now was not the time for it.
“I hate to hurry everyone, but if we’re all here, I’d like to get started. My boss cuts me some slack with being a minister and all, but I told him that this was going to be a quickie wedding, and I’d only be an hour late. Good mechanickin’ jobs are hard to find, and I don’t want to lose this one.”
“Two weddings in three days,” James whispered softly to Leah. “You look just as beautiful—no, more so—than the first one.”
“That’s the glow from all the consummating we’ve been doing,” Leah whispered back, then bumped shoulders with him.
James chuckled, then choked it back into a cough. “We’re ready,” he announced.
“Okay, do you James Ignatius Melbourne, take this woman, Audie Leah Madigan, to be your lawful wedded wife, to have and to hold, cherish and protect, in good times and bad, in sickness and in health, in prosperity and poverty, from this day forward until death do you part?”
“No,” James said, and all heads turned to him, everyone’s mouth hanging open. He shook his head and clarified, “I don’t want till death in the vow, I want forever and ever. Death won’t break us apart.”
A collective sigh was heard and Jake amended, “From this day until forever and ever—death will not break you two apart.”
“I do,” James said with a squeak. He cleared his throat a
nd tried again, this time his voice just a little too loud. “I mean, I do.” He heard the stifled giggles at his erratic volume control, tried to ignore them, then added his own laughter to the chorus.
“And do you, Audie Leah Madigan, take this man, James Ignatius Melbourne, to be your lawful wedded husband, to have and to hold, cherish and support, in good times and bad, in sickness and in health, in prosperity and poverty, from this day until forever and ever—death will not break you two apart.” Jake grinned as he said the new vows. He’d have to remember them for the next wedding he performed.
“Amen, I mean, I do, too,” Leah fumbled, then finally said loudly and with confidence, “I do!”
“Now, if anyone here sees any reason why these two should not be married, tough stuff! They’re married! The husband may now kiss his bride. Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Melbourne.”
James and Leah shared a sweet, sincere kiss, neither one of them wanting to make a grand, public display of their affection. Everyone who knew them was aware of their feelings for each other.
“My turn,” Billy crowed. “Now this is how you kiss the girl,” he said, and leaned Leah backwards. He planted a hard, closed-mouth kiss on hers, rubbing his lips side to side in a comedic lampoon of an overdone wedding buss.
“Oh, stop,” Bibb laughed heartily. “You’re making my lip split.”
“Oh, jealous now, are we?” he said. “Well, here’s one for you, Mom.” He brought Leah back up from her backbend, and put her hand in James’s.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be gentle,” he said softly. “But I have to warn you, I have a lot of these to make up.” He gave her a sweet, delicate kiss on the mouth and whispered, “Don’t ever feel bad about what you did. I have you now, and that’s all that matters.”
Tears were streaming from his eyes as he brought his head back up from a second, then a third soft kiss. “Weddings always make me cry,” he said as an excuse.
“Me, too,” said Bibb, the tears now pouring from her eyes.
“Not me,” said Jake. “Now, if you’ll just give me the paper to sign, I’ll make my ‘X’ and be out of here. Don’t forget to take this back to the court and have it filed, or you won’t be legally married.”
James put a couple of folded up bills in the preacher’s hand. “Gee,” Jake added, “I’m sure glad people still get married.” He waved good-bye to everyone, and went out the door, into the hall. There was a pause, then everyone heard him say loudly, “Very glad!”
Billy looked askance at James and asked without words, ‘how much?’ James flashed five fingers at him twice indicating that he had given him $500 twice. Billy’s eyes opened wide, then he nodded his head in agreement. At least the brother the Lord had given him wasn’t cheap and shared his wealth. Jake could well use the $1000 for his little start-up church, and its food and jobs ministry.
“Am I too late?” the dark-haired teenager asked breathlessly as he stuck his head through the doorway. “I ran as fast as I could.” But the boy looked around and could tell by the glowing faces that the ceremony was over.
“Can I help you?” asked Billy.
James turned away from gazing at his new bride and recognized the youth. “It’s okay, Bret,” he said. “It just makes for a more lasting memory.” He opened his hand, and the young man placed a dark blue velvet box into it.
“Something blue?” Billy asked when he saw the blue ring box.
“Oh, yeah,” James said. “Leah, I’m sorry this got here a little late. May I?” and reached for her left hand.
Leah blushed as she gave it to him. She hadn’t even thought about a wedding ring. She was more concerned with the other aspects—the mostly horizontal ones—of being married.
James picked up her hand and kissed it, then slipped on the platinum band with the single flawless blue diamond set into it. “I hope you like it.”
“Oh, yeah,” she replied, with the same tone he had given Billy. “Very, oh, yeah!”
“Well, since we all have places to go or bodies to heal, I think I’ll say good-bye, or in my case, good night. I’ll see you all later. Congratulations, you two, and I will definitely see you for dinner, Mom,” Billy bragged. “Gee, I don’t think I’ll ever tire of calling you that, Mom.” He bent over and gave her one more kiss good-bye, then headed home to get some sleep before working the midnight shift.
Leah and James said their good-byes to Bibb, then went back to their home—the motel—and more consummating.
Bibb lay back in her bed, looked up, and said, “Thanks, Lord. This is more than I could have ever hoped for—two sons, a daughter-in-law, and a new liver. Just one more thing, though, please. Watch over Marty and bring him home to me, please. Amen.”
ӁӁ
“This is a beautiful ring,” Leah said, as she lay in bed after another round of honeymoon hopping. “What kind of stone is it?”
“It’s a blue diamond. And the band is platinum. I had it custom made. It took a little longer than I thought. Actually, they did pretty good considering they only had two days to design, cast, and then mount the stone. At least the diamond was already cut.”
Leah was shocked, and he knew why. She knew at least something about jewelry. “I wanted the platinum so we could claim it was only silver if someone wanted to steal it. And the diamond can pass as blue topaz, or maybe even moonstone or,” he exhaled, “colored cut glass. I hope we never run into anyone who would even think about stealing it, but I wanted something for you, and I already had the stone. All I needed was the setting…and the wife,” he added with a grin and a quick kiss to the top of her head. “I saw Bret’s father’s work in one of the shops at the mall. He’s quite the artist. I gave him a free hand on the design of the setting. I think it’s beautiful and unique, just like you.”
Leah turned the stone to the inside of her hand. “See, a poor woman’s simple silver band.”
“And,” James took her hand and turned the stone back the way it was meant to be worn, “a ring fitting for my Leah, the stunning Lady James Melbourne.”
**47 Just One More Day
August 16, 2013, 7:00 AM
“James, I want you to listen to this and tell me if you recognize the voice.”
Billy had called and hadn’t said ‘hi’, ‘hello’ or ‘how’s it hangin’, but just jumped right into his message.
“Okay, ready,” James said, and stuck his finger in his other ear in order to hear the phone message better.
“Uh, this is an emergency. I think some bad dudes have an old woman held hostage in an old cabin down south and east of town off of the road from the Piedmont Cemetery. Look for an old beige Volvo and be careful. Those dudes are crazy! Oh, and I can’t tell you my name, but you can tell the lady that Superman came to her rescue, and that I’m sorry she got hurt and hope she gets better real soon. Um, good-bye.”
James waited for Billy to get back on the line. “Well, that’s a no-brainer, at least for me,” he said. “I mean, yes, I recognize the voice, but the man also told me who he was. Well, he would have told you, too, if you already knew him, which I do… Hello, are you there, Billy?”
“Well, who is it and do I need to arrest him?” Billy snapped.
“It’s Clark, the clerk here at the motel and no! Do not arrest him. Good God, man, he saved her life and turned in his own brothers to do so. His name is Clark Kent—as in Superman—MacLeod. He’s the one who got poisoned, and Leah and I followed to the hospital. I’ll bet his own brother, either Eight or Niner, gave him that date rape drug so I would be distracted and he could get the letters. I’m sure Clark called as soon as he found out about her, about Mom.”
“Well, I don’t know about that…” Billy paused, trying not to fume too much over the phone. He wanted someone strung up by the balls for what had been done to their mother.
“Hey, he didn’t have to call at all, did he? I mean, if he had kept his mouth shut, she’d probably be dead, and we wouldn’t know who he was. Give the man a break. He gave us one, a real b
ig one. How about you let me talk to him—friend to friend—and I’ll see if he knows anything. If you haul him in, his brothers will figure out that he was the one who made the anonymous call, and that’s why their butts are in custody now.”
“Okay, but remember, you’re not a cop. I’ll be more than happy to come by and just sit with you—as your brother—while you talk to him.” Billy halted before speaking again. “Do you know how cool that feels to say, ‘as your brother’?”
James chuckled. “Yes, as a matter of fact, I do. Now, be cool. I’ll call you if I need help or back up or whatever it is you call it, okay?”
“Okay, I trust you. I’ll see you tomorrow then, unless you call.”
“Wait, wait! I need the truck tonight. I’ll just have Leah drive me over to pick it up. I still have a set of keys, so I won’t have to bother you at work or when you’re just getting up. You can have it back tomorrow,” James said, wishing he could tell him ‘for good’.
ӁӁ
August 16, 12:00 PM
motel lobby
“So Clark, where are your brothers?” James asked as he gave him the money for their last day’s stay. He was prying; he knew it. But he had to know if Clark was involved in the arson, thefts, and beatings that had plagued him and his family since he came to America.
Clark shook his head in shame. “Those Assholes are in jail, and I hope that Nobody doesn’t show up to bail them out again. At least this time, the bail was set so high that their good buddy, Nobody, decided to let them rot. I mean, sorry, you don’t know them.” Clark looked at James quizzically and asked, “How did you know I had brothers?”
“You mentioned something about a brother or brothers when I first checked in here, that he or they got arrested for assault or something or other.” James knew full well that Clark had mentioned only one brother, not two, but wanted Clark to tell him more about the problematic pair.
“Oh, yeah. Well, I can call them Assholes because they’re my brothers, and their first names are Atholl. Actually, it’s Atholl the Eighth, or we call him Eight, and Atholl the Ninth, Niner. But I think I told you that.” James nodded. He had told him his brother’s names when he revealed the history of his own name.
Aye, I am a Fairy (The Fairies Saga Book 2) Page 38