Someday, when she was a doctor and Haley was well…
For now she liked her old-fashioned little house.
The phone rang again, and Macy picked it up without thinking. “Hello?”
“There you are. You had me worried. Is Haley okay?”
Thad again. Macy bit back a sigh and cursed the brain synapse that had shot her hand out for the receiver. “She’d be better if we could find a bone marrow donor, but she’s hanging on while we look.”
“Can anyone do it?”
“It’s not like giving blood. It’s painful, and it’s difficult to find a perfect match.”
“Can I be tested?”
“Sure, but you’ll have to fill out a questionnaire. Have you had unprotected sex in the past ten years?”
“God, you love turning the tables on me, don’t you?”
“I’m sorry. I’m tired.”
“I can hear it in your voice. How’s school?”
“I missed another one of my classes today but at least I made it to pharmacology. I’m not sure I’ll remember anything about the lecture, but I took enough notes to give my hand a permanent cramp.” She stretched her right fingers, remembering her frenetic pace.
“What about the class you missed?”
“I bummed the notes off a fellow student.”
“That’s good.”
“It’s better than nothing. Finals are coming up.”
“I bet you’re excited about that.”
“I would be if I thought I was going to pass,” she said, but she didn’t want to talk about school. “Will you really come in and be tested as a donor for Haley?” She knew the chances of Thad’s being a match were one in a million. All of Haley’s friends and family had been tested, with no luck. But it felt good to know he was willing to do what he could.
“Of course. Maybe if I go through a little pain and suffering of my own, you’ll feel better compensated for childbirth.”
Macy smiled, and climbed out of bed to open the window. A cool spring breeze stirred the curtains and ruffled her hair. “A woman would be untrue to her kind if she didn’t point out that there is nothing as bad as childbirth, but I’m grateful, so I’ll keep my mouth shut.”
“I appreciate that, though I’d argue for circumcision as a close second.”
The scent of lilac filtered in from the bushes in back, and Macy relaxed on her bed, letting the down comforter swallow her. “You’d have a hard time getting any support for that argument. Newborn boys don’t have much of an advocacy group, while we woman are a vocal and determined lot. We’re not about to lose any praise for our high pain threshold.”
He chuckled. “Then I won’t upset the balance by disagreeing. When can we get together? There are some things we need to talk about.”
Macy yawned. “I know.”
“Tomorrow?”
Fighting the increasing weight of her eyelids, she struggled to vocalize a reply. Sleep beckoned and she sank into it, despite Thad’s voice in her ear. “Macy?”
“Tomorrow’s…fine.”
“Go ahead and get some sleep then,” he said, and strangely enough the sound of his voice was like a kiss on the forehead, soothing her into unconsciousness.
MACY AWOKE to the sound of sizzling bacon and the mouthwatering aroma of potatoes and onions. Oh good. Richard’s making breakfast for Haley. I can sleep a little later.
Richard! What was she thinking?
Macy shot out of bed as reality came crashing down on her addled mind like fifty tons of brick. She had classes today. Had she overslept? Would she have time to stop by the hospital and say hello to Haley, as she always did?
She shot a fearful glance at her alarm clock, which registered a mere six o’clock, and groaned. The buzzer wasn’t even supposed to go off until six-thirty. So who the heck was in her kitchen, banging around?
Lisa, of course. Somehow she knew Macy hadn’t eaten last night, and this was her revenge. Lisa knew everything.
After stumbling into the bathroom and brushing her teeth, she made her way to the kitchen, yawning and scratching her tousled head. “Jeez, Lisa, the least you could have done was warn me. Then I could have told you that I didn’t eat the Chinese food because I’d grabbed something at the hospital cafeteria.”
So what if it was only an apple.
“Lisa?”
“Good morning.” Thad stepped around the corner into the hallway wearing a T-shirt, a pair of worn, snug-fitting blue jeans—and a smile that could melt butter from a mile away. “Have a seat. Breakfast will be ready in a minute.”
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