This is an ongoing story. It might be a good idea to read the first four chapters first.
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CHAPTER 5
The room erupted into a whirlwind of chaos and chatter. "He needs a kidney!" Allison. "He said he doesn't want it!" Amy. "He'll die!" Melissa. "Maybe we should just let him!" Their mother.
Tom backed away from his father's hospital bed and found Danny standing behind everyone. "What did he tell you?"
Danny shook his head at Tom. "Not now."
"He doesn't want my help, now is fine," Tom insisted.
"You need to deal with your family Tom," Danny retorted. "I'll see you at home." He said the second part a little more kindly.
"They're your family too, Danny," Tom said under his breath as he watched him walk out the door. He wanted to follow him but stood rooted in place, glancing between the door and his family standing over a dying man he barely knew, arguing. When he made his decision and started for the door his mother stopped him. "Where are you going?" she demanded.
"Home, with Danny," Tom answered her kindly despite the vitriol in her voice.
"Your father is dying," his mother reminded him, as if he wasn't already aware.
Tom stared at her for a long beat. "Yes. Something he has chosen. He doesn't want my help. Why are we standing around forcing him to live if he doesn't want to?"
From behind him his father's voice broke through. "I'm going to die anyway. My entire body is broken. Who's gonna take care of me? You?" He aimed that at his ex wife. "Any of you?"
Tom turned from his mother and looked at his father. They had all been so focused on the man needing a kidney; no one had even asked what his other injuries were.
"You have insurance, that's what it's for," Tom's mother retorted.
"Cathy." He said her name with equal parts exasperation and love long gone. "What kind of life am I going to live and for how long? I'll be on dialysis. On medication. I'll need around the clock care. I'm paralyzed below the waist. I have a catheter and need oxygen pumped into my lungs just so they work. So they give me a new kidney and what, all that other stuff goes away? I won't put Tommy through a risky surgery to prolong my life for a short time."
Tom's mother sighed deeply. "Whatever." She'd had enough.
"I'll be right outside," Tom said with a gentle touch of his mother's shoulder. When he stepped out the hallway was quiet, white, sterile; a stark contrast to the chaos that he had just left. It reflected the peace he felt despite the situation. He did what he thought was right, he offered to save a man he hardly knew. He had let go of the dream of a father/son relationship long ago.
One by one his sisters joined him in the hallway. Amy was subdued. She knew their father about as much as Tom did. Melissa was a little more emotional. Allison was the one that needed most consoling. They stood gathered together in the hallway.
"He chose to leave us a long time ago," Amy said quietly.
"Aim, mom kicked him out," Melissa replied, but her attempt at standing up for the man was weak, and by the look on her face she knew it.
"After he cheated," Tom reminded them.
"Enough," Allison said, louder than she meant to, she lowered her head. "The man's dying."
Tom was about to argue when his mother stepped into the hall. Her face was streaked with tears. "He's gone," she said between sobs.
The quiet hallway suddenly became a whirlwind of action. Footsteps against the linoleum floor alerted Tom that people were running. Doctor Sullivan led a procession of nurses heading toward their father's room. "What happened?" she yelled over her shoulder as she opened the door. The steady beeping of the machines inside were now a chorus of loud alarms and alerts and the noise was unsettling.
"He just gave up," Cathy answered her question but the doctor was already inside tending to her patient.
By the time they got home from the hospital every one of them was exhausted. Tom made his way up to his room to find Danny, and possibly collapse into a long nap. When he stepped into the room it was empty. He looked around to make sure he was seeing things right, but he knew he was. Danny's bags were gone. His heart skipped. He looked around the room one more time. On a pillow on the bed he and Danny had been sharing was a piece of paper.
"I had to get back to New York. We'll talk soon. Love, Danny."
Toms stared at the words. Who the hell writes notes anymore? That was his first thought. Then he wondered what on earth Danny could need to go to New York for, it was Thanksgiving Day, there was no way he had to get back for work. He was running. Dammit Danny. Tom crushed the paper into a ball and threw it across the room. He laid his head on the pillow and was asleep within minutes.
A knock on his door pulled him out of a restless dream. He realized the house smelled amazing. God he was hungry.
"Boys," his mother's voice came through.
"Danny went back to New York," Tom said as he pulled the door open.
"Oh." She didn't know what else to say. "Well, dinner's ready."
Tom followed his mother down the stairs. As they stepped into the dining room a table full of kids, his siblings and their significant others and all the Thanksgiving foods he'd grown up loving greeted him. There was really only one thing missing, Danny.
"Where's Uncle Danny?" Allison's oldest daughter asked when everyone was seated.
"He had to go back to New York honey," Cathy answered her with a gentle tone. The air in the room suddenly went still.
"This food looks amazing, we should eat," Tom put on the happiest voice he could muster and grabbed a plate of potatoes from the center.
"Let's all say something we're thankful for," Melissa's youngest son suggested just as Cathy suggested they start on dessert. The air in the room went still again. "I'll start," he said cheerily. "I am thankful for apple pie and vanilla ice cream."
The family laughed, as one. Leave it to the innocence of children to diffuse the intensity of the day. Tom thought. He tried his best to listen to each person tell the table what they were thankful for, but his mind was wandering all over. What could he possibly say he's thankful for today? When it was his turn he smiled slightly and confessed "I'm thankful for DNA tests and trains."
"What's a DNA test?" Tom heard the kids ask. "Trains?" He heard someone say. But he had already stood up from the table and taken his plate to the kitchen. When he turned to exit he ran into his mother who had stepped inside unnoticed.
