Surviving Cancer

Tuesday, December 19

LEVI POV

"Hey dad, where's mom?" I asked, poking my head into his office.

"At the hospital with Macin. Are you almost ready?"

He shuffled some papers on his desk, his eyebrows pinched together causing wrinkles in his forehead. Maci had been in the hospital for a couple days already. She was going through the irradiation phase. I knew it was necessary to make the transplant as successful as possible and so that her body wouldn't reject it but it still seemed a little excessive. Chemo and radiation sucked but everyday for a week was enough to kill a person. And I got to sit back and watch it happen to Maci. She kept a smile on her face but when she thought no one was looking she looked like she'd had more than enough.

"Yeah, just gotta find my shoes."

I turned out of the door, going back into the living room. I couldn't remember where I kicked off my boots last. I thought I took them off by the couch but I had looked and they weren't there. I stood in the middle of the living room, going through the process in my head. If I had left them in the living room my mom probably picked them up which meant they were either in my room, by the back door, or the front door. I glanced at the front door and didn't see them so I poked my head through the kitchen to the back door and didn't see them again. I sprinted up the stairs and into my room. My room was a mess but unless my mom purposely hid them on me they weren't in there either.

"Levi!" My dads voice called from downstairs. "Are you looking for your boots?"

"Yeah, I can't find them." I called back, exiting my room without moving anything.

"Did you check under your coat by the front door." I could hear him smiling.

"No."

My feet pounded down the stairs. My dad had my coat in his hand and sure enough there were my boots.

"Gotta lift things up kid." He said, tossing my coat to me.

I shrugged my coat on, jamming my feet into my leather boots. I followed my dad out to his car, slipping into the passenger seat. I ran my hands together, the cold air sucked the warmth from them almost instantly.

"So." My dad said, putting the car in drive. "Jenny is coming to the hospital today."

I nodded my head. It was all I had thought about for days. 

"I was thinking it would be best if we met with her before she meets Maci." My dad said.

I nodded. What was I going to say? No? We drove in silence for a few minutes. I could feel tension creeping its way through my body as I thought about Jennifer. It was weird. I had talked to her on the phone enough that she wasn't a complete stranger. And I had studied the picture of her on the dating site more than I'd like to admit. In fact I was pretty certain I'd be able to pick her out of the crowd. It was like I already knew her but at the same time she was as big a stranger as any person.

"Has your sister said anything about why I'm not a match?" His voice low like he was afraid if he said it too loud she'd hear from the hospital. I shook my head 'no'. "Good."

We fell back into silence. My stomach was turning from nerves with each minute that passed. I wondered if it was the same for my dad. I looked at him, his dark hair was combed back and held in place by product, the sides cut short, he always kept his hair clean and professional. He had lines in the skin of his forehead and around his eyes. Probably more premature from stress. And even though he wasn't biologically our dad he looked enough like us that I had never thought to question it. If it hadn't been for Jennifer doing what she did, I might not have known my dad. Instead I might have been calling Eric Summers dad.