“You ever going to tell me why Nova freaks you out so much?” I ask with a calm smile on my lips. Finn looks up and quirks an eyebrow.
“You’ve said that before and I’ll give you the same answer,” he replies. “You’re delusional.”
I’m not, but I let it go and Finn and I set about cleaning the restaurant and readying it for tomorrow without a word to each other. It’s a comfortable silence. We’ve both done this more times than either of us can count. He wipes down the bar and counter areas and collects and refills the salt and pepper shakers as I wipe down the tables and stack the chairs on top so I can mop the floors next.
Nova breezes back in, all bundled up in her raincoat and tall rubber boots. She waves to me and Finn but hesitates before leaving. “Terra, you can go home if you want and I can stay with Finn. If you’re tired. I know you had treatment today.”
She’s right. I’m exhausted, but I’m not going to admit it. I smile. “I’m good. If I go home I’ll just be alone with my fears, so I don’t mind the work.”
It’s an honest confession. We found out about an hour ago that Nova and Javi don’t match. Leave it to me to have a huge family that can’t help me. Nova looks at me with love and ferocity. “Wewillfigure this out Terra.”
I nod. Finn glares at me and points. “Do not do that fake agreement thing you do. Nova is right. Wewillfind you a donor. Aren’t you the one who always tells us about the power of positive thinking? Do it!”
“Yeah. Yeah. I know, I’m just… having a moment,” I sigh. “Go, Nova. It’s fine. I promise. If something happens to your chickens in this crazy storm, I will never forgive myself.”
“Okay. Love you all,” she blows an air kiss and heads out the door.
Finn watches her go and I disappear into the back. When I return with the mop and bucket, I’m out of breath. Finn grabs it from me without a word and I let him. But only until I catch my breath again, which is when he’s halfway through the room, and then I insist on taking over. He wants to argue but he doesn’t and I continue mopping under his watchful eye.
“Was that just a joke or are you really scared?” Finn asks quietly as I’m wringing out the mop.
“I’ve been trying not to think about it.” I pause and look up at him. “I have the worst luck ever.”
“I mean there’s still a chance Dad can donate. He’s going to his doctor again next week and he’s going to push them on it. Declan also found a bunch of medical studies that say that other people with his pre-existing conditions have successfully donated.”
“He showed me those studies. I’m not okay with it. The margins are too small,” I reply flatly. “I’m going to have to let Mom tell Mrs. Green so she can blab about it to the whole town and pray someone takes pity on me and gets tested. And if that nightmare experience doesn’t work out, then I wait. I’m young. Doc says I can go a decade on dialysis, probably.”
Finn looks worried. “I’m sorry this sucks so much Terra.”
“Me too.”
Javi calls out from the back that he’s leaving. Finn disappears into the kitchen to lock the back door behind him, and I move behind the counter to mop there. Two seconds later there’s a knock on the front door and I jump out of my skin. My eyes fly up and I see Jake standing there, soaking wet, wind blowing his hair across his forehead in wet clumps. I abandon my mop and bucket and rush over to unlock the door.
“Hey,” he says casually as he walks in and drips all over everything. The idiot is in nothing but his work t-shirt and pants. No jacket.
“You’re soaked!” I say and walk back over to grab my mop. “And you’re ruining my freshly mopped floors.”
He runs a hand through his drenched, black hair and gives his head a shake at the same time, spraying water everywhere like a wet dog. I yelp and jump back to avoid getting wet. I open my scrunched up eyes and find him grinning sheepishly. “Sorry.”
Jake takes the mop from me. I don’t let go. It’s a small but fierce tug-of-war that he ends up winning. “You shouldn’t be doing manual labor.”
“I need a new kidney not new arms and legs,” I gripe. “I can still mop.”
“Listen, Tink, you’re doing this all wrong,” Jake says sternly. “This is the part where you milk it. If I had a severe illness, I would have the whole damn family waiting on me hand and foot.”
“I’m sure there’ll be time for that later. When I’m like dying and shit,” I mutter and I wish I was joking but I might not be. Only time will tell.
He stops mopping and looks me dead in the eye. “I hate to burst your bubble but that ain’t gonna happen, so start milking it now while you can. Because while I’m recuperating from giving you a kidney, I am going to make everyone wait on me hand and foot so they won’t have time to baby you too.”
My body feels heavy. Like the weight of his words just had turned my blood into cement. I’m unable to move anything but my head and only enough to look up into his dark, endless eyes. “What did you just say?”
He takes one hand off the mop, reaches in his back pocket, and hands me a piece of paper. I don’t feel my arms move but suddenly I’m taking it from him and unfolding it as he speaks. “I did the test thing at the hospital. I’m a match, Tink. I’m giving you a kidney.”
I read the paper from the hospital. He is a match. A really good one.Oh my God.
“Well... that’s unbelievable,” I whisper.
“You always act like we have absolutely nothing in common, but it turns out our organs have a shit ton in common,” he grins. It’s his usual, carefree grin and I don’t know whether to cry or punch him. This is a serious, incredibly intense, moment and he’s acting like he just told me the Red Sox scored or something.
