“Soon.”
“I gotta think about this thing.” And discuss the matter with Bo.
“I understand. And I wouldn’t blame you if you said no, but Richie, I had to ask.” Her voice took on a hopeful note.
“I know.” She’d do anything for anybody. Of course she asked.
“So, you decide what’s best for you, but don’t take too long, okay?”
Time. Dad must not have much left. “I won’t. And Charlotte?”
“Yeah.”
“It’s… it’s good to hear your voice again.”
“Yours too. I love you, Richie.”
He started to answer, “Back atcha” like he used to. No. After so long, those words wouldn’t do. Eyes closed, picturing his sister’s face, he clearly spoke each well-deserved word. “I love you too, Char.” The truth needed saying, even if his heart threatened to break.
“Happy Birthday, big brother.”
Bo took the phone from Lucky’s numb fingers, plopped down beside him, and held on. How did he always know exactly what Lucky needed?
Dad. The man he’d looked up to, used to want to be like. The man he’d tried so hard to impress. In Lucky’s mind, Clarence Lucklighter lifted hay bales and slung them into the truck bed like they weighed nothing, or wrestled goats to the ground single-handedly for shots or hoof trimming.
No way could Dad be dying.
But he was. And he’d grown older since Lucky last laid eyes on him, might not be as robust. Lucky clung to Bo like a lifeline. “Did she tell you?”
“A bit.”
“Should I do it?”
“I can’t tell you. You have to make this decision.”
“You’re no help.” Bo should say yes or no and keep Lucky from having to decide.
“I’ll be here for you either way. You know that.”
Yes, he did. All the shit they’d gone through together ought to count for something. “Will you at least help me figure out what to do?”
“If you need me to.” Bo tightened his arms around Lucky.
Lucky drew back enough to make eye contact. “In spite of one of us being so pigheaded it almost didn’t happen, we’re partners, right? Didn’t you say after I bought a house without your input that we needed to share major decisions?”
Bo rolled his eyes heavenward. “Nowhe listens.” His forced smile took the sting from the words. “Let’s go inside. Sleep on it. You don’t have to decide tonight.”
No, but judging from Charlotte’s urgency, Dad needed an answer soon. “If I said yes, and I ain’t saying yes yet, mind you, what would I have to do?”
“First, you need to have some tests run to determine if you’re even eligible to donate.”
Oh. Yeah. A few tests might take the choice out of Lucky’s hands. Maybe doctors might get him off the hook, but then again, the little boy in him still needed his father to always be there. Even if it meant giving of himself to a man who’d cut him out.
Bo stood and took a step toward the house. “Let’s go to bed.”
Wait. What? Where’d their guests go? “What about Walter and everybody? And by the way, how’d they get here? Their cars aren’t here.”
“They walked down the street to the clubhouse where they parked. I baked the cake there so you wouldn’t know I’d come home yet. C’mon, help me clean up.”
