16. Chapter 16
N elie’s leg bounced under the table as she waited in the virtual waiting room. She was a match for Nate. In this meeting, she’d find out what that entailed and the timeline. If this meeting ever gets started .
Her laptop pinged, and the meeting organizer let her in.
Jackson and Emily were already there with Nate tight to Emily’s chest in a baby carrier.
The medical coordinator greeted Nelie and asked her to confirm her name and date of birth.
A moment later, Dr. Dahl, the pediatric immunologist, joined them.
“How does a week from Friday sound to you, Nelie?” Dr. Dahl asked, looking excited.
“Not good. Is there another option?” She couldn’t miss the spelling bee. Piper had practiced diligently, and Nelie had volunteered to make cookies.
“Sure, we can wait,” Jackson said, crossing his arms. “It’s only Nate’s life at stake.” Emily swatted him on the arm and glared at him.
“No, no. You’re right. I’ll figure something out.
Next Friday is fine.” She gave them a tight smile.
She’d make sure the girls knew she couldn’t be there without telling them why.
And she could make the cookies in advance.
The girls would understand. But Chet? He’d want to know why, and Nelie didn’t have a clue what to tell him that wasn’t a lie.
“Excellent, then we’ll need Nathan to check into the hospital this Friday,” Dr. Dahl said.
“Why?” Nelie asked.
The doctor gave her a kind smile. “This is all rushing at you, I’m sure, since you just found out.
We need Nathan here a week before you so we can start a conditioning chemotherapy.
It will increase the odds of his body accepting your stem cells.
” Nelie didn’t like the sound of that. She assumed since she was a match, everything would be perfect.
It hadn’t dawned on her Nate’s little body might refuse her donation, but she nodded her head at the doctor.
“So, Nathan comes here this Friday, and you come the next. That morning, we’ll harvest your bone marrow from your hip bones. You’ll be under general anesthesia, so you won’t feel anything during the procedure.”
“And after?” Nelie asked. Jackson frowned, and Nelie wished Emily would swat him again. He acted like this was no big deal for her, but it was. She was breaking a promise to Piper. She was having her hips prodded, and there would be needles. She hated needles.
“Most patients are usually sore and tired for a few days afterwards, especially with low back discomfort, but Tylenol usually does the trick. You’ll be back to your usual self within a few weeks,” he said.
“That doesn’t sound too bad.” She’d lie on a chaise lounge under an umbrella, and if she felt guilty for being a slug, she’d remind herself it was doctor’s orders.
“It’s a straightforward procedure, and if all goes well, we can discharge you by the end of day on Saturday.
Plan on a quiet weekend though, and keep the Tylenol handy.
” Except for sobbing into my pillow. Nelie’s nonrefundable flight departed at six o’clock on Saturday morning.
She made a note to check with the airline.
Maybe they could move her to another flight on Monday or Tuesday?
She wouldn’t have her full week in Florida, but something was better than nothing.
“Once we have the marrow, we’ll do a transfusion with Nathan and keep him isolated for three to four months in the hospital—”
“There? I thought he’d be here,” Emily said, wrapping her arms around Nate.
“You can visit him, of course. You’ll need to mask up and follow a few other protocols to keep Nathan safe, but we can discuss that later,” Dr. Dahl said.
“And after that?” Jackson asked.
“Once he’s home, you can gradually introduce him to the world.
Our team will closely monitor him, and once his system develops, he’ll get his vaccines.
If all goes to plan, in a little over a year this will all be in the rearview mirror, and Nathan will be like any other baby his age.
” Emily and Jackson looked hopeful and thanked the doctor, who waved them off.
“Don’t thank me. None of this would be possible without Nelie’s bone marrow donation. ”
Jackson opened his mouth, but Nelie cut him off. “Is there anything else I need to know?”
“Avoid people when you can and stay healthy,” Dr. Dahl said before turning back to Emily and Jackson. Nelie looked at the bandage on her finger, wondering if self-inflicted wounds counted.
She’d been aggressively chopping onions yesterday, reliving the conversation at Mrs. Hart’s, when the tip of the chef’s knife hit her finger. She’d cleaned the wound, tossed the onions, and headed outside for a brisk walk around the block to clear her head.
When bitterness threatened to pull her under, she reminded herself that Gus had called her a gift.
She hadn’t been a burden to him and Stella, but a gift.
They hadn’t taken her in out of the goodness of their hearts, but because they’d wanted her.
Nelie wished she knew if her newfound family wanted her.
Today was the first she’d heard from Jackson since he’d driven her to the hospital. He hadn’t even called when they’d gotten her test results two days ago.
Pris had texted a few times, trying to break the ice and start what Nelie hoped might become a meaningful relationship. Nelie had responded, and they’d sent memes back and forth. Pris was trying, but Jackson was acting like a jerk.
Mrs. Hart and Suzanne had stopped into the Galley for lunch, and they’d asked her to join them, but she’d refused with a half-assed excuse.
Her excuse had been so transparent Mrs. Hart had shared it with Gus, who had blown in the next day to remind Nelie she was better than that.
“They’re trying, Nelie-girl. Meet them halfway.
” Instead of falling in line and agreeing, she’d told him she wasn’t ready yet, and she needed more time.
“I guess that’s fair,” he’d said, looking uncomfortable before giving her a hug.
Nelie feared uncomfortable would be the norm for a while. She was a gift, not a burden. Nelie Peterson wasn’t Haven’s do-gooder good-girl anymore. She didn’t need to hustle and bend over backward to secure her place. She belonged. She was wanted. And she always had been.
Emily had also called, and Nelie had given her the I’m coping with it spiel.
Nelie huffed at her own stupidity. The only one who had made no overtures toward her was Jackson. Everyone else had made it obvious they wanted her in their lives.
“Nelie, are you okay?” Dr. Dahl asked, pointing his finger at her.
“Fine, yes, thank you. Just a lot to take in.” He nodded, and his quiet confidence reassured Nelie. She could do this.
“Well, if you have any questions, please reach out to me or my care coordinator.” They thanked him for his time and one by one Nelie watched everyone leave the virtual meeting room until it was just her, staring at the blank screen.
The girls will be heartbroken , Nelie thought, clutching the snowflake pillow to her as she curled up on her couch.
Nelie had never broken a promise. And the worst part was she couldn’t explain to them why she needed to break it.
Chet will be furious. My vacation is ruined.
How did everything go so terribly wrong?
Nelie knew she needed to donate, and give Nate a chance at life, but did it have to be at such a high cost to her? Shouldn’t doing the right thing be easy? In a year, Jackson and Emily would have their picture-perfect family and she’d probably have nothing, not even her old life.
She took several deep breaths, hoping to ward off another crying jag. She had to hold on to her life. Surely, she could continue as if the kitchen table conversation hadn’t happened? Or maybe take the good parts and leave the rest?
Nelie was furious they’d lied to her, but she wasn’t mad she’d been adopted. That fact hadn’t changed. She’d had an incredible childhood with two loving parents. The only thing that had changed was her mindset: she was a gift, not a burden.
From what they’d said, everyone had done the best they could and what they’d thought was right. For Suzanne and her. Except for my stupid origin story . But that was on Stella, not the Harts. Oh, Mom, Nelie cried inwardly. Why did you do that?
But as confused and angry as she’d been at that table, she’d also heard regret and embarrassment in their words. Nelie didn’t want them punished now for what had happened then. Surely living with the lie all these years hadn’t been easy?
Nelie didn’t want people to know. She didn’t want the Haven grapevine feeding on the family cover-up.
If they kept this information inside the family, Nelie’s life wouldn’t change, except for buying a few more Christmas presents and being the best secret aunt to Nate and any other nieces and nephews her half-siblings might have.
It would take time, but she knew Chet and the girls would forgive her for missing the spelling bee. And she’d need to come to terms with Jackson and his newfound crappy attitude. If she didn’t, someone from their friend group would catch on and want to know why.
The best course of action was to limit her time with Chet until everything calmed down.
It was less than two weeks until her procedure and then a few more to recuperate, so it shouldn’t be more than three or four lonely, stressful weeks.
If Chet sensed something was wrong, he’d ask questions and demand answers.
Answers she couldn’t give to him. The family deserved privacy.
She’d shove the beast—her heritage—into its box and exile it to the back of her brain.
Once she was acting as her normal self—Nelie Peterson, owner of the Galley, who had no known family members other than her adopted dad, Gus—her life would revert to normal. It had to.