Chapter 29
CHAPTER 29
M aggie assumed the next day would bring word of more rejections on a possible match for Emily, and she knew with every call heartbreak would follow. Nothing was worse than feeling helpless, but now they were all losing hope. Emily had come into their lives so suddenly, and Maggie couldn’t accept that she might die.
Sarah carried her overnight bag down the stairs and met Maggie in the living room.
“Do you want Paolo or Jeff to drive you to the airport?”
“No. I’ve called an Uber. It’s getting near rush hour, and you don’t want to be caught in that traffic.”
Maggie wanted to cry but held her tears inside and hugged Sarah tight.
“Don’t cry, Mom. Just because Emily’s family aren’t candidates. There are plenty of people who test every day. Someone is bound to be a match.”
Maggie nodded, but she couldn’t muster a positive outlook.
Lauren hugged Sarah.
“We’re going to fly down and visit with you all this winter. Jeff and I talked about it. Our family could use a vacation on Captiva Island.”
“I’m going to hold you to that,” Sarah said.
Olivia and Lily hugged Sarah. “Bye, Auntie Sarah, see you soon.”
Maggie, Paolo and Jeff walked Sarah to the Uber, said their goodbyes, and then watched the car drive away.
When they returned inside, Maggie looked at her watch and then walked to the stairs. “I’m going upstairs to call Chelsea. I haven’t called to check on the inn in days. I’ll be down in a bit.”
Maggie sat on the edge of her bed and took a moment before dialing Chelsea’s number. She was tired, both physically and emotionally.
If she was on Captiva Island, she’d walk to the water’s edge and breathe in the salt air. She’d lay her head back and let the sun warm her face.
But, she wasn’t on Captiva Island. She was where she needed to be but was losing faith that Emily had even a small chance of surviving, and that devastated her. Until now, she hadn’t allowed herself to get close to Daniel’s daughter, but it had happened, nonetheless.
Emily can’t die. Please, God, don’t let her die.
She waited until she was ready to talk to Chelsea without crying, something she did easily whenever they shared their deepest feelings. When she was ready, she dialed her number. On the second ring, she answered.
“I wondered when you’d call me. How is my best friend?”
Maggie sighed. “Not well, I’m afraid. So far, we don’t have a match for Emily.”
“Oh Maggie, I’m so sorry. Has everyone been tested?”
“Yes. We’re still waiting on a few results, but I’m not letting myself believe we’ll have better luck with those either. Chelsea…I…”
“Come on, Mags…let it out.”
“I can’t let Daniel’s daughter die. I know she’s not mine, but I feel like she is…am I crazy?”
“No honey, you’re not crazy…at least not about this.”
A small laugh escaped Maggie’s throat. “You always know how to make me laugh.”
“Maggie, do you want me to get tested? I don’t know the first thing about how to do that, but I’ll get to the hospital and drag everyone in my path. I don’t know why anyone would want Linda’s kidney, but we can’t be too picky about that. I’ll talk to Crawford and Ciara and get their boys to test. Riley, Iris, and Millie can do it too. I’ll do whatever you want. Just tell me what to do and we’ll get it done.”
Maggie smiled. She loved her friend for the gesture and so much more. It was the kind of thing Chelsea didn’t have to think twice about. It was also one of the reasons Maggie leaned on her for support. They’d been through so much together, she wasn’t surprised her best friend would join her on this journey.
“Thank you so much, Chelsea. I mean it. Let me talk to the doctor tomorrow and find out how we do that. In the meantime, how’s my little four-legged baby? I miss that bundle of fur.”
“She is a good little girl. Riley is sleeping in the carriage house so she can take care of her. She feeds her, gets up early in the morning to take her for a walk before she starts baking in the kitchen. You know me, I’m not a dog person, but Lexi is a little cutie.”
“Oh, that’s so sweet. What about the inn? Everything running well? I understand my sister is still there.”
“Everything is fine. You won’t believe it, but I picked plants from the garden for Riley and Iris. I hope I helped, but honestly, I think they sent me out there for their amusement. Something tells me they’re not done sending me on another wild goose chase.”
“I think you exaggerate.”
“I’ll let you know next time they ask me to do something.”
“How are things with Steven?”
“Oh, Mags, he’s a keeper. We’re taking it slow. Maybe the four of us can go out to dinner one night after you get back? I want Steven to meet my best friend.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
“I can tell when you want to get off the phone, Maggie. You probably have a million things to do. I’ll let you go.”
“No, Chelsea…it’s not that. It’s just that I think, given the situation, I should get over to the hospital and sit with Emily for a bit.”
“Honey, please don’t lose faith. You keep telling yourself that she’s going to make it.”
“I don’t know how I’m going to give her and Eve the bad news.”
“Maybe you don’t have to yet. Maybe you should wait until everyone’s results are in. Whose tests are you waiting on?”
“Beth, Gabriel, Paolo, and a friend of Emily’s,” Maggie answered.
“What about Becca?”
“I’ll tell you about that another time. I can’t right now.”
“Well, you call me tomorrow when you find out how we can help from down here, okay?”
“I will. Thanks for always being there for me, Chelsea. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“Let’s not even entertain such thoughts. I’m planning on being around for a long time. You take care and we’ll talk tomorrow.”
Beth and Linda walked up and down the orchard pathways, looking over what once was several rows of beautiful apple trees.
As soon as they reached the barn where Gabriel and James worked, the two women went inside and poured themselves two cups of apple cider that they’d purchased from the supermarket.
Beth took a sip, and then closed her eyes. “This is so good, and exactly what I want us to sell when we finally get this place up and running.”
Linda poured two cups for Gabriel and James.
“You two need to take a break. Why don’t you have a cup of cider and then come for a walk with us to see what we’re up against?”
“We already did that early this morning. Do you realize how much pruning we need to get done to assess the condition of the trees?”
James nodded. “It’s pretty extensive. I called my buddy Cody and he’s going to be here in an hour to look them over. He runs a tree trimming business, but his brother is knowledgeable about apple trees. We need to figure out what we’ve got to work with, before we throw tons of money at this thing.”
Beth smiled. “This thing is our future, so don’t throw it away too quickly. I’m not afraid of hard work, and neither is Linda.”
Gabriel and James laughed, but Beth knew her husband wouldn’t discount her dreams so easily.
“We’ll take another walk around with you, but first, I’ve got to call Dad back. He left a message to call him. I thought I’d put him on speaker phone so we can all listen.”
“Yeah, go ahead,” Beth said.
Thomas answered his phone right away. “Hey, Gabriel. How are things with you and Beth?”
“We’re good, Dad. James and Linda are here with us right now, and I’ve got you on speaker phone.”
“That’s great, because I was going to ask you to tell them about our phone call. Listen, I’m still a bit on the fence about coming east to live, but I had a thought. What do you all say if I come out there for Christmas?”
“We’d love it, Dad,” Beth answered.
“Yes, that would be wonderful,” James said.
“Well, I thought it might be a way for us to talk more about the orchard. I can take a look at the place and see if I can give you any pointers. If I moved back to Massachusetts, it wouldn’t be until the spring, you understand?”
“Oh, of course. We understand,” Gabriel said, fist pumping in the air.
“It’s settled then. I’ll talk to you on Thanksgiving and we can talk more about Christmas. Give Willow a kiss from me.”
“Will do, Dad. Thanks for calling,” James added.
The four of them laughed, and danced in circles, kicking up orange, yellow, gold and rust-colored leaves. When they were done, Beth looked over the land and smiled as a vision of a thriving apple orchard came into view.
“Hey Maggie,” Emily said, her voice weak and strained. “I’m so glad to see you. Hello, Mr. Moretti.”
“You should call me Paolo,” he answered.
Eve smiled at her daughter and then at Maggie. “How are you, Maggie?”
“We’re fine, Eve. Thank you.”
“Is your daughter home with her new baby?”
“Yes, they’re settling into a new routine. She’s tired, but it's good tired.”
“Will you sit on the bed near me?” Emily asked.
“Of course,” Maggie said, removing her coat.
Emily moved her legs so that Maggie could fit nicely next to her.
“I was thinking the other day that I have a bunch of half-nieces and nephews. Isn’t that awesome?”
Maggie smiled. “It is awesome, indeed.”
“I can’t wait to see them all. As soon as I get my new kidney, I’ll go visit everyone.”
Maggie looked at Eve and tried not to cry. She continued to smile and not let on that she was worried.
Eve walked to the bed. “First things first. You have to get well, then you can go visiting anywhere you want.”
Emily nodded and took Maggie’s hand. Maggie looked down at her long, thin fingers…Daniel’s fingers.
Emily’s face lit up when the doctor came into the room.
“Dr. Clark, did you meet Maggie and Paolo yet?”
“Yes, I have. We met the other day.”
The doctor looked at Maggie and Paolo. “Mr. and Mrs. Moretti, I was just going to call you. I just hung up with your daughter, Beth. I had to update her on her tests and let her know that unfortunately, she wasn’t a match.”
Maggie wanted to scream. She couldn’t believe this doctor was sharing the worst news in front of Emily and her mother.
Dr. Clark looked directly at Paolo. “However, Mr. Moretti here is our grand prize winner. He is a perfect match and the miracle we’ve been waiting for.”
Maggie thought her legs were going to give out. She looked at Paolo and then at Eve, who looked just as unsteady. Emily’s face radiated hope and she called out for her mother, who fell into her arms.
“We’ve got to talk about surgery now, so I’m going to need Mr. Moretti to meet with me first thing in the morning to go over everything. I’ll have my assistant contact you and we can book your appointment.”
Paolo could barely talk and his eyes were wet with tears. “Yes, thank you, doctor.”
Eve came to Paolo and they hugged. “Thank you so much. I can’t believe this.”
“I’ll tell you what’s incredible about this. None of Emily’s relatives were a match, and yet, my husband, who was born in Italy, is a match. How does that happen?”
Eve looked at Paolo. “I could tell from your accent that you weren’t born here, but I never thought to ask. Where in Italy are you from?”
“Gaeta, it’s a beautiful place and…”
He didn’t finish before Eve interrupted him. “I’m sorry to stop you, but my family is from Formia, Italy. My mother was born there. It’s not very far from Gaeta. Do you think that has anything to do with this?”
Paolo shrugged. “I have no idea how any of this works. I’m just glad that we could help your daughter.”
He walked to Emily’s bedside. “I want you to know that if I had a daughter, I would be so proud if she was anything like you. I’m honored that you and I will have this connection. You rest now, and I’ll see you again…very soon.”
“Thank you, Mr.…Paolo.”
Paolo kissed Emily’s hand and smiled at Eve.
Maggie hugged Emily and Eve. “We’ll see you soon.”
Maggie and Paolo walked out of Emily’s room and toward the elevator. When they got outside, clouds appeared in the sky, and a blustery wind picked up. They were about to get inside the car, when Maggie stopped Paolo. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him on the lips.
“What was that for?” he asked.
“For just being you, that’s all.”
They got into the car and drove back to Lauren and Jeff’s without saying a word. Maggie had so much to tell Paolo, but she needed time to sort it all out. She feared she’d never be able to explain what was in her heart.
What she wanted to tell him was that there had been many miracles since he’d come into her life. She needed him to know that in her heart she believed he was sent to save Daniel’s child.
It was hard to imagine, but when she was able, she’d tell him the most astonishing thing…that Daniel had sent him to her.
THE END