Page 104 of Notorious

“I’m glad this was a good surprise,” I tell him. “Her crate and bed are still in the car. I’ll be right back.”

As I scoot off to the garage, I hear him tell Lady, “Your other daddy’s spoiling you, isn’t he? You deserve to be spoiled, though, don’t you, pretty girl?”

I return with the bed and crate, as well as puppy pads and more toys, and Johnny chuckles.

“Dogs require care,” I say defensively, as I set the dog bed down by the couch.

“I’m just teasin’ you. I love that you’re taking care of her like this. I think I’ll get her used to the house, then we can take her for a walk on the beach.”

“Sounds good to me.”

There were so many reasons to give Johnny a dog—it will help with his recovery, distract him from his trial, give him something to focus on besides himself. But the bottom line is, I knew it would put that smile on his face.

That night, Johnny makes love to me, then lets Lady into our room and up on our bed. I roll my eyes and point out the perfectly good dog bed I bought.

“She’s stolen your heart,” I say.

“Yeah, but you stole it first.”

My phone is ringing early in the morning, and it’s my momther. We spent Christmas Day with her and my dad, but we’re now in that dead zone between Christmas and New Year’s where everything blurs together.

“Hey,” I say, my voice gravelly from sleep. “Is everything okay?”

“I just got news that I had to share.” Her voice is pitched high with excitement. “I’m a match.”

“Come again?” I squint at my phone.

“I’m a match for Sue Ann Haskell,” my mom says louder. So loud that Johnny must hear her. He stirs behind me and sits up, blinking.

“Are you saying what I think you’re saying?” I ask.

“Yes! I can donate a kidney to her.”

“Holy shit, Mom. Thank you.”

“I’m happy to do this for my son-in-law’s mother. Everyone deserves to have the best possible quality of life.”

I look at Johnny, and his eyes are red. “Okay, then,” I say. “What do we need to do next?”

She tells me the plan, and I hang up, feeling overwhelmed. And if I’m feeling that way, I have no idea how Johnny is feeling.

“Did you catch all that?” I ask.

He nods. “Your mama is gonna save my mama.”

“Pretty much.” I nod. “You good with that?”

“I mean, yeah, because I want Mama to be okay. It just … means that the Haskell family is going to be in debt to the Delmont family for the rest of our lives.”

I rear up and haul myself around so I’m sitting on his thighs. Then I get right in his face. “You listen to me, and you listen well, John Haskell. Life’s not a tit for tat. Someone giving you a gift does not mean you have to reciprocate. This is not some deal where your mom gets a kidney, so you have to donate a liver.”

“It still feels wrong.”

“What’s wrong is stopping someone from willingly helping your mother. Are you going to do that?”

Johnny sighs and shakes his head. “’Course not.”

“Then let’s celebrate that she’s a match. Okay?”

---