Page 72 of Hearts in Circulation
“Just as it sounds. Someone living who is medically compatible with the person needing the transplant gives a portion of their own liver.”
Levi blinked at her in wonder. “That’s possible? A person can function with only part of a liver?”
“Well, you see, in both the remaining portion of the donor liver as well as the recipient’s liver, growth occurs. In the span of only a few short months after surgery, the segmented livers regrow to their normal size and capacity. Not only do living-donor transplants have fewer medical problems after the procedure, but they also have longer survival rates than a liver from a deceased donor.”
This was it. The missing piece. He could give Hayley a portion of his liver if or when a need for another transplant arose. She wouldn’t have to feel guilty taking a life-saving organ from someone on the transplant list, and she wouldn’t have to live in fear of a future that might be stripped from her at any moment because of organ failure. Even if she ultimately decided the future she wanted wasn’t with him, she could still feel like she had the time and space to make that decision.
He wondered why she didn’t know this information already. Wouldn’t it have been something she’d researched on her own or talked to her doctor about? Then again, she seemed to have been coping with this event in her life by ignoring every facet of it. Maybe in her refusal to face the unpleasant feelings her transplant had brought along, she’d also chosen to live in ignorance. She’d claimed that was the only way she thought she could hold on to any sort of contentment. If one didn’t hope for more, one couldn’t be disappointed.
“Before you start calling and getting on a surgeon’s schedule, you’ll have to find out if you’re even a good candidate to be a living donor, and if you are, if you’re compatible with your friend.”
There was no holding back the reins now. “I have type O negative blood.”
“An excellent start, but there are other tests that need to be done too. Blood tests to check your liver function and rule outany infections or diseases, chest X-rays, an EKG, an ultrasound of the abdomen, and possibly even a CT scan. As well as the physical, you will also have to meet with a psychologist to determine your candidacy.”
Levi planted his hands on his thighs. Whatever obstacle, he’d overcome. Whatever hurdle, he’d jump over it. “Where can I go to get started on these tests?”
Dr. Smith smiled at him. “I’ll give you the name and number to a doctor friend of mine. He can point you in the right direction at the very least.”
“Thank you so much, Dr. Smith.”
She stood, turning toward him. “It’s a big thing, what you’re contemplating doing. I hope you take the time to think it through. With your head as well as your heart.”
“I hear what you’re saying, ma’am.” He looked up at her, his jaw set in a determined line. “But giving this woman a portion of my liver is a small thing considering she’s already staking claim to my whole heart.”
32
Levi pulled into Hayley’s driveway for the second night that week. Unlike the other day when he’d been determined they have an open and honest discussion, now he parked his truck with an equal determination not to say anything about what he’d learned from Dr. Smith. Not until after all the test results came back, positive or negative.
If he ended up not being a compatible match, there was still the good possibility someone she was related to would be. Her future no longer had to be shadowed by ominous dark clouds. He felt a twinge of guilt that he was letting her continue to believe it was, but assuaged such feelings by arguing that she’d have to wait for the test results to come back regardless.
He wanted more than anything to do this for her. To give her a physical piece of himself. She’d already given him so much. More than he ever thought possible. A portion of his liver really did seem small in comparison. He hadn’t been exaggerating when he’d told Dr. Smith that Hayley was already staking claim to his heart. In truth, he suspected she might already possess all of him.
And who knew, maybe his size would work to his advantage for once. Maybe his liver was in proportion to the restof him and would make giving her part of it easier for him than for her parents or brother. A question he could ask the doctor.
Levi reached for the bouquet on the passenger seat. He would’ve had a pounding headache by the time he’d made it to Hayley’s house if he’d gone with Jack’s advice and brought her real flowers. But this was a date, and he hadn’t wanted to show up empty-handed either. It had been Anna Leigh who’d saved him in the end. She’d pounded on his front door and declared she was there to check on the kittens and make sure he was doing a good job taking care of them. She’d taken one look at the mess he’d been making at his dining room table, shook her head, and declared him a hopeless case anddid shehave to teach him everything?
Apparently, yes. But thanks to her, he had a bouquet of paper roses made from the pages of a slightly damaged book that was headed to the recycling bin, now given a new and hopefully romantic second life. A librarian should appreciate flowers such as these. He hoped.
He walked up the concrete path to her front door, pulling on the cuff of his flannel shirt—the same one she’d mistaken as a dress and worn their first day together. It had since become his favorite shirt, although he would love to see Hayley wear it again.
The door swung open, and Hayley stood on the threshold, smiling widely at him.
“These are for you.” He thrust the book-page flowers at her.
Her fingers encircled the twigs he’d hot-glued the paper petals to, her eyes growing round. “Levi Redding, did you make me a bouquet of roses out of the pages of a romance novel?”
Heat climbed up his neck, but he didn’t waste words confirming when the evidence was already in her hands.
She held the paper roses to her nose even though the onlysmell she’d find there would be eau de paperback. “These are the most thoughtful flowers I’ve ever been given. Thank you.”
She lifted up on her tiptoes while tugging down on his collar. She planted a soft kiss on his lips, then lowered the soles of her feet back down to the ground. Threading her fingers through his, she tugged him into the house. The smells of ginger, garlic, chili, and miso wafted warmly and welcomingly from the kitchen.
“Something smells good.”
“It’s a spicy miso ramen recipe I found last winter that I can’t get enough of. There’s extra garlic chili sauce or sriracha you can add to your bowl if it’s not quite spicy enough for your taste. I know you like your food hot enough to set fire to your mouth.”
Trinity said that was one of his sensory-seeking traits. To him, it just made food taste good.
