Perfect Match (48 page)

Madison asked, “Does the donor live in this area?”

“Asheville.”

Selena asked, “Do you know if the donor has…has had any
second thoughts about the donation?”

Hertford smiled, “None whatsoever.”

Madison said, “Is the donor a male or female?”

Selena gave her mom a quizzical glance.

Hertford said, “Male.”

Madison quickly asked, “Is that a hindering factor in a
transplant?”

“No. Donor and recipient are matched in three ways, blood
type, tissue matching, and crossmatching. Several tests were performed checking
for compatibility. In each test the results were as perfect a match as I’ve
ever seen in my twenty-five years in medicine.” He prayed a quick silent prayer
Lord Almighty, please don’t let there be any surprise glitches with the
tests. I beg of you and all of the angels in heaven
.

Selena smiled at him and her mom.

Madison said, “How old is the donor? Is age a factor?”

“The donor is thirty-eight and no the difference in age is
not consequential in this case.”

Madison’s mind was in full sprint mode. “Is the man
married?”

Selena’s face went into a full question mark. Hertford caught
the probing tone of Madison’s questions.

“He is single.”

“Then why does a single thirty-eight year-old man living in
Asheville want to donate a kidney to my eighteen year-old daughter?”

Selena’s mouth fell open.

Hertford remained calm, as he let his hands rest on the
desk. “We consider a donation of this type in the realm of a Good Samaritan.
The donor sees a need and does a good deed.”

Madison said, “So this man knows my daughter?”

Hertford slowly nodded, but added, “He knew Selena needed a
kidney.”

Madison snapped, “Then what does he want? Money?”

Hertford, puzzled to his limit, said, “Want? What does he
want? He wanted to do a good deed and remain anonymous. He signed all kinds of
legal stipulations that prevent any kind of monetary exchanges. Mrs. Winston,
Cobalt Medical Center is not some kind of flea-market for body parts. I have to
admit, I’m taken aback by the tone of your question.” He shook his head. “The
donor preferred to remain anonymous. No credit, no fanfare, no news articles.
Nothing but anonymity.”

Selena looked at her mom, and said, “What’s gotten into
you?”

Madison looked away, then down at her hands in her lap.

Hertford got up and walked to the edge of his desk. He
looked at Selena and her mother. “Do you have second thoughts? It’s not too
late to call this off.”

Madison said, “I simply had some questions I wanted to ask.
After all, Selena is my daughter.”

“More than anything, I do not want this to be upsetting to
Selena. I have a medical responsibility to my patient.”

Tension filled the air.

Selena stood. “We’re not cancelling the meeting. I just want
to thank the donor for giving me a kidney so I could live.” She gave her mom a
chilling look.

Hertford paused only a moment, praying silently for what, he
wasn’t sure, and then walked to the door. At the click of the door knob, Roscoe
stepped to the door. As the door swung back, Roscoe walked into view. Hertford
smiled, “Selena I’d like you to meet the donor of your kidney, Roscoe
Fallington.”

Roscoe’s smile began to fade when he caught the dark look on
Madison Winston’s face. He was stunned. Madison had a daughter? Why didn’t he
know? They have different last names?

Selena’s mouth opened in surprise, as her eyes widened in
awe. She started toward him, arms outstretched. “Oh, Roscoe—”

“What kind of joke is this?” Madison’s question cut through
the room.

Hertford, stunned, said, “Joke? What’s—”

Madison pulled Selena back before she could reach Roscoe.
“You stay away from my daughter.” She stepped closer to him. “I don’t want any
part of you touching her.”

He said quietly, “Does that mean you’re going to make Selena
give the kidney back?” He knew it was the wrong question, but it was too late
now.

Madison snapped, “That’s an unfair question, and you know
it.”

Out of nowhere, her right hand smacked the left side of his
face, bringing new needles of sensation through the cut he’d gotten in the
wreck.

His head jarred, but he looked back down into her fiery
hazel eyes. “Madison, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean—”

Hertford had reached to get in between the two of them.
Selena, sobbing, pulled at her mother’s shoulder. “Mom, mom…oh, God no, no,
no…this can’t be…” She crumpled in the chair, taking deep breaths, clinching
her hands.

Hertford said, “Ms. Winston, please, this is uncalled for. I
don’t understand.”

She bit her words off. “He’s the biggest womanizer in town.
He goes after the youngest women. I don’t want him near my daughter.”

Selena shrieked, “Mom, are you crazy?”

Everyone stood their ground, looking at each other.

Roscoe said, “Madison, please, I’m not going to bother you
or Selena. Really.” He looked passed her at Selena, shaking in the chair.
“Selena, please listen a moment…you have a good mom. I know she cares for you.
But your mom has some feelings that she’s entitled to, and I do understand.” He
looked back at Madison. Even in the fury of the moment there was something
about her that beckoned something deep within him. “I’m okay. I’m not angry or
upset. I do understand.”

His hand reached up as if to touch her shoulder, but didn’t.
He gave a nod to Hertford. “I’ll wait in your conference room. Take your time
with Madison and Selena.” He turned for the door, stopped and looked at Madison
and Selena, and added, “If I could go back, I would donate my kidney again to
Selena. Nothing will ever change my mind about that.” He quickly closed the
door behind him.

As he sat there looking out across the mountains he prayed,
I
know I offered you a striped down basic prayer a few weeks ago to let Selena
live and be okay. I thank you for that, but I guess I didn’t know how to cover
all the other bases. There surely seems to be a lot of loose ends that I don’t
know what to do with. Do you? He chuckled silently, while feeling the left side
of his face
.

The muffled voices continued a few more minutes, before
Hertford came in the conference room, wiped out. He took a chair, sighing
heavily. “First time that’s ever happened to me.”

Roscoe chuckled, “First time that’s ever happened to me
too.” He rubbed the left side of his face again.

“Don’t know how you can have any humor after that explosion.
She was mad enough to kill you.”

“Yeah, my conclusion too.” Roscoe stood and paced the length
of the bookshelves lining one wall. “Here’s the story.” Roscoe told him briefly
how Madison had worked at Fallington Enterprises for three years, how he’d kept
her pay low and mistreated her, ending up being replaced as CEO by her, his
wreck, and also knowing that he’d left a lot of problems at work that Madison
had to deal with.

When he finished, Hertford gave him a hard stare and said,
“I should’ve let her kill you.”

Roscoe put his hands up. “You didn’t see me defend myself
did you?”

Hertford shook his head. “Obviously she’s smart and she’s a
beautiful woman. Did you notice that?”

“Probably too late for me to notice. When I was her boss, I
was so focused on the twenty-something partying crowd.” He shook his head. “I
was oblivious.”

Hertford paused, thinking. “So what was the connection with
Selena?”

Roscoe, still pacing, said, “When I was in the hospital from
the wreck, I was a difficult patient, sullen. I met Selena in the sunroom. She
got me to talking. She was persistent, and aggravated me at first. But I begin
to compare how mature she was at her age with how spoiled I was at that age.
Somehow that got me to thinking about how I had fritted away so much of my
life, while she was clinging to hope for a few more days of life.”

He stopped, looked out the window at the mountains.

“I don’t know exactly what happened. I’d never given
anything to anyone except a hard time. The kidney donation to Selena was
something I had to do. That’s it.” He shrugged. “I didn’t know Madison had a
daughter, and I didn’t know who Selena’s mother was.” He paused, looking at
Hertford. “Suddenly, that’s interesting to me. The few times, when I casually
asked Selena about her mother, she was usually evasive and jumpy. Humph, Selena
must have known more about me than I thought, and she must’ve known something
about her mother’s feelings about me.” He shook his head. “Beats me, but you
could tell that Selena was surprised that I was the donor. I guess none of us
saw anything coming at us.”

They were silent several moments.

Roscoe asked, “Is…is Selena going to be all right, after all
this?” He gestured palms up.

After a long breath, Hertford said, “As long as the two can
maintain the peace. A transplant recipient does not need the stress. There are
already enough adjustments going on inside a person.”

Hertford stood and straightened some green folders on his
table. He looked up. “What about the younger women accusation Madison leveled
at you?”

“True. I’ve dated no one over twenty-six. Stupid, huh?”

Hertford laughed. “Guilty. Did the same thing for several
years. Almost married one. Thank goodness I met Elise. I’m fifty. She’ll be 46
her next birthday. Most wonderful woman I’ve ever met in my life.”

When Roscoe got in the truck, Ned kept glancing at his left
cheek. Ned cleared his throat a couple of times before saying, “Uh, Roscoe, you
okay?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Unless I’m mistaken, there’s a big red imprint of a hand on
your face. I mean, I ain’t no profiler or anything, but you ain’t in some kind
of kinky leather and whips bondage sort of stuff…are you?”

On a day like today, if anyone else had put the question to
him, he’d probably punch them out, but since Ned’s mannerisms reminded him of
Barney Fife of Andy Griffith TV fame, he chuckled, “Ned one of these days I’m
going to fill you in on all these mysteries you keep discovering, but right
now, why don’t we settle for a Starbucks?”

Ned answered when he grinned, hit the gas pedal, and turned
down the street leading to Starbucks.

On the way home from Dr. Hertford’s office, Madison and
Selena said very little. Once home, Selena went to her room to lie down.
Madison changed into jeans and tank top.

Madison had marinated four chicken breasts overnight. She
was fixing one of their favorite recipes, Mexican Fried Chicken, with stewed
corn and tossed salad. While preparing the meal, she replayed the meeting in
the doctor’s office over and over. The thoughts left her with a blank empty
feeling, but didn’t know what to do about it.

She clicked on the small kitchen radio and found a soft
music station. She went down the hall, and tapped on Selena’s door. “Supper’s
ready, Mexican Chicken, your favorite.” She went back to the kitchen, setting
out plates, and bowls filled with fresh salad. She poured glasses of iced tea,
and pulled fresh bread out of the oven.

Agitated, Madison went back to Selena’s room, gently pushing
her door open, and saying, “Supper’s ready. You need to eat so you can take
your medication. Mexican Chicken.”

Selena sat up on the side of the bed, giving her mom a wide
false smile. “No, mom, I don’t need to eat. I’m through with chicken.”

“You need food when you take some of your meds.”

“Don’t have any meds. Flushed all of them down the toilet.”

“You did what?” She took two steps toward Selena. She
clinched her fists, and stomped her foot. “Why are you doing this to me?”

“Well, mom, after the blowup in the meeting, I decided you
don’t need this, and neither do I.”

Madison moved toward Selena.

“What are you going to do, slap me too?”

Madison stopped short. “Selena, the man hurt me, insulted me
for over three years, while I groveled to hang on to a job that I needed
desperately, so I could take care of both of us. During all that time the
company hires his three little bimbos, while I’m barely making enough money to
pay our bills. You’re too young to know what that’s like.” Madison’s eyes were
swimming.

“Yes, mom, I do know a little about hurt. For several years
I’ve been made fun of at school because my kidneys couldn’t keep up with my
growth. I had to stop doing those things I enjoyed. I was called ‘Kidney Bean’,
‘Machine Girl’, when I went on the dialysis machine. I became known as the girl
who can’t pee…‘girl can’t pee must be something else missing between her legs.’”
She wiggled her eyebrows. “Yes, you tried to console me, but after a while pink
ice cream cones will only go so far. You said I’d have to toughen up, and not
let words hurt me.”

Selena took a breath.

“But I tried, mom, I tried. I kept at my doing-good at
church, kept my grades up…missed being salutatorian by one point, kept hanging
on, even started writing romance stories, dreaming about what could be at least
for you, if not for me, and then a man I’d never met gives me a kidney that’s a
perfect match. For what? Life? This is life?”

Madison cringed. “Selena, please.”

“Please, what? You hate the man who gave me one of his
kidneys so I could live. You know what? I can’t live like this.”

“Selena, you can’t do this.”

Selena lay back on her pillow, breathing rapidly. She looked
at her mom. “One final question…what does a person have to do to get your
forgiveness?” She rolled over on her side facing the wall.

“I’m calling 911. I can’t let you do this.” She grabbed the
phone on Selena’s night stand, pushing the emergency button. “My daughter just
had a kidney transplant; she’s going into some kind of shock or arrest.”
Madison gave the address, dropped the phone, and reached for Selena.

“Please, please, Selena, don’t do this. We can work this
out. I’ll do what you want me to do. I love you. You know I do. You’re all I’ve
got, Selena.” She laid beside her, crying into Selena’s shoulder, her arm
holding her daughter’s shaking body.