Free In Search of Lucy by Lia Fairchild

leave.
    “Can I ask you a question?” Lucy asked a bit hesitantly.
    Dr. Carlson simply nodded and gave a, “Mmm-hmm.”
    “What if I’m a match, but I haven’t really been taking care of myself for a while? What will happen? I mean, can I still donate?”
    “Oh, well you don’t have to be concerned about that now. Why don’t you wait to see what the results show. Anyway, if you are a match, the process could take a while. And if there are some lifestyle changes you can make, Lucy, there’s no reason you shouldn’t start doing that now.”
    Lucy nodded as if she were a child being directed by an adult. “Okay.”
    “It will just be a minute, and a nurse will take you to another room for some tests,” Dr. Carlson said, moving toward the door. “Take care, Lucy. We’ll see you soon.”

CHAPTER 11
     
    Katie stared at the computer screen on her laptop, reading over the last few sentences she’d written. I can’t believe how amazing you are. Right now your favorite game is poker, and you love deuces wild. You are so smart, Carly Jean. BTW, you lost your first tooth yesterday.
    This was what made Katie feel at peace. It was what made her forget about what she was going through. She started Carly’s journal when she was just eight months old. Katie had two reasons for doing this. One, she didn’t want to forget a single moment of the precious gift she had been given. That’s also why she was always taking pictures. The other reason was she wanted to be able to give it to Carly when she was older. Katie herself had very few memories to enjoy. The best times were when she was much younger. There were a couple of unfinished photo albums, but it was difficult for her to put the pieces together.
    There could be one more advantage to having this documented keepsake for Carly as she got older, but that was something Katie did not want to think about. And although Rick thought about that in the back of his mind, he never brought it up.
    Katie continued typing and then paused for a moment. Usually at some point she would hear tiptoeing little feet trying to come in for a peek. Katie always told Carly it was a surprise and she had to wait until she was older. This time the feet she heard were louder and much heavier. Coming from around the corner, Rick entered the room. He walked over to the bed where Katie had the computer balanced on her crisscrossed legs.
    “Hey,” Katie said. She looked up from her writing with a cheery smile.
    “Hey, babe.” Rick walked over to the bed and leaned over, then gave her a quick kiss on the lips. “Writing about our little genius again?” He sat down in a chair next to the bed, sliding himself all the way down with his long legs stretched out as if he were settling in for a while.
    “Of course.” She stopped typing and set the computer to the side. “I just wrote about her tooth and how cute she was when she spit it into her hand.”
    “ You’re cute,” Rick said. He looked sweetly at her.
    “What?” she asked, a little embarrassed.
    “You love her so much.”
    “Yeah?”
    “It’s just cute that’s all. You were just beaming when you were talking about her.”
    “So I’m proud and excited about our daughter.”
    “That’s why you are such a great mom. And that’s why you deserve a whole day to yourself.” He sat up, reached into his pocket, and pulled out a small, square box and handed it to Katie. “Happy Mother’s Day.”
    Caught totally off guard, Katie said, “Oh my gosh.” She took the box in her hand and laughed. “I totally forgot. Thank you so much.” She opened the box and found a gold heart locket on a chain. The front of the heart had two gems embedded in it, a ruby for her birthstone and a clear diamond for Carly’s. “I love it!”
    “Open it up.”
    Katie wedged open the locket with her fingernail and revealed a tiny picture inside. It was her favorite shot of her holding Carly in the backyard when she was just a few weeks old. Katie’s