Free Troublemaker by Trice Hickman

asked as he finished lighting the candles on the table.
    â€œFor simply being who you are. I love that I can drop crazy stuff on you, and you just roll with it like it’s no big deal. I know this last-minute trip to Nedine wasn’t in the plans, but you’re still willing to rearrange your schedule at the hospital so you can go with me.”
    â€œAs much time as I put in at work, they know they owe me.”
    â€œYeah, but you still didn’t have to offer to go, especially under the circumstances.”
    â€œYou said that this is about family, and there’s nothing more important than that.”
    Once they settled in at the small dining room table, they were ready to eat.
    â€œWhen do you want me to book our flight to Nedine?” PJ asked as he took a bite of his shrimp scampi.
    Alexandria sipped her wine slowly. “I’m thinking next Friday morning. I need to talk to my mother tomorrow and see when she, Dad, and hopefully Christian can fly out, if at all. I’m also going to call Uncle Maxx and see if he’s up to making the trip.”
    â€œOkay, just let me know and I’ll handle it.”
    â€œThanks, honey,” Alexandria said as she and PJ tapped their wineglasses together for a toast. “How’s Gary doing?” she asked. Gary Mosley, the adorable five-year-old boy whom PJ had been treating for the last three months, was one of the hospital’s Boarder Babies, which was part of a national program at hospitals across the country. Boarder Babies were children who either had been abandoned in the hospital at birth, or had been dropped off at its doors by parents who could no longer handle the responsibility of caring for their child. These abandoned children were boarded and cared for by the nurses and doctors, who relied on grant funding, and in most cases, their own wallets, to cover the financial costs of keeping the children healthy and safe.
    Gary had been abandoned three months ago by his drug-addicted mother, who’d been in and out of rehab for years. One of the nurses had found him near the back entrance one night, lying on the ground, barely alive, wearing nothing but a pair of soiled underwear and a dirty T-shirt. He was badly malnourished, dehydrated, and whimpering in pain. Gary was so small he looked more like a three-year-old than his five years.
    After a thorough examination, the doctors had discovered that little Gary needed a kidney transplant in order to save his life. Miraculously, he’d received a new kidney within a few months of being placed on the list. PJ had been an instrumental part of the surgical team, and had grown attached to the little boy, as had Alexandria, who came by the hospital and visited him every chance she could get.
    â€œHe’s making great progress,” PJ said. “He asked about you this afternoon. He said, ‘Where’s Miss Ali? I want Miss Ali to come and see me.’ ”
    Alexandria smiled. “Awww, I miss that little guy. I would’ve stopped in after work, but I had so much running around to do. I wonder if it’ll be okay to swing by there tonight. Maybe I can read him a bedtime story before he goes to sleep.”
    PJ looked at his watch. “I don’t see why not. I know he’ll light up when he sees you walk into his room.”
    â€œHow much longer do you think it will be before he’s ready to leave the hospital?”
    â€œAt least another month. But even then, I’m really nervous about it.”
    â€œBecause of where he’ll go and what will happen to him . . . ?”
    PJ nodded. It was a sobering reality that neither he nor Alexandria wanted to face. Over the past several months Gary had become a significant part of their lives. Each day, they either visited his room or talked with him by phone, and each night they prayed for him, speaking affirming words for his healing. From the moment Alexandria had heard PJ talk about the sick little boy