The thought of “what if” kept on echoing in his head as Adrian wiggled his way through the crowd at the train station. Arriving at Saint Mary’s Hospital, the sad sight of his wife, Kelly, bent over in the corner of the reception hall made his heart skip a beat. In that instant he felt like using the restroom.
Adrian's every step toward his wife became slow and heavy. He mustered some courage, drew close to her and gently placed his hands on her back. She froze, turned and saw him. She collapsed into his arms and started crying.
Adrian raised her head gently, “tell me is…is he…?”
“He's still in the operating room and no one will tell me anything!” She raised her voice in the direction of the nurses who stood together beside a desk.
“It's okay. I’m here now, everything will be okay.”
“No! It’s not okay. If only I had….”
“Don’t do that to yourself. We have to stay strong for our son and be positive.”
Adrian went to the cafeteria to get some snacks and drinks. He kept on reminiscing about how happy their son, Sam, was when he last spoke to him on the phone and promised to bring him a gift when he got back from his trip.
Hot tears rolled down his cheeks as he took his orders and went back to Kelly.
After a few minutes, the doctor came out and informed them that they had succeeded in stopping the bleeding and had removed the metal shards that punctured his lungs. They noticed some swelling in his brain and will have to perform a craniectomy to release the pressure on the brain but first, Sam needed some blood because he had lost a lot. He had a rare blood type and so the parents will have to be the donor after being tested in the lab.
The doctor came back with the blood test results and he looked more worried than before. Adrian met him half way. “What is it, doctor?” He asked as Kelly joined them.
“What I’m about to tell you, you have to think deeply about and act fast, but not irrationally. We discovered that your blood is not a match but your wife's is a match but not what we need."
“What does that mean?” Adrian asked. Kelly covered her mouth with both hands. The doctor glanced at her, then at Adrian.
“It means we need a blood that contains the rare blood genotype, which you don't have and neither does Sam have a share of your blood group type except with his mother and she doesn't have that rare blood genotype he requires. Sam’s life is hanging in the balance and if he is to have any chance of survival, we need his biological father’s blood.” The doctor quietly declared. "Let me know your decision soon, please." He walked away, leaving the couple alone.
It was as if the earth shifted beneath Adrian's legs. He steadied himself against the wall of the hospital. After a long moment, he asked. “Kelly, what’s he talking about? Tell him, tell him…that he’s made a mistake….”
Kelly collapsed into a heap and covered her face with her palms. Amidst tears she said, I’m so sorry Adrian…I thought you were his father."
Adrian banged his fist against the wall. Kelly continued, “I’m sorry, it just happened. You were away and Jay was always around...but it's been over for a long time. It was a mistake. I never meant to hurt you.” She continued crying.
Adrian shut his eyes tight and cleared his throat, “I'm going to call him now, he should probably be at the golf course. I will be right back.”
After hours of another round of surgery, the doctor came out with a sigh of relief. “The surgery was successful. We released the pressure on his brain and the swelling gradually reduced. We did the blood transfusion too. He’s in recovery now and by tomorrow we will know better. For now he needs to rest. When he wakes up, we will let you know.”
"Thank you very much," Adrian said.
He turned and saw Jay, his friend and partner looking remorseful but relieved. “I would like to speak to my wife alone.”
“Yeah, yeah…listen Adrian, I’m really sorry for everything. You know me. I never meant for anything of such to happen, I never knew about Sam’s status……” he cautioned himself immediately when he saw an angry look on Adrian’s face and excused himself.
Adrian looked at Kelly, his wife and asked, “what about Scarlett? Is she…is she his too?”
“No. She’s yours. I’m so sorry about everything and that you had to find out this way. It was a mistake, a one-time thing that happened between Jay and I. You know I love you and I don’t think I will be able to forgive myself for this. I have been carrying this burden for so long. Please forgive me.” She said in tears as she placed her head on his chest and continued to cry.