The Friends We Keep

“There’s no one else, Rob. Not in the way you mean.”


He didn’t look convinced. “I love you, Hayley. I thought we’d gotten through everything. I know you still hurt and that the pain of what’s been lost will never go away, but I had hoped we were making progress.”

“We are.” She moved closer to him. “Rob, I love you so much. You are the only man I’ve ever loved and that hasn’t changed. I swear.”

He didn’t look convinced. “Then what have you been doing?”

“Going to the hospital.”

He went white. “You’re sick?”

“No. I’m fine. I’m sorry. I should have said that differently. There is nothing wrong with me.”

He took a breath. “Tell me what’s going on.”

“There’s a boy. His name is Noah. He’s eleven. He never knew his dad and his mom died in a car accident three years ago. He didn’t have other family, so he was put into foster care. What do you know about lymphoma?”

An hour later Rob was looking more relaxed. The color returned to his face as he continued to ask questions.

“What about a baby?”

“I talked to a couple of people,” she admitted. “Went to some support group meetings. You’ve talked about older kids, but I could never understand why we’d want that.” She sighed. “The truth is the waiting lists for an infant are really long. We’d be starting at the bottom. It can cost so much money and there’s no guarantee. That frustrated me. I want us to have a family. I know you want to be a dad, and you’d be a good one. I want to be a mom. But until I met Noah, I couldn’t figure out how that would happen.”

Rob smiled at her. “Why him?”

“I don’t know. I saw the light on in his room and walked in. We started talking. I like him. He’s an old soul. He’s been through a lot. He’s sweet and strong and still a kid. He needs us, Rob. From what I’ve read online we’d have to get approved to be foster parents. Once we have that, we can bring him here and see how it goes. If we’re all on board with it, then the next step is to adopt him.”

She clasped her hands together. “I know I’m just about four hundred steps ahead of where we really are, but I can’t help it. What do you think? Would you at least meet him?”

Rob looked at her for a long time, then smiled. “Can we go now?”

*

It was nearly seven when they arrived at the hospital. Families filled most of the rooms on the pediatric floor. Conversation and laughter spilled out into the hall. There were a few cries, but most of the conversations seemed happy.

Hayley led the way from the elevator. At the entrance to Noah’s room, she paused. Nerves danced in her stomach. Not because she was worried. While so many things could go wrong, she knew in her heart they wouldn’t. Instead, the flutters were more about anticipation. Because she could feel this was the very beginning of a wonderful journey they were all going to take together.

She took Rob’s hand in hers and led him inside. Noah looked up from his book and smiled.

“Hi, Hayley.”

“Hi, yourself. Noah, this is my husband, Rob. Rob, please meet Noah.”

“Nice to meet you, Noah.”

The two males shook hands. Hayley dragged over chairs.

“You’re looking better,” she said, noting the slight color in his cheeks. “Today was a good day?”

“It was. I didn’t throw up once.”

Rob looked startled. “You need to raise your standards.”

Noah leaned back his bald head and laughed. “You’re right. Not throwing up is a pretty sad benchmark.”

“It could be worse,” Rob pointed out. “Like not finding rat turds in your food.”

Noah grinned. “Or cockroaches in your bed.”

“Or—”

“So...” Hayley said, interrupting him. “Maybe we could talk about something else.”

“Girls,” Rob said, his voice affectionate. “They can be delicate.”

“Tell me about it.” Noah looked at Hayley. “Minerva said if I felt up to it, I could go down to the cafeteria for ice cream. Want to take me?”

“Absolutely.”

“I’m in charge of the wheelchair,” Rob announced. “And we’re going fast.”

Noah pushed the button to call the nurse. When she came with the wheelchair, Rob lifted the boy onto the seat while Hayley made sure his IV line didn’t tangle. They made their way to the elevators. While they waited, Rob smiled at her and gave her a thumbs-up.

Deep inside, she felt yet another piece of her heart heal. There would never be a baby of her own to hold. But there would be a family. Love and joy weren’t dependent on DNA. They were a gift. One for which she would be grateful every day of her life.





Epilogue