A Taylor-Made Life (10 page)

I nodded and stepped into the
ambulance, comforted by her words. My parents and I worked like a
fine-tuned machine when it came to emergencies. We’d had plenty of
practice. This wasn’t the first time I kissed a guy and ended up in
an ambulance.

I sat on a long metal bench next to
Gavin as the medics checked his vitals. He wasn’t conscious, but
every few minutes his face would pinch in pain. “He has cancer.
This must somehow be related.”

A tall man with smooth chocolate skin
and a kind face asked, “Who’s his doctor?”

Crud. I should have known they’d need
that. “I’m not sure. He’s visiting from California.”

“If you can get that information, it
would be helpful.”

I stuck my shaky hand in his pant
pocket, searching for his phone. I sighed in relief when my fingers
closed around it. I pulled it out, flipped through his address book
and connected with a lady named Sara,
executive
assistant
.

“Gavin?”

“Sara, do you work for
Gavin?”

“Yes. Who is this?”

“My name is Taylor Smith. I’m with him
right now. He collapsed, and we’re taking him to the hospital.” My
voice squeaked and wobbled, but I managed to hold back the panic
cinching tight bands around my chest. “I need insurance information
and his doctor’s name.”

“Oh my God, is he all
right?”

“I’m not sure. We’re on our way to the
emergency room, and he isn’t conscious. Can you text me his
insurance information?” I closed my eyes and said a silent prayer
that he’d be okay.

“His oncologist is Lewis Monroe. The
number’s in his phone. Please call me once you find out. I’ll call
his business partners, Charlie and Rick.”

We arrived at the hospital and rushed
him to a private bay in Emergency. I filled out paperwork the best
I could and left a message with Doctor Monroe’s answering service.
Having something to do calmed my nerves a little, but I felt as if
a baby hippo had plopped down on my chest.

Two nurses hooked Gavin up to an
IV.

Doctor Monroe called, and I ignored
the glares from the nurses and the NO CELL PHONES rule to answer
it.

“It sounds like he’s having a
stress-induced reaction from a clinical trial he did. Let me speak
with his doctor.”

I handed the phone over to the
attending physician as Gavin’s eyes blinked open. I leaned over him
and stroked his face. “Hey. You’re in the hospital.”

His faint smile caused a rush of
relief to flood into me. I took his hand and pressed it to my
chest. His fingers had turned to ice and I rubbed them. Several
staff members hustled around in a flurry, taking his vitals and
hooking him up to bags of fluid. His gaze followed the nurses, the
stress evident on his face. My heart broke. I knew that feeling of
being completely at the mercy of others, hoping to God they could
fix whatever was wrong and praying whatever they did wouldn’t make
it worse in the process.

I pushed an unruly lock of hair from
his face and looked in his eyes. “I’m here, and I’m not going
anywhere.”

He met my gaze then closed his
eyes.

* * * *

I peeked in the door of Rachel’s
room.

“Taylor, get scrubbed up and you can
come on in.” Ruth, Rachel’s mom, smiled at me and waved me
in.

Surveying the room, I stepped inside.
Dr. Harmon and Mr. Johnson, Rachel’s dad, were also at Rachel’s
side. I gave them a quick smile and a nod and stepped to the
sink.

Drying my hands, I walked over to the
bed.

A lump formed in my throat. Rachel
looked as if she’d lost ten pounds since I’d last seen her, and she
was already a rail. Her eyes were open, but they lacked their
normal sparkle.

Rachel rasped, “You finally wore your
wig.”

My hand flitted to the long hair. I’d
changed into my sweats and tennis shoes, but Mom had forgotten my
hat, so I’d kept the wig on. “Yeah. I’m a regular
Goldilocks.”

Dr. Harmon squeezed my should. “I
thought we might see you here tonight.”

I frowned. “Actually, I came with
Gavin. He collapsed on my front porch.”

The genuine concern in the man’s face
touched me and reminded me why he’d been my favorite doctor. “I can
go check on him. I know a bit about his illness from our discussion
tonight, and his oncologist is a friend of mine.”

“They’ve settled him into a room.” I
let out a sigh of relief. I knew from experience that going into
Emergency without a doctor to follow up was like putting a Band-Aid
on an amputation.

“I’ll find him, sweetheart.” The
doctor glanced to the Johnsons. “I’ll be back first thing in the
morning.”

They nodded and Dr. Harmon
left.

Ruth looked from Rachel to me. “Will
you be here for a few minutes?”

“Yeah, sure. As long as you need me.”
I sat in the tall-backed chair next to the bed.

“We’re gonna run down to get a cup of
coffee and a bite to eat. We’ve been here since this morning and
haven’t left.” The dark rings under her eyes spoke volumes of the
stress.

My chest tightened. Everyone knew the
prognosis when the body rejected the transplant. “You go ahead.
We’re just gonna have some girl talk.” I glanced over at my sick
friend and took her hand.

She smiled weakly. Her parents left,
saying they wouldn’t be long.

In a soft voice, she asked, “So what
happened?”

I knew Rachel wanted to get her mind
off things, and the best way to do that, the thing that gave the
most comfort, was to talk about normal life. So I grinned and said,
“He kissed me.”

Her eyes widened, and her face lit up.
“He did? When? Where? Give me details. How was it?”

I felt lightheaded reliving it in my
mind. I hadn’t had a chance to even think about it until that
moment. All stress left my body, and a surge of joy ran through me.
I giggled and touched my lips. “After the ball…on my front porch.
It was…magic. Just like it’s supposed to be.”

“Was it like your kiss with
Matt?”

I flushed. “Well, there was no bumping
of teeth, but there was bumping of other body parts.” His hand on
my backside and a fluttery feeling low in my belly had been a fast
trip on the reality train.

Rachel’s hand flew to her mouth. “No?
Oh my God!”

I nodded and grinned. “‘Oh my God’ is
right.” I frowned. “But then he told me he was still leaving, and
he collapsed on the front porch.”

She gave me the sucks-to-be-you
grimace. “Bad Karma. Why would he want to kiss you then
leave?”

I shrugged. “He still can’t get past
the age thing, but after that kiss, I know he feels something for
me.”

“What’re you gonna do?” She pressed
the button to raise the head of her bed. During our conversation a
little color had come to her cheeks.

I squeezed my friend’s hand. “Don’t
know. I guess stay with him here in the hospital until he’s ready
to go home and try to convince him he needs me.” I eyed her
intently. “What about you?”

Rachel sobered. She stared straight
ahead at the wall. “Taylor, I’m not gonna make it.”

I shook my head, and my face tingled
like all the blood had left it. “Don’t say that.” But she was
right. I did know. We all knew. There was no guarantee of survival.
Even with a bone marrow transplant, the future was uncertain. And
if a body rejected the transplant, it was pretty much a death
sentence. This wasn’t just her life sentence. It was mine too. We
were in this together.

“You know it’s true.”

“I know that’s what normally happens,
but that doesn’t mean it has to with you.” I fought to maintain my
hope. Hope was easier when it was for someone else, when it didn’t
cost you anything if you were wrong.

Her eyes filled with tears. “I want to
live, Tay, but my body can’t fight this. And it’s not like
LAION
where you get another life.”

My stomach twisted in a knot. I’d
taught Rach to play the computer games. My eyes burned and stung.
She understood wanting to live. You can only have so many setbacks
before you realize there are some battles you can’t win no matter
how many weapons you have. My shoulders sagged. “So what do you
want me to do?”

“Be there for my mom.”

I couldn’t speak but squeezed her hand
tighter.

“And don’t let your guy get away. I
need you to find happiness and to live a little for me.”

Tears streamed. I nodded.

* * * *

Gavin’s head pounded. He was only
vaguely aware of his surroundings—a private hospital room in
Dallas. Once the emergency room doctors had stabilized his
reaction, they’d moved him upstairs. According to the resident
physician on-call, they’d have to keep him for a couple of days.
Taylor had kissed his forehead and told him she was going to check
on Rachel, the young girl who was not doing well. But she said her
mother would sit with him.

The sound of Maureen pacing filled the
room. He’d like to thank her but felt too weak to even open his
eyes. Damn it. Lewis had told him this might happen when he took
that last clinical trial. Stress could cause loss of
consciousness.

“Maureen?” A familiar voice
reverberated from the doorway.

“
Dr. Harmon, what are you
doing here so late?”

Dr. Harmon from the ball tonight? He’d
talked at length with the good doctor. The man’s voice came near. A
strong hand felt for his pulse.

“I was checking on Rachel Johnson.
She’s not well.”

“Oh, no. Is she….”

“I’m afraid so. Taylor came to check
on her and told me about Gavin. What’s his relationship with
Taylor, Maureen?” Dr. Harmon asked.

“They’ve grown close in a short time.
I don’t know how he feels, but to us he’s part of the family.
Why?”

“His long-term prognosis isn’t good.
There’s nothing more we can do but make him
comfortable.”

Gavin tried to summon the energy to
frown but couldn’t. The doctor had no authority to reveal that
private information, but the man continued, “The harsh irony is,
according to his records, Gavin’s a match for Taylor.”

“Really? So, if he weren’t sick, his
marrow could’ve been used to save her?”

A bone marrow match for Taylor? Gavin
had never hated cancer more than in that moment. Not only had it
stolen Taylor’s life, but in stealing his, it had also stolen her
chance for recovery.

“It says here his sperm was harvested
prior to his treatments. Didn’t we harvest Taylor’s eggs
too?”

“Yes.”

Where was Dr. Harmon going with this?
A heavy weight press on Gavin’s chest. His head hurt so bad. Eggs
and sperm?

They had no right to talk about his
care and treatment.

“It’s highly likely any child they
make would be a match.”

Maureen gasped. He might have gasped
himself. A child?

“If they’re already a couple, and they
decide on it, any child they create would be a potential match for
Taylor.”

Gavin’s breath froze in his lungs. His
body shook. A baby with Taylor?

“I’m only telling you this because Mr.
Taylor bought an engagement ring tonight at the auction. It seems a
real possibility he loves Taylor. You’d offered to carry a baby for
Taylor before. Maybe now you can—as a surrogate.”

Anger flared in Gavin, and he tried to
force open his eyes. He struggled against invisible bindings,
fighting to sit up, to tell them to stop. To keep them from… He
squeezed his eyes more tightly closed.

“Let him rest tonight. I’ll check on
him again in the morning. He may be a little disoriented. Are you
staying with him?”

“No, Taylor wants to. She’s coming
back as soon as she’s done with Rachel.”

“Young love is something to live for.
She looked better tonight than I’ve seen her in months. It seems
these two might be a good prescription for each other. Gavin’s
doctor tells me he has no family to speak of. And that’s something
you have in abundance.”

Gavin seethed. Every cell of his body
screamed for retreat. If only he could rewind the last few minutes
and keep them from speaking. He struggled and fought and finally
opened his eyes. They had no right.

“Thanks, Dr. Harmon.” Maureen sank
into the chair.

Gavin stared at the woman. She was a
stranger to him and so was her daughter. They had no right to pry
in his life. To insinuate themselves.

Maureen glanced over to
him.

Gavin stared at her,
unblinking.

Her voice trembled, and she wiped her
eyes. “How much did you hear?”

“Enough.”

She swallowed hard. “Gavin, if you’d
agree to a child, no matter what happened, John and I would take
care of the baby. We’d love it as our own.”

He schooled his face, became cold and
hard, his voice a rasp, “I understand you’re looking out for
Taylor, Maureen. It’s my responsibility to look out for my child
too. I can’t agree to what you’re asking.”