Harvesting Acorns (16 page)

It
had been in his store for about five years before Chloe came in. Five years it
had stood on its display and no one had been interested. Secretly he was
relieved. It had been brought into the store by a man in his early thirties. He
had long hair and wore cotton pants and a flowing white shirt. He was what most
people would call a hippie. He had said that his grandfather had asked him to find
the drawing’s owner. A well-sealed box of items had washed up on their island
shore, presumably off a wrecked ship. His grandfather had been leader of the
island village.

“What
had he said his name was? Oh yes, Logan.”

Grace
and Chloe froze. Could it be? Could it really be the grandson of the man Joel
had told them about. From the Flower Children village who had so kindly helped
Joel so many years ago?

The
antique dealer continued to tell them about his meeting with ‘the hippie’.
Logan had been convinced that the box was from the boat of a couple of sailors
who had found their way to the island after their boat had capsized in a storm.
The sailors had spent about six months with them before being able to repair
their boat and sail home. Logan had remembered more or less where they had come
from but no specifics, just a vague recollection of the town name and country.

When
his grandson had told him he was going to travel and he learned he would be in
that vicinity he asked him to try to find its owner and return it. It seemed
like something special. His grandson had told the dealer that he had been
trying to find ways to locate the owner but didn’t know how. On his last
stretch of his travels he had wandered into the antique store and asked if he
could leave it with the owner and if he could somehow continue the search.

The
shop owner had agreed, although the drawing did not have an artist’s signature,
he had not really known how to go about it. He had taken pictures and ran an
article in the local newspaper but had not had any responses. Eventually he had
displayed it in the store, hoping that its owners would somehow see it, failing
that, it may catch the eye of someone who would appreciate it.

Grace
and Chloe were speechless. Eventually Chloe spoke.

“I
would like you to meet the artist, Grace. The sailor Logan was talking about is
Grace’s husband, Joel.”

The store owner’s eyes widened in
disbelief.“I can’t believe this. Things like this only happen in movies, in
fairy tales.”

“Believe
me, I have said that same thing many times over the last couple of months,”
Chloe assured him.

Grace
was still standing dazed. She looked up, tears streaming down her cheeks.

“Chloe,
whatever you feel about the life you ran from, I believe you were brought here
for purposes far greater than all of us. Look at how all the little pieces are
forming. Joel will be so happy, I can’t wait to take this home to him.”

They
thanked the store owner and left together. They stopped at Tea for Two for some
tea and croissants and shared the story with Phoebe. She was just as astounded
as they were at how the events of the lives of total strangers were being
orchestrated and connected to each other in the most supernatural ways. Chloe
excused herself after about half an hour, she needed to get to the office and
catch up with her other work that had taken a backseat after all the excitement
of the last week.

C
hapter Ten

Not
long after she arrived, she got a call from Ben. He asked if he could see her
that evening after work for a quick coffee. He had some news. He did not sound
his new usual optimistic self that she had got to see during the last week. She
was worried. She knew it must be something to do with the results and felt a
knot grow in her stomach. She agreed to meet him straight from work. She found
herself battling to concentrate for the rest of the afternoon. As soon as her
clock struck five o’clock, she shut down her computer and dashed out of the
office. She went straight to Ben and Hannah’s home. Hannah was out of hospital,
but resting in her room when Chloe arrived. Ben invited her in and she
immediately saw that all was not well.

“Ben,
are you OK, please tell me the news is not bad about the results.” One look at
his face and she knew that it was.

“I…
I…” and he sobbed, “I am not a match. I can’t be Hannah’s bone marrow donor”.
And then he broke down.

Chloe immediately put her arms around
him.

“Oh
Ben! I know how much it would have meant to you to be the one to give her the
seeds of life she so desperately needs.”

He nodded. There were no more words
to express his anguish. Chloe stepped back and with her fix all attitude she
attempted to take control of the situation.

“Tomorrow
I will go and be tested. We will spread the word and I believe with all my
heart that a donor will be found in no time,” she reassured him.

He found his words again:

“Yes,
what is most important is that there is a donor, it is not important whether it
is me or not. It would have made the whole process a lot quicker, but we have
got this far, I have faith it will all work out.” He had composed himself again
and they discussed what needed to be done.

They didn’t talk too loudly as they
had heard Hannah stirring and Ben had gone to check on her. He didn’t want to
worry her with his fears and the details of what needed to be done. He just
wanted her to be calm and rested so that her body did not have to cope with any
anxiety or added stress on top of her illness.

“Would
you like to meet Hannah? I can’t let you spend any time with her but I can
introduce you from the doorway. She is so susceptible to everything at the
moment.”

Chloe was overcome, she had been
waiting to meet Hannah, but understood that she could not be exposed to any
germs and so had to be kept isolated.

“I
would love to meet her,” she replied appreciatively.

Ben led her to Hannah’s room and
opened the door quietly.

“Hannah,
I would like for you to meet someone special.” Hannah opened her eyes and
smiled at her dad and then at Chloe. She was an angelic looking child. Big blue
eyes glittered despite her weak condition, you could see she was a happy,
loving soul.

“Hello
Hannah,” Chloe smiled at her.

“Hi,”
Hannah replied.

“Hannah,
this is Chloe. She is the one I told you about who had been listening to James
and helping him to make his dream come true, for you to have all you need to
get well.”
Hannah smiled sweetly at them and then closed her eyes, she really was tired
after all she had been through in the hospital.

“Nice
meeting you Hannah,” said Chloe, “I look forward to spending more time with you
soon. Rest well.”

And then Ben closed the door and they
returned to the living room.

“I
need to dash off now to sort some things out at home and for tomorrow, and then
I will call you first thing to arrange to see the doctors for testing,” she
told Ben.

“I
appreciate that Chloe, it is no walk in the park for anyone to agree to be a
donor, and I admire your offer.”

It
was a beautiful evening and so Chloe went for a brief walk on the beach to
watch the sunset and contemplate all that had, and was going to happen. She
needed to rally up volunteers to be tested. It was not something you could coax
people into. The testing part was easy, the first part anyway, that was just
blood tests. But when it came to actually donating bone marrow, it was a
painful procedure for a donor as bone marrow is harvested from the hip bones.

It
was a huge thing to ask of someone. It was different for a parent, or family
member offering to make that sacrifice for a child they loved, but how did one
go about asking strangers to do that? She knew that this was precisely why she
was here. She could do this on behalf of Ben, as a non-relative being the first
to pave the way in being tested and offering to undergo the procedure. Whereas
Ben being tested and possibly donating was expected by the public, Chloe doing
so would be encouragement for others to do the same.

She
was walking, so deep in thought and not paying attention to her surroundings
that she did not hear James calling to her. Only when he ran up to her did she
snap out of her reverie and notice him.

“Chloe,
I was calling you for ages!” he chided her light heartedly. His mother caught
up in a minute.

“Hello
Jessica, lovely to see you,” Chloe greeted her warmly with a hug.

“Hi
Chloe, James just had to come and say hi. He is so fond of you. Are you OK, we
could not help noticing that you seemed far away in thought?” Jessica asked
concerned.

“I
was,” Chloe replied a little sheepishly, “I am sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude.
I have just come from Ben and Hannah. Ben is not a match as a bone marrow donor
for Hannah, and so I am going to be tested tomorrow to see if I potentially may
be. I was just thinking how to encourage others to do the same, it is not
something I am able to use my journalistic influences for, it is quite a sensitive
request. Quite different to the general appeal we made for people to register
as donors.”

“Well
count me in,” said Jessica. “Hannah has been a very important part of James’
life and it is the least I could do for her, and for him.”

James, who had been listening
patiently to their conversation hesitantly spoke just then.

“I
have been thinking about it so much. I also want to be tested.”

Chloe and Jessica both looked at him
with such admiration and pride. This little boy was asking for a chance to save
his best friend’s life. Neither of them knew if it would be allowed. Jessica’s
heart flipped at the thought of her own child going through that intense
procedure, but she knew how important it was to him. She agreed that she would
find out if he could at least be tested, and then, results depending, they
would take it from there.

The
sun had set during their conversation and the last bit of light was fading.
They said their goodbyes and agreed to call each other in the morning to meet
at the doctor together to begin testing. Chloe stopped briefly at Phoebe and
recounted the afternoon’s events. By the time she left Phoebe had also offered
to be tested and said she would speak to Jean Pierre, whom she was sure would
also be glad to be tested.

The
next morning Chloe went into the office early to get a head start on her work
so that she would not feel bad taking more time off two days in a row. She
phoned Ben to find out if he had arranged with the doctors for a suitable time
for her to go and also told him that Jessica, James, Phoebe and Jean Pierre
would also be tested. He said he would just confirm if they could all go
together and call her back as soon as possible. While she waited she went to
speak to Edward about taking a little more time off to be tested. He was more
than understanding; he was so impressed he offered to go with to be tested and
immediately phoned Beth to tell her to join them as well. He told the rest of
the staff that he and Chloe would be out for the afternoon, and when he
explained why, they suddenly found themselves with the entire office complement
offering to join in being tested.

Ben
called back and said that the doctors had agreed to have two nurses on standby
every day for anyone who wanted to come in to be tested. They would not need
appointments if they were just coming to be tested for Hannah. Chloe phoned all
those who had agreed and they arranged to meet at midday at the doctors rooms.
When Chloe arrived she was blown away. There was a long queue in the doctor’s
rooms and she was told that word had spread and more people had offered to be
tested. By one o’clock there were twenty people being tested. By two o’clock
another five had arrived and by closing time at five o’clock a total of thirty
people had been tested. Ben and Chloe discussed with the doctors whether to
wait for the results of those tests or to continue testing anyone who came.
They were concerned about either testing too many when one of those already
tested may be a match, or whether if they turned people away they may miss out
on a potential donor. They agreed to continue testing anyone who came and just
confirming with those being tested that even if they were not a match for
Hannah, if their results could be put on the general bone marrow registry and
possibly help another child in need.

The
first results would start coming through within a week, further testing would
be done on those with matches on first level, and then second level. All in all
it would be about three weeks for final results of a confirmed donor. They all
knew the anticipation would be nerve-wracking. James came up with another
brilliant idea.

“Until
a donor is found, could all of us gather under the tree to send our intentions,
hopes and prayers up together for Hannah?” he asked Chloe and Jessica.

“James,
a collective vigil would be just the thing we need to wait patiently together.
I will see what I can organise” Chloe encouraged him. She began calling a few
of the people she knew had been tested. Eventually it spread and it was agreed
that whoever wanted to, they would meet every evening at six o’clock just for a
fifteen minute time of hope in the park, beneath the tree that started it all.
The sense of community and fellowship that followed formed friendships that
would last a lifetime and softened so many hearts. This little village was
united in love and compassion that would echo in the town’s spirit for many
generations to come.