Saving Jessica (14 page)
Authors: Lurlene McDaniel
Jeremy felt as if he were floating. “This stuff they gave me to relax sure does work,” he told Jessica.
She wore a green cap over her hair and had an IV line attached to the back of her hand. “Do I look as silly as you?” Her speech was slurred.
“You think I look silly? I’m wounded.” But he couldn’t suppress a grin.
“Just as soon as you’re able to move, you come visit me,” she said.
“I’ll be there.”
Two anesthesiologists appeared. “Time to go to sleep.” They injected medications into Jeremy’s and Jessica’s IV lines.
Dr. Witherspoon leaned over their beds and smiled. “Okay, you two. It’s showtime.”
Jeremy felt the medication numbing his
body. He turned his head and saw that Jessica was staring at him, her eyelids heavy with the drugs. He reached his hand through the bars of the bed. She laced her fingers through his. “I love you, Jessie.”
Moisture filled her eyes. “Thank you, Jeremy. Thank you for my new life.”
20
“Y
ou look beautiful.”
Jessica smiled. “Thanks for the compliment, but you’re prejudiced. After all, we share body parts.”
She gazed around the ballroom of the hotel, at the girls in beautiful dresses and gowns, at the boys in formal tuxedos.
“I must admit I feel funny out here,” she whispered in his ear. “I’ll bet I’m the only college freshman at this high-school prom.”
“You missed yours. I thought you should come to mine. Aren’t you glad you’re here with me?”
She slid her arms around him and knew that beneath his tux, along his back, was the scar
that attested to his gift to her. There had been a few problems after her transplant, but for the most part it had been trouble-free. She took antirejection medication, and her body appeared to have accepted his kidney.
“One of my friends is having a weekender on his grandfather’s boat after the prom. The boat’s anchored in the harbor at Annapolis,” Jeremy said.
“I hope there’ll be food.”
He grinned. “A crate of lobsters and a mountain of french fries.”
“Count me in.”
Jeremy hugged her tightly. She looked sophisticated in a long black dress that clung to her shapely body. Her thick hair had been swept into a luxurious twist and her eyes sparkled with vitality. Jeremy thought she looked far more elegant than the high-school girls around them on the dance floor.
“I’m so glad that I’ll be going to Georgetown in the fall,” he said.
“I’ve been hoping that would be your choice.”
“Okay, so the fact that you’re there influenced
me a tiny bit. I’ve also decided to go into their prelaw program. It’s one of the best.”
“Why doesn’t it surprise me?” she teased.
He shrugged sheepishly. “I’m told I have a flare for it. My dad says, ‘like father like son.’ I have to admit, it’s great to see what’s happened to my parents. The group they joined, Compassionate Friends, has helped them meet other parents whose children have died. They’re happier than I’ve seen them in years.”
“I’m glad you and your family didn’t split apart because of me,” Jessica said slowly.
“Listen, Jake and Fran both passed their bar exams and found jobs.” Jeremy changed the subject quickly. “Jake was like a brother to me.” His voice cracked as he said “brother.”
“Did I tell you what I’m considering? I think I want to major in biology and become a premed.”
Jeremy laughed and kissed her lightly on her mouth. “Wait’ll I tell my mom. She’s always wanted a doctor in the family.”
Jessica kissed him back, knowing that no matter what happened their lives were intertwined forever.
Look for Lurlene McDaniel’s next book,
When a chemistry experiment explodes, seventeen-year-old Kyle is left blinded and deeply depressed. As he is recovering in the hospital, he is befriended by Carley, a patient in the room next door. Carley becomes Kyle’s eyes and his cheerleader, giving him hope and a link to the outside world.
Carley has never met a boy as handsome as Kyle. She knows that boys like girls who are pretty—and she is not. Scarred by a facial deformity that no plastic surgeon can fix, she has, over the years, used her sense of humor to cope. But now that she’s become so close to Kyle, she’s worried that once his bandages are removed—if they are removed—and he sees her, it will be the end of their relationship. Carley wants the best for Kyle—but what will that mean for her?
LURLENE McDANIEL began writing inspirational novels about teenagers facing life-altering situations when her son was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes. “I saw firsthand how chronic illness affects every aspect of a person’s life,” she has said. “I want kids to know that while people don’t get to choose what life gives to them, they
do
get to choose how they respond.”
Lurlene McDaniel’s novels are hard-hitting and realistic, but also leave readers with inspiration and hope. Her books have received acclaim from readers, teachers, parents, and reviewers.
Six Months to Live
was included in a literary time capsule at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Lurlene McDaniel lives in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Her popular Bantam Starfire books include
Too Young to Die; Goodbye Doesn’t Mean Forever; Somewhere Between Life and Death; Time to Let Go; Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep; When Happily Ever After Ends; Baby Alicia Is Dying; Don’t Die, My Love; and the One Last Wish novels: A Time to Die; Mourning Song; Mother, Help Me Live; Someone Dies, Someone Lives; Sixteen and Dying; Let Him Live; The Legacy: Making Wishes Come True; Please Don’t Die; She Died Too Young; All the Days of Her Life; and A Season for Goodbye
.
