Sins of the Father (25 page)

D
id you see this coming, Ma? Abraham thought as he sat alone in the hospital waiting
room. Did you know that Isaac would need one of his half siblings to survive? A solid
affirmative settled in Abraham’s stomach. His mother had known this tragedy was coming,
and tried to prepare the family for it. If only he hadn’t deserted Leah and those
kids. If only he’d brought Isaac, Deborah, and Michael up as siblings instead of keeping
Deborah and Michael outside the family circle. Why had he and Saralyn chosen to make
their world, their family, smaller instead of larger?

Isaac had always wanted a brother or sister. And all this time, he’d had both: two
adults who now meant nothing to him, just as Isaac meant nothing to them. A sibling
bond was more than biology. It grew out of a shared history. Abraham had no doubt
Michael would donate a liver, whatever was needed, to save Deborah. But he was unsure
if Michael would even lift a finger to save Isaac.

He wondered what he would do in the boy’s situation. If he were as young and ambitious
and calculating as Michael, he thought, he’d use the situation to his advantage. Unfortunately,
he had no clue what Michael wanted from him. He’d already extended his hand to the
boy once, and Saralyn had offered him money. Michael hadn’t been interested in either.

According to Leah and Deborah, what Michael needed was unconditional acceptance, and
recognition that he was an heir in MEEG—the one thing Abraham had thought he shouldn’t
give him. Now, he didn’t know if Michael would even take it.

“Abraham,” a familiar voice called. “I got here as soon as I could.”

He looked up to see Reverend Reeves and Leah coming his way. What was she doing with
his pastor? Standing, he said, “Leah, what are you doing here? How did you find out?”

“I was with Melvin when he got the news. I’m so sorry, Abraham. If there’s anything
I can do, please let me know.”

Guilt welled up in Abraham as he recalled their recent conversation about Michael.
The boy couldn’t be trusted with a position at MEEG, but he could be trusted to donate
an organ to Isaac. He couldn’t help but feel like a hypocrite. Yet that was a minor
price to pay for his son’s life.

Deciding he’d rather have his conversation with Leah in private, Abraham reached out
his hand to Reverend Reeves. “It’s good to see you, Reverend,” he said. “Your coming
means a lot to me, and I know it’ll mean a lot to Saralyn and Rebecca.”

“I had to come,” Melvin said. Pointing to a row of empty seats along the back wall,
he added, “Now sit down before you fall down.” Abraham did as he was told. When they
were seated, Melvin directly next to him and Leah next to Melvin, the reverend asked,
“How is Isaac? And how are Saralyn and Rebecca holding up?”

Abraham wiped his hand down his face. “Saralyn and Rebecca
are doing about as well as can be expected, given the news we just received. Isaac
needs the transplant. According to his doctor, his problem is too severe to be treated
with oral medications. I’ll have some specialists here tomorrow for a second opinion
but for now we’re operating under the assumption that a liver transplant will be needed.”

Melvin rested a hand on Abraham’s shoulder. “I know this was hard news to hear, Abraham,
but don’t be disheartened. Isaac will find a donor. I’ll get tested and I’ll have
an announcement made in church so that others will know to be tested.”

“You should look into having a test site at the church to give people easier access,”
Leah suggested. “Maybe one Wednesday night around Bible study time and then another
one on Sunday.”

Reverend Reeves kissed Leah’s cheek. “That’s a great idea and that’s exactly what
we’ll do.”

Abraham tried to look past the reverend to Leah, but he couldn’t see her face, couldn’t
read her expression.

“I want to say a few words to Saralyn and Rebecca and then I would like to pray with
all of you,” Melvin said. “After we do that, Leah and I will get to work organizing
the church testing site.”

Abraham nodded. “Go on in, Pastor,” he said. “I’ll be there shortly. I need to discuss
something with Leah.”

Melvin glanced at Leah, who gave a slight nod, and then he left them alone.

Abraham cleared his throat. “I hate to ask you this, Leah,” he said, “especially after
our conversation the other day.”

She met his eyes directly. “I hate that you have to ask me,” she said. “But I would
do the same thing if it were my son.”

“The doctor wants to do a living donor transplant,” he said. “The donors are usually
blood relatives. Unfortunately, neither Saralyn nor I are good matches.”

Leah finished for him, “You want Deborah and Michael to be tested. Is that what you’re
asking?”

“They’re his half siblings and the doctors think they could be a match, Michael more
so than Deborah because he and Isaac are similar in stature.”

Leah didn’t answer immediately, and Abraham wondered what she was thinking. Her straight
face gave away nothing. When she finally spoke, she said, “It’s a lot to ask, Abraham.”

“I know it is,” he said. “I wouldn’t ask if there were any other options. There aren’t.
Do you think they’ll do it?”

“Deborah has a soft heart. She’d do it for a stranger so I’m sure she’ll do it for
Isaac. Michael is another story. I’m not sure about him.”

Abraham closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair. “Sins of the father,” he murmured.
“What have I done to my children?” When he opened his eyes, he looked directly at
Leah. “I still have to ask him,” he told her. “You understand, don’t you?”

She nodded. “Like I said, in your shoes I’d do the same.”

“Will you try to convince Michael?” he asked. “Isaac could die without the transplant.”

Leah shook her head. “I can’t, Abraham,” she said. “It’s not my place. They’re adults.
I can give them my opinion but I can’t tell them what to do.”

“Could Michael live with himself if Isaac died?”

She smiled sadly. “You lived with yourself and prospered for thirty years, never even
thinking of Michael as your son. I don’t advise playing the guilt card with him. It
won’t work.”

Her words shamed him. Abraham knew she was right but he was out of ideas. “How should
I approach him, then?”

“Approach him like you’d approach a business associate you’d once done wrong and with
whom you’d now like to play ball,” she said. “Tell him why you’re asking and how it
makes you feel to ask. Be honest and forthright. And, most of all, listen to the answers
he gives.”

Abraham nodded. “Thanks,” he said. Then he got up. “I’d better
get back to Isaac’s room. The pastor said he wanted to pray.” He hesitated, then asked,
“Do you want to join us? We can use all the prayer we can get.”

She shook her head. “I don’t belong with you and your family now,” she said. “I came
to support Melvin and to offer my best wishes for Isaac. I’ve done that.”

“What’s with you and Melvin?” he asked, his head tilted. The kiss that Melvin had
given her on her cheek had not gone unnoticed.

She met his eyes. “He’s asked me to marry him,” she said. “We’ve been seeing each
other for about a year or so.”

“A year? I didn’t know.”

“We kept it a secret.”

“Well, I’m glad for you. He’s a good man, Leah. He’ll treat you right.”

She smiled at him. “He already does.”

He tried to smile back but his lips didn’t turn up far enough. Then he turned and
headed toward his son’s room.

D
eborah walked hand in hand with Alan through the hospital waiting room. She wasn’t
sure what holding her hand meant to him, but she took it as a sign that he was becoming
more comfortable with the idea of a relationship with her. She stopped walking when
she spotted her mother dialing on her cell phone. “Mama?” Leah turned around. “What
are you doing here?”

Leah closed her phone. “Deborah, you’re here. I was about to call you about Isaac.”
She hugged her daughter. “How did you find out?”

Deborah pointed to Alan. “I was with Alan when he got the call.” Alan and Leah exchanged
greetings. “How did you find out?”

“It’s a long story,” Leah said. “I was with Abraham’s pastor when he got the call.”

“Abraham’s pastor? How do you know Abraham’s pastor?”

“Like I said, it’s a long story.”

Alan put a hand on Deborah’s shoulder. “I’m going to go check on Isaac. Will you be
all right?”

Deborah nodded. “Go on ahead. Mama will catch me up.” After he left, she turned to
her mother. “Now tell me the long story.”

“I don’t want to get into it here,” Leah said. “This time should be about Isaac.”

“Look,” Deborah said, “I’ve done what I could do for Isaac by getting tested. Now
tell me the long story.”

Leah sighed. “I didn’t want to tell you here, but since you’re so insistent, I’m dating
Melvin Reeves, Abraham and Saralyn’s pastor.”

“What?” Leah asked. “You’re dating? Since when did you start dating?”

“Don’t sound so surprised. I’m not dead yet.”

“That’s not what I meant,” she said. “It’s just that I haven’t known you to date.
Sure, you went out a few times over the years, but nothing more. I’m happy for you.
It’s about time. But a pastor?”

Leah chuckled. “That’s why we kept it a secret.”

Deborah’s ears perked up. “A secret? How long have you been seeing this pastor?”

“A little over a year,” Leah said. “We kept it a secret because I feared Saralyn would
cause problems for him with his congregation if she knew I was the woman in his life.
I didn’t want him to have problems in his church because of me.”

Deborah heard her mother’s words, but that she hadn’t shared something so important
concerned her. “I can see you keeping it a secret from outsiders, but I can’t believe
you kept it a secret from me and Michael for a year. How could you, Mama?”

“Don’t blow this out of proportion,” Leah said. “I explained why we kept it a secret.”

“Your explanation doesn’t make sense,” she said, hurt at her mother’s deception. “Michael
and I aren’t people off the street out
to do you harm; we’re your children. How could you not tell us?”

“I thought it was best, Deborah,” she said. “It was my decision to make and I made
it.”

She eyed her mother skeptically. “I don’t remember you going on any dates with this
pastor. When did you see each other?”

“Mostly after my evening classes.”

Deborah’s eyes widened. “When you told me you were at faculty meetings or meeting
with students?”

Leah nodded.

“Mama,” Deborah cried, wondering where this side of her mother had come from, “you
lied to me. You flat-out lied to me. You should at least feel bad about it.”

Leah sighed. “I didn’t know where the relationship was going at first. It seemed to
gain legs as we got to know each other better, and I was afraid I’d jinx it by going
public. It was easier to keep on as we were.”

“To keep lying to us. To me.”

“You’re not listening to me, Deborah. This wasn’t about you. It was about me. It was
something I wanted for myself. I didn’t want you to know at first because of the Abraham-Saralyn
connection through Melvin’s church. This relationship began before Abraham decided
to reinsert himself into your lives.”

“Well, Abraham’s been back for more than five months now. You had plenty of time to
tell us, Mama.”

“It’s complicated, Deborah. By then I had grown to like Melvin—a lot. All I could
think was that Saralyn would somehow use our relationship to cause problems between
him and his congregation. I didn’t want that.”

Deborah still didn’t understand. She and Michael would have kept the secret. There
had to be more to this than her mother was telling. “I hear what you’re saying, but
it still doesn’t make sense to me.”

“I know it doesn’t,” Leah said. “Let’s talk about it later, after you’ve met Melvin.
He’s a wonderful man. He’s been wanting to meet you and Michael for a long time. I’ve
been the hold-up.”

Deborah smiled, relieved that at least one half of this secret couple had some sense.
“Now this sounds like a man I can like.”

Leah reached for her daughter’s hand and squeezed. “You’ll love him,” she said. “I
know you will.” She pulled out her cell phone. “Now I’ve got to call Michael.”

Deborah shook her head. “I already called him. I don’t know if he’s coming, but Josette
said she’d try to get him here. I told her about the transplant and being tested.”

“Do you think he’ll do it?”

Deborah shrugged. “I honestly don’t know. I told Josette to get him here without telling
him the details of Isaac’s condition. You and I will convince him to be tested once
he gets here. I think we can do it, don’t you?”

Leah shook her head. “No, we won’t,” she said. “It’s not your place to tell Michael
what to do in this situation, and neither is it mine. I’ll give him my opinion, but
I’m not going to try to convince him of anything. I only wish he had made peace with
Abraham before now.”

“No kidding,” Deborah said. “Alan told us the other day that Abraham was pulling back
on giving Michael a seat on the board. Michael seemed to take it okay, but Abraham’s
decision did nothing to improve Michael’s opinion of him.”

“Well, this is between Michael and Abraham and Isaac.”

“But what if Michael doesn’t get tested and Isaac dies? How will he feel then? Do
you want him to live with that regret? I don’t think I could live with myself if I
didn’t at least try.”

Leah noticed her daughter used the same logic as Abraham. “Well, that’s you,” she
told her daughter. “You can’t expect Michael to make the same decision. And you have
to make your decision for the right reason. You have to do it for Isaac, not to
win points with Abraham or Saralyn, or to try to make Abraham proud of you. You can’t
go into this expecting some change in their attitudes toward you, and neither can
Michael. If you did, you’d be deceiving yourselves.”

“Isaac is my half brother, Mama. I can’t do nothing.”

“I’m not saying you shouldn’t help him. In fact, I’m glad you’ve come to that decision.
All I’m saying is that you have to give Michael the freedom to do the same. If something
goes wrong during the surgery and Michael is harmed in some way, I don’t want you
to feel guilty. Could you go to work each day with Isaac and know that Michael died
saving his life?”

Deborah shook her head back and forth. “I hadn’t thought of it that way.”

Leah grasped her daughter’s hand. “This is Michael’s moment, Deborah. We have to let
him make his way through it. All I can tell him is not to use his decision as a way
to gain revenge on Abraham. Other than that, it really is his choice.”

Deborah wasn’t sure she fully agreed with her mother, but there was little else she
could say. Their family matters were much too complicated. And now with the introduction
of her mother’s new man, their family matters had gotten even more complex. She hadn’t
even thought that was possible.