“Good morning, I love you and I choose you to be my wife”, Clyde said as he gently kissed Linda and set a cup of coffee next to the bed for her. She opened her eyes, stretched and said “And I love you and choose you to be my husband.” The same daily scene so lovingly having been played out all these many years.
“What’s on the agenda for today?”, she asked.
First, I’d like for us to go look at some property and then at one o’clock we need to take the tests to see if we are compatible for the bone marrow transplant for Joe.”
“I sure hope one of us is”, she said, “he’s your best friend, it would be so wonderful to help save his life.”
“Joe is my best male friend.”, Clyde told Linda, “You are, and always will be, my best friend. I wish I could just tuck you right up here next to my heart and keep you there every day of my life.”
“That would be a tight fit, but it sure sounds cozy.”, she said, “Speaking of tight and cozy, if we’re not in a hurry this morning, come here.”
“I’m sorry”, said the doctor, “but neither of you is a satisfactory donor for Joe. One thing that amazes me though, is that you are each an almost perfect match for the other. It’s almost as if you could exchange body parts. Jim was tested earlier and he is a close enough match for Joe and there should be no real problem with rejection. We should be able to bring Joe’s leukemia into remission if not a complete cure.”
As with all things, life has it’s ups and downs. Things sometime happen that make no sense whatsoever, no rhyme or reason, just some echo of the chaos of the universe. And so it was with Clyde and Linda, who after twelve years went their separate ways. But love, like the human body has a will of it’s own and does not so easily die and lives on in that echo.
He had just finished reading Stanley Schmidt’s editorial “Love Stories in Science Fiction” in his newest issue of Analog when the phone rang. “This is Clyde.”
“Clyde, this is Judy, Linda’s sister. I know that you and Linda haven’t been in touch for ten years and I don’t know if she would want me to call you, but I had to let you know that Linda has massive heart failure and only has a couple of days to live. I know that she still feels love for you and would like to see you again before she dies. I think it would make her passing so much easier if she could.”
He felt his world crash around him. Although he hadn’t seen Linda for over ten years, she was still the great love of his life and his memories were full of that love, 12 years of marriage which were the happiest of his life.
“Can’t she have a heart transplant?”, he asked.
“No, her immune system is so strong that she would reject anything other than a near perfect match. How ironic”, she said, “here I am supposedly one of the world’s leading authorities on immunology and I can’t do a damn thing for my own sister.”
“Who’s her doctor?”
“Doctor Phillip Weintraub, he’s one of the world’s leading heart transplant specialists. We’ve had lengthy discussions about Linda and agree that there’s nothing we can do. The probability of rejection is near certain.”
“Judy, I’ll be there tomorrow. If you trusted me enough to call me, please trust me now. Please give me the doctor’s phone number and when he calls you, tell him to do what I say. If I’m wrong, you’ll be embarrassed, if I’m right, Linda will live. That’s not a bad trade off. And Judy, please don’t ask, I know something you don’t.”
“Doctor, I’m sorry to bother you, but there’s this man on the phone who has been calling every five minutes and insists that I let him speak to you right now. I’ve told him that you were busy, but he just calls right back. He said it was about a patient, Linda Kapp, and told me to tell you that Doctor Judy Kapp is her sister.”
“It’s ok nurse, I’ll take the call.”
“Doctor Weintrub, this is Clyde Jenkins. I’ve located a heart for Linda Kapp which is a near perfect match. The probability of rejection is near zero. I’ve discussed this with Judy Kapp, please call her to verify my veracity. The heart will be delivered to the hospital no later than ten o’clock tomorrow morning. Please have her prepped and ready to go.”
“Doctor, please, I don’t have time to argue. I’ve faxed a copy of the compatibility matrix to doctor Kapp and she will verify what I say. If Linda is in as bad shape as Judy says, I’ve barely time to arrange the delivery.”
“Thank you doctor, the heart will be there no later than ten.”
“It’s almost ten o’clock, where the hell is that heart? If we don’t get it soon we’re going to lose her. What is it nurse?”
“Doctor, I was just informed that the heart has been delivered next door in OR nine, but that it must be removed from the ………” her statement was interrupted by the sound of a gunshot.
“Ah, good, she’s starting to come around. Another two or three hours and we would have lost her. This was the strangest heart transplant I’ve ever done and frankly, I don’t ever want to do to have to do another like it. I’m used to the unusual, but this was bizarre.”
“Linda, Linda, can you hear me?”
“Uh, yes, oh I’m so sore.”
“Well, that’s to be expected after six hours of surgery, but the soreness will be all gone in a few days. Other than being sore, how do you feel?”
“Strange, real strange, but good …. Like being full of joy … and love. I had the strangest dream that Clyde was here telling me he loved me and that everything was going to be OK. He kept telling me over and over and over again to hang on. And he kept telling me that he loved me and chose me to be his wife. I know it sounds silly, but that’s what it was like.”
The doctor and the nurse exchanged knowing glances and the doctor asked , “Linda, I have a letter for you, do you feel up to reading it?”
“I guess so, if it’s not too long.”
“No, it’s very short.”
My Dearest Linda, It's so wonderful that the operation was a success and that you are on your way to recovery. I must have had the courage to do what I needed to do or you would not be reading this. I wrote this letter knowing that you would have eventually found out the truth and I would rather that you learn it from me than from some other source. Do not be sad my dearest, but rather rejoice with me. Remember how I used to tell you that I would like to tuck you up under my heart. I never thought our roles would be reversed. Know that you will always live within my heart as my heart lives within you.
I love you with all OUR heart.
Clyde
Clyde L. Jenkins Memories For Ever - JhonnierAndrey
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