My coworkers were the first to find out about the results of the Johnson family tests.
She grumbled to me that it
was karma because none of them were a match.
The Johnsons weren’t ready to give up, they went to several hospitals and got a second round of tests done.
The next time I saw them,
was in the elevator.
My mom, who always appeared well put together,
looked like she had aged a decade. Her shoulders
slumped and her eyes were sunken.
11:09
As soon as she saw me get
in, her face lit up.
She hesitated for a moment,
before finally asking me,
“…Ava?”
I didn’t answer.
“Ava… are you… are you okay?”
I turned around.
“What do you want?”
My mother fell apart. Tears
ran down her face.
“Ava, you’re a doctor, do you know what’s going to happen to your sister?!”
I thought about it for a
moment and then gave her a gentle smile.
Not just my mom, the entire Johnson family was staring at me with expectant eyes.
My mom looked excited, and grabbed my hand.
“You’re going to donate to
82
<
your sister…‘
I gently moved her hand off
mine, and gave her the
takeout container I had been
holding.
“Here, take this.”
“Tell your daughter to eat. You said that if you eat, you
can cure anything, right?”
My mother’s smile faltered, and her face went red.
Matt started yelling at me, but Robert pulled him back.
The doors opened, and I walked out without looking back.
9
I was curious, how far was the Johnson family willing to go for Sarah?
But they went further than I ever thought was possible.
That evening, Robert
Johnson rescinded his
original announcement in the
family group chat
<
11:09
That was when it became clear to me that the
Johnson’s weren’t sexist.
They just didn’t like me, the daughter who came between their two golden children.
As soon as he canceled the
announcement, the chat sprang to life.
“How’s it going, Robert? Did you finally calm down? You
only canceled the
disownment announcement
after a couple of days, huh?!”
“Yeah, there is no reason to
fight within families. Once
you talk it out, everything
will be okay.”
Robert responded with some
awkward emojis, making
sure that he didn’t say
anything to deny the teasing.
He followed up with:
“I didn’t get all the facts
straight, so I was a bit
impulsive.
7012
824
<
“There are no risks to
donating bone marrow, it’s just like giving blood.
“What could two vials of
blood do? I even hear that
it’s good for you!”
No one replied.
Then my aunt Carol posted three huge question marks.
“You are the one who said it
was dangerous and that you were cutting Ava out, and
now you are saying it’s good for you.”
“Robert, you are just trying to make everyone do whatever you want.”
“Just tell us what is going on, are you going to send another announcement?”
Aunt Helen was really enjoying the drama.
“Yeah Robert, you wouldn’t try to trick us into donating, right? You did say we’d be on our own if anything goes wrong, so we’re not going to
<
donate!”
Robert didn’t say a word.
Seeing that his plan was not working, my mom, who never
spoke in the chat, finally
came forward.
“We had tests done at the hospital, and it wasn’t dangerous at all.”
“They only took two vials of blood, and my son–in–law gave us a big check. He said that if anyone matched, he’d transfer his house to them.”
At the mention of money,
the chat started to get
active again.
“Ava’s husband is that rich?
He’ll really give away a
house?”
“Oh well, people get carried
away, no one’s actually
going to ask for a house.”
Aunt Helen said, trying to
get Robert to commit to the
promise.
My mom saw the
<
opportunity and rushed into
action.
“Of course we are! You
know that my son–in–law
has money! I’ll get him to
sign a letter stating as such.”
Robert agreed.
“That’s right, have my son- in–law sign a guarantee. As long as there is a match, I am a man of my word.”
Maybe Robert forgot that I was in the chat, or maybe he thought that I would never expose him.
As I watched my husband working hard in his office, I
wrote out a statement for
the chat.
I wasn’t going to let him take advantage of my husband’s
money.
