The Heart of Jennie

Chapter 3

"Wow," Jennie said looking at the stack of machines in the corner of the room. "Weren't these machines expensive?"

"No," Lisa said as set her things down on the dresser. "I own them all. It's my hospital."

"Oh that's right," Jennie said with a weary smile. "Surely these can go to people who need them more."

"The one on the top will check all your vitals every hour, the second one monitors your heart rate and the third one is for emergencies," Lisa said. "If you should ever crash, I can treat you."

"Oh...I signed a DNR."

Lisa snapped her head towards Jennie with wide eyes. "What!? You signed a Do Not Resuscitate? Why?"

"I'm dying anyways," Jennie said. "I traveled all over the world seeing doctors and did hundreds of treatments. I'm just...tired."

Lisa looked at her with wide eyes. "Wait, doctors? I thought you were traveling for fun? In my dad's letters, all he ever mentioned was the fun things you did."

"They did all those things on my request," Jennie said. "We traveled to those places to see cardiologists and I asked them to let me have at least one day of fun so at least I could have done some living."

Lisa went to sit beside her on the bed. "All this time I thought my father abandoned me to go partying around the world but really he was..."

"I'm sorry Lili," Jennie gripped her arm. "I never wanted to take your father from you, but he was really determined and stubborn to find a cure to my disease."

"There isn't one," Lisa said softly. "Only a transplant could save you."

"I'm at the bottom of the list Lili, I don't have much hope," Jennie said.

"I can put you at the top," Lisa said. "I have pull you know. My grandfather is very respected in the medical community..."

"No," Jennie said. "Then someone who needs it more than me will die."

"But Nini..."

"I have accepted my fate Lili," Jennie gave her a small smile. "I don't want to do anymore treatments, I only ever did it for our parents' sake. It's why I signed that DNR behind their back. Unless I am truly the one who needs a heart the most, I will not accept a transplant."

"So you're just gonna give up?" Lisa asked.

"I want to live in the time I have left," Jennie told her. "It's why I kept asking to go to tourist spots on our trips. I needed a break from all the hospitals which is why I practically forced our parents to go to Bermuda. It's my fault they're..."

"It's not your fault," Lisa gripped her hand and looked into her eyes. Jennie gulped and blushed at the intensity of it. "You wanted our parents to have a break from all the stress and relax. You couldn't have known that their plane would be faulty."

Jennie dropped her head. "But if I hadn't made them go..."

"Maybe they'd be alive or maybe they'd have died anyways in a car accident or something, you can't control that," Lisa said. "I'm a doctor Nini, I see death constantly, on a daily basis. It's completely senseless and you can't take it to heart, it happens to everyone whether they're 5 or 95."

"Or 35 like me," Jennie said.

"Let me help you Nini," Lisa said. "Retract that DNR, let me put you at the top of the transplant list."

"No Lili," Jennie said shaking her head. "It's hard enough that someone has to die for me to live without also knowing that I've taken it from someone else who needs it more. And as for the DNR...I'm tired Lili. I just wanna live."