The Summer Home

4. The Decision

     "So, what happens now?" Nathan asked.

     "What do you mean?" his uncle replied.

     "Who's in charge here?" The boys asked.

     "That would be your father." Shannon answered.

     "Oh, that's such bullshit!" Nathan asked.

     "Hey!" Shannon snapped back before anyone else could. "Language!"

     Despite how Nathan felt about everyone else, he still liked his aunt. "Sorry."

     Peter stood up and walked closer to his son. "Nothing is going to happen. Not yet. We'll talk about it this and come to a decision together."

     "I'm surprised you don't want to pull the plug to charge your cell phone." Nathan snidely said to his father. Clearly there was no love between the two at this point. Peter could sense the crude bitterness in his tone. Clearly the teenager was wishing it was him in the bed without brain function rather than his mother. At the very moment, to be honest, everyone else in the room was wishing for that too. Even Peter.

     "No," Peter answered, not taking the child's bait. "Even though your mother's will put me in charge, no one is doing anything until we all have a chance to talk about it. Everyone here is going to have a chance to say what they want to do before any decisions are made."

     "Like you'll listen to any of us." Nathan replied, "I bet you're all in favor of pulling the plug and ending her right now!"

     "As a matter of fact, I am." Peter replied, well aware that his response took everyone in the room by surprise.

     "You bastard!" Nathan jumped up and tried to punch his own father. Peter avoided the shot, and then both he and his brother-in-law fought Nathan back to his own chair and sat him down.

     "I'm not the only one in favor of pulling the plug," Peter said.

     "Who else is?" Nathan asked, eager to give them a piece of his disgruntled mind.

     "Your mother," Peter reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. He fished through it for a few moments and then pulled out a card. He reached out and handed it to his son who reluctantly took it. It was his organ donation card.

     "Why the hell are you showing me this?" Nathan asked.

     "Because it's quite relevant," Peter started as he took it back. "Your mother got her card the same day I got this one. We have always been strong supporters of organ donation, which is why she had one of those cards filled out too. We could wait for her to expire but that's not what she wanted. If this kind of situation ever occurred, she wanted to help others if there was nothing we could do for her. She wanted her tragedy to be the saving grace of others. Keeping her alive until her organs are no longer viable is not what she wanted. She was quite clear about this most of her life, and I think you know that too."

     Nathan put his head down into his hands and started to cry. What his father just said did remind him of a conversation he had with her about it a while back. She was a strong supporter for donation because she always believed in helping people less fortunate than herself. It was one of the things that Nathan loved about his mother. He hopped back out of the chair and stormed out of the room. It was clear that while he agreed with the decision being made, that didn't mean he had to like it. No one could blame the kid for being upset, as he was about to lose the only parent he lived with for the last several years. The very woman that brought him into this world.

     "Anyone else?" Peter said as he looked around the room. No one raised any objections as the knew he was telling the truth.

     "Alright," Peter said, taking a deep breath. "Everyone please take whatever time you need to say goodbye, and we'll pull it after that."