Finding Jaime

Chapter 98

"Oh yeah, it's practically Rapunzel's length," he joked.

"Let's go home," Meagan suggested.

"We still have to fill Jaime's prescription," Meagan said.

Jaime was done taking the chemo, but he still had to take an oral type. It didn't cause him to lose his hair, but it still had some side effects. They seemed pretty mild in comparison, though.

As we were heading to the elevators, Jaime looked in through the glass wall that looked into the pediatric chemotherapy clinic. 

"Hold on a sec," he said, going into the clinic.

"What's he doing?" I asked Meagan. It was rhetorical, really but Meagan answered anyway.

"He's saying hi to Ethan."

I watched my son approach a younger boy. The boy didn't look well. He was pale and skinny. He looked up at Jaime and smiled with a weak smile. He looked exhausted.

Jaime knelt down and talked to Ethan for a few minutes. I saw the younger boy smile again and then Jaime stood up, offered Ethan a fist, which Ethan bumped, also weakly.  Jaime said something to a woman sitting near Ethan, shook her hand, and then she gave him a hug. He hugged her back and came back out.

"See ya, E!" He said as he left the clinic.

"What was that all about?" I asked as he came back over to us.

"That was Ethan. The kid I met the last time I had chemo here on tour - the night Ashlee came?"

I frowned. That hadn't been a good night for Jaime.

"He doesn't look good, Dad. His mom says they're not very optimistic because his numbers aren't doing what they'd hope they'd be doing by now. The chemo isn't working. He needs a bone marrow transplant, so they're putting him on the donor list. None of his family is a match. I'm not eligible because I had chemo. So I can't even be tested because it won't matter."

I looked at my son and smiled. Would he have cared so much about this kid if this had been six months ago?

"We can help get the word out if they're trying to do a bone marrow drive or something," I said.

"I'll ask him later. He's really tired right now and he'll feel worse after chemo."

Meagan looked upset. She'd met Ethan the same day Jaime had. In fact she'd watched as Ethan tried to engage Jaime and was ultimately successful.

Jaime was quiet and scrolling through his phone as we walked to the elevator.  We went downstairs to the pharmacy, picked up Jaime's meds, and left the hospital.

"Jaime, you up for Starbucks?" I asked.

"Yeah, sure, whatever," he mumbled as he typed away on his phone.

Jaime was lagging behind us as we made our way to the car. Meagan was smiling but she looked troubled. I assumed she was thinking about Ethan. I was too, now.

We went through a drive-through and I ordered us all coffees. I knew Jaime liked vanilla lattes so I got him one, since he hadn't answered anything but 'I dunno, whatever.'

He took a sip and stopped.

"What is this?" He asked.

"A vanilla latte," I said.

"Oh. Okay," he said.

We drove home where Joe was watching the other kids.

"So?" Joe asked as we came in the front door.