The Transplants

"I think so."

"You write about how you meet her someplace and do...I don't know, something. Then the chapter is read and later I write and Didi has the hots for whoever your character is or something. It could get almost embarrassing."

"Then we'll just kill them off and make new people to write about."

"I'm not going to be very good at killing off characters."

She held up her bottle and asked me, "Want another beer?"

"Thanks but I better not or I won't want dinner. I think what you say could come true. But here's something else. What if I introduce a character...we'll call him Bruce, and he does something and then when you write your chapter you adopt him for that chapter?"

"Interesting."

"You still become the person but you are me in a way."

"This all sounds weird. It's a good thing we're not drunk because this could get pretty confusing."

"And pretty tricky." I gave her a smile and said, "I mean what if you made my guy gay or bisexual?" She laughed and almost choked on her beer.

"Oh now that would be pretty dirty of me."

"Yes it would so don't get any ideas."

"You know, seriously I hope none of us gets so involved with this that they get mad for some reason."

""That would be unfortunate."

"And pretty silly if you ask me."

I stood up and said, "I better get going or I'll have another beer, then not eat until midnight."

"And then not be able to sleep."

"Thanks for the beer and the conversation."

"Any time." Before I could leave she said, "Okay so let's make it Saturday night."

"So you have the first chapter done?"

"I was going to wait another week and think about it more and it's awful, but it's as good as it will get."

"Great, if you'll call Dean I'll call Sandy and Tom.

"I can do that. Are you sorry you're the only one with a ground level apartment?"

"I don't mind at all. I provide the space and the rest of you provide the food and beverages." I left then, and as I went home I thought about the things we had discussed. Until then I hadn't considered a lot of what we talked about, especially the possibility of somebody getting mad over the story.

Sandy came over early Saturday evening to see if I needed any help with anything, so the two of us had a little time alone before the others arrived. As she filled the ice bucket I told her, "I had a beer with Carol the other day and we were talking about our story project or whatever you want to call it. She said she hoped nobody would get mad about, you know if somebody killed off your character or whatever. I hadn't even considered that possibility until right then."

"Why would anybody get mad about anything as silly as your story?"

"It was just a thought that came up."

"So do you know what she wrote?"

"No, I haven't seen it and she didn't tell me anything."

"I didn't think you even liked beer."

"I enjoy one once in a while but not very often."

"Did she seem eager to share what she wrote?"

"I got the impression that she was going to be embarrassed when it was read."

"We're all going to be awful at it. I just hope we can keep from laughing and hurting somebody's feelings."

"Oh great, that's another thing I hadn't even thought about."

Carol was the last to arrive, and she was toting two bottles of wine. Handing them to me she said, "Maybe this will muddle everybody's mind enough that my chapter won't seem so bad."

I took the wine and said, "I promise not to laugh at yours if you won't laugh at mine."

She gave me a crooked smile and said, "Say that again after I've had wine and I'll have a great comeback for you." I just laughed and took the wine to the kitchen counter. I'd made coffee and iced tea as well but the first two rounds were wine for everybody.

Our glasses were empty again and the story subject had been avoided until Tom asked her, "So was the writing hard for you Carol?"

"Hard? It would have been easier to have a baby."

He laughed and said, "I can sympathize with you."

"Okay Tom, you might as well read it and get it over with.

Sandy stood up and said, "Wait, let's decide who goes next before we hear the first chapter."

"Okay, but how should we do that?"

I stood up then and said, "Be right back, I have a solution." I came back with two black poker chips and one red one and dropped them into a bowl. Holding it high I said, "Dean, Sandy and I will draw a poker chip and whoever gets the red one is next in line." Sandy drew the first one and got a black one and then Dean drew one and then me.

"Guess you're up next Dean," I said.

With that decided we all got plates of food and returned to the living room. I was last, and with Sandy settled in the easy chair and Dean on my small side chair I sat next to Carol on the sofa. Tom elected to stand and asked, "Everybody ready?"

Carol said, "I didn't give it a title because who the hell knows where this will go."

"Okay then lend me your ears and we'll get started." He flipped the cover sheet over and began.

"I didn't see it coming. One minute I'm standing on the sidewalk and the next minute I was in the bushes with a car almost on top of me. It took me some seconds to realize I had been hit and that I was beat up pretty badly. The pain didn't hit me right away, but when it did it hit me hard. My leg felt like it had been ripped off, so I looked down at it to make sure it was still there. I didn't even notice all of the cuts and scratches from the bushes that had been destroyed as my body was pushed through them." Tom paused and looked around and then continued.

"I don't remember the actual accident, only the pain and somebody asking over and over, lady are you okay? I wasn't sure who was asking so I just said

to whoever might listen, I'm hurt and I need an ambulance. I don't know who called, but somebody did and I'll forever be thankful to them. I remember the pain. The pain of being moved onto the ambulance gurney, the pain of my broken leg as it poked a hole through the side, the pain of anything touching me wherever my skin had been ripped open or rubbed away. My world was pain and that's all I remember until I was in my hospital room at the hospital many hours later.

Somebody I didn't know came over to me when I opened my eyes and said, "Is there anybody I can call for you Jennifer?" My head hurt and I felt nauseous and just forming a thought took a lot of work.

"Who are you," I asked him.

"I was there when you were hurt and I stayed with you until the ambulance arrived. I heard them call you Jennifer at some point so that's how I know your name."

"What happened?"

"You were hit by a car."

"I don't understand, I remember standing on the sidewalk waiting to cross the street."

"They jumped the curb and hit you. I think the guy was drunk or high or something."

"So you have been here waiting for me to wake up?"

"I didn't like the idea of you waking up alone."

"Who are you?"

"I'm Seth Norton. Isn't there a family member I can call for you?"

"I just moved here from California so I hardly know anybody."

"That's a long way from Kentucky. How about an employer, should they be notified."

"Oh my God."

"What?"

"My briefcase. Where is my briefcase?"

"I don't know, I'm sorry."

My mind was picking up speed quickly now. "I work for Damon and Hartwell, attorneys here in Louisville. I had some very confidential data in my computer."

"Jennifer try to rest and not worry about it. Wherever it is there is nothing you can do about it right now. I'll notify Damon and Hartwell for you."

"Thank you Seth."

"You're welcome. If you don't mind I'll come back tomorrow."

"Mind? Of course not, you're like an angel."

"That's flattering but greatly exaggerated."

"Not to me." I could feel my body giving out on me and said, "I guess I better try to rest."

"Yes, you better do that." I don't even remember him leaving.

Tom stopped reading the story and said, "That's about half way so let's freshen our drinks."

Chapter Four

Carol looked over at me and I told her, "I think you can relax now, I think you did a great job."

"Thank you."

Then Sandy came over and said, "Dean's going to have to go some to match that."

"Thank you Sandy."

Even Tom told her, "Great job Carol. I could see her relax then and she smiled.

"Thank you Tom. I think that calls for another glass of wine," and as she got up I took her glass.

I got up too and poured a glass of wine for her and said, "Wine for the writer."

"Thank you Ken."

Dean went over to her and added his support saying, "Thanks a lot. I'm going to have a hell of a time trying to equal that."

"You'll do fine and thank you Dean."

He kissed her cheek and said, "Well anyway, great job."

I looked at her and said, "Wow, you even rated a kiss on the cheek."

She just smiled and said, "We writers get that all the time."

Tom picked up Carol's chapter and waited until we were settled again and started with the last half. "It was late the next day before I was to a point where I could stay awake for any length of time. Even with pain medication my leg throbbed like a bad tooth, and every day a nurse would change the dressings on the many wounds on my right side and belly. Seth did come back to see me late in the day and stayed with me for over an hour, and he was there for me for the next few days. I started therapy, and the first day that I was allowed to dangle my feet off the side of the bed was one of pain, but one of victory as well. They told me that I would heal and walk again, but I wasn't going to believe them until I could at least stand up on my own.

Paul Damon, my boss came to see me and asked me about my briefcase and I had to tell him I had no idea where it could be. I could see the disappointment in his face but we both knew it wasn't my fault. "Losing the data is really going to set us back.."

"I know it is Paul and I'm sorry."

"I'm just glad that you weren't hurt any worse than you were."

"Me too." If the police don't have the briefcase that means somebody stole it during the chaos of the accident."

"I think we can replace the files. At least I hope we can, but it will take a long time. That was an error on my part. I just hope it doesn't fall into the wrong hands." I didn't even know what was in the computer. I just knew that it was very important to them.

"Paul what happened to the guy that hit me?"

"He was in jail but I think he's out on bail now."

"Was he drunk like I was told he was?"

"That's my understanding."

"Will you handle my case if I sue him?"

"We'll have to wait and see, but I'll see that you have a good attorney."

"Thank you." It helped me a lot to have visitors but I would tire easily so they never stayed long.

My sense of time was less that perfect, so it didn't really matter to me what day of the week it was. The day that I made my first walk with crutches was, for me at least, a day to celebrate. Once the therapists were convinced I could handle them without hurting myself, the doctor told me I was scheduled for discharge the next day. I was one day from going home, so when food service came around for my dinner order I forgot about my diet and ordered pizza and Coke and I told the lady I wanted enough for two very hungry people. That way I was sure I'd get all the pizza I wanted.

I was sitting in the chair beside my bed waiting for dinner when somebody knocked on my door. I looked up as the door slowly opened and for an instant I was afraid. The face peering through the doorway was unshaved and their hair, though looking clean, was in desperate need of being cut and their clothes were very worn. "Excuse me," the man said, "Would you be Jennifer Williams?"

"Yes." He still hadn't entered my room so I said, "It's okay, you can come in."

"I'm sorry to bother you like this."

"What can I do for you?"

He held up my briefcase out in front of him and said, "I think this might be yours."

"Oh my God where did you get that, I've been so worried about it."

He looked at me for just a brief second and then cast his eyes down. "I'm ashamed to say I was going to pawn it. When you were hit it went flyin' and landed in a bush that I was sleeping behind. It almost hit me in fact. Miss I'm sorry I kept it this long."

"I'm so thankful that you have kept it and brought it back to me." I pointed to a folding chair and told him, "Please pull that over and sit down and talk to me."

"I don't want to bother you."

"You are like a gift from heaven, you aren't a bother. In fact they're bringing dinner, would you join me?"

"Oh no I couldn't be eating your dinner."

"There will be plenty because I ordered extra. It's just pizza and Coke, but I'd like you to stay if you would." He hesitated so I said, "Just put the briefcase on the bed and stay with me a bit."

"If you're sure I'm not a bother."

"You are no bother. What's your name?"

"Um, just call me Caleb I guess."

"Okay, Caleb it is and call me Jenny. How did you find me?

"I just happened to find a newspaper with the accident article in it and they said you were here. I had to kinda ask a few people to figure out where your room was."

"You went to a lot of trouble to do this for me. How did you get here Caleb?

"I walked."

"From the park where I had the accident?"

"Yeah. I kinda hang around there a lot."

"Is that where you live Caleb?"

"Sometimes. I have a place to live in, but it ain't much. Sometimes I just need to be outdoors you know?"

My food tray arrived, and in minutes I was watching him inhale the pizza and my Coke. I could always ask for more later.

"Caleb I'd like to reward you for saving my briefcase."

"That's not necessary Miss Jenny."

"But I couldn't sleep if I just let you walk away and not show my appreciation. I'll give you an address and I want you to go there and ask for Paul Damon. I'll write this down for you. Mr. Damon will see that you are rewarded because this briefcase is also his as much as it is mine and he's going to be so happy to see it again. I'll call him and tell him to expect you okay?" Promise me you will go see him."

"Yes ma'am if you insist."

"I really do. Caleb what made you come all that way to see me?"

"I'm already in big trouble with the man upstairs for other sins, and for once I wanted to do the right thing."

"I can almost promise you that you have proven to Him and the world that you are a good man Caleb."

"Thank you Miss Jenny."

Caleb stood up and said, "Thank you for dinner. You are a very nice woman Jenny."

"Thank you Caleb. If you'll go to that same address in a few weeks I'll be there and we can have lunch together again. Just ask for me at the desk."

"Yes ma'am." He went to the door and looked back at me for a second and left. I was still in a state of shock from recovering the briefcase but not so much so that I couldn't call Paul and tell him the great news."

Tom walked over and handed the chapter to Dean and said, "Good luck. Carol left you with more possibilities than you'll know what to do with. I came up with at least a dozen possible events for a second chapter and that many different directions the story could take." Dean took the pages from him and just looked at them.

"This will take some time because I have some ideas already and it's going to be hard to decide.

I stood up and offered coffee or iced tea and Carol joined me saying, "I'll help you Ken."

We went to the kitchen and I got the iced tea from the refrigerator and set it on the counter. "Carol you did a hell of a job with that. Are you sure you have never done anything like that before?"

"Never."

Now it the months since our move from Chicago none of us that I was aware of had ever gone beyond a light embrace or a rare peck on the cheek, but I kissed her lips and said, "I'm so impressed with you."

She looked at me in surprise but then smiled and said, "Thank you Ken." Sandy came into the kitchen then and as Carol moved off with the coffee pot and cups and said, "Now what was that smoochy stuff all about?"

"I was complimenting her on her great job."

"Some compliment."

Chapter Five

I didn't see or hear from 'the family' all week, but I learned that Dean was out of town, and Tom was in New York on business with his publisher. It wasn't uncommon that I wouldn't see or hear from Carol, but Sandra and I would often get together for coffee. I was starting to get worried when I called her for the third time and got her answering machine again. She finally called me and asked, "Did you try to call me?"

"Only about four times."

"My answering machine wasn't working right I guess."

"Well it wasn't important, I just wanted to have coffee with you."

"Oh. Well okay. Have you heard from Dean?"

"He's out of town until tomorrow."

"So no gathering this Saturday then."

"It doesn't look like it."

"I think I'll go back to Chicago tomorrow for a long weekend and see some old friends."

"I was hoping we could get together but I guess not."

"Sorry."

"Call me when you get back would you?"

"It might be late."

"I'd still like to hear from you."

"You sure?"

"Sandy you are my best friend and I miss you when we don't get together."

"I'll call you then."

"Thanks."

"So can we get together for coffee before you go?"

"Sure, come over and I'll start it brewing."

She let me in and poured the coffee, and as usual we sat next to each other at her kitchen counter. She watched her cup as she absentmindedly ran a finger around the rim and I asked her, "Something on your mind?"

"What...oh no I was just thinking about Carol's chapter."

"Oh. She did great, but where do you think Dean will go with it?"

"I have no idea, what would you do?"

"I'd have to think about it because like Tom said, she left so many doors open. I can see a love slant, a human interest slant and even murder or deception in a couple of different ways. I'm glad it isn't me writing chapter two."

"Yeah me too."

"You seen a little distracted tonight."

"Am I? I guess I'm thinking about the long drive north."

"It is a boring drive."

"Yes it is boring."

"Wish I could get away, I'd volunteer to help you drive and I could go see an old friend of mine too, since my best friend will already be up there." She looked at me a second and then went back to her cup. "I'll bet that coffee would taste better if you actually drank it."

"Am I really your best friend Ken?"

"Of course you are and you have been almost since the day I arrived."

"Are you over leaving your girlfriend?"

"Yes a long time ago in fact."

"Do you see yourself in a relationship again?"

"God I hope so, I'm not sold on the bachelor life, what about you?"

"Of course. I want a house or maybe a condo, I don't care. But a home, not a rented apartment."

"Me too. I'm okay for now, but this is no way to live year after year."

"It will be sad when the family breaks up."

"We'll just have to travel a little farther to get together is all."

Sandy paused a second and asked, "So you think you'd like to keep the family together?"

"Sure, wouldn't you?"

"I'd like to yes."

"You sure you're okay? You seem kind of down or pensive or something."

"Just a little tired."

"Well I'll get going and let you get some rest."

"No I'm sorry I didn't mean it that way." I stood up and she joined me so I put my arms around her and looked at her. "Sandy are you sure you're okay?'

"Yes I'm okay."

I must have been into the kissing thing because I kissed her and said, "If you need anything, even just somebody to talk to call me okay?"

She looked at me and then said, "I will I promise."

I turned to go and she asked, "Ken?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

I wasn't sure what she was thanking me for but I said, "You're welcome. Remember to call me when you get back."