to stick together, right?” He gave Scotty a high five and the boy grinned.
“Aunt Beth brought in some extra hangers so’s you can hang up your shirts and pants.”
“That was very nice of her, but I only have a couple shirts, and an extra pair of jeans. I didn’t figure on staying away too long.”
“You mean from the hospital in Milwaukee?” Compassion now glowed in the boy’s blue eyes that only seconds before were alight with happiness. “Does your leg hurt real bad?”
“Naw…nothing to worry about. Tomorrow it’ll be fine.”
“I hope not.” He blushed in embarrassment. “I mean, I hope you don’t have any more pain, but I want you to stay longer.”
As Kurt glanced around the room, a thought crossed his mind. “Do you have a computer, Scotty?”
“No, but my mom does down at the bookstore. Sometimes she brings it home with her. We could go down and get it.”
“No, forget it. I just thought I’d pass some time chatting with a couple friends on the Internet.”
“Sometimes when I’m at the bookstore Mom lets me play a game on the Internet, but that’s all. She said there are naughty pictures and per…”
“Perverts,” Kurt said.
Scotty nodded. “She said these perverts lurk on the Internet trying to se…ah…”
“Seduce?” Kurt asked.
“Yeah, that’s the word. They hurt young kids.” He frowned. “How can they do that, Kurt, if they don’t even live here?”
This was as bad as trying to explain the birds and the bees to the kid. “They pretend to be your friend to find out where you live. If you’re too young to come to them, they’ll come to you.”
“I guess I don’t have to worry ’cause I don’t have a computer. You can watch television if you like.” He walked over and turned on a small set on the corner of a desk.
Kurt picked up the remote, sat down on the edge of the bed and began to channel surf. The choices were limited.
“My mom had a chip put on the channels I shouldn’t watch.”
“Can’t get away with anything today, can you?”
He hit a news channel and was about to move on when the newscaster mentioned the world-wide spread of criminal organ harvesting. Recalling what he had observed while in Colombia, Kurt listened to the discussion between the panel of three men and a woman. He was surprised to see that one of the panelists was Dr. Escobar, the doctor in charge of the hospital in Colombia.
According to the panelists, organ donations were needed all over the world but the demand was so much greater than the supply that in many countries innocent victims were being attacked and would wake up missing vital organs.
“Kurt, what’s organ harvesting?” Scotty asked.
Kurt switched off the tube. “Prior to dying, Scotty, many people indicate that they want their organs donated to others who are in need of them.”
“Like what?” Scotty asked.
“There’s a multitude of things, pal. Hearts, lungs, kidneys, livers. All sorts of things. Even skin.”
“Wow! You mean you can take something from someone’s body and put it in somebody else’s?”
“Well, it’s a pretty tricky procedure but yes, you can and it saves thousands of people’s lives.”
“Kids’ lives, too.”
“Sure. Babies born with damaged heart valves and things like that. It’s amazing. Of course, there has to be a lot of things in play to make it successful. The donor would have to have been in good health—most likely died from an accident. Then the organ has to be removed when the donor is legally brain dead, but still has a functioning heart and lungs. In other words, the organs would be useless if removed after there ceased to be oxygen being transported to those areas.”
Scotty frowned. “If a person’s dead, how can that happen?”
“Machines, Scotty. A person’s brain can be mush, but machines can keep them alive to remove these organs and such in time. And a person doesn’t have to be dead to donate an organ. Many people legally donate organs to family members and others in need in order to save their lives. Kidneys and bone marrow are good examples of what a healthy person can donate without dying to do so.”
“What about arms and legs. If a person was dying could you donate them, too?”
“I don’t think so, Scotty. At least I’ve never heard of it. I’ve heard of reattaching fingers and hands, but they were the victim’s to begin with.”
“Maybe someday the doctors will figure out how to do that, too, then no one would have to use a wheelchair or a pro…”
“Prosthesis,” Kurt said. He tousled the young boy’s hair. “Yeah, maybe someday.”
He liked this kid. He had never had much to do with children before, but it was almost as if he and Scotty had bonded on sight.
Unfortunately the same could not be said about him and Maddie. The woman seemed to dislike him on sight. So maybe he was a bit on the wild side when they were in school. How long can she carry a grudge? That was ten years ago—so let it go, lady!
Later Kurt sat down to have dinner with the Bennetts. He couldn’t remember sitting down as a family with anyone since he was young. Sure he and the squad had eaten countless meals together, but this was the first time it was a regular family meal with women and a child. Mike and Dave had only gotten married within the last year, and the rest of the guys were single.
He had to say he enjoyed it. Homemade fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, fresh Wisconsin corn on the cob. It all tasted different than in a restaurant. Either these two women were the best cooks in the world, or it just felt good to be a normal guy sitting around at a dinner table.
Besides, the company was great. Aunt Beth was a charming conversationalist, Maddie was quiet but good to look at, and the kid was a joy. It made Kurt begin to think about what he’d been missing all these years.
“Mom,” Scotty suddenly asked, “if I would have died this morning, would you have donated my organs to kids who need them?”
The startling question clearly caught her off guard, and Maddie’s fork clunked against the plate as it slipped through her fingers. “What?”
“I’ve decided that when I die I want my organs donated to help other kids who need them.”
Still startled, Maddie asked, “Scotty, where did you get such an idea?”
“Kurt and I were watching the television and they were talking about it.”
Oh, oh, Kurt thought, hang on to your head, Bolen, I think the ax is about to fall.
“Scotty, I’ve told you it’s disrespectful for a child to address an adult by a first name.”
Kurt came to the boy’s defense. “It’s my fault, Maddie, I told him he could.”
She turned a disapproving gaze on him. “That may be so, Mr. Bolen, but my son knows my wishes on the subject.”
“I personally have no objection to it.”
“And I’m also very selective about Scotty’s television viewing, Mr. Bolen.”
For God’s sake! The woman was chastising him as if he were a two-year-old. “It was a news channel, Maddie.”
“Good gracious, Maddie, I’m sure no harm was done,” Beth said. “And I think Scotty’s consideration for those less fortunate is very admirable.”
“That’s