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a safe distance behind, her father Rick was not displaying the same carefree expression as his only daughter. He knew she felt somewhat at ease here as she had been to that hospital a half a dozen times over the last year. The nurses were always very friendly and made everything seem so normal. Rick knew better, though. Each trip to St. Vincent’s seemed to signify a progressively worse situation.
    “Wait, Carly,” her dad called out just before she was about to enter an open door on the left.
    Carly stopped and looked back at her dad. “We’re going back to Mommy’s room, right?” She pointed up ahead toward the open door. “It’s that one!”
    “That’s right, honey, but Daddy needs to speak to Dr. Brady for a minute.” He knelt down and motioned for her to come over to him. “Come give me a hug, and then you’re going to wait here with Nurse Penny.”
    A woman dressed in light blue scrubs came from the side nurses’ station as Carly ran to her dad. She flung her long, grayish white hair back behind her shoulder.
    Carly wrapped her arms around her father’s neck and asked, “Do I get to play with the gloves again?”
    Rick gave the nurse a questioning look and a shrug. “It’s up to Nurse Penny.”
    “Of course, sweetie.” Nurse Penny flashed a comforting smile and reached out her hand to Carly. “C’mon.”
    Rick stood and watched as the two walked over to the nurses’ station, both of their manes swaying in unison across their backs. He then turned and looked at the open door, pausing a few seconds before taking stride. Before he reached her door, he prepared his game face. He laughed in spite of himself, knowing that it was pointless. He could never fool her, and besides, he knew she was doing the same thing herself.
    The first thing that Rick noticed when he entered the room was what he always noticed when he entered a room Katie was in: her smile. It always seemed to make everyone around her feel at ease. It was almost as though Katie was trying to put Dr. Brady at ease instead of the other way around. Katie was sitting straight up in the bed with her long, brown hair up in a ponytail. Her blue eyes were sparkling as she listened to the doctor speak. By the look on her face, those eyes would not give away to anyone that she was ill.
    “Rick, Dr. Brady says it’s about that time.” She spoke as if she were talking about a business proposal. “Dialysis is not cutting it anymore. It’s time to step up our game.” Katie loved to throw in sports references for Rick’s benefit. A completely guy’s guy, Rick loved to watch, and play, sports. And he adored how Katie would memorize some obscure quote and then try to use it at entirely the wrong time. One time, Rick was watching a football game with his buddies and Katie walked by while they were arguing stats. She touted a player that she remembered Rick talking about, trying to be cool. Unfortunately for her, that player had retired eight years earlier.
    “I know, babe. He told me this morning.” Rick, tall and lanky, walked over to the other side of the bed. He reached out and put his hand on Katie’s leg. He had short, black hair buzzed like he was ready to be deployed.
    “These days, there is a really good chance of finding a live donor,” she said with a reassuring look.
    “I know,” he repeated. “And we will.”
    Like most men, Rick stated his feelings in as few words as possible. Katie didn’t mind this because, unlike most women, she didn’t spend a lot of time talking about her feelings either.
    “So what’s the next step?” he said to Dr. Brady.
    “First we need to have all your friends and family tested, even the ones out of town.” He nudged his glasses up a bit higher on his nose. In his late fifties, Dr. Brady had been with Katie since the beginning of her diagnosis. “Kits can be mailed out, and they can bring them to their local physicians.”
    “Sounds easy enough,” Katie said. “But…you know I don’t have