Chapter 34
Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in.
—Romans 11:19
Gabrielle and Zachary visited Jasmine every day of the twenty days she was in the sterile area of the hospital recovering from the transplant. Only Gabrielle, Zachary, and Jessica were authorized to visit her at this point, outside of the medical professionals.
Gabrielle saw how tired Jessica was becoming and insisted (privately) that she do whatever she needed to get well. Jessica promised she would, but only after she was certain Jasmine was completely out of the woods and truly on her way to a full recovery.
Thirty days after the transplant process first began, Jasmine was moved to the facility where she would technically not be considered hospitalized, but more like an outpatient. While there (for the next sixty to seventy days), she would continue to be checked daily for possible infection or other immune-related complications.
Jessica’s health continued to decline. Gabrielle told her she would take care of Jasmine, provided Jessica didn’t object to her being around so much, while she began her own (what would now be) aggressive chemotherapy treatments. Gabrielle was deeply concerned about Jessica now, and she made her concerns known.
Too tired to fight Gabrielle any longer about it, Jessica was grateful to have someone who genuinely cared. With stage-three cancer and having been told that she really needed surgery, Jessica’s doctor informed her that she could no longer put off, at a minimum, chemo and radiation, if she wanted even a fighting chance of being around just a little longer for her daughter. Her doctor had been emphatically blunt, telling her she’d likely be dead in a month if she didn’t begin right then. Jessica told Gabrielle she would agree to take the prescribed treatment on one condition.
“And what’s that?” Gabrielle asked.
“If you’ll come work for me. Allow me to pay you to take care of my child.”
“What?” Gabrielle was more shocked than insulted.
Jessica was so weak now she could barely get her words out. Even if she hadn’t told Gabrielle, it was obvious from her frail body that something was wrong other than the toll Jasmine’s sickness had taken on her. She’d totally ruled out surgery because she knew it would take her out of commission. Right now Jessica was using every ounce of strength she could muster just to keep Jasmine from knowing how truly sick she was.
“Hear me out completely,” Jessica said, swallowing hard enough that Gabrielle could see her do it. “I can’t do what’s needed anymore. And frankly, you can’t continue trying to keep up with your full-time job at the church and be here for me and Jasmine when we need you. Not the way we’ll really need you at this point.”
“Oh, you don’t have to be concerned about me. I’ll be okay. So far it hasn’t posed a problem. And it won’t be a problem now.” Gabrielle leaned in on the table in the room where they sat alone. “Besides, Jasmine will be going home soon.”
“And then what?” Jessica sat back against her chair, looking like she would tip over if someone merely walked by and caused a slight breeze. She stared at Gabrielle. “When Jasmine comes home, then what? Huh? She’s still going to need someone who can do what needs to be done. And honestly, there will be days when I know she’ll be a little down and need me, and maybe that will be the day when I can barely get out of bed, if I can get out at all. What then, Gabrielle? What?”
“If you’re telling me you’d like me to continue to do what I can just as I’ve already been doing here and at the hospital before here, then I’m telling you it’s not a problem. I can do that. I’ve tried to be respectful of you and Jasmine, being aware of the boundaries that must be maintained. But if you’re asking me to come to your house after Jasmine is released to go home and help you out”—Gabrielle smiled—“then I’ll be more than happy to do that. You don’t have to offer to pay me to do that.”
Jessica leaned on the table, resting her upper body on her folded arms. Her face was tired. She looked like a person too tired to go on. “We need you,” Jessica said. “I need you to help me make sure Jasmine is all right. And let’s be honest: It’s not fair to ask you to work a full-time job somewhere and then come and help us pretty much full-time. It’s just not right. So I’m asking you, if you would, please consider working full-time for me and allow me to pay you for your services.”
“Jessica, I’m sure you can hire plenty of folks who are more qualified than me.”
“Yes, I could hire a nurse or someone else to do this. But Jasmine needs stability in her life. She needs love. And I need someone around who I know, without any doubt, loves my little girl as much as I do and would do anything to ensure that she’s okay. At this point, I don’t know anybody else who fits that description other than you. So please”—she sat up and grabbed Gabrielle’s hand, almost in a death grip—“I’m asking you . . . begging you: Please do this for us. And if not for me, then do it for Jasmine. At least consider it.”
Gabrielle sucked in a deep breath and fell back hard against the chair. “All right. I’ll consider it. But I’d like to talk this over with Pastor Landris and Johnnie Mae. Both of them have been so wonderful to me. They’re like my parents.”
Jessica released Gabrielle’s hand. “That’s fine. Talk it over with whoever you feel you need to. All I’m asking is for you to think about it and let me know. And if your answer is no, then I’ll respect that and work this out somehow another way. But almost nine years ago, you made me a part of this wonderful little girl’s life when you opted to give her life, then she was given to me. Now it’s like you’ve been grafted into our lives . . . into our little family. Somehow, we’ve managed to bring our two worlds together and make this work. Just like that wonderful person’s donated cells were grafted into Jasmine and have now become a part of her.”
Gabrielle called Johnnie Mae and left a message for her to call her as soon as she got a chance. Gabrielle truly didn’t want to quit her job. Becoming the director over this dance ministry had been the best thing that could have ever happened for her. It was a dream come true. To be able to do what she loved, and get paid to do it. And on top of that, the work she happened to be doing was ministry—no, it didn’t get any better than that!
And yet, she was being asked to sacrifice one special love for another.
She looked up at the ceiling. “God, what do I do? What do I do?”