Part 36 (1/2)
”Nice of all of you to come,” Sean began.
”We came because we were curious about our great Uncle Sean from Hawaii,” a rotund man in his early forties volunteered. ”We've heard about you all our lives.”
The young woman who opened the door crossed her arms. ”Nice of you to finally visit your poor relatives.”
”Hush Megan!” A middle-aged woman in a floral print dress admonished. ”Where are your manners?” She turned to look at Sean and offered her hand as she walked up to him. ”Maureen Duffy Larson. I'm your cousin, your brother Seamus' daughter. The mouthy one there is my granddaughter Megan.”
”Don't be so obsequious.” Megan eyed him up and down. ”He's only here because he needs something from us.”
Sean took Maureen's hand. ”Megan's right. I'm here because I need something from all of you.”
”Didn't I tell you?” Megan smirked.
”Shut your mouth,” a slender man with gla.s.ses scolded. He, too, walked over to Sean and held out his hand. ”Ken Larson, the big-mouth's father. Excuse her. That college education you paid for has made her think she knows everything.” He glared at his daughter.
Megan flopped into a chair with one leg flung over the arm. ”I showed them the article about you in Town & Country a few years ago. I told them, 'Is this the rich uncle who ignores his own family and greases his conscience by offering us sc.r.a.ps here in Boston?'”
”Megan, will you shut up and listen to what he has to say?” One of the men said. He looked at Sean. ”Richard, her brother.”
Sean s.h.i.+fted his weight. ”Is Sheila here? She's the one I've been talking to.”
”That's me.” A stout woman in her forties walked over to him and took his hand. ”My mother talked about you all the time. Like you were some kind of prince.”
”And you didn't even come to her funeral,” another voice in the crowd said. ”Not that you couldn't afford to come.”
A murmur began and a young man in his twenties disengaged himself from the crowd and walked over to him. ”Christopher Treadwell,” he said without offering him a hand. ”Bridgett's grandson. Not that you care.”
”I'm sorry. You're right. I should have come.”
”Right.” Christopher gave Megan a look.
Megan curled her lip.
”I wanted to forget where I came from,” Sean fumbled. ”There were many painful memories here.”
”We can accept that but you should have cared about your brothers and sisters who loved you.” A middle-aged man walked up to him. ”Jim Duffy, Seamus' son.” He extended his hand. ”Okay, maybe you didn't know us. But Aunt Bridgett was your sister. She wanted to see you again. You should have come at least once before she died. Or you could have sent her a plane ticket to Hawaii. I suppose it never occurred to you to do that?”
”It should have and I'm ashamed to admit I didn't think of it.” Sean shook his head. ”It's not enough to say I'm sorry, but I am.”
”So don't expect us to greet you with open arms,” Megan announced. ”Of course some of my relatives are impressed with your money. But the rest of us don't care how much money you have, you're still a stranger.”
Sean's inclination was to walk out the door right then and there. But he couldn't, for his granddaughter's sake. How strange life was. The fate of a girl he didn't even know a few months ago now lay in his hands. The family had exhausted all other possibilities.
”You have a right to be angry with me,” Sean said. ”I acted like I didn't have a family. Now I'm returning to ask you to help me save my granddaughter's life.”
Sean's candor seemed to shame some of them. Maureen spoke first. ”At least you're being honest.” She looked at the rest of the family. ”It's a Duffy trait to be sure.”
Sheila addressed the group now. ”I told you all about Uncle Sean's granddaughter. She has leukemia and needs a bone marrow transplant. A relative is the best bet for a match.” Sheila turned to Sean. ”Better late than never to acknowledge you have a family,” she said. Then she did something Sean didn't expect. She hugged him.
Before he left Boston, Megan apologized. ”I'm sorry I acted like such a brat.” She looked down at the floor. ”I never did thank you for my college education.”
Sean hugged her. He had never been demonstrative although his family was. The week he spent in his hometown, he embraced more people than he had in his entire life. ”It's okay. You were right, you know.”
”You turned out to be okay.” Megan smiled. ”Uncle Sean?”
”Yes.”
”I'm graduating from Georgetown law school this year,” she said.
Sean looked at her with surprise. Who would have thought this young girl with her ponytail, baggy T-s.h.i.+rt, and blue jeans was almost a lawyer. ”I'm impressed.”
Megan played with her sandy brown hair. ”I didn't mean to impress you. I just wanted you to know your money didn't go to waste. I did so well on my LSAT and my grades in college were so good, I was offered a full scholars.h.i.+p. I'm graduating in the upper ten percent of my cla.s.s and made law review.” A proud smile lit her face. ”I clerked for the Supreme Court last summer.”
”If you ever want to come and work in Hawaii ...”
”No thanks.” Megan said. ”I want to be a children's advocate. I don't suppose I'll make lots of money, but I'll be helping others. Do you understand? I don't want you to think I was only interested in money. I'm interested in helping.”
Sean blinked back tears. He hadn't cried since he was a child. ”I'm so proud of you. I hope Ashley turns out as well.”
Megan reached out and squeezed his hand. ”Don't worry Uncle Sean. I'm sorry you didn't find a match among the clan, but no matter what, it was great everyone got to know you. Everything will be okay, you'll find someone.”
Sean was tired. It had become his mission in life to find a match for Ashley. Funny, he was closer to this unknown grandchild than he was to his own sons. And he was determined to keep her alive. He spent a lot of time and money looking for possible relatives, even as far away as Europe and Asia, but to no avail. It had been seven months since the diagnosis; time was running out. He was alarmed at how much chemotherapy and medication had weakened Ashley.
His secretary buzzed and he pressed the intercom speakerphone. ”Yes?”
”Mrs. Myers to see you.”
”Send her in.” Sean wondered what brought Jackie to see him. Since learning he was her father, she had kept her distance, even though he and Ashley had become close.
When the door opened, he was surprised. ”Meg?”
Meg was an ageless beauty in her sixties who refused to dye her hair, electing to let it turn silver. Their affair seemed so long ago. And he had come to realize he was more in love with the idea of Meg rather than with Meg herself.
”Please sit down,” he gestured to a chair.
Meg sat. ”Please sit down, too. You're going to have to.”
Puzzled, Sean did as she suggested. ”I don't understand.”
”I hoped this moment would never come, but it has.” Meg fiddled with her purse. ”Have you found a donor for Ashley yet?”
”No I haven't.”
”Have you exhausted all possibilities?” she pressed.
”We're still trying to dig up possible relatives in j.a.pan, Ireland, Germany, or Portugal. No luck so far.” Sean stroked his forehead. ”She doesn't have much time.”