Him Over Her Son

I looked at my son, Andy Lewis, lying peacefully at the hospital morgue, overwhelmed by grief at his lifeless body.

Andy had always been a good kid. I had never once needed to worry too much for him, yet I had been a terrible father. I could not even care for and protect him.

Andy suffered from a sudden liver failure, desperately needing a liver transplant. The only person whose liver was compatible was my wife, Vivian Grant.

However, on the second day the results came out, she was sent abroad to further her career.

The first day that she left, I begged her to come back to donate her liver to her son. She said that she finally had the chance to go abroad, so she did not want to give it up.

I then begged her to return daily for 18 days, but she turned me down heartlessly.

On the nineteenth day, the doctor told me that Andy's situation was turning for the worse and that he needed a liver transplant as soon as possible. I begged Vivian to return once more to help her son.

She said that if she left halfway, her career would be over. She told me to transfer Andy to a private hospital and to seek other compatible matches.

The private hospital was at full capacity, so they refused to take us in. We had no choice but to return to a public hospital.

Andy was in so much pain that his face had lost all its color. Still, he looked at me with hope in his eyes.

"Daddy, why isn't Mommy here yet? Did I do something wrong to make her angry?"

I did not know how to console my son. I thought that maybe I didn't make myself clear and Vivian had misunderstood me, that she thought our son wasn't in a dire situation.

I begged Vivian once more for help, together with Andy's primary doctor. Vivian finally budged and said that she would take two days off to donate her liver to Andy.

However, on the day of the surgery, I waited outside the operating theater for the entire day, but Vivian was nowhere to be seen. Even when I received news that my son had passed away, Vivian was not there at all.

When I took my phone out, just about to call Vivian to ask why she had not showed up, I saw a photo sent to me by Jason Sanderson.

In the photo, Vivian was buried in his arms, smiling widely, while his son, Luke, held her hands.

With trembling fingers, I opened Jason's social media page to see a caption that stabbed me in the heart.

[20th day of traveling around the world. Dr. Grant gave up her career to help fulfil my son's dream of traveling the world.]

If I had not seen Jason's social media page, I would not have known that my wife had accompanied another child to travel around the world.

I held my son's icy hands, feeling a pang of grief overwhelming me.

At that moment, Vivian called.

"Charlie, Luke got full marks on his exams. His wish was to have his Daddy and Mommy travel around the world with him. As you know, he doesn't have a mother, so I couldn't bear to watch him not get his wish. We'll return in three days. We can have the surgery for Andy then."

My mind blanked. If she had called two days ago, I would surely have jumped up with joy.

I could not find myself getting happy.

Her son's life was not as important as helping someone else's child fulfill their wish.

Vivian seemed to sense that something was up.

She said anxiously, "Charlie, say something."

I came to my senses and asked, "Vivian, do you know that your son's situation is really dire?"

Vivian was stunned. It finally hit her that Andy's transplant could no longer be delayed.

"Charlie, don't worry. I'll buy a flight ticket home right away."

Suddenly, Luke, at the other end of the line, asked Vivian innocently, "Mommy, for our final stop, I want to go to the romantic city of Pary. Will you come with me?"

Vivian thought for a while before saying to me, "Charlie, my friends at the hospital told me that Andy's condition isn't acute. I'll still make it in time when I return in three days. Please be more understanding and wait for me."

I knew that would be the answer.

Ever since Jason had returned to the country, all she cared about was him and Luke. She had initially agreed to celebrate Andy's birthday, but she ended standing us up because Luke had a cold.

Vivian said that since Luke did not have a mother, she needed to take care of him. She told me and Andy to be more understanding.

She gave Andy's birthday present to Luke. She canceled the family dinner to take Luke to a theme park. Every time she did that, all she said was for us to be more understanding.

She knew that Andy and I would forgive her, that we would wait for her, so she fearlessly ignored us and hurt us over and over again.

I no longer wanted to be understanding. My son was dead, and so was our marriage.