Now her focus was Amber, her work at the hospital and building a happy, secure life for the two of them. Men were a distraction and she didn’t have room in her life for any distractions. She owed her sister and David her undivided attention to their daughter. She had promised them both that in her prayers the night Amber had been born.
‘So how is little Amber doing?’ Arthur asked matter-of-factly, as he inserted his validated parking ticket into the machine and waited for the arm to rise and release them. ‘I know she’s had a number of medical issues but she’s a far cry from the infant we saw in ICU. She looks the picture of health now.’ As he spoke, the automated arm lifted, and they left the car park and headed in the direction of the main road that would lead to their beachside residence.
Jade looked down at Amber, who was still drowsy and now sucking her thumb. The last time she’d seen Maureen and David had been at the funeral and when they’d visited Amber in hospital. She had been less than a week old and a little over two pounds by then. The little girl had been through so much over the years and there were still potential medical hurdles ahead, but Jade tried not to dwell on them. She was also aware that Arthur was a retired orthopaedic surgeon so he had the understanding and ability to process the medical details.
‘As I said in my emails, Amber was diagnosed with dysplasia in her right kidney.’
‘What’s kidney dysplasia and is it serious?’ Maureen interrupted.
‘It means, darling,’ Arthur began to explain as he watched the lights change at the intersection, ‘that one of little Amber’s kidneys didn’t develop properly before she was born and she has fluid-filled sacs instead of healthy tissue in one kidney, but the other one is perfectly fine and doing the work of both.’
‘Can that go on indefinitely or will the good kidney be overworked?’ Maureen’s question was directed at both Jade and Arthur.
Arthur looked over at his wife with a knowing expression. She had no medical knowledge but she was an intelligent and inquisitive woman and they were two of the many reasons he had married her. He knew she would have excelled in any field she had chosen so he did not need to over-simplify his medical terminology around her.
‘A baby or, in Amber’s case, a young child with one working kidney can grow normally without too many health problems. Babies with kidney dysplasia affecting both kidneys generally do not survive pregnancy, and those who do survive need dialysis and a kidney transplant very early in life.’
‘How dreadful for the child and the parents.’
Jade stroked Amber’s forehead gently and watched her precious niece holding on tightly to the favourite rag doll she had pulled from Jade’s bag.
‘We are fortunate, but Amber is still being closely monitored back in LA,’ Jade added.
‘How did it happen?’ Maureen asked as they left the highway.
‘Kidney dysplasia can have genetic causes,’ Jade replied, imparting the information as if she were back at the hospital, rather than talking about the little girl dozing by her side. It was easier that way. ‘It appears to be a dominant trait, which means one parent may pass the trait to a child. Normally, when this is discovered, the child’s parents undergo an ultrasound to confirm if either have the condition but this wasn’t possible for Amber so we will never know if it was Ruby or David. And really it’s a moot point,’ she said as the car headed over a small bridge. Jade could see the shimmering ocean ahead and she looked forward to spending a few weeks by the beach, not overthinking what might lie ahead. She knew what she might face in the future with Amber’s condition and, as always, it was upsetting just to think about it.
‘But the important thing is our granddaughter is healthy and that makes me happy.’
‘Amber is healthy now,’ Jade confirmed, then paused for a moment to gather her thoughts and not become emotional. She was tired from the flight and she tried not the think about the potentially life-threatening condition that Amber could face if her functioning kidney were to fail. ‘She’s monitored closely and I suppose that’s why it took so long for us to get here. I wanted to make sure she was well enough to fly and not compromise or exacerbate her condition.’
‘So she got the all-clear to be here from her paediatric nephrologist in LA?’ Arthur asked as he indicated and turned into their street.
‘Yes, Dr Mulligan said it would be fine but he gave me the details for the renal unit at the Eastern Memorial Hospital should there be any issues.’
‘That’s my old stomping ground. I only retired last year,’ Arthur responded with a touch of melancholy colouring his voice.
‘Yes, I remember that from one of your emails, so it’s comforting that you know the hospital well,’ she returned. ‘But let’s hope we won’t need to visit there as she had an examination with Dr Mulligan only two days before we left and he said that she is progressing well and may travel through life with no other issues. That’s the best-case scenario, but if we aren’t that fortunate, I hope treatment is many years away and she is old enough to understand it. Although she will need genetic counselling when, and if, she wants children of her own one day.’
‘Goodness, children of her own. That’s such a very long time away. Let’s not rush the poor child.’ Maureen turned around and once again looked proudly at her only grandchild. Her happiness was contagious and lifted Jade’s spirits again.
‘So there’s no need to think she’ll be anything other than fine and she can look forward to spending four lovely weeks with us,’ Arthur retorted, purposely lifting the tone of his voice.
‘And her Uncle Mitchell,’ Maureen added, happiness evident in her voice.
Uncle Mitchell. Jade was taken aback yet again at hearing his name. Although she was far from curious about the elusive Mitchell, apparently she was finally going to meet him and so was Amber. The seemingly irresponsible brother with wanderlust. Ruby and David had eloped so there had never been a wedding to allow the families to meet. Although it wouldn’t have been a huge gathering as there had not been much of a family on Ruby’s side. There had only been Jade and Ruby.
Jade suspected that was why David had suggested eloping. The idea of David’s family filling one side of the church and their side empty but for their friends would have made the day bitter-sweet and that was why she assumed he’d arranged an impromptu sunset wedding in Maui. He had been a considerate and devoted man. And from what she had heard completely at odds with his brother.
Mitchell hadn’t travelled over for the funeral but Jade had been dealing with her own insurmountable sadness so she hadn’t been too aware of anyone else and their presence or lack thereof then. It had been a sad time that she wanted to both forget and remember. Remember because it had been her last connection to the sister she’d loved completely, and forget because she hadn’t thought she would survive the sense of loss that had threatened her sanity during those weeks and months that had followed the accident.
But apart from his lack of interest in his brother’s funeral, Jade knew little about Mitchell. Over the years postcards and photographs from far-away places had arrived, somewhat battered, and the very occasional email when Mitchell had been somewhere with an internet connection. Jade had seen them pinned to the corkboard in her sister’s kitchen when she’d visited. It had been difficult to see what he looked like behind the wraparound sunglasses he’d worn in all the shots. But scruffy and rough around the edges was the lasting impression. His hair was long and wild, almost in dreadlocks, and so, too, was his beard. David, on the other hand, had been clean cut and well mannered. And Mitchell appeared to have a new girlfriend in each photo.
For some reason, David’s face would light up when he’d looked at the photographs and the reverence he’d felt for his brother had been clear. He would say proudly that Mitchell was the most