Chapter 2 - The Widow
"Leukemia, " Mr. Yao said bluntly. "He needs bone marrow transplant. Mrs. Chu is not suitable to be a donor and the hospital has not found one. Because you and Jason's father were twins, the chances are excellent that your tissue is a match."
As he absorbed the news, Ken lowered his gaze to the picture again. Andy's son. His nephew. Maybe dying for lack of his father.
"What do I need to do?" he asked simply.
Barbie ran the vacuum cleaner down the hall. She has to finish cleaning the house now or else there won't be any time left for her second job. It's good that her son is in school. She went to her bedroom and caught a picture of her son and Andy's. Barbie blinked hard to clear the mist from her eyes. When she realized her nose was running, too, she
mumbled, "Oh, damn. Why did I have to start?"
She was blowing her nose when a knock sounded on the front door. Well, maybe it's her neighbor Jake checking on them. She tossed the tissue on the wastebasket and hurried to answer the door.
"Hi, I'm all set –". When she saw the tall, dark-haired man standing outside the door, shock snatched her breath and her voice with it. Andy. Oh, God, her dead husband was within arm's reach. Clutching the door frame, she whispered his name.
He moved his shoulders uncomfortably. "No, I'm Ken Chu. Andy's brother."
Still she sagged against the door, staring. She knew Andy had a twin, had even hired the private investigator to find him, but somehow she'd never dreamed that he would be Andy all over again. The hair, straight and silky, those dark slash of brows over brown eyes, the thin hard mouth, and a set of white teeth. Her unbelieving gaze searched his face for some difference, anything she could fasten on to convince herself that he wasn't Andy, that Andy hadn't found a way to come back to her.
He flushed under her stare, something her supremely confident husband would never have done. But still...
His clothes. She seized on it. Andy would never have chosen anything as a gray suit, white shirt and maroon tie. Yet that suit jacket would have hung just the same way her husband's shoulders had he worn it. Even this man's hands, tanned, large, and half-curled into fists, could have been Andy's. She made another strangled sound.
"I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I didn't think. I should have let Mr. Yao warn you.
She lifted her gaze back to his face. "He found you?"
"Yeah. I thought you'd be pleased."
"Pleased." She sounded and felt blank, too stunned for rational thought.
He made that uneasy movement with his shoulders again. "Mr. Yao said you needed me."
Understanding flooded back and with it embarrassment. She pressed hands to her hot cheeks. "Ken. Your name is Ken."
His eyes met hers. "Yes, Andy called me Ken."
"I'm sorry. Come in. I've been rude. It's just..."
"We look so much alike. I understand. I suppose it's ... unnerving."
He stepped past her and she gave a small shiver. "He said you were identical twins. But somehow I thought after all these years there would be differences.
"There probably are. Were." Just inside the living room he stood silent for a moment , his back to her. "I didn't know he was dead."
"I'm sorry," Barbie said again. "I should have tried to find you then. But that's when Jason got sick. I just couldn't deal with everything. It was easy for me to convince myself that you wouldn't care."
"We were twins. A lot came between us, but no matter what, we were tied together." He faced her and his mouth twisted. "I can't believe he's dead."
"Please sit down." She moved to the couch and curled up on one end, watching him sit stiffly in the worn wing chair she kept meaning to reupholster.
"How?" His voice was hoarse. "How did he die?"
"A motorcycle accident. He always drove too fast. He had this new motorcycle he really loved."
"He always wanted one, but my parents would not allow it. Because they know how he loved the fast life."
She nodded, even though he probably didn't see her. "I was glad when we could afford it. We don't get to fulfill that many dreams. Now I'd give anything to take it back. May if he'd been driving a different vehicle he wouldn't have been going so fast. All he was doing was coming home from work. Just a normal commute." She fell silent, remembering the night.
She was remembering the night. The night when she received a phone call telling her that Andy had an accident. Everything was a blur. She didn't know how she was able to go to the hospital. When she arrived there, he was dead. Nothing could bring him back to them.
All those memories keep on resurfacing from time to time. Sitting across her, she thought Andy was here again.
She was bolted when she heard him say "Where's Jason?
"Huh? Ahh,, Jason is in school. He'll be here lunchtime.
"Mr. Yao told me he has leukemia. Tell me, what can I do for him?"