"Luke?"
Luke Duke and Homer Appleby turned to look at the young fair haired man who had just entered the doctor's office. As Bo closed the door, Doc Appleby turned his attention back to Luke as he made the final preparations to begin dialysis.
"There ya are, Luke." Doc Appleby said, turning a final switch. "You're all set. Now, I've got to go over to J.D.'s house and see what I can do to get Miss Lulu back on her feet."
"How's she doin' anyway?" Luke asked, remembering that Mrs. Hogg had slipped on some wet linoleum and twisted her ankle.
"Not as well as I'd hoped. 'Course part of that has to do with the fact that J.D.'s too cheap to have a physical therapist brought in." Doc Appleby confided. "But, that's what us country doctors are, M.D., midwife, nurse, and therapist all rolled into one."
Luke smiled as he looked at the dialysis machine. "Don't forget angel. That's the word Daisy used to describe you when you arranged to have this equipment brought in for me, Doc. Sure beats drivin' to Capital City twice a week."
Doc Appleby smiled and patted him on the arm. "I should be back by the time you're done. Magazines are on the desk beside you."
With that, the doctor exited the room.
Luke looked up at his cousin and smiled. "Bo, what are you doing here?"
Bo pulled a deck of cards out of his pocket and showed it to Luke. "What do you think? I came to keep you company." He replied, pulling a table and chair next to Luke's easy chair.
As Bo dealt the cards, Luke shook his head. "Bo, you don't have to do this."
"Do what?" Bo asked as he continued to deal.
"Stay with me." Luke replied. "This is my fourth treatment, and you've been here every single time. If life is so boring that you can't think of anything else to do, which I doubt, I know Uncle Jesse could use the help on the farm."
"Luke, the farm is fine." Bo replied somewhat harshly. "I wake up at 5:00 a.m every morning just to make sure all the chores are done, and I do it so I can come and stay here with you so you don't have to be alone for these treatments."
"Bo." Luke began. "I appreciate the effort, really I do. But these treatments, they're gonna go on for the rest of my life, and you won't always be able to come with me. The sooner we get used to the idea, the better off we'll be."
Bo gave his cousin a harsh stare and threw the cards on the table, some of them fluttering to the floor. "Why, Luke?" He asked, standing up and beginning to pace in front of him. "Why do we have to 'get used to the idea'?"
Luke rolled his eyes. "Here we go again…….."
"Yeah, Luke." Bo nodded his head. "Here we go again. Again and again and again until you tell me why you turned down Dr. Settles' offer. You're the one who's sentenced yourself to lifelong dialysis, not the doctor. It don't have to be that way, cuz." He replied as his hands began to shake.
"And I'll give you the same answer as before. You've been through too much, Bo. The drug that Foster administered to you, you're still not over the effects of that. I mean look at you, the proof is in your hands."
Bo looked down and watched his hands visibly shake. The tremors, an occasional side effect that still cropped up as a result of some of the drugs he had been given, seemed to appear more so when he was upset. When he was unsuccessful at willing them to stop, he simply placed his hands behind his back.
"Who's to say that you're organs still couldn't be permanently affected in some way by those other drugs? I couldn't take a kidney from you, not knowing how everything is gonna turn out for you in the end."
"Luke, the donation is my decision to make. You heard Dr. Kilmer yourself when he told me that I shouldn't have any lasting side effects from my experience other than the tremors. Besides, if any of this ends up affectin' my kidneys, it's gonna affect both of them, so donating one to you isn't gonna make a difference."
Luke shook his head. "Even so, I trust Dr. Kilmer, and Dr. Kilmer has his doubts that this transplant would do any good. I haven't even seen Dr. Settles other than the few minutes he was in my hospital room that first night."
"Well a meeting can be arranged." Bo replied, sitting again. "If I invited Dr. Settles over and he explained things to you, do you think you'd be willing to change your mind?"
"Bo, I already told you………"
"Yeah, you've told me based on what you've heard from Dr. Kilmer." Bo spat out. "Now he's a good doctor, I'll give you that. But he's also old, and not up to date on current medicine."
As Luke absorbed the fact, Bo sat back down. "Luke, we've had this same argument more times than I care to count and it all boils down to the fact that you haven't even listened to Dr. Settles' theory. I know you don't want me to go through no more, but all I'm asking is that you just talk to the man."
Luke sighed. "Bo, I admit I was dealt a bad hand in life, but I am not willing to do just anything to change it. If being hooked to this machine every week for the rest of my life means you'll still be around, I'm willing to accept it. I've went through too much to get you back just to throw you away on a chance operation, and I'm tired of explaining myself."
Bo squeezed Luke's hand as his heart filled with brotherly affection. He wasn't exactly excited about their arguments either. "Okay, Luke, I'll make you a deal. Let me invite Dr. Settles to supper tonight so's he can explain everything to you. All I'm asking is that you just hear him out. After he's done, if you don't like it any better, I'll let it drop and that will be the end of it."
Luke thought on the idea for a moment before he looked at Bo. "Deal?"
Bo grinned and shook his hand to confirm the arrangement. "Deal!"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"I'm sorry, Dr. Settles, but I'm afraid the answer is no."
"What!" Bo asked as he and Dr. Settles both jumped up, facing Luke in the living room at the Duke farm.
"Luke, you didn't even listen to him!" Bo argued.
"Simmer down, Bo!" Uncle Jesse insisted. "Dr. Settles has talked fer more than half an hour and Luke's sat right there tha whole time."
"I know, Uncle Jesse, but…" Bo began, sitting back down and looking like a lost puppy. "He must not understand."
"Oh I understand perfectly." Luke replied. "I understand that Dr. Settles feels that your kidney would be a perfect match for me considering that the drug has already been exposed to it, and no reaction has come about. And I also understand that he's been so dedicated in studying the antidote, that he hasn't looked into the other drugs that were given to you, and that therefore, he can't be sure that one of those won't eventually risk your health."
"But Luke, if we just try….."
"Bo, the deal was that I listen to this doctor of yours and make my decision, and I've done that. Now it's time for you to fulfill your part and drop the subject."
Bo was fuming but he kept his mouth closed. Dr. Settles looked at Bo before he got up and pulled out his wallet. "I appreciate your time, Mr. Duke." He said, pulling out a business card and handing it to Luke. "Here's my number, if you should change your mind. And……I hope you will."
As he turned to walk toward the door, Bo followed him.
"Where ya goin' Bo?" Jesse asked.
"I'm goin' to the Boar's Nest, I could use a beer right now." Bo muttered, slamming the door behind him.
"Bo, I'm sorry. This surgery meant a lot to both of us." Dr. Settles offered as they walked down the porch steps together.
Bo picked up a rock and threw it across the yard. "It just makes me mad. Luke treats me like an overgrown kid, trying to take care of me even when the tables are turned and he's the one in trouble!"
Dr. Settles offered a sad smile. "It's gonna be hard to break the news to Rebekka, too. Mind if I join you for that beer?"
Bo hopped through the window of the General Lee. "Follow me." He replied, peeling out.
XXXXXXXXXXX
By the time Bo returned home, it was past 9, the time the family usually wen to bed when an early day of farm work was to follow. Going into the house, he opened the door to his room, and saw Luke fast asleep. He then peeked into Daisy and Jesse's rooms, as their doors were never completely closed, to find them asleep at well.
Although his one beer was making him unusually tipsy, Bo wasn't particularly tired, so he went and sat down, of all places, on the bench of the piano that had barely seen use since the days his Aunt Lavinia would bang out lively hymns such as 'Heaven's Jubilee' while the family sang.
He smiled a bit as he thought of her. She was constantly exhausted by refereeing the arguments between him and Luke. He just wondered how she would referee this fight, one that, in essence, was brought about by each boy's desire to do what was best for the other.
Meanwhile, in their room, Luke opened his eyes. He hadn't been asleep, but had been waiting for his baby cousin to arrive home. He was just about to get up to talk to Bo when he heard the piano vibrate with a loud, distorted tune, followed by a crash.
Jumping out of bed, he was met in the hallway by Uncle Jesse and Daisy who all rushed to the living room.
Flipping on the light, Daisy turned to the piano and gasped.
The bench laid overturned.
And Bo lay beside it, unconcious.
One beer? Now there's a man who can't hold his liquor.