Chapter 21

"How are you doing Lucien?" Jean asked him when her beloved finally got home hours later.

"I'd be better if we'd found someone that was willing to give up their kidney. Although that isn't entirely fair," he huffed as he took off his jacket and hung it up. Throwing his hat on the hook above it, the two moved into the kitchen. The rest of the house had eaten dinner hours before.

"No one was willing?" Jean was a little surprised but at the same time understood where her husband was coming from. This was a new procedure and a complicated one. Things could go wrong for the donor as well as the recipient.

"We had a few who were willing and matched blood type but one was pregnant, one was coming off an infection, another has a family history of kidney stones, and finally the other was too old," he heaved a sigh and plopped down into the chair at the table. Jean had heated up some of the leftovers and made him a sandwich. She also poured him a drink.

"Too old?" Jean gave him a look.

"None of the procedures performed so far have been on someone older than forty. Everything I have read suggests not taking someone older than that, as they don't heal as well as younger people. Now, Phyllis is older than forty but she doesn't have a choice. She needs a kidney or…" he shook his head not wanting to acknowledge the alternative.

"Do you want me to reach out to people?" Jean asked.

"We need to figure out a way to keep Phyllis' name out of it. Her privacy will be completely shot if we post in The Courier," he said.

"Maybe Rose can help us? She can put an article together explaining the process and that one person here in Ballarat needs help. I'm sure neighbors will be willing to come forward," Jean figured.

"You think her new boss will be all right with that?" Lucien wondered.

"I'm not sure. Susan sold The Courier and Rose has been pulling some long hours lately," Jean admitted, mentioning the former Mrs. Tyneman, who had become a widow not long before the couple at the kitchen table had gotten married.

"It can't hurt to ask but in the morning. Hopefully by then we'll have some good news on Phyllis' stability and from Doctor Kluk. Enough about me though, how was your day?" He asked.

"Good and I know that this doesn't seem like the time to be talking about the studio…" she started.

"Bloody hell… I'm sure that Mr. Clay wants to know where our brains are at. I do apologize. We've been trying to sit down to discuss that but life… well it's always going to find a way to interrupt, isn't it?" Lucien gave her a smile before tucking into his sandwich. His stomach had been wondering when he'd get around to that and he realized that it had indeed been a while since he had eaten.

"I fear it is. It's very rare that we get to sit and enjoy around this house," Jean chuckled.

"We shall have to remedy that," Lucien smirked before eating more sandwich.

"Yes, well we get to enjoy just not on the furniture in the public areas of the house," she smirked.

"Mrs. Blake…" he chuckled.

"Am I wrong?" Jean asked.

"No, but now I'm already thinking about breaking in the new furniture," he teased.

To Be Continued…