He stared at it a moment, then walked over to his desk and picked up the invoice he had signed for the bags of blood that had just been delivered. He looked at the number on the invoice. The number on the warning was identical.
“Oh, my God!” he said. He grabbed the telephone. “Get me OR Two, fast!”
A nurse answered.
“This is the blood bank. I just sent up four units of Type O. Don’t use it! I’m sending up some fresh blood immediately.”
The nurse said, “Sorry, it’s too late.”
Dr. Radnor broke the news to Sean Reilly.
“It was a mistake,” Radnor said. “A terrible mistake. I would give anything if it had not happened.”
Sean was staring at him, in shock. “My God! I’m going to die.”
“We won’t know whether you’re HIV-positive for six or eight weeks. And even if you are, that does not necessarily mean you will get AIDS. We’re going to do everything we can for you.”
“What the hell can you do for me that you haven’t already done?” Sean said bitterly. “I’m a dead man.”
When Honey heard the news, she was devastated. She remembered Frances Gordon’s words. The poor man.
Sean Reilly was asleep when Honey walked into his room. She sat at his bedside for a long time, watching him.
He opened his eyes and saw Honey. “I dreamed that I was dreaming, and that I wasn’t going to die.”
“Sean…”
“Did you come to visit the corpse?”
“Please don’t talk that way.”
“How could this happen?” he cried.
“Someone made a mistake, Sean.”
“God, I don’t want to die of AIDS!”
“Some people who get HIV may never get AIDS. The Irish are lucky.”
“I wish I could believe you.”
She took his hand in hers. “You’ve got to.”
“I’m not a praying man,” Sean said, “but I sure as hell am going to start now.”
“I’ll pray with you,” Honey said.
He smiled wryly. “I guess we can forget about that dinner, huh?”
“Oh, no. You don’t get out of it that easily. I’m looking forward to it.”
He studied her a moment. “You really mean that, don’t you?”
“You bet I do! No matter what happens. Remember, you promised to take me to Ireland.”
Chapter Thirty-three
“Are you all right, Ken?” Lauren asked. “You seem tense, darling.”
They were alone in the huge Harrison library. A maid and a butler had served a six-course dinner, and during dinner he and Alex Harrison—Call me Alex—had chatted about Mallory’s brilliant future.
“Why are you tense?”
Because this pregnant black bitch expects me to marry her. Because any minute word is going to leak out about our engagement and she’ll hear about it and blow the whistle. Because my whole future could be destroyed.
He took Lauren’s hand in his. “I guess I’m working too hard. My patients aren’t just patients to me, Lauren. They’re people in trouble, and I can’t help worrying about them.”
She stroked his face. “That’s one of the things I love about you, Ken. You’re so caring.”
“I guess I was brought up that way.”
“Oh, I forgot to tell you. The society editor of the Chronicle and a photographer are coming here Monday to do an interview.”
It was like a blow to the pit of his stomach.
“Is there any chance you could be here with me, darling? They want a picture of you.”
“I…I wish I could, but I have a busy day scheduled at the hospital.” His mind was racing. “Lauren, do you think it’s a good idea to do an interview now? I mean, shouldn’t we wait until…?”
Lauren laughed. “You don’t know the press, darling. They’re like bloodhounds. No, it’s much better to get it over with now.”
Monday!
The following morning, Mallory tracked down Kat in a utility room. She looked tired and haggard. She had no makeup on and her hair was uncurled. Lauren would never let herself go like that, Mallory thought.
“Hi, honey!”
Kat did not answer.
Mallory took her in his arms. “I’ve been thinking a lot about us, Kat. I didn’t sleep at all last night. There’s no one else for me. You were right, and I was wrong. I guess the news came as kind of a shock to me. I want you to have our baby.” He watched the sudden glow on Kat’s face.