Page 108 of Wyatt
Sarai had her hands on Mikka’s body, speaking to him in Russian, and Dr. Lee inserted the local. “Don’t move, Mikka.”
He whimpered, and his eyes filled, but Coco held his gaze, her eyes filling also. “You’re such a brave boy.”
Gerri continued to hum as Dr. Lee finished the local, waited until it took, then quickly proceeded with the biopsy.
“You’ll feel pressure, but not pain, Mikka,” Sarai said, but his eyes widened anyway, and he cried out.
“Stay still.”
He was whimpering, however, and starting to wiggle.
“Mikka, stop!” But Coco was crying so hard that her word came out sharp and frightening.
Mikka started to scream.
Gerri got up and pressed her hands on his body and started to pray.
“Lord, You are great. You are mighty. And You can heal this little body. And in Jesus’s name we ask for Your peace for Mikka and for Coco and for these doctors. And for complete healing, by Your power.”
A heat radiated through Coco’s body, Gerri’s words finding her bones, steeling them.
Mikka stopped screaming, looking up at Gerri with his big brown eyes.
“You are our rescuer, Lord, and right now, deliver this sweet boy because You love him. You delight in Mikka. You see him, and he belongs to You. Because of that, we put Mikka’s body, his life, his spirit into Your safe hands.”
Mikka had settled, his eyes still on Gerri.
“All done,” Dr. Lee said and put the specimens into bottles onto the tray.
Gerri touched Mikka’s face. “Such a brave boy. Just like his father.”
Coco looked up at her.
“Really?” Gerri said, her eyes shining. “You don’t think I didn’t recognize my son in this cute little boy? Those brown eyes, that unruly brown hair, the dimple? The way he sticks his tongue in the side of his mouth when he’s bearing down, trying to win at a thumb war?”
Yes, Mikka did do that.
The nurse finished bandaging Mikka then patted his leg. “All done, Mom.”
As they were packing up, Sarai turned to Coco. “I thought maybe, while we’re waiting, we could run some blood tests. If we need to pursue a bone marrow transplant, it would be good to see if you might be a match.”
“Of course,” Coco said.
“What about me?” Gerri said. “Because I’m thegrandma.”
Sarai smiled. “Okay, Grandma.”
“I think you should call meGrandma Gerri, how about Gigi? I think it has a nice ring to it, don’t you?”
Coco just stared at her.
“I’ll send someone in to draw blood,” Sarai said as she left the room.
Coco slid up to the bed and pulled Mikka into her arms, smoothing down his hair. “I…I wanted to tell you, but I didn’t know…I mean—”
“It was before you left, wasn’t it? Probably even before Orrin died?”
She nodded.