A Lifetime of Whiskey

Chapter 5

Lim woke up bright and early the morning of the surgery. Maria was picking her up from her place while Mateo picked up Gabi from her care home, and then, they would all meet at the hospital. Lim waited on her living room couch when she heard a knock at the door. She answered it and smiled when she saw Maria, "Hi Maria," she embraced her. "Are you ready to go, dear?" asked Maria. "Yeah, I have my stuff for my hospital stay and my time at Neil's place right here," she grabbed her bag. They drove to the hospital and Lim turned to Maria, "I'd like to have a moment with Neil before I go get checked in." "Of course, Audrey. I'm going to meet Mateo and Gabi in the lobby," Maria left her alone. Lim went to Melendez's hospital room and knocked on the door. She smiled as she entered, "Hey you." He smiled when he saw her, "Hi." "Today's the big day," she said. She stepped into the room and sat down on his bed. He grabbed her hand and asked, "So are you nervous?" "A little," she admitted, "It's rare where we're on the other side of the knife in the OR." "Agreed," said Melendez, "But we didn't come this far to fail now." Lim took a deep breath and said, "Your parents and sister are here. I'm sure you'd like to spend some time alone with them before they get you prepped for surgery," Melendez nodded, "Alright, I'm going to go get checked in," she kissed his forehead and left the room. She went to the registration desk and filled out the necessary paperwork, most importantly, the consent form for the donation. Petringa led her to the pre-op area where Lim was asked to change into a gown and had various labs taken. Petringa inserted the IV and said, "I honestly hope you're a better patient than Dr. Melendez. Do you know how stubborn he's been since they admitted him?" she asked. Lim chuckled lightly, "He was stubborn from the moment they put him in that ambulance at the brewery. But I can't imagine that I'll be much better." Petringa said, "Now, I believe a few people would like to visit with you before your surgery." Lim was confused, but nodded. Petringa let the Melenedezes into the pre-op area and they walked over to Audrey's bedside. Gabi handed Lim a card, "This is for you." It was a hand-made card that read Thank You for Saving Neil, Dr. Audrey. Lim smiled at Gabi and said, "Thank you, Gabi. But you might want to hold on to it so I can put it in my hospital room later in the week," she handed the card back to her. Mateo came over to Lim and said, "Gracias for saving our son." Lim took his hand and said, "De nada." Maria pulled something out of her purse and said, "I know you said you don't have much experience with Catholicism, but I wanted to let you know I said a decade for you last night," she placed the Rosary in Lim's hand. Lim said, "Thank you, Maria; that means a lot. But I think you'll need this more than I will during surgery," Lim handed the Rosary back to her. Petringa came back into the room and said, "We're ready." The Melendez family was escorted out of the room and Petringa and a few other nurses wheeled Lim to the operating room area. They placed her bed next to Melendez's and Petringa said, "They should be taking you both back any moment." Melendez and Lim nodded and Petringa went to scrub in. Lim looked over at Melendez and said, "Damn, Melendez. I've done a lot of shit for you over the years, but I think giving you a piece of my body takes the cake." Melendez laughed to ease his nerves and said, "Yeah, I think it is. Hey Audrey?" he turned his head to face her. She did the same and he asked, "Do you think we'll be able to make it all the way? With our relationship?" Lim sighed and said, "I think we'll have challenges, but if we've remained close after this many years together, I think we can overcome anything," they stayed silent for a little while longer before Lim said, "It was all so stupid, Neil. Looking back, I'll never understand why a thought a job was more important than you." "Hey," Neil said comfortingly, "We have a second chance to make it work. That's all that matters." Glassman and Andrews came out, along with Shaun, Claire, Park, and Morgan for symbolism, even though she couldn't operate on them, "Are you both ready?" asked Glassman. "Yeah," Melendez answered as Lim nodded. "Alright then," Andrews and Park took Melendez and Shaun and Claire took Lim. "Hey Audrey?" they stopped them both. He reached his hand across the aisle and she took it. Melendez smiled and said, "I love you." "I love you too," Lim answered back. It was only when Lim was being wheeled into the operating room did she notice the envious look in Claire's eyes. *** The nurses connected Lim to the heart monitors and pulse ox machine as Glassman came over and said, "As another surgeon whom was under the knife at one point, I can only imagine how weird all of this feels for you." "It's a bit confusing for me," she agreed. Shaun came over and said, "See, I told you that you still love Dr. Melendez." "Yes, as always, Murphy...you were right," Lim smiled at him. Claire cleared her throat in annoyance and said, "I think we're ready to begin the surgery." The surgeons nodded at the anesthesiologist and she put the mask on Lim, "Just breathe normally, Dr. Lim." That was the last thing Lim remembered anyone saying to her before the transplant began. *** Meanwhile, in Melendez's OR, he was also being hooked up to monitors and various other machines. Andrews came over to the table and said, "Well, if it's one thing I know as a stubborn surgeon, it's that we make terrible patients; but try not to give us any scares while you're under. Understand?" "I'll try," answered Melendez, "I already gave everyone here one scare." Andrews and Park let the anesthesiologist know it was okay to start, "Okay, Dr. Melendez; you know the drill. Start counting backwards from ten." "Ten, nine, eight..."