“Are we going to cook at home?”
He did not seem like he had a lot of work to do, and so I nodded my head. It’s not like we had the chance to cook homecooked meals together every day.
Five o’clock in the afternoon, it was drizzling in A City, and the weather was gloomy. Ashton was staying in, and I thought I might as well take the chance to contact the person on the card that Armond handed over to me.
I went back to the bedroom, and called the man. It took him a few rings to pick up. A voice rang, “Hello!”
Stumped by the enthusiasm in his voice, I replied, “Hi, is this Mr. Brandon Dumphy?”
The person mumbled a response and replied in a weird accent, “Yes, speaking. Is there anything I can help you with?”
Puzzled by his weird accent, I was starting to doubt the man. How did Armond get to know people like him? However, I decided to just ask, “Mr. Murphy gave me your contact.”
“Oh, I see. Ah, are you Ms. Stovall?”
“Yes, I am. I’d like to ask if your hospital really could find a bone marrow match and kidney?” I had a notion that it was all too good to be true.
“Yes, we can. What about if you send over your daughter’s most recent medical records to me so that I can have a look first? I’d appreciate it if you could take some time tomorrow for me to bring you for a tour. We do have the supply for what you’re looking for. The only question is if it’s going to match your daughter.”
To be frank, I was a little stumped by the sheer amount of information. However, it seemed like the man really knew what he was talking about. So, I agreed to meet him the next day.
After hanging up the call, Zachary called to inform me that Boris had reached A City as well. My father told me to bring along the man wherever I went, and that he would be of great help in the city.
I agreed. After debating with myself, I sent over Summer’s medical records to Brandon. The man replied after some time: We’ll go visit the place where our stock is coming from. After you have a look at the condition, we could discuss the price.”
Stumped, I replied: Stock? Did the man just refer to organs in people’s bodies as stock?
It seemed like the man did not even bother to explain things to me as he merely replied: Yes. There were no more texts from him since.
After contemplating for a moment, I contacted Boris and requested him to tag along for the trip tomorrow. I initially wanted to let Ashton know, but he had been held up in the study all day for work. I did not wish to disturb him.
The next day, Ashton seemed like he had something urgent to attend to, and headed for the door right after he bade goodbye to me. I sorted out things around the house, and it did not take long for Boris to arrive at my place.
Brandon sent me an address and a message that read: Let’s meet at the Second Highway exit. It’s going to be a long journey for you. Don’t be late.
After replying to him, I headed out with Boris. There was a lot of traffic for mornings in A City. We had only managed to meet up with Brandon past the agreed time. The man seemed a tad furious since he had been waiting for quite some time.
He was driving a black Mercedes and did not get off the car even after we had arrived. Even though I could not see his figure, but judging from his face alone, it was not difficult to guess that he was a little plump. The dark-skinned man looked like he would own a successful coal mining business in the nineties.
He pursed his lips into a hard line at the sight of me. “Our stock is in the mountains. I will bring you there later. Did you bring along everything you need? There is nothing to buy there. It’s going to be troublesome if you need anything else.”
He must have had his fair share of dealing with fussy people for him to make an upfront statement like that. However, I was puzzled by his question. “Aren’t we heading to the hospital? Why are we going into the mountains?”
He pursed his lips again, this time with disapproval. “Aren’t you going to take a look at the donor’s parents since their daughter is giving you what you need? You can choose not to accept it though. Since you’re Mr. Murphy’s friend, I won’t sign any contracts with you. Consider it a deal done if you’re satisfied with what we offer.”
Bewildered, I cast a glance in Boris’s direction.
The man was calm and composed as he nodded his head at me. He was telling me that it was fine for us to go take a look.
Brandon did not beat around the bush either. He told me to trail behind his car, and got into his car right after.
As he mentioned, it was a long journey. We drove for easily seven to eight hours straight. Brandon’s car had only come to a stop after night fell.
I fell asleep along the way. After noticing that the car had stopped, I looked outside and was surprised at the surroundings. It was a village on the hillside, populated by around twenty families.
Brandon stopped his car by a well in the center of the village. He got off the car and splashed his face with the cold water. After gulping down a few mouthfuls, he looked at us and said, “We’ve arrived. Get off the car and drink some water. Follow me!”
Boris got off the car, and he seemed slightly stunned by the surroundings. He fished out a bottle from the car boot and handed it over to me. Then, he gave me some bread that he had brought along and said, “Eat some.”
