The Transplant

 Toofy and I ran to the balcony to watch my blue morning glories open.

“The blooms are as big as my hand!” Toofy dangled from my wrist, his button eyes looking at every flower.

“Dana, the movers will be here soon.  Can you wrap this coffee cup in newspaper for me?” Mommy asked.

“C’mon Toofy. We have a job!”  As I wrapped the cup, a picture of a girl like me smiled up from the newspaper. “Mommy, who’s this?”

Mommy looked at the story. “That’s Maria Gianaris. She’s five like you. She’s moving from Maryland to Texas too.”

Ugh. Texas. 

“Why does Maria have to go to Texas?”

“To get heart surgery.  The best doctors are there.  I’ll read you the story later.  Are you ready to go?”

“We have to pack the morning glories,” I said.

“Oh, honey, the morning glories won’t survive the transplant. They live here.”

Transplant? What was that?