UNCLE SUGAR BEAR'S GOOD DEED
by Susan "Sam" Madden
1.
Wally was in the back yard, pretending to be a pony. Her real name was Valerie, but everyone called her Wally because that's how she said her own name when she was too young to say much of anything. Her family had just moved from the city to a small ranch in the country, and Wally was already making plans for a pony.
Her mother came to the back door. "Want to come with me to pick up daddy from dialysis?" she called to Wally.
"Yeah!" Wally exclaimed, running to the car. Her father was hardly ever around because he was sick and had to go to the dialysis center three days a week.
"What is dialysis again?" Wally asked. It was a hard word for her to remember.
"Your father has kidney failure," her mother explained. "Everybody has two kidneys. They're something inside you that cleans your blood. Daddy's kidneys are broken, so he has to go to dialysis to clean his blood."
"And daddy is tired all the time because his blood is dirty?" Wally asked.
"Yes. And he has to eat only foods that are good for him or he will get even sicker. He can't eat chocolate or potatoes or peanut butter because his blood will get too dirty."
This worried Wally. Peanut butter was her favorite food. "Is peanut butter bad for me, too?"
"No, sweetie, because your kidneys aren't broken."
Wally was relieved to hear that. "I wish daddy weren't so tired all the time. I want him to help me train my new pony."
"Wally," her mother scolded, "ponies are expensive."
"I know," Wally said, "but I could do work around the ranch to earn money to feed him."
Her father was waiting for them at the dialysis center, and she ran into his arms. "Can I have a pony, daddy? Please?"
"A pony! I don't know, Wally. I'm too tired to take care of a pony."
"I'd do it, daddy. My kidneys aren't broken!"
She looked at the other people in the room at the dialysis center. They were sitting in big chairs, talking and watching t.v., not seeming to mind being hooked to big machines that cleaned their blood. But it made Wally feel bad that her father was so sick, and she decided not to bother him about a pony anymore.
2.
When they got home there was a black truck in the driveway. "Uncle Sugar Bear!" Wally exclaimed, running toward the house.
She loved her Uncle Sugar Bear, as she called her father's brother. Wally's mother had given him that nickname because he was sweet like sugar and he gave the best bear hugs in the world. He enjoyed helping out around the ranch because Wally's father was too tired most of the time to do it.
She found him out back, repairing the fence to the corral, and he put down his hammer and gave her one of his famous bear hugs.
Wally's mother walked up on her way to the house, and Uncle Sugar Bear commented on their matching western outfits. "You two look very cowlike."
Wally snickered. "Cowlike!" Uncle Sugar Bear was always saying silly things like that.
"What I meant was, 'You two look real cute just like a couple of cowgirls.'"
Uncle Sugar Bear knew all about what cowgirls wore because he had been a cowboy in Arizona during his summers in college.
"Want to help me make lunch, Wally?" her mother asked.
"Can I stay and talk with Uncle Sugar Bear?"
"Okay, but don't be late, you two. Lunch is in half an hour."
When her mother was out of sight, Wally pleaded her case to Uncle Sugar Bear. "Mom and daddy say I can't have a pony because they're too expensive and daddy is too sick to take care of one. But I told them I'd take care of it and do extra work around here to earn money to feed it. Will you tell them again?"
Wally could tell Uncle Sugar Bear was considering her request because he was pulling on his moustache. "I'll tell you what, squirt. I have an even better idea."
"What is it?" she asked with interest.
"You SAY you're willing to work around the ranch. But if you actually SHOW them that you're willing to do this, they might take you seriously."
"Really? Can I start by helping you fix the fence?"
"That's the spirit, kiddo!" he said, handing her a hammer.
They worked until noon, then Wally's mother rang the bell and everyone came inside for lunch. Wally had her usual peanut butter and banana sandwich. Uncle Sugar Bear ate FOUR peanut butter sandwiches! And Wally's father had a plain roast beef sandwich. Wally wondered if he missed peanut butter.
"Wally is quite a helper around here," Uncle Sugar Bear said. "She can hammer straight, and she only hit my thumb one time." He held up his thumb to make it look as if part were missing.
"I did not!" Wally giggled. "You're faking!"
"Yeah, I was only kidding. She really broke BOTH my thumbs!" he said, this time holding up both thumbs.
Then he got serious, tugging at his moustache. "Really, Wally is a great kid and a hard worker. I think a pony would teach her responsibility. She's already proven how serious she is about wanting to work around here to earn his keep."
"We'll talk about it later, Sugar Bear," Wally's mother told him.
"How about when I come back from town? I have to get some lumber to fix the barn. Want to come with me, Wally?"
"No thanks. I think I'll stay here and start painting the fence," she said, hoping to show her parents just how serious she was about having her own pony.
"Okay, I'll see you later, Wally gator," he said, winking at her to let her know he thought their secret plan was working.
3.
Wally was so tired from painting the fence and doing other chores around the ranch that she hardly noticed Uncle Sugar Bear didn't come back that afternoon. Her parents had gone out somewhere in a hurry, and Wally didn't get a chance to talk to her mother until the next day.
"Where's Uncle Sugar Bear?" she asked.
"Come here, Wally," her mother said, placing the child on her lap. "Uncle Sugar Bear won't be coming back."
"Why not? Where did he go?" Wally asked.
"He had an accident and he's with your grandma in heaven."
Wally started to cry. "Can I go there and see him?" She missed her Uncle Sugar Bear already.
"Someday," her mother said, hugging Wally. "He's glad to see grandma, but he'll miss you, too."
Her mother continued, "Wally, do you remember the card that your Uncle Sugar Bear kept in his wallet?"
"The donor card?" Wally sniffled. Uncle Sugar Bear had told her what it was called, but Wally didn't know what it was for.
"Yes. The real Uncle Sugar Bear is in heaven now, and he doesn't need his body anymore. The donor card means he wanted to give his organs to sick people to make them better."
"What are organs?" Wally wanted to know. She was trying hard to understand all of this.
"They're parts inside you that help you eat and breathe and see," her mother explained.
"Like your kidneys?"
"Yes. Uncle Sugar Bear doesn't need his kidneys in heaven, so he wanted daddy to have one of them so he won't be sick anymore."
"He won't?" Wally could hardly imagine her father not being sick. "Will he be able to eat peanut butter?"
"He can eat all the peanut butter he wants. And Uncle Sugar Bear had two kidneys, so one of daddy's friends can have the other one, and he wanted to give his heart to somebody with a broken one and give his eyes to blind people so they can see."
"Uncle Sugar Bear sure is nice," Wally said.
"He sure is. And he wanted you to have something, too," her mother said, directing Wally's gaze to the corral in the back yard.
Wally's eyes grew wide. "A pony!" she exclaimed.
"Mmhmm. He said you've earned it."
"Can I be a cowboy, just like he was?"
"Well, you'll probably have to be a cowGIRL," her mother corrected her. "But you look very cowlike already." She smiled, remembering Uncle Sugar Bear's silly words.
"Thank you, mom. And thank you, Uncle Sugar Bear in heaven." With that, she ran to see her new pony and gave him a big bear hug.
"Mom, can I name him Sugar Bear?" Wally asked. "He's white like sugar and he makes me happy just like Uncle Sugar Bear did."
"I think that's a wonderful idea, Wally. Uncle Sugar Bear made a lot of people happy, even all the way from heaven. And your pony and daddy's new kidney will always remind us of Uncle Sugar Bear's good deed."