Holding it in her hand, she stares daggers at her phone, willing it to ring again—dying for it to ring again. Even if it’s a spam call, it would get rid of the what-if that is currently running through her mind over and over again.
At that moment, while she’s having a major anxiety attack, hoping for any sign that Marek is okay, Luna waltzes into the room. She smiles, hops up on the perfectly made bed, and hangs her legs over the edge, swinging them from side to side. “Tinley, when is my daddy coming home? Is his trip almost over yet?” She dramatically throws her body down backward on the bed and yawns while adding, “He’s been gone forever.”
This is the moment she has been dreading. She had hoped Marek would suddenly come home or at least there would be some sort of news, but mostly things have been much of the same—radio silent other than the call she just received, which gave her no information whatsoever. Was it Marek calling me? If it was, why is his phone turned off?
She hates herself for what she’s about to do, but she isn’t strong enough to tell the little girl the truth. If there’s anything she knows for sure, it’s that she refuses to break her heart unless she absolutely has no other option. Luna cannot know something could be wrong. With a small deep breath, Tinley drops down to her knees, eye level with Luna as she sits back up, and offers up a small smile.
She wraps the little girl in a hug and Luna excitedly squeezes her back. She releases a small happy sigh, and Tinley leans back and releases her. With a stab straight to her heart, she looks Luna in the eyes and simply says, “Soon. Your daddy will be home soon. Why don’t you go play in your room for a little while until it’s time to get you ready for bed.”
“Okay! I’ll go play with my home living. It’s been awhile since I got to make a giant strawberry cake for my babies.”
Tinley forces a smile on her face so that Luna can’t tell anything is wrong and says, “That sounds like the perfect plan.”
Luna giggles while shaking her head and says, “You, know it’s not a real cake, right Tinley?”
The innocence that Luna exudes is nothing short of perfection and she doesn’t want to see her ever lose it. What if that was an unknown call because someone was informing her of Marek’s death? In that case she’s glad she missed the call because it means it’s that much longer that she can have hope. Although, it doesn’t really make much sense that she would get the phone call in the first place. Looking back down on Luna she says, “Of course, but it’s the best pretend cake I’ve ever eaten. Why don’t you go make an extra big one?”
Luna’s eyes light up and she jumps up and down. She screams happy squeals then goes running from the room, yelling down the hallway. For the second time in a matter of days, Tinley breaks down and doesn’t fight her sobs. Looking toward the ceiling and beyond, she prays she doesn’t become a liar. She doesn’t know anything about religion or prayer, but she hopes there is someone out there listening who will bring that little girl’s daddy home to the both of them.
Voices echo from the hallway to Tinley and she listens as Dakota starts talking to the little girl. One of the things she has been most surprised about is how well those to have taken to each other. Whenever Tinley used to babysit Livi for her sister, Dakota would usually make herself scarce. She’s not one for hanging out around kids for too long. But with Luna, they’ve become fast friends. It really is the cutest thing ever. Maybe someday Dakota will find herself having a baby too. Stranger things have happened.
“Whoa there, slow down turbo. Walking feet, remember?”
“Sorry Auntie Dakota, I won’t do it again.”
There’s a laugh and by the tone of it, definitely came from Dakota. “I know you say that now, but we’ll be having this conversation again today because somebody just loves to run.”
“Duh, because I’m fast like The Flash.”
“Okay baby Flash, go play and maybe stay at the same speed as us mere mortals? I know it’s fun to use your super powers and all, but sometimes you just need to slow down and live your life without it passing by too quickly.”
Luna’s giggles get quieter and quieter as she moves toward her bedroom and then her door is shut. A few seconds later, Dakota comes walking into the bedroom and she rests against the door jam. Instantly sees the sullen expression on Tinley’s face. “What happened, are you okay?”
Tinley chokes on her words as a sob threatens to break out and she finally says, “I missed a call.”
With a few quick steps she’s over to Tinley and guiding her to the bed to sit down. She hands her a tissue from the box on the nightstand and says, “Oh my gosh. Was it Marek? Did you call him back?”
“I can’t call whoever it was because it was an UNKNOWN number. I’ve been sitting here agonizing over the fact that it could have been Marek calling or someone letting me know they found his body, but then that wouldn’t make sense because I’m not his emergency contact, but I don’t even know who is. So would that person even know to inform me that something is wrong?”
“Whoa calm down. You’re going to drive yourself crazy with that line of thought. Just breathe. Do you need me to go get you a glass of water?”
Tinley shakes her head. “No thank you.” She just drained a water bottle moments before she started relaxing on the couch when she was in the kitchen, but even so if she could have anything right now she’s ask for a sedative or at the least a glass of wine.
“Okay, what do you need? What can I do to help you?”
She leans back on the bed and an excruciating pain travels through her back. Rolling slowly she flops onto her side and the bit of pain slowly fades away. Closing her eyes, she sighs and says, “I think I just need to take a long hot bath and go to bed. I’m kind of over this day.”
Dakota lays down next to Tinley and pulls her into a semi-awkward hug. She releases her best friend and says, “I’ll take care of Luna and get her ready for bed. Just take care of yourself mama. Don’t worry we’ve got this.”
Tinley nods her head she doesn’t know if she’s got anything, but she does know she’s not going through it alone. There’s no way she would have been able to handle any of this without the help of Dakota. At least she can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that anything she’s falling behind on will still be taken care of. She rests her eyes for a moment before getting up to slip into the tub.
* * *
***
* * *
What was that? Tinley eyes slowly make their way open and she blinks a few times trying to get her wits about her. She stayed up later than usual tonight with a pit of unease deep in her belly and she just couldn’t put her finger on it. She finally took that hot bath she wanted and put in extra lavender Epsom salt. She assumed she would drift away to sleep easily tonight, but that was the last thing that happened. She laid awake for hours just staring at the ceiling. Something was keeping her awake, but eventually her exhaustion got the best of her and she couldn’t stay awake any longer.
Tinley suddenly sits up in bed and glances around the darkened room. She’s completely disorientated and glances over at the clock on the bedside table. It’s just after three in the morning and the moonlight is shining in brightly through the window. She’s only been asleep for a couple of hours, but it was enough for her to sleep into a very deep sleep. Luna is still fast asleep next to her. After the missed phone call earlier, Tinley let Luna sleep in here with her tonight, wanting the little girl close by. She starts to lie back down when a loud noise sounds in the living room. That must have been what woke her up. She reaches for her phone on the bedside table and it slides off the nightstand, skating across the floor. She silently curses as she rolls out of bed and onto her feet. They’ve swelled up to almost twice their normal size, and she waddles in the dark, attempting to locate where it went.
An echo travels down the hallway as footsteps get closer and closer to her bedroom door. An unease settles in the pit of her stomach. She needs to find her phone now. She drops down to all fours and feels around, hopi
ng her fingers will glide across the cool metal of her phone. When her fingertips nudge the device, she grabs it up from the floor and unlocks it, ready to dial as the bedroom door flies open and Tinley screams.
Chapter Thirteen
Tinley turns on the flashlight on her phone and shines it in the direction of the now open bedroom door. It slips from her hand and clatters against the floor when realization sets in. There’s no way, is there? Jumping up, she braces herself against the wall as her head swirls from the quick movements. When her dizziness clears, she takes a hesitant step, and she can’t help the tears that slip down her face. “Marek? Oh my god, it is you. What are you doing here? Where have you been? Are you okay?”
He moves quickly toward her and wraps his arms around her body. His familiar musky scent mixed with his cologne overwhelms her senses, and her small stream of tears breaks out into a full rushing river as sobs overtake her. He squeezes her tighter and she can only hope she’s not currently dreaming and he really is standing here in front of her right now. She closes her eyes and relishes the feel of him. He hasn’t said a word, but she pushes back slightly and says, “I’m sorry. I’m just a little shocked you’re here. It’s the middle of the night, and honestly, I thought you might be dead.”
He pulls her back toward him and rubs her lower back in small circles. Whispering in her ear, he says, “I’m not going anywhere, I promise.”
She tries to move herself out of his embrace but he holds on tight. She attempts a second time, but when he refuses to budge, she admits defeat. “You cannot make a promise like that. My heart can’t take it. Neither one of us knows what could happen, so please don’t do that.”
“The only reason I was not here sooner was a force of nature, one hundred percent outside of my control, but you can believe I spent the entire time doing anything I could to find my way back to you, to all of you.”
“Daddy?” Both Marek and Tinley’s eyes fly over to the bed where Luna sits up, rubbing her eyes. Until just now, Tinley forgot the little girl was asleep in the bed, let alone even in the room. She feels horrible for forgetting about her, but she’s even more surprised that she slept through all the commotion.
Marek takes a step toward the bed and says, “Yeah, baby girl, it’s me.”
She releases a small squeal and says, “Daddy! I missed you so much. You were gone for like twenty years.” Luna goes running toward Marek and he picks her up. She wraps her arms and legs around him, holding on for dear life. She smacks her lips against his forehead with a kiss and sighs, saying, “You’re my favorite daddy.”
While still holding Luna, Marek walks back toward Tinley and pulls her in, holding both of them at the same time. “Remind me never to go to a stupid conference ever again. I missed the three of you way too much.”
Marek places Luna down on the floor and gives her a kiss on the forehead. Turning toward Tinley, he drops down on one knee. Her hand flies to her mouth as tears instantly start dropping from her eyes. “Marek, what are you doing?”
“I just came back from hell. I didn’t think I would be here, and neither did you. I don’t want to waste another moment of this life. Tinley Scott, I love you with all my heart. Never in a million years did I think I would find someone to love and spend the rest of my life with, especially not someone right under my nose at work. But, against all odds, I found you, and I don’t want to live another day apart. So, Tinley Scott, will you make me the happiest man alive and marry me?”
She doesn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Tinley thought the possibility of her becoming a single parent was very much a reality, and yet the man she loves isn’t buried somewhere in a flooded street in the UK. Instead he’s down on one knee asking her the best question ever. She doesn’t know how she became the luckiest girl in the world, but she’s not going to jinx it by questioning it. She’s going to accept the happiness she knows she deserves.
Dropping down to her knees in front of Marek, she has the biggest smile on her face as she says yes over and over again. What has been a horrible experience of not knowing anything has ended in the best way possible with Marek not only coming home, but the both of them finally making their family together official. She couldn’t even imagine this night getting any better.
Luna jumps up and down, joining in with the excitement as she yells, “Yay! We’re getting married.”
Tinley tries to get back up, but she starts laughing as she struggles to move. She didn’t really think this through, and the extra weight on her belly keeps her stuck on the floor. Marek laughs along with her and quickly stands up then pulls her up with him. She gets a little woozy from the quick movement, and she’s suddenly hit with a shooting pain radiating through her belly. She’s been having Braxton Hicks a lot lately, and the stress from Marek’s disappearance has a lot to do with it. Her hand slides over her belly as she bends over slightly and breathes through the pain. She’s been having these false contractions quite a bit, but they’ve never been painful before—a mild annoyance, sure, but nothing more than that.
Always the observant one, Luna is the first to say something. “Daddy, I think Mommy had an accident. I’m a big girl now and I don’t do that anymore I go on the big girl potty, but I guess sometimes grown-ups can have accidents too. Should I go get some toilet paper to wipe it up?”
Tinley is in too much pain to focus on the fact that Luna just referred to her as Mommy. As happy as it makes her feel, right this minute, the only thing she can think about is the horrendous contraction radiating throughout her abdomen. She clenches her teeth and holds in the scream she wants to release as she tries to tell herself it’ll be over soon.
Marek must have also missed the Mommy part because his eyes go wide looking at the giant puddle on the floor and he says, “Oh shit, are you okay? That’s a lot of pee. Has this been happening a lot?”
She has an issue one time, and of course he’s going to think she’s pissing herself. If there’s one thing she hopes it’s for, it’s that her bladder will get itself back in place after she pops this kid out, because she cannot spend the rest of her life with Marek constantly asking her if she’s peed herself. That’ll make life real fun.
Through clenched teeth she says, “Get me my phone.”
“What do you mean? It’s the middle of the night. Do you need to call the doctor? Do you need me to get you something?”
If she weren’t trying to stay calm and fight through the pain, Tinley would laugh at the comical nature of the situation. The panic and millions of questions bring back memories of her feelings when Tara was in labor. She actually recalls asking if she should boil some water. Releasing a huge breath of air with her teeth stil clenched, she calmly says, “Marek, just get me my phone.” Her voice comes out a lot colder and ruder than she would like, so she adds, “Please.”
He nods his head, and as Tinley focuses on her breathing, she points toward the far side of the room where it’s still sitting on the floor next to the wall. When he brings the phone to her, she quickly pulls up her contacts, taps one, and hits send. The phone rings and she thinks it’s about to go to voicemail but then the other end picks up. Before the other person has a chance to say anything, she says, “Tara, you better get your ass out of bed.”
“Sister, you better have a damn good reason for calling me in the middle of the night.”
If she weren’t in so much pain right now, she’d start laughing. She focuses on her breathing as she gets out, “I’ll do you one better—I have four. Marek just got home, he proposed, and Luna called me mommy.”
“Holy shit, I’m so happy for you! What’s the other reason?”
“Oh you know, my water just broke and we’re heading to the hospital to have a baby. Although, I didn’t tell him that first and I’m sure he’s in panic mode right about now. I probably should have said something first, but I wasn’t thinking.”
An abnormal scream falls from her sister’s lips and Tinley has to pull the phone away from her ear. Never in her life has she
heard Tara do anything to sound like a teenage girl, even when she was one. Her words come out rapid fire as she says, “I’m up. I’ll wake Clark up and make sure he’s watching the kids and I’ll be there fast like The Flash.” With a click, the line is dead.
Before she can even wrap her head around what just happened, Dakota and Giselle both burst into the room and talk over each other.
“What the hell is going on in here?”
“Yeah, I heard screaming from down the hallway.”
Both of their eyes swing from the puddle on the floor, to Tinley, Luna, and finally landing on Marek. There’s a flurry of screams and shouts and Tinley ignores all of the excitement as she turns the overhead light on. Taking charge of the situation she grabs her bag from the closet, which has already been packed for a week now and she mentally thanks her sister for making sure she had it done and waiting for her. She hurries to the bathroom to clean herself up as much as possible and puts on a new pair of bottoms. Her extra thick diaper in her panties aka maxi pad feels disgusting as the plastic rubs against her skin, but she’d much rather use that than her pants looking like she wet herself. Just in case, she grabs a towel for the car ride over.
Her sister wanted to make sure she was extra prepared for anything and everything, plus she learned from her last water breaking experience. Who knew that amniotic fluid leaks for so long? So gross.
“Holy fucking shit—is this real right now?”
As much as she’d like to laugh about the fact that her best friend let the F-bomb slip out, another contraction rips through her body and she grabs on to Marek for support. Through her heavy breathing, she says, “It’s baby time, and we’re going to the hospital now.”
The contraction starts coming back down and Tinley rolls her back and starts walking out of the room. Before she makes it to the door, she turns around and sees a group of slack jawed faces. She takes a deep breath and says, “Luna, honey can you come here for a minute?”
Loving in the Light Page 8