A Stolen Heart

by Beverley Hollowed

  Alycia said she would drive so they took Mia’s car seat from Emma’s car and transferred it into Alycia’s car. They could come back later for Emma’s car.

  Emma felt sick in the pit of stomach. Not like the sick feeling she had earlier that morning. This time it was more a reaching feeling of dread. And it wasn’t anything Alycia had said. It was more what she hadn’t. Emma just had a feeling she wasn’t telling her everything. Alycia never said a word the whole journey to the hospital. Emma noticed she was still avoiding looking at her too.

  They reached the hospital about fifteen minutes later. They took the kids from the car and made their way to the emergency room where Jeff was waiting.

  He had some stitches on his face and head and his arm was broken but he seemed ok.

  “What happened?” Alycia asked when they reached Jeff. She hugged him before he could answer.

  “We were heading back to the office after an early meeting,” he explained. “This truck came out of nowhere.”

  “Where’s Jonathan?” Emma asked nervously, all the time scanning around trying to find him.

  “Emma,” Jeff said in a tone that immediately started alarm bells ringing. He reached out and took her hand, “The truck hit us on Jonathan’s side of the car. He took the whole impact.”

  “But he’s ok, right?” She said trying to remain calm. But the panic in the pit of her belly began to spread quickly and she could feel her heart pound rapidly in her chest. “Where is he now?”

  “Emma, sweetie,” Jeff began but this time his voice quivering. He stopped and took a deep breath to gain control of himself again. “Emma, I am so sorry.”

  “NO! Don’t you be sorry, Jeff,” Emma said pulling her hand from his. “I don’t want to hear sorry. I want to know where Jonathan is.”

  “Emma, please,” he said trying to take hold of her again. But she kept backing off. She still had Mia in her arms, who was now starting to cry sensing there was something wrong. Alycia placed Matthew down on a chair then took Mia from Emma.

  Emma ran to the nurse’s station.

  “My name is Emma Daniels,” she blurted out. “My husband Jonathan was brought in here after a car crash. I want to see him.”

  “I will get a doctor,” the nurse replied and hurried off.

  “Emma, sweetheart,” Jeff said as he came up behind her. “He’s gone.”

  “No!” She shouted pushing him away as the tears began to roll down her face. “He’s fine… He… He is fine.”

  She felt as if the room was spinning.

  “Jonathan,” she called out as she tried to steady herself. She could see a doctor walking her way.

  Jeff once again pulled her closer with his good arm. “Emma, he’s gone,” he repeated unable to keep the tears back himself.

  “No!” She wailed pressing her face to his chest. She began to sob as she tried to take in what was happening.

  Jonathan, her beautiful Jonathan was gone. She could barely breathe. How could this have happened? Why was he taken from her when they had so much to live for? How could she live without him?

  She turned and saw Mia, who was sitting on Alycia’s lap next to Mathew, with tears trickling down her face. She pulled away from Jeff and slowly walked over to Alycia who was trying to fight back the tears and took Mia from her.

  She pulled Mia closer to her and sobbed. How would she ever explain to her that her Daddy wasn’t coming home? This was so unfair.

  Chapter 2

  The early summer sun gently caressed Emma’s face as the priest said the final prayers over Jonathan’s casket at the funeral. The smell of fresh flowers filled the air and the birds were chirping happily in the tree. It could have been mistaken as a beautiful summer day. But it was far from a perfect summer’s day.

  The past few days had been such a blur to her. But now all she could do was stare at the picture on the stand of Jonathan, beside his casket.

  She stared at his beautiful face, his handsome smile and remembered exactly where they were the day the picture had been taken.

  They were at the playground with Mia and he was pushing her in a swing. She was having such a wonderful time that day. She giggled and squealed excitedly as he pushed her higher and higher on the swing. Then all of a sudden she said Daddy. It was the first time she had called either of them and he was so happy. He couldn’t stop smiling. Emma thought she should take a picture of him so he would remember that day forever.

  She smiled when she thought of him on that day. He said his life was perfect. And she had thought so too. She thought at that moment, she couldn’t have been happier

  She felt a hand on her arm and she turned to see who it was. It was her mother telling her it was time to leave.

  “Come on love,” she said softly. “We have to go now.”

  “Is it over?” Emma asked. She looked around and everybody had started to leave the graveside. She saw Jeff who was standing next to Jonathan’s casket. He was so heart broken. She felt so sad for him. For the past few days, she was so upset for herself and Mia that she hadn’t really thought about Jeff. He and Jonathan had been best friends for most of their lives. He knew him better than anyone else. Probably even her.

  “Give me a minute,” Emma tried her hardest to smile at her mother and father. They had both flown over from Ireland the day after the accident and hadn’t left her side since.

  She walked over to Jeff and gently touched him on the shoulder. He turned around and wrapped his good arms around her.

  “Emma,” he said trying to compose himself. “I am so sorry, I tried to swerve but there was nothing I could do.”

  “I know there wasn’t,” she re assured him. “Jeff, you can’t keep blaming yourself. There was nothing anyone could have done. This wasn’t your fault.”

  “But I feel...” he said before he broke down.

  “Come on,” Emma sobbed as the tears trickled down her face. She wrapped her arms around him tightly and held on to him as they both cried. “Jonathan wouldn’t want you to blame yourself. He loved you too much. You were like his brother”.

  “Thank you,” he sniffed and kissed her on the cheek. “And remember if there is ever anything you or Mia need. I am always here.”

  “I know you are Jeff,” Emma smiled and kissed him softly on his cheek.

  After the service, everybody went back to Emma’s house. Her mom and Jonathan’s mom had organised everything for Emma. They had arranged a caterer to come and they made sure there was plenty for the guests to eat and drink.

  Even though there were caterers and there were people there to serve the food Helen, Emma’s Mam, was still running around making sure people had a steady flow of food and drinks. She made pot after pot of tea.

  But then, that’s what Irish women did. Every time there was a problem they put on the kettle. Helen never worked a day since she married Gerry Kelly, thirty two years earlier. She was a small, curvy woman who, even at the age of fifty-seven, was still a very attractive woman. Her once dark hair was gradually brightened over the years and was now a warm honey blonde that made her ice blue eyes look even more beautiful. She had devoted her life to looking after her husband and raising her children. She lived for her family. She loved each one of them very much.

  It broke Helen’s heart to see her beautiful daughter in so much pain. She felt so helpless.

  Gerry on the other hand was very practical. He thought by keeping Emma busy would keep her mind off things. Every time he found Emma sitting on her own somewhere he would call her and find something that needed to be done.

  He too loved his family very much. He wasn’t like most of the men his age, who believed it was the wife’s responsibility to look after the children. He was very much a big part of his kids’ lives.

  He was a tall and very handsome man. His once jet black hair, now had lines of silver running through it and his piercing blue eyes that once danced with mischief were now just filled with heart ache for his beautiful daughter.

  Emma
was his eldest daughter, then there was his son Jack and finally there was his youngest daughter Louise. He would always say he loved his children equally.

  But the truth was he always had a soft spot for Emma. She was his first born and the apple of his eye. And although he was trying to put on a brave face for his little girl, his heart was breaking in two for her.

  Emma knew how her parents felt and she tried to be strong for them so they wouldn’t worry too much but it was hard. All she really wanted to do was crawl into bed and never face the world again. But she knew that wasn’t an option. She had Mia to think about and now with a baby on the way. She needed to pick up the piece of her broken life and somehow start again.

  “Emma,” a voice said softly from behind her as she talked to some of the other guests. When she turned around she was surprised to see Dr. Stafford standing before her.

  “Dr. Stafford,” she said as she shook his hand. “Sorry, Ben, thank you so much for coming.”

  “I am so sorry for your loss, Emma,” he said holding her hand firmly. “It was a very cruel thing to happen to you both.”

  “I never got to tell him our news,” she forced a smile and tried very hard to fight the tears back.

  “If there is anything I can do for you,” he said feeling his heart going out to this young woman. He handed her a card with his home phone number. “Ring me any time night or day.”

  “Thank you,” she said gratefully, and excused herself before heading outside for some fresh air. She needed a moment to regroup herself.

  The rest of the afternoon passed by very quickly. And bit by bit the guests began to leave.

  Soon there was only a handful of close friends left. They all set in the living room and talked about Jonathan. They laughed, they cried, they heard stories that they never heard before and ones they had heard again and again.

  Jeff told them a story about how Jonathan managed to glue his face to an assignment when they were in college. Jeff explained how Jonathan had stayed up late one night to finish a really important assignment. He nodded off to sleep with his head on his paper work. And somehow he had knock over a small bottle of glue, which rolled around his face as he slept.

  When he woke the next morning, some of the papers from his assignment had been glued to his face. He spent the next few hours in the nurse’s office having them removed piece by piece from his face. Everyone got such a laugh from Jeff’s story.

  Emma looked around the room and smiled to herself sadly. Jonathan would have loved being here today. He loved his family and friends. He would have enjoyed the banter and the stories.

  She looked at his smiling face in their wedding photo on the side board and she knew he was with them there and this gave her great comfort.

  “Emma, sweetheart” Jonathan’s mother said softly as she and his father stood up and got their things. “We really need to be heading home.” Emma stood and hugged them both tightly.

  “Thank you both so much for everything you have done,” she said, truly grateful for all they had done. She realized how hard things had been for them. Jonathan was their only child and losing him was so devastating for them too. “I couldn’t have got through the past few days without you both.”

  “He loved you and Mia so much” Evelyn, Jonathan’s mother said sadly. “You were his life.”

  “We loved him too,” Emma replied shakily.

  “Please don’t be a stranger,” Evelyn said fighting the tears.

  “We are family,” Emma replied and hugged her again. “We could never be strangers.”

  Emma kissed them both and they said their goodbyes and left. Emma stood at the front door and watched as they pulled out of the yard and drove away. She took a deep breath and turned and went back into the remainder of her guests.

  ****************************

  “Where did Daddy go?” Mia asked as Emma put her to bed, later that night.

  “Daddy had to go to heaven,” Emma replied softly.

  “Why?” Mia asked innocently. “Didn’t he want to live with us anymore?”

  “Of course he did sweetie,” Emma said trying to remain composed. She didn’t want to get upset again in front of Mia. She was afraid if she got upset in front of her again, Mia might be afraid to talk about him again and that was the last thing Emma wanted. “But he was very hurt and the doctor couldn’t fix him, so Holy God brought him to heaven to make him better. Now he is going to be an angel.”

  “Will he have wings?” she asked struggling to keep her eyes open.

  “I don’t know,” Emma replied and smiled. “But I do know your Daddy loves you very, very much.”

  “I love him too,” she whispered as she finally closed her eyes and gave in to sleep.

  Emma kissed her softly on her forehead. And pulled her blankets up around her then switched off her little bedside lamp.

  When she got back down stairs, her mother and father were busy cleaning up after the guests.

  The caterers had done most of the work but they were just finishing off the last of the dishes and putting everything away.

  “Has she gone to sleep?” Helen asked when Emma walked into the kitchen.

  “Yeah,” Emma replied. “She was really worn out. It has been a long few days for her.”

  “She has been as good as gold,” Gerry said as he put the last of the dishes away. “But then she always is.”

  “I still can’t believe how big she is since we were here at Christmas,” Helen said as she put the kettle on once again. “She certainly isn’t a baby anymore.”

  “I didn’t see your friend, what’s her name? Here today,” Gerry said, sitting down at the table beside Emma.

  “Jenna,” Emma replied. “She is in China. She tried to get home but there were no flights available. She should be here tomorrow or Sunday”.

  “Oh right,” Gerry replied.

  “Jeff and Alycia have been so good,” Helen said as she placed yet another cup of tea in front of Emma. “Jeff is devastated though”.

  “Poor Jeff,” Emma replied. “I think he is blaming himself for the accident.”

  “But it wasn’t his fault!” Gerry exclaimed.

  “I know that Dad,” Emma replied defensively. “I never said it was.”

  “I know you didn’t sweetheart,” he replied softly. He understood her emotions where still very raw. “I was just saying that’s all.”

  “I’m sorry Dad,” she apologized reaching out and taking his hand.

  “Its ok love,” he reassured her.” You don’t have anything to be sorry for.”

  They sat for a while together, drinking tea, in silence. Finally Helen spoke.

  “Emma, Daddy and I have been talking” she said in her very motherly tone. “We think that you and Mia should come home with us for a while. What with the baby coming and everything, we feel you shouldn’t be here on your own”.

  “I’m not on my own Mom,” Emma replied. “I have Jeff and Alycia and Jenna. Then there is also Jonathan’s Mom and Dad. They have just lost their only child I can’t take Mia away from them too. I love you both so much and I really appreciate all you have done but this is our home. This is where I feel closest to Jonathan. I need to be here.”

  “Ok sweetheart,” Gerry replied cutting off Helen who was about to argue her case. “But promise if there is anything you need you will let us know straight away.”

  “I promise Dad,” she replied. “And I promise when the baby is born, we will come home for a while, all three of us.”

  A few days later they shared a very tearful goodbye. Once again Emma promised she would visit as soon as the baby was born. Then she waved goodbye as she watched her mom and dad pull away in cab and sobbed softly.

  It was agreed Emma wouldn’t go to the airport with them because it would be far to upsetting for her, Alycia, Jeff and Jenna, who had arrived home the Sunday after the funeral, stay in the house with Emma.

  Helen had made them all promise her they wouldn’t leave Emma on her ow
n and let her know if they felt Emma wasn’t coping.

  But she would cope, she had too. She had to cope for Mia and for her baby. It was hard. But she made herself get up every day and try to live a life that resembled normal. She wanted normal for Mia. She wasn’t going to let her down after all, she was all she had now.

  Chapter 3

  “Ladies and Gentlemen,” the Captains voice sounded over the intercom system. “On behalf of the crew and myself, I would like to welcome you to Dublin. The weather is seven degrees outside and it is dry. If you are visiting we hope you enjoy your stay if not, we would like to welcome you home.”

  Emma pulled Mia close to her and whispered to her “We’re home,” She kissed her on the forehead. Then she whispered to her precious Lily in her arms. “You’re going to meet your Nana and Grandad. So be good for Mommy.”

  One of the cabin crew, who had been so helpful for the whole flight, assisted her off the plane and had arranged for someone on the ground to meet her and help her with the children and her bags.

  Soon she was walking through the familiar arrivals gate in Dublin Airport. It had been almost five years since she was last home. In fact the last time she was home was when she was getting married.

  She had come home a month before the wedding to get things sorted and Jonathan followed her a few days before the wedding. It seemed so long ago now.

  She could see her Mam and Dad waving franticly from behind the barrier when she walked through the doors of the arrival gate.

  Mia spotted her Grandad immediately and she ran to him straight away. She jumped into his open arms and squeezed him tightly.

  “Welcome home sweetheart,” Helen said as she greeted her daughter with a big hug. “You’ve lost weight. Haven’t you been eating?”

  “I had a baby Mom,” she replied kissing her Mam on the cheek. “Speaking of which, I would like you meet your newest granddaughter.”

  Emma turned the baby seat she was carrying around so her parents could see the latest addition to their family.