by Fiala, PJ
Jeremiah walked into the bedroom and sat on the bed with his mom and Joci.
“Hey, feeling better?”
Joci smiled. “I am. Your mom’s tea is a miracle cure.”
Emily smiled again and looked over at Jeremiah and winked. Yes, she was going to be a grandma again. She had thought those days were over. But, perhaps God shined down on their family in the most profound way possible. He brought love to Jeremiah, and a baby, too. Life was full of surprises.
“I’d better get going. You need to get some sleep. Goodnight, honey. Call if you need anything.”
Emily got up and walked around the bed and Jeremiah got up to walk her out to her car. When she got in her car, he leaned down and kissed her temple.
“Thanks, Mom. I appreciate you coming over to help. I was scared shitless. I didn’t know what to do.”
Emily smiled at him. “You may have a few months to get it right if she’s pregnant. I left more tea in the fridge. If her tummy starts acting up again, just warm some up for her. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Jeremiah closed her door and walked back into the house. He felt happier than the day Joci agreed to marry him. He turned off the lights in the kitchen and living room and softly walked to the bedroom. Joci was sound asleep, hugging his pillow. Jeremiah put his hand on his chest. If his heart got any bigger, there wouldn’t be any more room in there. Jeremiah undressed and climbed into bed quietly. He slid over to Joci and pulled her into his arms. He laid his hand on her belly and closed his eyes.
Chapter 32
One Step Back
Joci woke feeling pretty good. She had slept through the night, without waking up. She felt rested and had no fever. She looked over, and Jeremiah wasn’t in bed with her. She looked at the clock—it was nine o’clock. Holy crap, she had slept late. She got out of bed and went to the bathroom before walking out to find Jeremiah. As she was walking down the hall she heard voices. Emily and Thomas were there. They were all sitting around the table talking. Good thing Joci had thrown some clothes on—that could have been embarrassing.
“Good morning,” Emily said.
“Good morning,” Joci said.
Jeremiah jumped up and hugged Joci. He cradled her head against his chest. She could hear his strong heart beating against her ear. He was gentle with her, but firm. After a few moments, Jeremiah pulled back and cradled her head in his strong hands. He looked into her eyes.
“Are you feeling better?”
“Yes, actually, I feel pretty good this morning. It feels like my fever is gone.”
Joci smiled at Jeremiah. He leaned down and kissed her gently on the lips.
“Sit down, baby. Do you want coffee or more tea?”
Joci smiled. “The coffee smells pretty good.”
Joci looked at Thomas. “Good morning.”
“Morning, Joci. Glad you’re feeling better.”
Joci smiled and took a seat at the table.
“What brings you guys here this morning?”
Emily patted Joci’s hand. “We were on our way home from church and wanted to see how you were doing.”
They sat and visited for a little while, then Jeremiah’s parents decided it was time to head home. Jeremiah and Joci walked them out to their car, stood in the driveway, and waved as they backed out. As they walked back into the house, Jeremiah grabbed Joci and hugged her hard, lifting her feet off the floor. Joci wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him close.
“I’m sorry I ruined your night last night, Jeremiah.”
He walked with Joci in his arms into the living room. He reclined on the sofa with Joci lying on top of him. He didn’t want to let her go; he just wanted to hold her forever and keep her close and safe.
“I told you, everything I needed to do, I did last night. You didn’t ruin anything. And, I didn’t properly thank you for the video. You did a fabulous job putting that together, Joci. It blew me away. Can I get a copy of the last picture? I want it for my office and my computer and my phone.”
Joci giggled. “Of course you can. They’re your pictures. I have the video and the pictures on a zip drive for you to load on your computer. Let me know what else you need.”
Then Joci took a deep breath, “I have to tell you I cropped a few of them to make them look nicer. And, I cropped you out of one because LuAnn was looking at you like she wanted to eat you.”
Jeremiah tightened his hold on her. He took a deep, shaky breath.
“You have nothing to worry about with her, honey. I saw her follow you to the bathroom. What did she say to you?”
“Just more of the same. You’ll get sick of me. I’m plain compared to her, won’t be able to keep you happy for long. The usual.”
Jeremiah took a deep breath and let it out slow. Fucking LuAnn. “It’s not true. None of it.”
“I know.” Joci sighed.
They lay quietly for some time. It was so comfortable lying together, just soft music in the background.
“Do you think you might be pregnant, Joci?”
Joci took a deep breath.
“Joci. We need to talk about this. Do you think you might be pregnant?”
Joci started to pull away, but Jeremiah held her close.
“I don’t know, Jeremiah. I’ve never missed a day of my birth control pills. This is so different than when I was pregnant with Gunnar. I had morning sickness until about the end of my third month. I was tired but not so emotional. My periods have been different, which is why I went back to the doctor about four weeks ago. She just thought I had been on the same pills for too long and that sometimes that happens. She switched my prescription. I thought she did a pregnancy test. I’ll call tomorrow and find out.”
Jeremiah tightened his hold on her. He wanted this so bad. Mostly, he didn’t want her to be sick with anything horrible. He needed this woman to be safe, healthy, happy, and his.
“If you’re pregnant, I don’t want to wait until the end of September to get married. I want to do it right away. I don’t want to risk anything happening.”
“Jeremiah, let’s wait until we know for sure.”
“I want to be your husband. I want you to be my wife. Dammit, I don’t want to wait. And, if you’re carrying my child, I want it legal that you’re both mine. And, I don’t want you to have too many stresses while you’re expecting. It should be a happy time for you to grow a happy, healthy baby. I love you so much, Joci, I can’t even process all the emotions. I have to marry you, because if I don’t, my life will be empty and meaningless.”
Joci wiped her eyes. That was so sweet. Just then, her tummy growled. Joci giggled a little.
“Let’s go and get you two something to eat.” Jeremiah said.
“Jeremiah. Don’t get too emotionally attached until we know for sure. I would hate for you to be let down.”
“Too late. I already feel it. Mom does, too. That’s why they stopped by this morning. You know the ginger tea she made you last night was the same tea she made all of other her daughters-in-law when they were pregnant. It’s helped them all with their morning, or evening, sickness. It has to be, Joci. All of your symptoms lead right to you carrying my child.”
That did it. Joci started crying in earnest. She sat up, grabbed for a tissue, and blew her nose. She wiped her eyes again. Shit. She wanted this and then again, she was scared.
“At my age, having a baby will be difficult. Losing the weight afterwards will be impossible. Jeremiah, you don’t understand the toll this will take on me and us. We’re at a point in our lives where our kids are self-sufficient. We can come and go as we want when we want. With a baby, we’ll be starting all over again.”
“Yes. We’ll start over together. We have my sisters-in-law, my mom, Jackie, all of the nieces and nephews, and three strong, loving boys. Plenty of babysitters and help.”
Jeremiah pressed his lips to hers, “You worry too much, Joci. I’ll love you no matter what. The little things, a few pounds, being tired—those are all meaningless
in the whole scheme of things. What matters is that we’re together. I’ve never been happier. I’ve also never been surer of anything in my life. If you need me to gain a few pounds to make you feel better, you got it.”
Joci burst out laughing.
Their boys stopped by the house in the afternoon to see how Joci was feeling. Jeremiah and Joci both agreed to keep their secret until they knew for sure.
“How’s the house coming along for you guys?” Joci asked.
“It’s great, really great, Joci. I love living there. Not sure if I’ll ever be unpacked, but I’m good for now. So glad I decided to move in,” Ryder stated, smiling.
On Monday morning, Joci called her doctor. The nurse took the information and said one of them would call Joci back. She tried to work, but her mind kept tossing things around overtime. She called Jackie and talked to her about her symptoms and her thoughts and her fears.
Jackie laughed at her. “Joci, it’s different this time. You’re in a great relationship and you’re getting married. It isn’t like last time. Try and enjoy this time for you two. You didn’t get to last time. If Jeremiah wants to get married right away, we’ll all pull together and get everything done for you. To be honest, I’m pretty excited to be an aunt again. What does Gunnar think about having a little brother or sister?”
“I haven’t said anything to him yet. I don’t want to until I know for sure. He called this morning to tell me my bike is ready, and it was hard not to say anything. I’m waiting for Doctor Wan to call back. I’m on pins and needles waiting.”
They finished their conversation, and Joci tried getting a few things done around the house. Jeremiah called three times to see if Dr. Wan had called back. He was nervous and excited. Joci really hoped he wouldn’t be disappointed.
Chapter 33
Tragedy
Finally, at 3:30, Dr. Wan’s office called and asked if Joci could come in for a pregnancy test. Joci called Jackie to see if she could come with her. Then Jackie could drop her by the shop and Joci could bring her bike home. Nothing could clear Joci’s head like a great motorcycle ride.
A couple of hours later, after the doctor visit, Joci and Jackie were headed to the shop. The ride seemed endless. Joci was nervous about the whole thing. Jackie chattered all the way about everything. Joci had a headache.
Jackie dropped Joci at the shop with the promise that she would call when she got home.
Joci said hello to Janice and Angel, who were in the store, and walked up the stairs to Jeremiah’s office. She opened the door to see LuAnn sitting in a chair in Jeremiah’s office, crying. “Well, look, Joci’s here to gloat.”
“What are you talking about?” Joci looked at Jeremiah, her brows furrowed.
Jeremiah stood, “LuAnn is just leaving. For good.”
Joci held his eyes with hers for long moments.
“You two piss me the fuck off.” LuAnn said as she rammed Joci with her shoulder and stormed out the door.
“You fired her?”
“Yes. You’ve had enough; I’ve had enough. If we’re going to have a baby, I don’t want her anywhere near you. Speaking…”
A loud crash sounded down in the shop and somebody screamed. Jeremiah ran to the door. Joci followed. As they landed on the bottom step, Jeremiah ran across the shop just as LuAnn grabbed one of the bikes on the floor and pushed it over.
“God dammit, LuAnn, what the fuck are you doing? Get out. Get the fuck out now,” he roared.
LuAnn flipped Jeremiah off and headed to the shelves and started throwing the stock onto the floor. She picked up an oil can and flung it toward Joci. Joci moved out of the way before it hit her. Jeremiah grabbed LuAnn’s arm before she threw another can of oil, getting hit in the arm himself. He pulled both of her hands behind her back. Everyone else in the shop was scrambling around.
LuAnn was screaming, while leveling her eyes at Joci. “You fucking bitch, you ruined everything.”
She kicked back at Jeremiah, who held her hands tighter while trying to dodge her feet.
“I hate you, you bitch. I hate you. I hope you die,” she shrieked.
Jeremiah yelled to Joci, “Honey, go home, okay? I’ll be there as soon as I finish here. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
Jeremiah’s gaze held Joci’s. LuAnn’s heel landed on the top of Jeremiah’s shin and he bellowed, “Fuck, LuAnn. Knock it off. That fucking hurt.”
Deacon was just getting ready to leave for home. Jeremiah looked at Deacon, “Deac, get Joci out of here.”
Jeremiah’s eyes flicked over to Joci once again and he nodded. Joci nodded in return and started backing out of the shop toward the garage. Deacon walked out to the garage with Joci.
JT and Ryder each grabbed one of LuAnn’s arms to help Jeremiah.
As Joci zipped up her jacket, her hands were shaking. She had never seen anyone lose it like that.
“You okay, Joci?”
“Yeah. That was disturbing, though.”
“Yeah. She’s one fucked-up bitch. Can you ride?”
“Of course. That’ll help me clear my head.”
They took off out of the garage, Joci leading.
LuAnn was still screaming and yelling. Gunnar ran upstairs and got Chase. Janice had already called the police.
Chase came running downstairs and saw what was happening. “LuAnn, what the fuck? Cool it, for crying out loud.”
“This fucker fired me. Can you fucking believe that? His girlfriend is jealous as hell so he fires ME!”
Chase walked closer, never taking his eyes off of LuAnn. “LuAnn, honey, please calm down.”
Several minutes later, two police officers came into the shop and relieved JT and Ryder of their burden. Jeremiah, out of breath, walked over to where the boys were standing, when his phone rang. “What?”
“Dog, you have to come now. Joci’s been in an accident,” Deacon huffed, out of breath.
Jeremiah’s heart sank. “Where?” His voice cracked.
“We’re at the end of the road by Benson’s Bend. Fuck, Jeremiah, Joci flew into the corner. She didn’t even hit the brakes. She slammed into the tree at the end of the road. It’s bad. You’ve got to get here.”
Jeremiah took off towards his truck, yelling to the boys.
“We have to go. Joci’s bike went down.”
Gunnar and Jeremiah jumped into the truck and raced down the road. They got there as the ambulance was racing up the other side of the road. Jeremiah’s heart sank when he saw the wreckage. Joci’s bike was in pieces all over the road. There was a huge mark in the tree about four feet off the ground where she must have flown into it.
Jeremiah and Gunnar jumped out of the truck and ran over to where Deacon was crouched down alongside Joci in the ditch. Joci lay on the ground, not moving. He was holding her hand with tears in his eyes. Deacon looked up when he saw Jeremiah and Gunnar. He scooted away to allow them room.
Deacon was shaking, “I’m sorry. So sorry, Dog…Gunnar. I was behind her but she came into the corner. It looked like she hadn’t slowed enough. She’s a good driver, so I didn’t worry. She wasn’t speeding. But she never hit the brakes. I don’t know why. She tried turning into it, but she couldn’t get low enough. She flew off the corner into the air and hit the tree. When I got here, she wasn’t conscious. I couldn’t feel a heartbeat. I was shaking so bad. I called 911, and then I called you. I’m so sorry.”
Jeremiah leaned down close to Joci’s head. “Baby, please don’t leave me. Joci, baby, please wake up. Please.” He touched her forehead. There was blood everywhere. Her right arm was lying at a weird angle. It looked busted up. The right side of her head was bloody and scraped up. Her jeans were ripped open at the hip and there was blood everywhere.
The rescue workers moved in with equipment. “Excuse us, sir, we need to get to the patient.”
“Joci. Her name is Joci,” Jeremiah croaked.
“Are you her husband?”
“Yes.”
In his mind, he certainly
was. The rest was a technicality. Gunnar was kneeling with Jeremiah. Tears streamed down his face. The EMTs quickly put a brace around Joci’s neck. They were checking all of her injuries, vitals, pupils.
“Is she allergic to anything?”
Gunnar and Jeremiah both shook their heads no.
“She’s pregnant.” Jeremiah hissed. The EMTs, Gunnar, and Deacon all looked at Jeremiah with stunned expressions.
“She might be. I’m not sure yet.”
The rescue workers started shouting about her possible pregnancy and what they could and couldn’t give her. They loaded her onto a gurney and ran with her to the ambulance. Jeremiah wanted to come with her, but they said they couldn’t allow him in. They shut the door on his protests and headed out, lights flashing and sirens wailing.
“Deacon, take care of having Joci’s bike brought to the shop. Lock it up. No one goes near it.” Jeremiah and Gunnar jumped in the truck and flew to the hospital.
Gunnar called his Aunt Jackie on the way to the hospital.
Jackie started crying. “She’s pregnant, Gunnar.”
“I know. Dad just said, well, he said he wasn’t sure.”
“She is. I dropped her off at the shop after we went to the doctor.”
They rode in silence for a while. Gunnar’s thoughts were all over the board. He looked at Jeremiah again.
“What the fuck?” Gunnar’s jaw was tight.
Jeremiah glanced quickly at Gunnar and then back to the road. “Well, you know about LuAnn. I fired her. She didn’t take it well. We thought that your mom might be pregnant on Saturday night. She went to the doctor’s this afternoon. She was coming to tell me the results. We didn’t get the chance to talk about it.” Jeremiah had tears sliding down his cheeks.