by Melody Anne
Alex didn’t find humor in his father’s words. “I do love her,” he finally said.
“Have you told her that?” his dad asked.
“I was going too but we kind of had a fight and that’s why she was out driving. This is all my fault and if anything has happened to her, I will never be able to forgive myself,” Alex whispered.
“She’ll be okay Alex and you’ll have the rest of your life to reassure her how much you truly love her. When two people are meant to be together, nothing can stop them except their own bullheadedness. I’m glad to see you waking up,” Joseph slightly lectured.
“Thanks Dad. I wonder where that stubbornness came from,” Alex added.
“Ah boy, your mamma has had to kick me in the butt a few times and I sure deserved it but you know I would walk on fire for that woman.”
“I didn’t think it was possible to have a love as great as yours and mom’s but now I know how wrong I have been. Knowing Jessica is hurt and not being able to do anything about it is like ripping a piece of my soul away from me. I need to make her better,” Alex pleaded.
“You’ve sure grown into a fine young man. You know I’m always here for you and we’ll get through this. Families always stick together. There’s no way Jessica will leave her son behind so have faith, say a lot of prayers and know everything will work out.”
“Thanks dad. I’ll feel better once the doctor lets me see her,” Alex said, glancing through the doors, into the waiting room.
“Let’s head back inside,” Joseph said and they walked back towards the family.
Alex paced the room for what seemed like the hundredth time when a doctor walked through the doors. The man headed towards the large group. “Alex Anderson?” he questioned.
“That’s me,” Alex answered quickly.
“Your wife is out of surgery. She’s in stable condition but the next twenty-four hours are critical. She’s in a coma right now but we have every confidence she’ll wake within the next few days. Her collar was broken and she had a large cut on her left leg. We’ve fixed both those things. Her head was hit pretty hard and that’s our main concern right now. We had to relieve the pressure built up and will have to keep an eye on her.” The doctor finally stopped speaking.
Alex stood digesting the words the doctor was saying to him feeling like he was being slapped. He was so worried about Jessica. “Can I please see her?” It took all of Alex’s control not to grab the doctor and demand to be taken to his wife. He wasn’t normally a man who would ask.
“She’s being moved into her room right now. The nurse will take you up in a few minutes,” the doctor replied and then left through the double doors.
“We’ll wait here, son,” Joseph said, while patting Alex’s arm.
A few minutes later a led Alex through some corridors into Jessica’s room. Alex gasped in shock as he saw Jessica lying in the large bed. Her face was bruised up and slightly swollen. He felt a tear slip down his cheek, as he realized how close he’d come to losing her.
He pulled the chair up next to her bed and gently placed her hand in his. “Jessica, I’m so sorry for everything I have put you through. We’ll be just fine. Please wake up, so we can be a family. I love you so much and can’t live without you,” he said to her, willing her to open her eyes and look at him.
She didn’t stir. He sat with her the rest of the night. The nurse had come in and told him visiting hours were over but gave up after a few minutes, knowing she couldn’t budge the devoted husband.
The next day a doctor stepped into the room and was looking at some charts. “Well, we have some great news, Mr. Anderson. She’s healing nicely and should wake up anytime. It also looks like the baby wasn’t affected by the accident and her pregnancy is just fine,” he finished.
Alex sat in shock. He had a mixture of emotions running through him. Did she know she was pregnant? She would’ve told him. “How far along is she?” he finally choked out.
“I’m sorry, I assumed you already knew,” the doctor seemed to stumble over his words. He glanced back down at the chart. “She’s about twelve weeks along,” he finally said.
Alex’s face lit with joy. They were going to have another child. He loved his son so much and now they were going to have a sibling for him. Even better, he would be there for the entire pregnancy. He would see his child come into the world and he would be there every single day to enjoy the entire pregnancy.
He sat there next to Jessica and thanked the heavens for the blessings in his life. His wife was going to be fine, although he’d feel much better once she finally opened her eyes. He was going to have another child to love. Jacob was the most perfect child in the universe. It only seemed right to bring more children into the world. He smiled to himself, thinking he sounded a bit prejudiced but that was alright too.
He vowed he would never let anything bad ever happen again to anyone in his family. He couldn’t stand to feel so helpless.
Later that afternoon both families came in to check on Jessica, bringing in more flowers and balloons. Her room looked like a floral shop from all the arrangements people dropped off wishing her better.
“We’re going to have another baby,” Alex excitedly stated to everyone in the room. He knew he should wait to tell everyone until Jessica was awake but he couldn’t help himself. He was too excited about it.
There was a moment of silence, before the room erupted in excited chatter. “Congratulations son,” Joseph nearly shouted before grabbing Alex up in a huge bear hug.
“That’s wonderful, just wonderful,” John added with tears in his eyes.
His brothers each gave him a hard hug and Amy kissed him on the cheek. They were equally as excited as he was.
“I don’t know if Jessica even knows yet but I couldn’t wait to tell everyone,” Alex stated, sheepishly.
“Alex.” His head whipped around, as he heard the quiet whisper of his name spoken. Jessica’s eyes were cracked open in confusion and she was looking right at him.
“Baby, it’s so good to see you awake.” He settled down into the chair next to his wife and took her hand into his.
“Wh…What happened?” she finally managed to croak out. Her throat felt like sandpaper. The rest of the room went completely silent.
“You were in a terrible car accident but everything’s fine now. You should be able to return home in a few days,” he said.
“I don’t remember. I was driving and then everything went black,” she said, sounding scared.
“You have nothing to worry about. The doctor said you’re going to be fine,” he reassured her.
“Jacob’s okay, right?” she asked. Her heart monitor started beating as she frantically looked around the room for her son.
“Jacob is fine. You need to relax, your heart rate is getting too high,” he said calmly and breathed a sigh of relief as the beeping slowed. “He’s home with Julia. She will be down here in about an hour with him,” he said and kissed her gently.
Jessica drank in Alex’s face. He looked like he was the one who had been in an accident. His eyes had dark circles and his face was unshaven. His clothes were in desperate need of changing. He’d never looked better to her.
“I’m sorry for the things I said. I do love you more than you could ever imagine. I was just scared. You’ve held my heart for so long and I was afraid if I told you how I felt you’d somehow hold control over me. I should’ve realized sooner it did not matter. When I thought I could lose you I went out of my mind. Please forgive me for being so stupid,” he pled to her.
Neither of them noticed their families quietly slipping out of the room, giving them much needed privacy. They didn’t notice the happy looks between Joseph and John, the two meddling fathers.
“Of course I forgive you Alex. I love you so much. I wanted to come home the minute I left. I was already thinking I’d rather live with you, without love than without you,” she replied.
“So we’re going to be alright?” He asked her
.
“We’re going to be more than alright. I think we can finally be a real family,” she said.
“Speaking of families,” he began, “how do you feel about giving Jacob a new brother or sister?”
Jessica beamed at him. “Nothing would make me feel better than having a houseful of children running around, filling up the empty corners,” she beamed at him. “As soon as I get out of here, we’ll have to start working on that.”
Alex gave her a blinding smile. “I don’t mind practicing for baby number three but number two is already cooking,” he said.
Jessica looked at her husband in confusion for a few moments before she realized what he was saying. “Are we…” she began, when he nodded his head. “We’re really pregnant?” she asked with hope.
Alex nodded his head. He was so overcome with emotions he couldn’t speak for a moment. He found it amusing he was the one telling her they were pregnant as it was normally the other way around.
“I can’t believe it,” she gasped. “How do you know?”
“They ran all kinds of tests to make sure you were alright and found you were twelve weeks along. The baby’s fine. As a matter-of-fact, they are going to bring a monitor in this afternoon so we can have our first peak at the little one,” he said.
“I can’t believe I didn’t know I was pregnant. I just thought I had a touch of the flu. I guess even the flu can’t last that long,” she said feeling a little foolish.
“I should’ve noticed something was up myself. You have been sleeping a lot and hardly eating. We have to get you taken care of so you can properly take care of our baby,” he said and gently rubbed her belly, which had a small bump on it.
Jessica looked at his hand on her stomach and gave a small laugh, “I thought I was just putting on weight,” she said, turning a little pink.
“I would love you no matter what you looked like,” he said and she could see he really meant it.
Jessica was thrilled to be carrying another baby of Alex’s. “I never thought my life could be this perfect. I love you. Alex.”
“I love you to Jessica and I’ll spend the rest of my life showing you just how much,” he said as he gently kissed her.
Jessica shivered as the doctor applied the cold gel to her belly but soon all her pain seemed to fade away as she got her first look at their baby.
“Is that her?” Alex asked in awe, as a perfect little head came into view on the monitor. He was gripping Jessica’s hand in his as he got the first image of their child.
“How are you so sure our child is a girl?” Jessica asked with a proud smile. She too had a feeling the baby was a girl.
“Because this world won’t be complete without a mirror image of you in it,” he stated as fact.
Jessica’s eyes filled with tears once again. She couldn’t believe just a couple of short days ago she’d been filled with such despair. She felt like she would burst wide open from the joy she was feeling.
Her eyes returned to the monitor and she took in every detail of the three dimensional image of her child, whom was safe within her womb becoming stronger each day.
“Thank you for being a wonderful husband and father,” she said, barely able to get the words out of her tightened throat.
“No Jessica, it’s me who needs to thank you for having so much faith. I love you, Jacob and our daughter,” he said.
Jessica knew from that day forward her life would be a great adventure and even though there would be trials now and then, things would work out for them all. She looked from the monitor to her husband and then sent up a silent thank you to God for blessing her life with so much.
Epilogue
Joseph loved Thanksgiving. It was a time of gathering with his family, eating great food and reflecting back on another wonderful year with his dear family and friends. He had so much more to be thankful for this past year with the birth of another beautiful granddaughter and three other grandkids.
He cuddled Emily close to him and breathed in her magical scent. She was only one week old and he’d been overjoyed when she’d made her entrance into the world.
“You’re such a great gift to our family,” he whispered to her gently, while stroking her soft head.
Emily stared up at her grandfather, seeming to be mesmerized by his voice.
“Tell us another story gampa,” Jasmine demanded.
“Of course,” he replied to his eldest grandchild. “Twas the night before Christmas when all through the house…” he began and all four grandkids gave their full attention to their grandfather.
Just as Joseph was finishing his story, Emily started to fuss and Jessica walked into the warm den. “It sounds to me like Emily’s ready for her Thanksgiving dinner Dad,” she said to him, before bending down and giving him a kiss on the cheek.
Joseph reluctantly handed Emily over to her mother. She chuckled at him, “Don’t worry grandpa, you can have her back soon,” she said.
“I’ll take the kids out and let you have some privacy,” he replied gruffly before departing.
Jessica sat down in the comfortable rocker Joseph had purchased for her and Amy. She fed her child and felt so much contentment she could easily overflow.
“There you are. Dinner is being served. When you are done feeding her, I can burp her while you go sit down. You need to keep your energy up,” Alex said as he walked into the room.
“We’re almost done,” Jessica said quietly.
They sat there in a companionable silence while Emily finished eating. Jessica then handed her over to her father and sat with them as he gently burped her. “You can go eat,” he said with an affectionate smile.
“I know but I’d rather wait. I still can’t get over how wonderful she looks in your arms. Your hands are bigger than her little body,” she replied.
Alex chuckled. He’d been so afraid to hold his tiny daughter the first time. She was so little, he felt as if he’d break her but once Jessica placed Emily in his arms he knew he could hold her twenty-four hours a day and it still wouldn’t be enough.
Alex finished burping her and she was sound asleep. He laid her down in her bassinet and then walked hand in hand towards the laughter coming from the dining room.
Joseph was out on the balcony saying a prayer. He was so thankful for his ever-growing family. He got a twinkle in his eyes as he thought about his youngest son. “Ah Mark, I’ve found you the perfect match,” he whispered into the night.
Joseph chuckled to himself as he imagined his youngest son fighting to keep his bachelorhood. He would definitely fight it but the fall would be ever so sweet.
“Joseph, everyone’s waiting on you,” came the sweet sound of his Katherine’s voice.
“They can wait one more moment. Come here my beautiful wife,” he said, while holding his arm out towards her.
He pulled her into his arms and kissed her with a deep love that went beyond passion. She was a part of his soul. He’d been through the good and the bad with his wife and prayed each night they’d have many more years together.
“Okay my bride, let’s go have some dinner,” he finally said. They walked hand in hand into the dining room. Joseph looked around the large table, filled with laughter and a bit of chaos.
Jacob was mashing his food all over his face and high chair. Jasmine was giggling about something her uncle Mark said to her and Isaiah was asleep in his father’s arms. Joseph looked towards the den and knew baby Emily was safe in her basinet.
He was so filled with love he had to sit there for a few moments before finally standing to make a toast. Everyone knew Thanksgiving dinner didn’t officially begin until he’d made a toast and each year the blessings became greater and greater, making him appreciate so much more.
“I would like to make a toast,” Joseph began in his normal booming voice. “I’m so thankful for the new additions to our family. Amy and Jessica, you have brought such light and joy to my sons and I will be grateful each and every day you somehow manage to
tame these hooligans,” he said.
Everyone at the table laughed, while the happy couples moved just a little bit closer to each other.
“Of course the biggest blessing of all is to finally have the pattering of little feet running about. I love each of you beautiful babies,” he continued, as he looked at Jacob, Jasmine and Isaiah. “And what a blessing to have Emily born just one week before this most thankful of days,” he said and then gave a slight cough.
Everyone knew he was trying to contain his emotion, so they all pretended not to notice and gave him a moment to regain his composure.
“I know this next year will be filled with many more blessings,” he said and looked over at Mark, his youngest son, who started to squirm a bit in his seat.
“Ha little brother, I think dad’s prophesying you’re going to be the next to give him a grandkid,” Lucas goaded his youngest brother.
“You know that’s not going to happen. I’m a confirmed bachelor,” he said on a laugh but there also seemed to be a longing in his eyes which both Jessica and Amy spotted. They looked at each other and smiled.
“Your brothers were too until they met the love of their lives. Now they’re far happier than they ever were before. We’re meant to have someone by our side,” he said. He then took his beautiful wife Katherine’s hand in his.
“I’m most grateful of all for every day I’m blessed enough to spend with you. You’re my light, my whole reason for being,” he said. Everyone was silent as they witnessed a love that couldn’t be matched.
“I love you too Joseph,” she replied, before discretely wiping a tear from her face.
“Now let’s eat this wonderful food that’s been prepared,” he said in a slightly cracked voice.
“Here, here,” everyone shouted. The rest of the night was filled with laughter and remembered times.
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