by Unknown
“That’s it?” He asked, looking up at me in surprise.
“That’s it,” I said into my enjoyable bowl of cheesy eggs.
“HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY, Miss Wells.”
“Aw, thank you, Hunter.” I bent down and took the Valentine’s Day card he made me. “Wow, look at all those hearts, and you made them all in my favorite color.”
“Mommy says we should show our appreciation to those we love.”
I hugged him, “Hunter, this is the best Valentine’s Day card I’ve ever had.”
“Really?” he smiled up at me, showing off his missing two front teeth.
“Really,” I assured him.
“Have a good night, Miss Wells.”
“Good night, Hunter. See you tomorrow. Remember to study your spelling words.”
“I know them all.”
“Okay then, smarty pants, how do you spell the word secret?”
“S-E-A-K-R-E-T.”
I made a buzzing sound, “Errrrr. Wrong, go home and study, buddy.”
“Okay,” he sulked.
Grinning, I shook my head as I watched him gather his backpack and head for his bus.
“Cute, aren’t they?”
I turned around and saw Mrs. Harris. “Yes, and they are so full of life at this age.”
“That they are.”
“What can I do for you, Mrs. Harris?” I asked as I started cleaning up from our mini party.
“Wanted to stop in and see how you are feeling.”
“I’m good. The heat makes me a bit tired though.”
“This heat is un-real for this time of year. You’re not running in this heat are you?”
“I am, but only every other day.”
“Just make sure you drink lots of water, okay?”
“I do…at least my bladder tends to thinks so.”
“I don’t miss those days.”
“Only three more months,” I said, rubbing my belly.
“Enjoy it Haley. It goes by very fast.”
Mrs. Harris rubbed my stomach before leaving my classroom.
RUNNING MY LAST mile, I felt a cramp in my lower back. Stopping, I took a long drink of water and walked the rest of the way home.
Kicking off my shoes, I crawled on the couch, wishing these stupid running cramps would just go away all ready. I grabbed my cell and texted Carleigh to see what her and Jared were doing for Valentine’s Day.
Me: What are you too doing tonight? Any special plans?
Carleigh: I don’t know yet, still in bed ;)
Me: It’s after four!
Carleigh: I know
Me: lucky!!
Carleigh: What about you, baby mama, any big plans?
Me: Bentley and I have late dinner plans with Travis, Whitney, Cullen and this new girl he’s seeing.
Carleigh: BOR-ING!!
Me: It’s not like I can do anything fun :( pregnant remember :)
Carleigh: I vote stay home and do it doggie style.
Me:Carleigh!
Carleigh: What? Don’t tell me you don’t like my way of thinking.
Me: You’re crazy!
Carleigh: Gotta go! Jared just came in with a can of whipped cream.
Me: Have Fun!
Carleigh: PLAN TO! Happy Valentine’s day, love ya!
AS I MOVED to get off the couch, I felt a massive pain in my back that radiated into my pelvis, and when I looked down, I noticed blood dripping down my leg.
“No-no-no-no,” I chanted as I ran to the bathroom and yanked off my running shorts.
My black shorts kept me from knowing just how much blood was there, so I hopped into a cool shower, hoping that cooling off would help the cramps and stop the bleeding. After watching the blood run down the drain for a few minutes as the cramps worsened, I stepped out to call Bentley.
“Bentley, come on, pick up...” I panicked. “Bentley, pick up the damn phone!”
The third time I called him, I yelled into the phone, “Bentley, call me!”
I hung up and tried calling Dad and Maggie, but neither answered. Grams and Papa were out at a bingo supper for the Red Cross. Terror setting in, I tried calling Charlotte, but my fingers kept fumbling over the numbers. Finally, on the fourth try, I heard the phone ring.
“Hello?”
“Thank God,” I breathed.
“Haley, is everything okay?”
I instantly lost it and started crying.
“Haley, you need to tell me what’s going on.”
“I’m bleeding and cramping, Charlotte, and it’s bad! It just kept running down my legs…”
“TRAVIS! Go get your brother now!” I heard Charlotte scream.
“Haley, what happen to make you start cramping and bleeding?”
“I went out for a run after work, and about a mile from home, I started getting back cramps, but I just thought they were runner’s cramps. I came home and laid on the couch, and when I went to get up I saw the blood running down my leg.”
“I’m coming to take you to the hospital, or should I call the ambulance?”
“Charlotte, I’m scared.” I cried into the phone, “I tried calling Bentley, but he’s not answering his phone.”
“BENTLEY! BENTLEY!” MY brother is yelling and waving violently while bolting across the field. I turned off the tractor and climbed out to meet him.
“Bentley, you have to get to Haley’s right now,” he blurted between gasps for air.
My heart instantly dropped, “What the hell happened?”
“I don’t know. She called mom; something about blood. Mom tried calming her down…”
“Why the hell didn’t she call me?” I asked, taking out my phone. “Damn it, no service.”
Travis and I ran to his truck. “What is mom doing? Is she calling the ambulance?”
“Bentley, I don’t know. I ran out of the house as fast as I could to get you.”
I tried calling my mom, but kept getting a busy signal. “Mom’s not picking up.”
“She’s probably on the phone with Haley.”
“Travis, can’t you drive faster?” The panic nearly crippled me; I couldn’t get my legs to stop shaking.
“Sorry, bro, I’m going as fast as I can without losing control.”
“I know, I’m just freaking out.”
“She’ll be okay,” my brother said grabbing my hand.
TRAVIS PULLED UP to the hospital, barely stopping before I flung open the door and sprinted to the emergency door.
“I’m here for Haley Wells,” I breathed to the nurse at the front desk.
“Have a seat, sir, and I’ll be with you in a moment.”
“I don’t think you understand, she could be losing our baby,” I pleaded.
She looked down to the charts on her desk, “What did you say her name was?”
“Haley Wells. I’m not sure if she came in by ambulance, or with my mom.”
“Looks like she came in by ambulance; the doctor is with her now.”
“Can I be with her?”
“I’m sorry, are you family?” she asked
“I’m the baby’s father.”
“I’m sorry, sir…”
“Bentley. My name is Bentley.”
“Bentley, I am sorry, but you are not family, and you are not one of the contact people on her file…”
I slammed my fist on the desk, “This is bullshit! I could be losing my baby, and you are making me wait out here when I should be fucking in there with her!”
A strong pair of hands grabbed my shoulders and pulled me from the desk. “I’m sorry ma’am, as you can see my brother is very worried about his fiancé and baby.”
“Please have a seat, and let me see what is going on. I’ll check back with you.”
“Thank you Ma’am, we’d much appreciate it.”
Travis walked us to the seating area. “Thanks man, I was losing my shit there.”
“It’s understandable. I’m sure she gets it all the time.”
My
gaze moved from my watch to the emergency room door and back again; over and over. “It’s been twenty minutes, Travis. What the hell could be talking so fucking long?”
“I don’t know. Do you want something from the vending machine? I can go get it.”
“No, I don’t want something from the God damn vending machine! What I want is to know how Haley is, and why the fuck she hasn’t she changed the emergency contact information yet.”
I couldn't believe she hadn’t changed the form. I told her to, and for this exact reason. I hated sitting out here completely clueless, and as each minute ticked by the terror increased.
“THE FAMILY OF Haley Wells?” a nurse in pink scrubs called to the waiting room. My eye caught on three drops of blood on her shoes, and my heart skipped a beat.
Travis and I stood and walked to the nurse. I tried to talk, but all I could concentrate on were the drops of blood.
“Here,” my brother answered for me.
“The doctor is all finished now, would you like to come with me?”
“Please,” Travis answered again.
“My name is Beth, and I am a nurse on the delivery unit tonight.”
I just about lost it at the words delivery unit. Does that mean I missed the birth of my baby?
Travis leaned in and whispered, “Bentley now is not the time to be upset. Put it way for now; we need to be strong for Haley and whatever news we get on the other side of these doors.”
I looked at him, “You’re right.” I tried to swallow past the big lump in the back of my throat. I swiped my hands across my eyes to wipe away any tears that might have fallen.
We walked silently behind the nurse. When she opened the door, I bolted straight to the woman I love, “Haley…”
She turned her head, and I saw big tears rolling down her cheeks. “Bentley…” she sobbed as I engulfed her in my arms and held on for dear life. “I’m so sorry.” She buried her head in my chest and continued to cry.
I kissed the top of her head repeating, “Shhh, baby, it’s going to be all right, it’s gonna be all right.”
“Bentley?” I looked up, finally noticing Mom was here, with tears in her eyes, too.
“Thanks, Mom.”
“Travis and I are just going to step out…”
“No,” Haley interrupted, “please stay…both of you.”
“If that’s what you want,” Travis answered and stood by Mom.
“The doctor will be back in a few minutes with an ultrasound machine. I’m going to put this IV in your hand and get some fluids in you,” Beth said as she pushed in a cart with a ton of shit on it.
The door opened again admitting Ben, Maggie, Whitney, Dad, and the Wells. “Oh honey,” Mrs. Wells cried coming to the bedside.
“What happened?” Ben asked.
“I went running after work, and I felt cramps during the last mile out. When I got home, the cramping worsened and I saw blood running down my legs,” Haley answered.
I hugged her closer, “I’m so sorry you couldn’t reach me. The field I was in has no cell reception.”
“What did the doctor have to say?” Mr. Wells asked.
“Nothing yet,” Mom answered, “he just checked her over and is bringing an ultrasound machine in to check the baby.”
“Could he hear the baby’s heart beat?” Whitney asked, hugging Travis tight.
“He wanted to wait for the ultrasound machine.”
Haley curled into my chest and spoke softly, “What if we lost her?”
I had no words to offer. I was scared of the same thing.
THE DOCTOR CAME in with a big machine, “Quite a crowd we have in here. I’m going to have to ask all of you to leave while I do the ultrasound. I’m sorry, but it shouldn’t take too long.”
“I’m staying,” I declared.
“I’m sorry, but...”
“Please?” Haley asked in a hushed voice. “I want everyone to stay. Whatever we find on that the screen, we need to go through it as a family.”
“It’s really against protocol.”
“Please.” Haley had her head hung low, and all I wanted to go was pick her up and bring her home safely to my bed.
The doctor let out a big breath, “Okay, but everyone must stay quiet—no matter what we find.” He looked around the room. Everyone nodded at once. “Okay then, Haley, I’m going to get you to lie down.”
WAITING FOR THE screen to blink on felt like a lifetime. I finally relaxed a bit when Bentley came back to the room, and wrapped his arms around me letting his scent fill my nose. I knew I would be ready for anything the doctor told us.
“Have you had an ultrasound before?”
“Yes.”
“Good, this one will be the exact same, but, Haley, I want you to be prepared. We could see one of two things. A live baby that may give us the sex, or a baby that is no longer there.”
Bentley stepped away from the bed, but I kept a vice grip on his hand when he sat in the chair beside me.
“We’re ready,” he said.
As soon as the transducer touched my stomach, we could hear the distinctive swoosh, swoosh, swoosh. Bentley and I each let out a sigh of relief.
“Okay, folks, that is the baby’s heart beat, and it sounds nice and strong,” the doctor confirmed.
“And this is the baby.” Everyone crowded together as much as possible to get a view. “Did you want to know the sex of the baby? I have a pretty clear shot now, if you want to know.”
I looked at Bentley and he mouthed, “I love you so much.”
“Yes, I want to know,” I answered with my eyes still on him.
“It’s a boy.”
I tore my eyes from Bentley’s to look at the screen and saw my son for the first time.
“Emerson.”
“What was that?” Bentley asked.
“Emerson. I want to name him Emerson Wyatt Knight.”
Bentley cupped my face and kissed me, not stopping until a throat cleared.
“Looks like you are measuring fine; the baby looks good, and his heart sounds great.”
“What do you think happened?” asked my dad.
“Haley is really dehydrated, and the cramps and bleeding are side-effects.”
I was shocked at the doctor’s words. “But I drink water all the time.”
“I know, but with this weird heat wave we are experiencing, sometimes it’s not enough.”
“How do I stop this from happening again?”
“For now, you need to rest for the rest of the week.”
“But I still have two days of teaching left.”
“Haley, this is a serious situation. You need your rest; I will write you a note for work. Also, no more running until after the baby is born.”
“Okay,” I agreed without hesitation.
“If you have any more bleeding or cramping over the weekend, I want you to come straight here and ask for me, I’m on call until Monday.”
“Should I rent her a hotel room close by?” my dad asked.
“No, I don’t think that is necessary. As long as someone stays with her for the next few days, she should be fine.”
Everyone chimed in at the same time.
“Don’t worry, there are plenty of us to watch over her,” Grams said.
“She’s coming home with me,” Bentley said.
“We’ll take shifts,” Whitney and Travis said simultaneously.
“Sounds like you have a room full of love, Haley,” the doctor chuckled. “I’ll print of these photos and leave them at the nurse’s station. Once the bag of fluids is finished you can go home.”
Bentley stood up and shook the doctor’s hand, “Thank you.”
“You’re very welcome, and congratulations.”
Travis and Whitney were the first ones to leave. “I’m sorry I wrecked our Valentine’s plans.” I said, looking to Whitney.
“Don’t worry, this is was better anyways. Now I get to know I’m having a nephew. I’ll call Cullen and let him kno
w what happened, and that we didn’t stand him or his date up.”
“Sounds good,” Bentley said as they walked out of the room.
Next were Charlotte and Will. Both kissed me goodbye and said they’d stop in over the weekend.
Grams was more hesitant to leave, but Papa convinced her Bentley would take very good care of me.
Last to leave were Maggie and my dad. They wanted to stay until I went home, but I assured them I was fine, and to go home and have a good night sleep. As Maggie was hugging me something caught my hair.
“Maggie, what is on your hand that pulled my hair?”
“Oh,” she tried pulling her hand away, but I grabbed it to see what it was.
“Is that…” I looked over to my dad’s beaming face, “Dad, are you engaged?”
“We are.”
“Cool,” laughed Bentley.
“I’m so happy,” I cried.
Maggie joined in with tears of her own, “Me, too.”
Bentley stood and hugged him, “Congratulations.”
“Thanks.”
“Will the wedding be soon?” Bentley asked with a wink.
“As soon as Haley feels up to it. I’m not wasting another moment of my life without Maggie in it.”
“I know what you mean,” Bentley agreed under this breath.
Dad kissed the top of my head, “Goodnight, honey. I love you, and congratulations on your son. We’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Night Daddy, and Maggie, welcome to my family.”
Dad pulled the door closed on their way out, and I scooted over in the bed, making room as I asked, “Bentley, will you hold me?”
“That is exactly what I planned to do once everyone left.” He climbed on the bed and held me close. I closed my eyes and thanked God as I drifted to sleep.
“HALEY, SWEETHEART, WE’RE home.”
I rubbed my eyes, “Really? It felt like I just got into Travis’s truck. Remind me to thank him later for leaving it.”
Bentley picked me up from the truck. “I can walk you know.”
“I’d just feel better if I carried you, please.”
I stared into his puppy dog eyes, “Fine, but this means you have to hold me while I shower, too.”