Penelope, one of her father’s staff members who thankfully resided on the property, held Holly’s head in her lap. The old woman stroked her hair as her eyes closed, whispering words Holly couldn’t make out.
The drive to the hospital felt like it was taking ages, and just as she thought that, they suddenly stopped. Charles’ voice barked demands for help, and soon hands seemed to come from nowhere, pulling her out of the SUV, placing her on a bed and wheeling her into the emergency room.
Lying flat on her back, Holly saw ceilings and lights whizz by, hurting her eyes. She was thankful, though, for the hand holding hers. Her father’s.
All too soon, Charles released her hand when Dr. Rikus and a few nurses needed to attend to her. Whatever she’d been given—not that she’d felt anything during all the commotion—began to work as her symptoms settled.
Dr. Rikus waited until her body reacted to the medication she was given, upon which he began an examination of the baby.
Holly waited and prayed to hear the tiny heartbeat, when it finally came. The sound was exactly as previous times; soft and far from the tempo it should be but it was there, hanging on, just like her mommy.
Both were fighting to live for the chance to see what the other one looked like.
Hold on, Jamie, please, she prayed softly, before all went silent.
When Holly woke, a dark figure was sitting in a chair next to the bed.
“Dad?” she whispered.
“Holly…” It wasn’t Charles’ voice as she had expected, but rather her mother’s.
Holly closed and opened her eyes a few times in order to focus. When her mother came into view, her face was both riddled with worry and relief.
“Mom? What are you doing here?” she croaked.
“Why didn’t you phone me, Holly?”
“Too scared to.”
“Of what? You went to your dad, after everything—”
“Don’t,” Holly interrupted. “I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for him, Mom. You’ve got to give him that. He came through for me this time. It counts.”
“Don’t ask me to forgive your father, Holly. Not after everything he put us through.”
“Have you forgotten what you did when Jamie died?”
“I can’t.”
“Try, Mom. I’m still here.”
“You could’ve died, and then what?”
Holly didn’t answer.
“Holly… why don’t you abort—”
Her scream cut her mother off. “No! I will never abort my little girl. Deal with it.”
Her mother’s bottom lip trembled, she was crying. “It’s a little girl.”
Holly nodded. “Her name is Jamie.”
Jane stood up and bent to hug her daughter. A loud sob escaped her. “I can’t lose you, too. Promise me that I won’t lose you, Holly.”
“I’m trying my damnedest to live, Mom. Believe me, I don’t want to die.”
Jane sniffed, running the back of her hand up and down Holly’s cheek softly.
“Did Bernie phone you?”
“Bernice?” her mother asked.
Holly nodded.
Jane shook her head. “My phone was stolen and I don’t think she has my new number. Your father called in one of his detectives to track me down.”
“Detectives don’t come cheap, Mom. That should be reason enough for you to forgive him.”
“He’s an arrogant bastard, Holly. I’m far from forgiving him yet, but I’ll try. For you. Okay?”
“Okay.”
“So… who’s the bastard that put you in this position?”
“It doesn’t matter now. He will never see or meet her. His loss. She’s mine.”
“I swear, I will kill him if I ever find out who he is. To leave you like this...”
“Mom? He’s a coward. Besides, you didn’t kill Dad, so I very much doubt you’ll have a personality change and become a murderer.”
Her mother giggled. “Why didn’t you phone me?”
“Truth?”
Jane nodded.
“I needed money. I knew this was going to happen, and I know you don’t have the kind of funds I needed lying around. Besides, I still owe you that wedding money.”
“Holly, we could’ve made a plan.”
“No. There comes a time in one’s life when we have to suck whatever up and move on.”
“And this was one of those times?”
Holly affirmed with a nod.
Jane stroked her arm. “Well, I’m here for the long haul.”
“What about your job?”
“It’s just a job. You are what’s important to me. Besides, there will always be hospitals looking for nurses and I’m quite the nurse, I’ll have you know.”
Holly chuckled.
“What is it they have you on?”
“No idea, but whatever it is, it’s working.”
“Do you know where your chart is? They’re usually at the end of a patient’s bed.”
“Right there on the wall, next to the door,” Holly said, pointing in its direction.
“Dear me, why I never looked there is beyond me,” Jane mumbled, clicking her tongue.
She made her way to the metal casing affixed to the wall and pulled out Holly’s chart. The light seeping through the door outlined her slender body.
For an older woman, one who’d drowned herself in booze for years, she still looked like a million dollars, even though she didn’t have the funds to back it up. It was one of Jane’s strongest traits; she knew how to look good.
Why her father had lost interest in her mother was beyond Holly’s knowledge.
Jane read through Holly’s chart carefully, and eventually returned to her daughter’s side.
“Did you find what you were looking for?” Holly asked.
“Yes, and it’s really expensive stuff.”
“See why I needed him?”
“Still. I wouldn’t have asked him for a dime.”
Holly sighed tiredly. “The way you feel about Dad is exactly how I feel about Jamie’s dad. I wouldn’t ask him for a dime.”
“Please, Holly, tell me who he is?”
“Some big shot.”
“ Don’t tell me he’s married.”
“No, you raised me better than that.” Her eyes were closed, but she was smiling.
“What’s the problem, then?”
“He changed his mind about being a father.”
“How long have you known him?”
“Not long enough, apparently. But it was perfect while it lasted, Mom. The kind of love you only read about in Jane Austin novels.”
Her mother gave her a sad look. “So why didn’t it last?”
A tear rolled down Holly’s cheek. Jane dabbed it away.
“Because that kind of love doesn’t exist, Mom. It’s why it only happens in fiction.”
Jane shook her head. “What is this p47 in your chart, Holly?”
“Sorry, the what?” Holly hadn’t fully paid attention to her mom’s question.
“Your doctor has drawn a huge circle around something called p47. I’ve never heard of it. What is it?”
“Oh. He circles things that are important. That’s the formula he’s trying to get.”
“What formula?”
“Something another gynecologist was working on to help women like me,” she lied.
“Hang on a second. Are you talking about the formula Dr. Gus Peters has been working on?”
“You’ve heard of it?”
“Yes, it’s the one trial every hospital in the US has been hoping for. I didn’t even know it had a name yet, or that work had started on it.”
“It has started, but nothing is official yet.”
“Then why has Dr. Rikus written it down?”
“I received a couple of containers.”
“You got your hands on a few containers? How? From who, Holly?”
“It doesn’t matter, Mom. I don’t want to talk about it.”
> Her mother was silent. “Holly Scallanger. Do you know Dr. Peters? Was he your gynecologist?”
“No, he wasn’t.” Holly hoped her short reply would end Jane’s questioning. It didn’t.
“Then… none of this is making any sense.”
“I don’t want it to make sense, just drop it, please.”
Jane gasped, a hand to her chest. “That son of a bitch. Dr. Peters is the baby’s father, isn’t he?” she blurted, her tone angry.
“No! Are you insane? I told you Jamie’s father wasn’t married.”
“Then how did you get the supplement?”
“Mom, really!”
“He has a son...” she trailed off.
Holly froze. Her mother had untangled the riddle her father had been bugging her about.
“It was him! That little asswipe. He’s just been nominated for an award, you know that, right?”
“What? He’s only an intern.”
“Holly, P&E is a family business. He performed major head surgery, removing four tumors with some doctor from China. It was a huge medical miracle, one where the patient woke without any complications. They felt they needed to give him an award for his assistance.”
Holly felt the air leave her lungs. Breathe, she ordered herself.
“What is it, baby girl?”
“Further confirmation that he’s gone on with his life, winning awards and whatnot like nothing else has happened in it, and here I am fighting for mine and our baby’s.”
“Is that why you are going through all of this?”
“No, Mom. I want this baby. I don’t care how he feels about me, and even though in the beginning I didn’t want her as much as he did, our roles reversed.”
Jane frowned. “He wanted the baby?”
“Don’t, please.”
“It doesn’t make any sense, Holly. Men don’t just—”
“Mom, please!”
“Fine, I’ll leave it. But if he crosses my path, rest assured, I will strangle him.”
Holly giggled despite the situation when a picture formed in her head; a deranged, older woman attacking a much younger man and strangling him, whilst hanging on for dear life off of his back.
Apparently, Jane had the same vision and she, too, started to giggle. “Why do these things happen? You know this baby will more than likely be the spitting image of that rat bastard?”
“I’ve made peace with that.”
“Honey, I’m truly worried about you.”
“You, Mom, aren’t the only one.”
By now, Jane was sitting on the bed. She leaned forward, resting her head close to Holly’s. “Well, I’m here now. It’s going to be okay.”
“Thanks for coming, Mom. Means more to me than you’ll know. Don’t ever say anything, but Dad isn’t one of the most understanding beings out there.”
“I don’t know how you’ve managed to live with him. I can just imagine what Gabriella is like.”
“You mean Gabby. Or Plastic Gabby, as Penelope calls her.”
“Penelope?” Jane queried, eyebrows raised.
“A lovely lady. She’s an employee of Dad’s, runs the house, while Gabby sips on cocktails and goes for spa treatments.”
Her mother shook her head. “To think of all the things I did for that man.”
“Don’t think about it, Mom. It’s not worth it.”
“I bet he has it all, right?”
“Don’t even get me started. It would only infuriate you more, and then you might turn into a serial killer.”
Her mother laughed out loud. “He’s so not worth it. But Jake Peters is.”
“Don’t tell Dad, please. You know what he’s like, and I really don’t want Jake to find out I’ve kept the baby. I don’t have the money to sue him.”
“No, you don’t. But your father does.”
“Mom, forget it. He’s done more than enough, and I am grateful. Still, I can’t help but wonder what he’s going to want in return when all this is over.”
“Hopefully, nothing. Or I will fucking kill him.”
Holly snorted.
“Just be thankful right along with me for now. Pretty please?” Holly smirked.
“Oh, okay. I promise.” Jane rolled her eyes.
“Where are you staying?”
“Nowhere, yet. I’ll book myself into a motel or something.”
“I can always ask Dad—”
“Hold it right there, young lady. I can think of four words. Over. My. Dead. Body.” Jane punctuated every word with her index finger. It was quite comical.
Holly giggled. “I’m sure that can be arranged.”
“Funny,” Jane replied, sarcastically. “You need your rest, and I desperately need coffee. Try to get some shut-eye.”
“Thanks, Mom.” Holly watched her mother get up and walk to the door. “Mom,” she called.
Jane turned back. “What is it, sweetheart?”
“Thank you for coming. I’ve really missed you.”
“My pleasure. And ditto that, baby girl.”
Holly smiled and closed her eyes at her mother’s words.
HOLLY WASN’T RELEASED FROM HOSPITAL the next day as she’d hoped. Doctor Rikus requested she stay as she’d been admitted four times in the past month. In case she took a turn for the worst, he wanted her close by so he could attend to her immediately.
By the third week, Jane busied herself in trying to make Holly’s room a bit more homey, buying a crystal vase in which she arranged a variety of beautiful and bright flowers. She also made sure that the staff replaced the flowers every second day, and that the cost was to be added to Charles’ account.
Holly thought it hilarious. She also thought her father would bitch and moan about it all, but he uttered not one word.
Gabby miraculously appeared for a visit every time her mother happened to be there. She really was a shallow bitch. Jane, however, took it all in her stride and made herself scarce by announcing she needed coffee or something to eat every time they waltzed into her room.
The four weeks Holly spent in hospital went by ever so slowly, at least that’s how it felt, but when Holly finally reached twenty-four weeks in her pregnancy, she felt as if the hospital’s walls were going to suffocate her.
Dr. Rikus did everything in his power to make it as comfortable for her as possible. He’d really turned out to be one amazing doctor, for which Holly was deeply thankful.
One morning, Holly woke up to the sound of the alarm on the fetal monitor, and a terrible pain in her lower abdomen. The heartbeat seemed much more rapid than usual. She knew it was supposed to be fast but somehow that didn’t make her feel any better. She reached for the emergency button and pressed it.
Two nurses immediately ran into her room.
“What’s wrong?” one asked.
“Look.” Holly pointed at the monitor, which had both nurses smiling. “And my belly hurts.”
The expression on their faces changed rapidly.
“Call Dr. Rikus,” one nurse said to the other, who immediately rushed out of the room.
Holly continued to stare at the monitor. Something deep inside her didn’t feel right, though. The pain in her abdomen was constant, not like a Braxton Hicks contraction. Whatever it was, she couldn’t even guess at.
Dr. Rikus ran into her room, closely followed by Jane.
The look on her face was one of question, showing that they hadn’t come together. Her eyes widened the minute she saw all the doctors and nurses in the room.
“What is going on?” She ran to Holly’s side.
“Baby’s heartbeat picked up.”
“That’s a good sign, sweetheart.” Jane smiled at her, holding Holly’s hand tightly, while Dr. Rikus checked the monitor.
“I’m not feeling too well, though. It hurts.”
“Where?” asked Dr. Rikus, his face serious.
“My abdomen hurts.”
“I need an ultrasound, now!” he barked, to no one in particular.
&nbs
p; “Is something wrong with the baby?”
“No, it sounds good, but I have to make sure that she’s doing okay.”
Holly breathed deeply and smiled. “She’s getting better.”
“It seems like that’s the case, but we will confirm it shortly, Holly,” he reasoned, just as the ultrasound machine was rolled into the room.
Doctor Rikus began examining her belly.
Jane didn’t take her eyes off the monitor, smiling when she saw the baby, but gasped a couple of seconds later.
“What is it, Mom?” Holly asked, panic setting in.
Dr. Rikus looked at Jane, concern lacing his eyes. “You have twins in your family?”
“Twins?” Holly was dumbfounded.
“Holly had a twin. We lost Jamie to leukemia about ten years ago. Is that…”
Dr. Rikus nodded, an expression of shock and surprise on his face.
“What? I am here, you know!” By now, Holly was frustrated and worried.
“There are two, baby girl.”
“Two what?”
“Babies! You’re pregnant with twins.”
“What! How is that even possible? There was one just a minute ago.”
“No,” said Dr. Rikus. “There were always two. It’s just that one sometimes hides behind the other. And that makes it hard to pick up as in some cases, their hearts beat in synchronization. Just let me check a few things on the sneaky one.”
The doctor suddenly cussed, which wasn’t good practice. It had to have been something worth swearing over. His entire posture changed.
“What now? I don’t think I can handle any more revelations!” Holly felt like she was going to pass out.
“It looks like the second baby’s placenta is separating from your uterus. She can’t get oxygen without it, and you, my dear, are bleeding. Get me the other monitor, like yesterday, people!” he barked.
The poor nurses jumped in fright and scrambled out of the room at his command.
“What’s wrong, Doctor Rikus?” Charles eventually asked, having joined them without anyone noticing.
“We have to find what caused the change in heartbeat.”
When the second monitor was brought in—one that had the ability to detect both heartbeats—the doctor immediately strapped the band around Holly’s belly, removing the first one.
Imperfect Love Page 30