Take Care

by Ash Johnson

  “I’m not pussy whipped I’m just in love, you asshole. And if you don’t like what I look like now, you might want to stay away from me from here on out then,” I smile and take another sip of my coffee.

  “Why? What’s going on now?” Blake asks, his face falling blank.

  “Ada’s eight weeks pregnant. I’m going to be a dad, Blake,” I say, feeling my entire body light up with excitement at the thought. I didn’t think I would ever want to become a father, but I’m ecstatic.

  “Holy shit Jay. I take it from the smile on your face that you’re happy about this?” I break out a huge smile and nod a little too enthusiastically.

  “Well then I’m happy for you brother,” Blake smiles and holds his hand out for me to shake. I take it and pull him in for a man hug before we hop onto the elevator and I make my way back to the mother of my child.

  I walk back into Ada’s room and Elle is softly playing with Ada’s hair. I tell Elle to take my Jeep home and get some sleep. She agrees and grabs my keys out of my hand, along with my almost full cup of coffee. She takes a giant gulp and hands it back to me before hugging me and leaving the room with Blake.

  I sit down in the chair next to Ada’s bed and just look at her. Even though she’s badly bruised in many different spots, she’s still the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen and now that I have her back, I plan on telling her just how beautiful she is every single day for the rest of my life.

  Chapter 33

  Ada

  I wake a few hours after I last saw the clock and slowly look around the room, only to find Jay curled up in a ball in the tiny fold out bed that is built into the now sunny window ledge. I smirk, knowing that when he wakes up he’s going to be stiff everywhere. Even I can’t lie on those things comfortably and I’m so much smaller than he is.

  I lie still in my bed assessing my injuries. My ribs hurt like hell and even attempting to move my leg is impossible. I slowly turn my head toward the door when I see Carla come in to do one last check on me before the day nurse comes to take over.

  “Good morning pretty girl, how are you feeling today?” Carla says quietly behind a small bouquet of sunflowers in a glass vase. I smile as my friend sets the beautiful gift on the small table next to my bed. I point to the flowers, silently asking her who they are from and she smiles and points to herself as an unspoken answer.

  “Thank you so much, they are gorgeous,” I whisper about the flowers. “I hurt, but I’ll manage. Has the doctor come in or even set a time to get me in and get the plate placed on my tibia? I can’t move at all and it’s making me crazy.” Carla nods before answering.

  “Yes, Dr. Sumner came in an hour ago and looked at your x-rays. He can have you into surgery within the hour. We tried to get you in earlier but the OR has been in use all night with a plane crash victim. Also, I got a call that Dr. Weber, the plastic surgeon, will be in here to check on your burns by about noon. I just changed your dressings an hour ago, but it will need to be re-dressed before he comes by to see them,” Carla explains as if I don’t know these things already.

  “When did he finally fall asleep?” I ask her in a hushed tone, pointing to the large ball of Jay in the corner. She smiles widely before answering.

  “He fell asleep maybe an hour ago. He’s been so worried about you and the baby. When I came in to check your IV, he had your gown pushed to the side and he was talking to your belly, like he was having a conversation with the baby.”

  I smile over at him and a lone happy tear runs down my face at the thought of him talking to our baby.

  When Dr. Sumner and another nurse I don’t know come in to take me into surgery, I decide to let Jay sleep but I have the nurse write a note on the white board next to the door telling Jay that I’ll be done with surgery soon in case he wakes up and I’m gone.

  ***

  I wake up in my hospital room almost three hours later with a bulky hot pink cast stuck to my left leg. My leg hurts like hell and the cast is uncomfortable, but I’m grateful that I can move my leg around now. I turn my head to my right and find Jay sitting quietly in the chair, staring at me with a bright smile glued to his face.

  “Good morning sleepyhead, how do you feel?” he asks, leaning forward and grasping my hand. The love shining from his deep brown eyes warms my heart.

  “My ribs ache and my leg hurts like hell, but I’ll survive. How are you feeling after sleeping in the world’s smallest makeshift bed?” I try not to giggle when he turns and scowls at the bed.

  “I’m stiff as fuck. This hospital needs better beds for family members,” he answers. I just smile at his choice of words, because he is my family now. We both catch movement in the doorway and find Greg walking through with his laptop in hand. He looks to me and smiles brightly.

  “Hey Ada, how are you feeling?” he asks.

  “Hey Greg, my leg and ribs really hurt and the side of my face is a bit tender, but I’m still alive so I can’t complain.” I shift my attention to Jay only to find him scowling at Greg, but I’m not sure why. Elle must have told him about Greg hitting on me because I sure didn’t say anything.

  Greg finally looks to Jay and visibly shrinks when he sees the daggers that Jay is shooting his way. I squeeze Jay’s hand, silently telling him to stop scaring Greg. After a few seconds of awkward silence Greg clears his throat and then sticks his hand out toward Jay.

  “Hey man, I’m Greg. I saw you fight the other night against Jenkins, great job.”

  Jay waits a few seconds before standing and grabbing Greg’s hand. From the slight wince I see in Greg’s face I assume that Jay is shaking it a little too tightly.

  “Thanks man, but I’ve got to tell you that if I ever hear that you’re hitting on my girlfriend or making her uncomfortable again, I’ll have to do the same thing to you.” My head snaps over to Jay and I can feel my face burning with embarrassment. Greg pulls his hand back from Jay’s and looks nervously between the two of us before squeaking out an answer.

  “I was always joking with Ada. I’ve been dating Cassie for the past month and a half. I’m so sorry if I ever made you uncomfortable, Ada. I was just playing with you, I swear.” I feel my eyes widen when he tells me that he’s dating Cassie. I had no idea. I shake my head at him and give him a small smile.

  “Don’t worry about it Greg. I’m happy to hear that you and Cassie are dating, that’s awesome!” I say.

  “Yeah, I love her. She’s moving in with me this weekend.” Greg turns his blue eyes toward Jay and speaks again.

  “Cassie actually loves you, would it be too much of a bother if I had her come in here to get an autograph or something in a bit?” Jay is still wearing a slight scowl and then shifts his focus to me. I nod because I’m just too exhausted by the whole conversation to care anymore.

  “Sure, that would be fine,” Jay tells him gruffly. Greg nods and begins to check my vitals.

  After Greg leaves, Jay and I talk about the whole situation, which ends in me promising Jay that I’ll tell him if Greg ever makes me uncomfortable again.

  Jay and I talk for the next hour, mostly about the baby, and are only interrupted once when the plastic surgeon comes in to assess the damage.

  “Well Ada, although your tattoo was damaged we can eliminate the small scars from the cuts, making them nonexistent and I’ll be able to reduce the look of both of these scars,” he says, pointing to the bandage on my cheek and toward my waist, “but since they’re circular and jagged, there may still be a slight scar in its place. The scar on your shin from the plate may be a bit harder to shrink, but we will do everything we can,” Dr. Weber explains. When I nod my approval to do the plastic surgery, Dr. Weber sets up a time for next week after all infection has been cleared to do the surgery and leaves.

  After Cassie has come in for a few pictures with Jay and apologizes for being so rude to me, I fill Jay in on everything that happened with Rob and Millie. It is a long story that has me crying and Jay shaking with anger during some parts. When I finish
and we’ve both calmed down, Jay runs his fingers softly through my hair and kisses my forehead repeatedly.

  “Okay, that’s enough sadness and anger in this room. Let’s talk more about our little peanut in this tiny little belly of yours to bring a little happiness in here, shall we?” Jay smiles and runs the tip of his index finger across the bottom of my waist. He’s very careful to avoid my bandage and my ribs. I smile, but before we have a chance to even mutter another word about the baby, there is a soft knock on the door.

  A few seconds later it opens and I smile, thinking Elle is going to come barreling through the door and tackle me. I’m completely floored when my mother walks in instead.

  Her dull blonde hair is pulled back into a high pony tail, showing off the small nose I inherited, and her grayish blue eyes that once shined now look tired and have crow’s feet around the corners. Her makeup free face, which used to look so healthy and would practically glow, now looks ashen and pale. She’s wearing a plain black t-shirt and tattered blue jeans, which look like they’ve seen better days.

  Jay smiles softly and leans over to kiss me on the forehead.

  “I’ll run down to the cafeteria and get us both something to eat. I’ll be back soon baby.” He stands up and walks out the door, nodding at my mom when he passes her. Dawn looks at me with an apprehensive smile and tears streaming down her face.

  “Hello Adelaide, how are you feeling?” she asks. I’m almost ready to pass out from shock.

  Why the hell is she here? I thought she would have boarded her flight to Omaha and not given another thought to the fact that I didn’t show up. I have to find out the answer to that question. I clear my throat and try to ask her in my most monotone voice.

  “Why are you here, Mom?”

  “Look, I know I’m probably the last person you want to see Adelaide-“ I cut her off.

  “Ada. It’s Ada, mom. I know you named me Adelaide, but after hearing that name used while I was being tortured and beaten for the past day and a half, I would really prefer it if you called me Ada,” I say through gritted teeth. She solemnly nods, looking down at the bed instead of at me.

  “I’m sorry Ada. Jay called me to tell me that you had been kidnapped. He was panicked and said some things to me that needed to be said. I called him last night to ask if they had found you yet and he told me that you were here. I wanted to come make sure my baby girl was okay, but if you want me to leave I’ll understand.”

  At first, I’m so upset that she’s here now only because Jay had to set her in her place, not because she was worried about me, but then I remember the baby growing inside of me. I would like to have a family that my baby can know and love, so I ask her to take a seat in the chair next to me.

  She immediately makes her way to the bed, wiping tears from her eyes as she sits. She softly runs her fingers along my cheek, careful not to touch the big purple bruise around my eye.

  After I tell her the shortened version of my kidnapping, my mom wipes the tears from her cheeks and clears her throat.

  “I can’t believe that Rob did this to you. I’m so sorry for taking his side the whole time when I should have had your back from day one. I’m an awful mother,” she mutters, tears running down her cheeks again before she shifts her eyes down to her folded hands in her lap.

  I sniffle and wince at the pain that comes shooting from my ribs, but then reach my hand out for her and softly smile when she grabs it.

  “I’m not mad at you anymore for taking Rob’s side during our divorce, but do you know how hard it’s been on me to know that my mom has hated me since I was twelve? I had no one to turn to for half of my life. After Ivy died, I had no one. That was harder on me than you will ever know.

  “I had to watch my big sister, my best friend and my idol, die in my hands and when I needed someone to comfort me or tell me that there was nothing I could have done, you shut me out. You basically blamed me for what happened to Ivy,” I whisper, wiping tears from my cheeks. My mother nods and continues crying as well.

  “I’m so sorry for that Ada. I didn’t know how to deal with that loss and it was easier to shut you and everyone else out. You are a lot like Ivy and it just became too hard to look at you without thinking of the daughter I lost. I will spend the rest of my life apologizing for the enormous mistake I made when I blamed you for something you had no control over, if you’ll let me.” I nod after a minute, knowing in my heart that she should get a second chance.

  My mom smiles at me and squeezes my hand before grabbing two tissues, one for me and the other for her, from the box on the side table next to her.

  “Well, on a lighter note I guess I should tell you that in about seven months you’re going to be a grandma,” I smile and watch her face light up, her eyes still glassed over.

  “You’re going to be a mommy, Ada?” she practically squeals and grabs for my belly, making me wince and growl when her hands come down on my burn. My mom’s hands fly off of my stomach and into the air.

  She pulls her brows together and gasps in horror when I pull the gown away from my skin to show her the dark purple bruises and stitches that are visible on my stomach. She points to the bandage and opens her mouth, but no sound comes out.

  I realize that I need to change the dressing anyway, so I peel the tape off of each side and reach for the clean dressings that Greg left for me on the side table. When I lift the gauze off of my burn, my mother gasps and cups her hands over her mouth and nose.

  “What the hell is that Ada? Did Rob do that to you?” she murmurs. I nod and start cleaning my wound.

  “It was from his cigar that he was smoking to celebrate my soon to be death, which was supposed to take place the same day as Ivy’s. He got my stomach and my cheek. There is a plastic surgeon that is going to work on the scars in a week so that they are barely noticeable,” I say and go back to redressing my wound.

  “Shouldn’t you be letting a nurse do that Ada?” my mom asks, pointing at my wound. I pull my brows together and let a small, bitter laugh escape my mouth. She doesn’t even know what I do for a living, not from a lack of me telling her.

  “Mom, I’m a nurse. I work here actually,” I softly chuckle when my mom’s face falls and embarrassment takes over her features.

  “I’m so sorry I never paid attention to anything you ever told me Ada, and I’m sick with myself that I actually stood up for a man who would do this to you,” she points to my burn as I re-tape the sides to my skin. As soon as my wound is re-dressed, I turn to look at my mother’s ashen face. She looks sick to her stomach, so I reach over and take her hand again.

  “It’s okay, Mom. I know that you had to deal with Ivy’s death in your own way, but don’t shut me out again, okay? I don’t think I could take it a second time,” I mumble, trying to keep the tears at bay while my Mom openly sobs into the tissue pressed against her nose.

  “I won’t baby girl. I’m so sorry that I hurt you and I will do everything I can to show you how much I love you,” she smiles solemnly and leans forward, letting go of my hand to run her bright red fingernails through my hair.

  Just then Jay appears in the doorway, holding a large plate with green lettuce, spinach, diced ham, shredded cheese and two cups of ranch dressing-my favorite. He has a sandwich wrapped in saran wrap in the other hand and a huge smile on his face.

  “I hope I’m not interrupting you ladies,” he says with his panty dropping smirk plastered on his face, making my mom’s jaw slack when she looks up and actually sees him. I glance at her and then look to him, shaking my head slowly and smiling back. He knows what he’s doing and he thinks it’s funny.

  “I got you your favorite bunches, and Dawn I wasn’t sure what you would like so I got you a B.L.T.,” Jay says, putting the salad down onto my food tray and kissing me on the head before holding the sandwich out to her.

  My mom seems to finally regain her wits after openly staring at Jay from the second he walked through the door. She shakes her head and holds her hands up.
<
br />   “I’m not hungry, but thank you Jay. I should actually get going, I have to get to work, but would it be okay if I came back tomorrow and talked with you a little more Ada? Maybe we could celebrate Ivy here, together,” she asks and I nod while a smile breaks across my face.

  “I would love that Mom. I’ll see you tomorrow,” I open my arms and my mom bends down to gingerly hug me, kissing the cheek not covered in a bandage, but before she leaves she whispers in my ear, “you and Jay are meant for each other. That boy is going to take care of you until the day he dies, I can see it,” she kisses my cheek once more before standing up, hugging Jay goodbye a little too long and then leaving.

  I smile and thank Jay for the salad before I greedily dig into it, giggling when he opens the sandwich and starts eating it himself.

  “She’s right you know,” Jay says confidently. I tilt my head and furrow my brow, silently asking him what she’s right about because I have a mouth full of ‘rabbit food’ as Jay calls it.

  “I am going to take care of you until the day I die,” he smirks and takes another bite of his sandwich. I smile, answering when I finish chewing.

  “We’ll take care of each other.”

  Jay leans forward and plants a handful of light kisses on my lips before pointing at my salad.

  “Eat,” he instructs and then smirks. I roll my eyes at him and dig into my rabbit food.

  Chapter 34

  Jay

  After three weeks home from the hospital with still very limited mobility, Ada’s tired and pissed off. She was discharged from the hospital after three days and we went back a week later to see the plastic surgeon that did a fantastic job on her scars. You wouldn’t even know they were there unless you looked hard for them. We’ve already made arrangements for her to go back after the cast is off to reduce the scar on her shin.