A Life Worth Fighting

by Brenda Kennedy

  I dress and find Robert in Jamie’s room. He is sitting on her bed with some of Jamie’s baby pictures scattered around him. It looks like he’s been crying or perhaps he hasn’t been to bed yet, I’m not sure. He looks away when he sees me and clears his throat. I walk further into the room and pick a picture off of the bed. It’s a picture of Jamie and Robert at Jamie’s baptism when she was an infant.

  “I love this picture,” I say honestly.

  Robert looks over at me with red eyes. He smiles a sad smile when he sees the picture I am holding.

  “I love her. I loved her from the first second I saw her. Leah, if she isn’t ours…”

  “She is, Robert. We have to believe that. We have to believe that she is ours.” I sit on the bed and I hold him. We both cry. It hasn’t even been 24 hours yet since we submitted the DNA and we are both a mess. I honestly have no idea how we’ll make it through a week of uncertainty. Grieving the loss of a child is a process that begins the day your child passes and ends the day the parents join him or her.

  Robert and I stay home and go through Jamie’s things from her short three years of life with us. We go through her clothes in the closet and in her drawers, her artwork that’s in her coloring books, and photos. We smile, laugh, and cry. The black cloud hovers over me everyday waiting to consume me. Robert does his best to help me. Life is a battle and Robert keeps telling me it’s a life worth fighting. I would rather have had Jamie for three years than to never have had her at all. I just never imagined that we would have had her for only the three years. Parents are never supposed to bury their children, and yet they do. Now, to have to wait to find out that she may not have been ours to begin with is past unfair — it’s just plain cruel.

  I force myself to eat something although I’m not hungry. Robert works out and I sit outside by the pool with a lemonade. The sun feels good and I realize how much I have missed doing this. Vitamin D from the sunshine is a good way to help fight depression.

  When Robert is done working out, he jumps into the pool with a splash. When he resurfaces, he splashes me. He laughs his boyish laugh and it makes me laugh, too. I get out of the chair and waddle over to him. He helps me into the water and carries me around the perimeter of the pool, cradling me like an infant. He laughs when my belly pokes out if the water. “He’s getting big,” Robert says.

  “He is,” I agree.

  “We probably need to start shopping for a baby bed and things. Do you want to do that later?”

  “I don’t want to leave the house,” I say as I lightly splash water on Robert’s arm.

  “That’s the beauty of shopping online. We can do it from the comfort of our own home.”

  “Ace, that sounds like a plan.”

  Robert and I buy the baby some things, but we both decided we would like to use Jamie’s old baby bed. I was afraid to mention it to him, so I was glad when he mentioned it first. I let him believe it was his idea.

  “What are you smiling at?” he asks.

  “I’m just glad we decided to use Jamie’s baby bed.”

  “Me, too. I would like to paint and get the nursery ready for the baby.”

  I smile at Robert and cuddle into him. “Me, too, let’s start on it tomorrow.”

  “Sounds good.”

  Robert reads a story from Jamie’s storybook and I fall asleep in the middle of it. It’s a good sign that I’m relaxed. I sleep cuddled into Robert. I always sleep better when I’m touching him. His hand rests on my belly and I can feel the baby kicking. I don’t stir. He moves his hand to the spot the baby kicked and the baby kicks again.

  “What are you doing?” I rasp.

  “Playing with my baby.”

  I smile and say, “Could you wait until morning? It’s night time and momma and baby need their sleep.”

  The baby kicks his hand again and we both laugh. “I think he has his nights and days mixed up.” Robert leans in and kisses me before he kisses my belly.

  “I love you both,” he says before rolling over.

  “We love you, too.”

  A few days later, I wake up to Robert’s cell phone ringing. He quickly leaves the room before answering it. “Hey, Bruce,” he says before the door shuts all the way. I assume Bruce is calling because the DNA results are in already. I walk into the bathroom and pray that I am wrong. When I walk back into the bedroom, I can see the scared look in Robert’s eyes.

  “That was Bruce on the phone?” I ask.

  He walks over to me and gently leads me to the bed. I lean into him and he says, “It was. He called to tell us…”

  “The results are in?” I interject.

  “They are. He wants us in his office today at 1:00.”

  “Oh, God,” I say before running off into the bathroom. I suddenly feel sick to my stomach.

  There’s a tap on the door. “Leah?” Robert says before walking in.

  “Robert, please just give me a few minutes?” I ask as I continue to throw up in the toilet.

  He doesn’t leave. When I’m almost done, he hands me a cold, wet washcloth.

  “Thank you,” I say sincerely.

  I flush the toilet, wash my face, and brush my teeth before crawling back into bed. “I can’t do this. I’m not strong enough for this.” I lie in a fetal position and pull the covers up to my chest.

  He lies in bed with me and pulls me into him. “You can do it. We’ll do it together, Leah. You’re not alone.”

  “What if she’s not ours? What if Jamie belongs to someone else?”

  The black cloud is hovering over me. It wants to consume me and I can barely see the light. I close my eyes, thinking that will stop it from consuming me.

  “She belongs to us. She’s our daughter, and as soon as we get the results, we’ll never have to worry about it again,” Robert says.

  I take a deep breath and nod my head. He’s right. She’s our daughter and I know it. I can feel it in my heart. I say, “I want to go to the church before we go see Bruce.”

  Robert showers upstairs while I take a bubble bath. Usually, he would shower downstairs. I’m not doing a good job keeping it together today. I’m trying, but the black cloud is looming over my head. I feel like it’s going to wrap its nasty little tentacles around me and pull me in. I can barely see the light.

  Robert dresses in a black suit with a white shirt and a pink tie. Jamie was just three when she died, but she loved pink. I dress in a black knee-length dress and black heels. I look and feel like I’m in mourning.

  Before we leave, I grab Jamie’s stuffed animal Jack. I hold his fuzzy body to my face and breathe him in. He used to smell like Jamie, but he doesn’t any longer.

  The results are in early, but Robert doesn’t want to call anyone and tell them. He says it’s stressful enough with just the two of us. He’s right. I can’t imagine being around our parents before hearing the results. Everyone’s anxiety level will be high today.

  “Eat this on the way,” Robert says, handing me a granola bar and a bottle of water.

  “I’m not hungry.”

  “Please try for the baby? You haven’t eaten since yesterday.”

  I nod and fasten my seatbelt. “I’ll try the water first. I’m not sure I can hold it down.”

  “Something will be better than nothing.”

  We go to the church and pray. I pray, cry, and pray some more.

  “Leah, we need to go, or we’ll be late.”

  “I don’t care. I don’t want to go. I don’t want to know if Jamie’s our biological daughter or not. It won’t matter, so why do we have to know?” I know I’m irrational and I don’t care. Robert takes a deep breath and runs his hands through his hair. I choke on a sob. I know I’m causing him more pain. I can’t help it.

  He walks over and wraps me in his arms. He bends down and kisses the top of my head as I rest my head on his chest. I wipe away the tears, but they continue to fall. I want to be strong for him, but I can’t. I don’t know how to do that. I don’t know how to go on an
d act like everything will be all right.

  “Leah?” Robert says.

  “I know.” We slowly walk out of the church towards Robert’s Hummer.

  We go to the cemetery and visit Jamie. We tell her no matter what, she is our little girl and we will always love her. We drive to Bruce’s office mostly in silence. My sobs are the only noise breaking the silence. I walk into the office through blurred vision. I can barely remember how we got here. Robert and I are led into a conference room. Bruce is already there waiting for us.

  “I’m sorry we’re late, traffic was heavy,” Robert lies.

  “That’s all right. Do you need anything? Leah?”

  I shake my head no. I don’t look at him or say anything. I can’t see through the tears.

  “No, thank you,” Robert says as he pulls out a chair for me to sit on.

  When we are both seated, Bruce says, “I haven’t opened these yet.” I look at him; he is holding up two manilla envelopes. “We have the results from the hospital and also the results from Mason and Alec’s office. Once we have the results, then we’ll discuss a game plan if we need one.”

  I nod, again. I swallow the lump in my throat. I can’t talk.

  “Are you ready?” Bruce asks.

  Robert holds my hand and says, “We are.”

  My hands are sweaty and my knees are shaking up and down. Robert tries to slow the movement of my knees with his hands, but it doesn’t work. I hear the sound of the envelope from the hospital opening and I still. I can’t move. I can’t breathe. Then he opens the envelope from Mason and Alec’s office. I wait for what feels like hours before Bruce speaks. I hear him say, “I’m sorry.” I scream. I don’t hear anything else. I already know what the results are. If she were our daughter, he wouldn’t have started a sentence off with, “I’m sorry.”

  He continues, “Jamie is not your biological child.”

  Please follow Robert and Leah’s story in Against the Odds, Round Two: of The Fighting to Survive Trilogy.

  Books by Brenda Kennedy

  Other books written by this author include:

  The Starting Over Trilogy

  Book One: A New Beginning

  Book Two: Saving Angel

  Book Three: Destined to Love

  The Freedom Trilogy

  Book One: Shattered Dreams

  Book Two: Broken Lives

  Book Three: Mending Hearts

  A Life Worth Fighting, is Round One of The Fighting to Survive Trilogy.

  Round One: A Life Worth Fighting

  Round Two: Against the Odds…coming in 2015

  Round Three: One Last Fight…coming in 2015

  Note

  I support Indie Authors. If you read this book, please take the time to go to the purchasing site and give it a review. Independent authors count on your reviews to get the word out about our books. Thank you for taking the time to read our books and taking the extra time to review them. We all appreciate it very much.

  Disclaimer: People and places in this book have been used fictitiously and without malice.

  Acknowledgments

  My husband, Rex: Thank you for supporting me and for coming with me on this ride. What a year it has been! I will always love you.

  My Children: Carey, John, Derek, Nikki, Chastidy, Rex, Brittany, Amanda, and Katie: Thank you for reminding me what is important every single day. I love you.

  My Grandchildren: Desmond, Samantha, Autumn, Evan, Derek, Dayquan, Darius, Draden, Alyssa, Hailey, Lucca, Tanner, Giovanni, Cain, Lelila, Kylie, DeVonte’, Adrienne, Amaya, Dominic, Damien, Caden, and Gemma: Thank you for reminding me that I am somebody; I am your grandma and nothing else matters. I love you all.

  My sisters and brothers: George, Martha, Rosa, Carla, and Frank: Thank you for your support. I love you.

  My other brother, David: Without you, I wouldn’t have been able to publish the first book. Thank you for making my ideas better and for all you do. Editing, proofreading, polishing, formatting, ideas, articles, and research websites. See, I do pay attention. Thank you. Thank you for pushing me until I get it right. Maybe someday, I’ll learn the right place to put the commas. I love you and I can never thank you enough. David writes collections of anecdotes such as The Funniest People in Comedy, and he retells classics in such books as William Shakespeare’s Macbeth: A Retelling in Prose. His books can also be found for sale on all leading online sale platforms.

  Thank you to my daughters Carey, Brittany, Amanda: Thank you for all your help at book signings, and with the book swag. I couldn’t have done them without you.

  A very special thank you to Amy Linda Valdez for sharing her memories with me about her son, Matthew Caden. I also used some of her quotes in my book with her permission. Caden, you have a very special Mom and I am glad to know her. R.I.P. and fly with the angels.

  Christina Badder, Owner and Operator of CBB Productions: My P.A., and my friend. Thank you for taking care of all of my promotional needs. The blog tours, author spotlights, book cover reveals, give-a-ways, Rafflecopters, Thunderclap campaigns, ARC’s, and everything that I don’t know that you do or things I forgot to mention. I hope you know how much I appreciate your hard work and dedication. Looking forward to actually maybe doing a book signing with you. Girl, I love your work and your dedication. One more thing I need to thank you for is this book cover, and for the other covers in this trilogy. You are so amazing and I am so glad I found you. I plan on keeping you, forever.

  Thank you to my Beta readers: There are too many to list and I don’t want to forget anyone. I appreciate you all, more than you know. I appreciate your honest opinions and reviews. I love the bond that we have developed and I appreciate that I can trust you. Thank you for encouraging me to write and for giving me ideas. You never disappoint. I love you guys!

  Thank you to “Brenda’s Street Talkers,” for pimping my books, making teasers and banners, and just for the support I receive from you every day. I love you girls.

  Thank you to all the bloggers who shared in the author’s spotlight and the blog tour for A Life Worth Fighting. I appreciate you more than you know.

  A very special thank you to my fellow author friends who help me every day, even when you don’t realize you are.

  To my readers: Thank you for reading and reviewing my books. Thank you to my loyal readers who have followed me from the beginning and to those who are new to my books.

  Info for David Bruce, My Brother

  Smashwords (Books for Sale, and Free Books)

  http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/bruceb

  Wordpress Blog

  https://davidbruceblog.wordpress.com

  About the Author

  When I first started writing, I wanted to write about real people whom others could relate to with real-life problems and real jobs. I love to read about the billionaire 20-something-year-old, but knew this wasn’t the kind of story I want to write. When my first trilogy, The Starting Over Trilogy, took form, I was thrilled to be able to make the book as close to realistic as I could.

  I wanted to touch on real-life problems. Not because I want to show the weakness in my characters or to show the disturbing truth, but because I wanted to show my characters’ strengths. The Starting Over Trilogy dealt with domestic violence: a problem that is all too familiar to too many women and men.

  Next came The Freedom Trilogy, a spinoff of The Starting Over Trilogy. My book started off with the All-American military family and the real problems some face during deployment. I picked my daughter’s brain and used her real emotions during the deployment stage. Thank you, Amanda. Then it turned to drug abuse and rehabilitation.

  This book, A Life Worth Fighting, focuses on battles as a boxer and trying to move forward from the death of a child and depression. I hope to show Leah’s strengths and Bobby’s compassionate side while still showing the true battles of everyday life.

  I hope in my future books I am still able to continue to write about problems most of us face while contin
uing to give my characters their happily ever after, that they deserve.

  One a lighter note: I moved to sunny Florida in 2006 and never looked back. I love fresh squeezed lemonade, crushed ice, teacups, wineglasses, non-franchise restaurants, ice cream cones, boating, picnics, cookouts, throwing parties, lace, white wine, mojitos, strawberry margaritas, white linen tablecloths, fresh flowers, and Pinterest. I also love to read and write and to spend time with my family.

  My books, thus far, have been inspired by the things I love and the people who influence me, every single day, to be a better person.

  You may follow me on:

  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Brenda-Kennedy-Author

  https://twitter.com/BrendaKennedy_

  Brendakennedy48@gmail.com

  https://www.goodreads.com/author/dashboard

  https://www.pinterest.com/brendakennedy06/