by Grace Kagni
“No, she’s at work right now. I share the apartment with her. Can I leave a message when she comes back?” the lady asked politely.
“Can you please tell her Milania Alessandrini came by to see her and can you give her this number to contact me? We are good friends and I haven’t seen her since the flood in Vernazza so I would be grateful if you could pass on this message,” Milania asked.
“Yes, of course. I’ll get you a piece of paper to leave your name and number.” She went to a desk to pull out something to write on.
Milania wrote down a quick message and thanked the lady for passing it on to Rachael. Then they left to go back to James’ place.
“Serena can’t wait to see you, Milania,” James said.
“Me too. It feels like a lifetime since you were both married,” Milania responded.
“Well, we’ll be able to talk about wedding plans while we’re here,” Liam said, smiling at Milania.
When they arrived at James’ penthouse, Milania started to feel weak again but she didn’t say anything so not to ruin their reunion. While Serena was making dinner, Milania’s phone rang and she’d hoped it was Rachael. It was and they chatted for quite a while until it was time to sit down to eat. Milania took down Rachael’s phone number and promised to call her back the next day to see her. She wanted to tell Rachael about the wedding face to face.
As soon as they sat down to dinner, Milania’s face went pale and Liam noticed it right away.
“Baby Doll, are you not well again?” Liam asked, touching her forehead.
“Milania, are you sick?” Serena asked, worried too.
“I’ll be okay. I just feel a little queasy right now but I’m sure it’ll pass.”
“Serena, can you give me the name of your doctor if we should need to call one?” Liam asked.
“Yes, of course. My doctor does house calls and you can call him any time – day or night. Just tell him I gave you his number,” Serena said, looking for the number on her phone.
“I just sent it to you, Liam, so don’t hesitate to call him if she gets worse during the night,” Serena said.
“I won’t need a doctor. It’s just the flu or jet lag. I didn’t sleep on the plane so I’m just tired,” she insisted.
“Perhaps, but it’s always good to have the name of a doctor if the need should arise,” James said. He looked at his brother’s face and sensed his apprehension. He’d never seen his brother worry so it may not be the first time she’s been unwell. “Liam, don’t hesitate to call the doctor during the night if she gets worse.”
“Don’t worry, I will,” Liam said.
“Now you’re all being ridiculous. It’s probably just the flu which will pass so I won’t need to see a doctor.”
“Milania, we’re all worried about you because we love you. If it’s the flu then it will pass as you say but if it’s not, you’ll need to see a doctor,” Serena said as they started to clear the table.
James drove them back to the apartment and told Liam to call him if Milania should get worse during the night. They said good night and went upstairs.
Milania’s symptoms continued into the night but she didn’t say anything to Liam. She didn’t want to disturb him and the next morning, she forced herself out of bed feeling fatigue but no nausea, which was a start. She called Rachael and planned to meet in the center for a coffee mid morning so she could tell her about their wedding news.
Liam kept a vigilant eye on her all morning and wondered if she was pretending to be better or if she really was. He wasn’t convinced just yet because her movements were slow, seaming painful but he gave her the space she needed to deal with whatever she was feeling. They took a taxi into town to meet Rachael and when the two women met, they hugged and cried. They explained what had happened the night of the flood and how they got to be where they were today. Milania then told Rachael about their wedding plans to marry on New Year’s Day and asked if Rachael could be there with her.
Rachael was thrilled to hear her good friend’s news and told her she wouldn’t miss the wedding for anything in the world.
Milania asked Rachael if she would be her Maid of Honor, something Rachael accepted with pleasure. Milania had planned on asking Serena to be her bridesmaid, knowing her pregnancy wouldn’t allow her to move around too much so the role of a bridesmaid would keep her close on her special day.
Shortly after, Rachael needed to get back to work so they said goodbye and hugged again before leaving. Liam and Milania took a taxi back to the apartment and rested for the afternoon until it was time for them to meet with James and Serena for dinner. James had booked a table at a local restaurant for them to have an evening out.
As soon as they entered the restaurant, the scents from the kitchen hit Milania, making her nauseous again. They sat down at the table and ordered their food. When the waiter brought the wine, Milania had a sip, hoping it would make the nausea pass but it didn’t. She sat listening to what they were saying and didn’t hear Serena ask her a question until Liam placed his hand on her arm. “Sweet Pea, are you okay?”
“I’m just a little nauseous but it’ll pass. I can handle it,” she said, hoping to convince him.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Liam asked.
“I didn’t say anything because I don’t want you to make a fuss,” Milania whispered.
“Milania, maybe it would be a good idea to call the doctor just for a check up. I’ve never seen you like this and it’s starting to worry me,” Serena said.
“Please don’t start too,” she said as she felt the nausea getting worse. She got up and went to look for the bathroom.
Liam got up to follow her but then Serena stood and placed her hand on his arm. “I’ll go. She’ll be in the ladies room.”
He wasn’t pleased that she didn’t tell him she was sick again but waited as Serena went to see Milania.
She walked into the ladies bathroom and looked under the stall doors for Milania. When she found her, she knocked on the door. “Hey, it’s me. So what is going on?”
Milania flushed the toilet and then opened the door. “I don’t know but it’s starting to worry me. I’m nauseous most of the time, I get these really strong stomach cramps that make me want to cry and I feel hot and cold.”
“Can you be pregnant?”
“What? Oh, I don’t think so. Aside from the night we were so drunk, we haven’t actually been together like that so I seriously doubt it unless that fateful night was the cause of it. That was nearly three weeks ago so is it possible I could already be pregnant?”
“Listen, why don’t we go to my gynecologist tomorrow and we’ll see what she says?”
“I don’t want to bother you, Serena, especially since you’re pregnant.”
Serena took Milania’s hand and pulled her in for a hug, “You need to see a doctor and if Liam or James find out that I know and don’t tell them, they’ll have my head.” They laughed at the thought of the two men’s constant worrying but they were grateful to have them by their side.
“Okay, I’ll go with you tomorrow but I don’t want Liam or James to know anything about it,” Milania said.
“It’ll be our secret until the pregnancy is confirmed,” Serena said.
Milania rinsed her face and then they returned to the table.
“Well?” Liam waited for an answer.
“I’ll take Milania to see my doctor tomorrow,” Serena responded.
“Thank you,” Liam said to Serena before turning to Milania. “It’s probably nothing but I’ll feel better if a doctor confirms that nothing is the matter.” He took her hand and brought it to his lips.
The food arrived and Milania tried her best to eat something even if she constantly felt bouts of nausea. She was a little worried about the news of a possible pregnancy especially considering she didn’t have any recollection of a fetus being conceived. It obviously happened so there was nothing more to think about. Either she was or she wasn’t pregnant.
When dinner was over,
Liam and Milania said goodbye before getting a taxi back to the apartment. Serena told Milania she would pick her up the next day at noon.
On the way home, Milania fell asleep resting her head on Liam’s shoulder and when they arrived, he had to help her upstairs because her legs wouldn’t hold her up. He told her to go straight to bed and went to the kitchen to prepare a tea for her. When he went to the bedroom, she was asleep on the bed, fully clothed so he gently took off her clothing and put on her nightgown. Never once did she wake up. He was grateful a doctor would see her the next day because he was beginning to worry it wasn’t the flu.
The next morning, Milania woke up feeling good. She’d had a restful night and she awoke full of energy. She called Rachael to arrange for them to meet in the afternoon after the doctor’s appointment and would speak to Serena to join them. They needed to make arrangements for the wedding. New Year’s Day was in two weeks, not giving them much time to prepare so they would start with the basics and move on from there.
Serena picked up Milania a little before noon and they drove to the doctor’s office. Serena was seen first and then Milania went in. She was inside for quiet a while and then the assistant asked Serena to go inside too. Serena was a little surprised that Dr. Frizzi wanted her to be there but perhaps it was Milania who asked for her so she went in and sat down beside Milania who looked sad.
“Is everything okay?” Serena asked, looking from Milania to the doctor.
“Actually, no. Your sister-in-law has an ectopic pregnancy which is the reason for the nausea, slight fever and pain in the lower abdomen,” Dr. Frizzi said.
“I’m not sure what that means, Doctor,” Serena said.
“Normal pregnancies, as in your case, the embryo grows inside the uterus whereas in ectopic pregnancies it grows in one of the tubes. It could cause serious complications if it is not surgically removed,” Dr. Frizzi explained.
“Okay, so how soon can this surgery be done?” Serena asked. She turned to look at Milania who was silent so she needed to ask what Liam would most probably want to know.
“I can have the surgery scheduled as soon as next week. If you leave your information with my assistant, I’ll have the hospital admit you as soon as possible,” Dr. Frizzi said to Milania.
“Yes, thank you Dr. Frizzi. We’ll provide all the information needed,” Serena said before getting up.
They shook the doctor’s hand and thanked him for seeing Milania on such short notice. Then they gave the assistant all the information needed before going to the car.
“I’m afraid, Serena. I’ve never had surgery,” Milania said as tears started to flow.
“Hey, listen. You’ll be okay. I’ll be here and so will Liam and James. You need to do this before it causes any damage. It’ll be okay.”
“How am I going to tell Liam?” Tears were flowing freely now.
“Listen, let’s go back to my place and we’ll tell Liam to meet us there so we can tell him together. He’s only worried about your health which we all are so it’ll be okay once we tell him what has happened,” Serena said. She called James and asked him to call Liam to meet them back at their place. She said she would explain when she got home. Then she turned on the engine and left the parking area to drive home.
As soon as they entered their place, James and Liam were waiting and when Liam saw Milania’s tear streaked face, his concern went through the roof.
“Baby Doll, what is it?” He led her to the sofa as Serena and James followed.
Milania started to cry again so Serena sat down beside Milania on the sofa and started to explain what had happened.
“It’s something than can be fixed with surgery, right?” James asked.
“Yes, absolutely but it needs to be done as soon as possible so not to cause any complications,” Serena said. She could see Liam desperately wanted to talk to Milania in private so Serena got up and took James’ hand to lead him into another room.
As soon as they were alone in the living room, Liam crouched down by Milania and took her hands. “Baby Doll? It’s going to be okay. I guess these things happen and it’s good that we found out before it made you really sick.”
She shut her eyes because she couldn’t look at him knowing how much grief she had caused since she walked into his life.
“Sweet Pea, look at me,” he waited for her to open her eyes. “We’ll get through this and we’ll have children in the future. It simply wasn’t meant to be right now.” He sat down on the sofa and pulled her close as she continued to cry. They sat like that a long while until Serena and James came back into the room asking if they wanted something to drink.
“I think I’ll take this little lady home where she can rest. Thank you for today, Serena – to the both of you for being here for us,” Liam said as he pulled Milania to her feet.
“Hey what is family for? We’re all family now and we take care of each other. Give us a call if you need anything, okay?” James said as he walked them to the door.
They took a taxi back to the apartment and as soon as they went inside, she went straight to bed. She cried on and off the next few hours until Liam brought her some food.
“Baby Doll, you need eat. Please have a little of this,” he said, placing a tray of food on the bed before helping her sit up. He ordered dinner from the restaurant around the corner again and asked to have it delivered. He didn’t want to leave Milania alone and the restaurant was kind enough to deliver the food to his door.
She looked at the food and she felt a bout of nausea coming on so she ran to the bathroom to be sick. When she didn’t return after a quarter of an hour, Liam knocked on the door to see how she was and he found her hugging the toilet.
“Oh, Sweet Pea, has the nausea subsided enough to return to bed?”
“Yes but I can’t get up,” she whispered.
“Don’t worry. That’s why I’m here.” He picked her up and carried her back to the bed. Then he cut up the food in little pieces and made her eat a few bites to get some nourishment in her body.
“I’m sorry I’ve caused you all this worry and work,” she said as she turned to her side.
“I’ve already told you that you shouldn’t say sorry. I’m your husband now and I’m exactly where I want to be. Try to sleep and call me if you need anything. I’ll be working in the living room,” he said, kissing her on the forehead before leaving.
“Don’t work too much, please.”
He grinned knowing she didn’t want him to work at night but he needed to deal with some important issues that came up that morning. So he went into the living room to deal with work before going to bed. It was late when he went to bed and when he did, he pulled Milania close needing to feel her body next to his.
When Milania awoke in the morning, Liam’s arm was resting over her belly and the warmth of it gave her comfort. She felt fine again and hoped it would be a better day. She watched as he slept, his chest moving while he breathed. The more she looked at him the more she wondered why destiny made their paths cross. She knew it was more than that but somehow, he was the person who mattered the most to her. He was America’s golden boy and it was a mystery how he ended up with her.
“What’s going through your mind, Baby Doll?” he whispered while his eyes were closed.
“I thought you were sleeping,” she grinned.
“I was and you haven’t answered my question. Are you feeling better?” he asked as he turned and then pulled her close.
She loved his scent and as she closed her eyes, it gave her a sense of safety. “I feel better and I was just thinking,” she said.
“I know you where thinking but about what?” he snuggled behind her, placing his nose in her hair. He loved to smell her scent - it was like a bouquet of flowers.
“I was wondering why destiny brought us together,” she said while she took his arm and placed it over her belly.
“You were meant to save me,” he said, holding he close.
“Well, I haven’t don
e my job then, have I? You did all the saving,” she whispered.
“Oh, you saved my soul and it wasn’t an easy task, believe me.”
She spun around to face him. “Is that how you see it? I didn’t do anything. You’re the one constantly saving, protecting or taking care of me. What have I done?”
He took her face in his hands and kissed her lightly on the lips. “What you do can’t be seen. Your being here beside me is helping me heal inside. My worrying over you gives me something other than my demons to worry about. Don’t you see how much you effect my wellbeing?”
“Oh, I didn’t realize it. I know this marriage started off on the wrong foot in every sense of the word but I really want to be a wife to you.” They had not yet experienced a wedding night for which they could remember. Circumstances have prevented them from being intimate and it was starting to worry her.
“Right now, I’m worried about your health. There’ll be time for that, I promise. We need to get you into surgery before you get really sick,” he said, kissing her again but on the forehead.
They got up to have coffee and toast. Milania managed to keep breakfast down and as they were washing the dishes, Liam’s phone rang. It was James asking how Milania felt so when Liam told him she was better, the men decided to meet later when the women planned to discuss wedding plans. Liam and Milania would pick up Rachael on the way to James and Serena’s place.
“That was James on the phone. He and Serena wanted to know how you were feeling this morning,” Liam explained.
“I need to call Rachael to tell her when we’ll pick her up. She’s taken the day off from work to be together. When do you think would be a good time?” Milania asked, placing the plates back in the cabinet.
“James said to go over any time so how about we pick up Rachael in about an hour and then go from there?” Liam looked at his watch.
“Sure, I’ll call Rachael to let her know we’ll be by in an hour. Then I’ll go have a shower.”
He pulled her in his arms for a kiss. “First, I want five minutes with you. It’s good to see you feeling well for a change.” He kissed her gently on the lips and then turned her in the direction of the bedroom. “Now go have your shower.”