The doctor returned much later. “An anonymous donor has given us the exact amount of blood you need.”
“Anonymous?” I questioned.
“Yes, anonymous. The blood is a perfect match.”
“Thank God for whoever he or she is,” I said aloud, truly grateful.
It was a little after midnight when I decided to take a stroll down the ward. David was still in an induced coma, and I hadn’t left his side until now. It had been hours since I’d last eaten and I was famished. The nurse on duty had tried to encourage me to eat earlier but I’d refused.
The ward was cold and dim and smelt sterile. A very young looking orderly walked past and nodded his head at me in acknowledgement. I nodded back at him, and wondered after him. Was he a medical professional in training as David had been all those years ago? I wondered how many nights David had paced halls like this, pondering the condition of a patient or considering if anything could have been done for someone that was so far gone. Thank goodness David was not so far gone. I couldn’t bear the thought of losing him, after having lost Daniel. The moment I thought that, a partially open door slammed shut, from wind, presumably. I picked up my pace slightly, aiming to get back to David’s side as soon as I could.
At the end of the long corridor was a vending machine. Forget the canteen. A bar of chocolate was just what I needed. I punched in the letter and number for a Twix, entered OK then inserted my card. When the machine pushed the chocolate bar forward and tossed it down, I noticed a reflection of someone else in the glass, behind me. Blinking intentionally, I looked again. There wasn’t anyone else there but me. In my tiredness, I was probably seeing things. I collected my chocolate bar and made my way past the nurses’ station and back into David’s room.
The nurses and doctors were in the room opposite, having a meeting of sorts. Devouring my Twix, I turned my mind to David’s anonymous donor. I wondered who he or she was. I thought of thanking them with a gift but no gift I had in mind would have been sufficient. Once David recovered, we would try to locate the donor by stealth, and thank them in person.
“You alright there love?” one of the nurses asked, interrupting me in thought.
“Only just,” I replied.
“Doctor Davenport’s lovely wife?” she asked.
“Yes,” I advised.
“Your husband will be fine,” she assured me.
“I hope so,” I said.
“Trust me, he will. Have you eaten? Something other than chocolate?” she asked, referring to the empty chocolate wrapper in my other hand, the one that wasn’t holding David’s. “We’ve got something more substantial in the mini fridge down at the end of the hall. I can show you?”
I let go of David’s hand, then got up and walked with her in silence until she spoke. “You’d be getting pretty hungry by now I gather, though you’re only a few weeks in. Baby’s already pulling the strings.”
I had to pause to understand what she’d just said. I was pregnant.
Realising the error of her ways, she apologized. “You didn’t know, did you! Sorry. The doctor was supposed to have a chat with you, but somehow in all the drama, he must have overlooked it.”
“Never mind, you all just saw the results before I did,” I said.
“Something like that,” she replied.
I felt a flutter in my belly. Whether from quiet excitement at the prospect of carrying David’s baby, or the quickenings, I couldn’t tell. David and I were finally expecting. He just had to come out of this.
“Dad just has to pull through now,” the nurse said, reading my mind.
I nodded in response.
“Come now, chop chop, get you something to eat now before it gets too late. You’ve still got to rest now haven’t you,” she said.
I smiled as she walked away. God bless nurses.
The noodles, salad sandwich and orange juice filled a hole.
As I stood by the sink, washing up after myself, I noticed the door of one of the patient rooms was slightly ajar. A man in a wheelchair turned abruptly to close the door. I lost my grip on the bowl I was holding when I looked straight at the man and saw myself looking at someone that looked an awful lot like Daniel. He started straight at me, and I looked away hastily, before blinking and looking back again. In the spit second that I looked back, the door closed, and I pondered for a moment whether I’d imagined it all. I must have. The last time I’d been in hospital for an extended period had to do with Daniel. My eyes welled up with tears, suddenly, as I remembered him. Years on, and I was still seeing him everywhere.
Still, curiosity got the better of me. Deciding to walk that side of the corridor on my way back to David’s room, when I got there I stood outside the door for a moment. If I knocked, what was the worst thing that could happen? Whoever it was would open the door, and I’d be assured it was just a lookalike, or no one at all, and it’d be confirmed that I’d imagined it was Daniel.
Hand on the door, I prepared to knock, but a deep voice from behind startled me. “Doctor Edwards,” the man announced, in a white coat, patient pad in hand. “Friend of the patient?” he asked suspiciously.
Startled, I replied, “Uh, no. Just passing through.”
“Hmmm…,” he stated before saying “David’s wife?”
Every doctor seemed to know him. “Yes,” I replied.
“I’ll catch up with you in a moment, once I’ve done my rounds up this end,” he promised. “Good to see you’re up and about,” he added, placing the patient record folder back on the wall and squirting some hand sanitizer on his hands. “David will pull through. He’s a fighter.”
I felt tears well up in my eyes but I held them back. “I lost my first husband, I can’t lose him as well,” I stated. Doctor Edwards nodded in response, as though he already knew. Stealing a quick glance at his wristwatch, he advised, “He’s due for a status check right about now, I’ll walk you back up to his room.”
I was grateful for the company, but it sounded more like an order than a favour. He had given me a suspicious look when I stood in front of that patient’s door, and perhaps this was his way of ensuring I left well enough alone. We walked in silence then he spoke again. “Dave and I went to the same school, back in the day, when we were coming up,” he claimed.
“School school or med school?” I asked.
“School school,” he repeated, laughing heartily. “Primary, secondary then he opted for dentistry before med. I went for med then dentistry. He left the Mainland for here as I was heading there, then we met again when he returned for his max facial training. “Class of ’04,” he added.
“I see,” I stated. David hadn’t mentioned Edwards, but that didn’t surprise me. He hadn’t been an open book about his past. “Well, we’ll have to get you over to ours sometime soon,” I insisted.
“I’d love that,” Edwards said. “Though I’m not sure Dave would be too happy to see me. We had a falling out a few years back.”
That’s why he hadn’t mentioned you in great detail, I thought, realising we’d reached David’s room. We headed in, myself first, Edwards directly behind me. Reaching for the hand sanitiser on the end of David’s bed, Edwards squirted a small amount on his hands again before doing a quick physical on David. “BP regular, stats okay…” Edwards thought aloud. The machine had done a reading of David’s heart rate and pulse, but for good measure, Edwards put on his stethoscope and pressed the dial on David’s chest. I thought I was imagining things when I saw David frown ever so slightly when the dial was placed on his chest.
“The anesthetic is wearing off. He’ll be up shortly,” he said as a matter of factly. Without warning, he asked, “He’s got a heart murmur?”
I stared at him blankly, not sure whether it was a question or a statement.
“Sorry,” he said, acknowledging that I didn’t know. “He has a heart murmur.”
“What does that mean?” I asked.
“On a scale of 1 to 6, I’m hearing it’s a 5,” he said. Li
fting the stethoscope slightly off David’s chest he nodded to himself. “Can still hear it,” he confirmed.
“What does that mean?” I repeated.
“I’m gonna refer him to cardiology, just as a precaution,” he said, brusquely writing some notes in his pad.
“For the last time, what does that mean?” I asked again.
“Sorry darl’ didn’t mean to alarm you,” he said, putting away his notepad and hanging his stethoscope around his neck. “A heart murmur may or may not be cause for concern. The one Dave’s got sounds like a 5 on a scale of 1 to 6, with 6 being severe – I just need to have cardiology have a second look, hopefully it isn’t cause for concern. Is he still a vegetarian?”
“Vegan,” I corrected.
“Right. We’ll have a look at his bloodwork too, see if he’s anemic. Anemia can show a similar impact on the heart,” he said. “I’ve been calling you Mrs David Davenport. I didn’t catch your first name.”
“Temwani,” I replied.
“Teme,” we both said in unison. I smiled at him and he smiled back. “You’re all he would talk about over the years. You ruined him.”
“He’s ruined me,” I confessed.
“You’re beautiful,” he said, suddenly. “Do you have a sister by any chance?” he asked casually.
“Thanks for the compliment,” I replied. “Matter of fact I do, but she’s taken.”
“Damn,” he said, part joking, part serious. “The good ones are taken all the time.”
“Making moves on my woman?” David said clearly as he woke. He tried to sit up then winced in pain as he stretched his abdominals.
“Told you he was a fighter,” Edwards said. When David tried to get up again, Edwards placed a firm hand on his shoulder in an attempt to stop him from getting up again. “Easy old boy,” he stated. “Take it easy, no sudden movements,” he insisted.
“Who you callin’ old boy, Lionel,” David replied.
Lionel? I thought.
“No one’s called me that for yonkers,” Edwards stated. “I go by Edwards now.”
“Hm..,” David sighed, turning his attention to me instead. I quickly went to his side and embraced him as far as I could, without hurting him. “Everything okay with you?”
“I’m fine,” I replied. “Just worried about you. How do you feel?” I asked, giving him the once over. He barely had a scratch on him. His hair was slightly disheveled, his face had colour and apart from the abdominal pain, he seemed the picture of health.
“Better now that you’re here,” he said, grinning from ear to ear. “How about some love?” he asked, beckoning me to kiss him.
“How about the doc sees how you’re doing and we wait for a full recovery before jumping back into things?” I said, noticing the look of disappointment on his face which would soon turn to joy. “We’re having a baby,” I announced. Suddenly very alert, he frowned slightly as though he hadn’t understood what I’d said.
“Rugrats on the way, mate,” Edwards chimmed in, smiling sheepishly.
David and I finally caught on. “More than one?” David asked.
“Well, twins do run in the family,” I stated, surprised and excited all the same.
He slipped an arm around my waist and pulled me near. “Babies?” His deep blue eyes danced with excitement that could not be contained. “How many weeks?”
“16 weeks give or take,” I told him. “I truly did not know I was pregnant.”
His smile further deepened as he placed a hand on my belly. I felt one of the babies kick, and so did he. We’d been so busy with life, we’d failed to notice the miracle of life unfolding within. I gushed with joy at the thought that we’d finally be having babies together.
Clearing this throat, Edwards mentioned, “I’d see one of the obstetricians before you leave just to be on the safe side. As far as I know, there isn’t anything to be concerned about, other than the fact that you need to monitor the babies closely over the next few days and weeks as a precaution. Just in case we missed something.” Putting David’s chart away, he stated, “Obs are looking good, just the murmur I’m concerned about.”
“I’ve had that since I was born, mate, hasn’t bothered me any,” David said.
“Just have a look at it will you, to be on the safe side?”
“Alright,” David replied.
“Might have to start eating up on the ole red meat again,” Edwards suggested.
“Not a chance mate,” David replied, “Not a chance.”
“Any chance of some red meat over dinner?” Edwards asked, looking at me.
“Inviting yourself over, now, are we?” David asked suspiciously.
“We’re inviting him over,” I clarified. He softened in response and nodded slightly to the affirmative, though clearly apprehensive.
As Edwards strapped a blood pressure cuff onto David’s left arm, David stated, “Water under the bridge mate. Life’s too short.”
Slightly taken aback, Edwards paused, misty eyed. “I agree,” he said, swallowing hard before putting his effort into pumping air into the cuff. Stethoscope on, he placed the dial on David’s forearm. Releasing the valve, he took note of the measurement and nodded to the affirmative. “Blood pressure’s looking good. Try to get some rest if you can. I’ll get the nurse to change the dressing on your arm. Just a gash, nothing to be concerned about, though you might feel a bit of pain when the meds wear off. Then again you know this. You got this, doc,” he said, winking at me as he turned to go. “I’ll catch up with you both in a bit?”
I squeezed David’s hand, grateful he was okay, and looking forward to the time he would take off from work. He’d given so much of himself to others the last few weeks, it was going to be good to see him take time off for himself to heal in more ways than one.
31
LINE RIDER
I loved the crisp morning air despite the cold. That morning, a little fog obscured my vision. After a moment of hesitation I decided to head out on my jog anyway. David was still asleep, as were the kids. It was 5 am, and they wouldn’t be up for another hour or so.
David opened his eyes briefly after I kissed his cheek. Sleepily, he mumbled, “I love you,” before turning to his side. I raised the sheet up the bed further to cover his well-toned torso which was exposed. My heart warmed at the thought of his love for me, my love for him, and our babies on the way.
Full of adrenaline and ready to go, I decided not to jog with music that morning. The fog would make it difficult to see, and I would need to rely on my sense of hearing to ensure I was safe.
As the sun came up, the fog gradually cleared. Midway through the jog, I paused for a breath. In my path, on the dewy ground ahead of me, lay a single stemmed red rose. Strange, I thought. I immediately thought of Daniel, the night we’d first met, and the rose he’d given me. Without further thought I bent down to pick it up. Raising the petals to my nose, the deep fragrance brought me to my knees as I remembered Daniel. For a moment I was lost in the memory of him. For a moment, I was spellbound on a memory, before I heard the crackling of leaves being trod on somewhere close behind me.
My first thought was it was some form of wildlife. A wallaby perhaps, or an echidna. Then I saw the boots. Adrenaline surged through me as I dropped the rose and ran. Heart thumping, heavy footsteps were not far behind me. Whoever it was, they were walking and not running. I ran towards a tree that had fallen in front of the path. Vaulting over the tree log, I underestimated the distance between the clearing and the tree and as a result, I fell to my knees. In that moment, the footsteps behind me suddenly stopped. Knee slightly grazed, I got to my feet. “What do you want!” I asked.
Silence answered me. Pregnancy had made me breathless, and it took a little while for me to catch my breath. Looking around me, I realized I’d strayed so far from my jogging path, and didn’t know which turn to take to get home.
Not a moment later, I felt a hand cover my mouth and strong muscular arms pull me backwards. I tried to scream bu
t my screams were muffled. I saw the ring on his middle finger first. My heart skipped a beat, and I remembered that Daniel had a very similar one. The one we couldn’t find when we put together all his personal effects after the funeral. I then heard a voice that I knew all too well, and could never forget. “I’m fixin’ ta take my hand off right now, don’t scream,” he urged. “Turn around slow.”
I turned around to see Daniel, in a black cowboy shirt and hat, stone black jeans and cowboy boots, in the flesh, and very much alive. “I had to see you again sugarpie,” he said, searching my face as though he wanted to emblaze it in his memory forever.
“Daniel?” I mouthed, in shock as I felt my knees get weak. My head was spinning, reeling at the sight of him. In an instant, I felt myself losing balance. He braced my fall.
“Easy now,” he said, holding me tenderly but firmly. “Didn’t mean to spring up on you like this and frighten the livin’ daylights out of you, but I had to see you again,” he stated. “I been fixin’ ta see ya for a long time now. I missed you every hour and every minute and every second of every day but I had to leave when I did and stay away for as long as I did. Glad to see you found happiness,” he said, just before I felt myself fall into his arms and lose consciousness.
In what seemed like hours later, I awoke with a start. I was in the bedroom, lying on the bed. David was kneeling at the end of the bed and greeted me with a nervous smile. I knew right then and there that he’d known about Daniel for a while now, if not, all along.
“Where is he?” I asked loudly and frantically.
David placed a hand on his lips as an indication not to talk.
My heart raced in anticipation. I needed to know why.
“You sprained your ankle on the jog,” he started. “I’ll take you in to the hospital on my way in this morning.”
“You need to tell me where he is,” I demanded.
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