Uncorked

by Rebecca Rohman

  “If you want a house, get one.”

  “Really? Why aren’t you fighting me on this?”

  “Because I realized how much you thrived in that environment. I realized how at peace you were.”

  “Thank you.”

  “One request. Please make sure it has a top-notch security system.”

  “Come house hunting with me. Help me choose.”

  In the meantime, Chella rented a house in La Jolla. She sat with an agent to sign the lease. As she held the pen, Mitch noticed her shaky hands.

  “Would you excuse us for a second please?” he said to the two agents in the room.

  They looked somewhat confused, but respected his wishes and left.

  “Are you okay?” he asked, holding her hands and looking into her eyes.

  “Do you realize I’m signing this lease for a year?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’ve never done anything like this. Why am I so nervous? ”

  “Because you’re afraid, but this is another step forward in taking your life back. We will make that house safe and secure. I promise you that.”

  “This is a long-term commitment.”

  “For you it is, yes. But don’t worry. There are ways to get out of it if you need to. It’s going to be okay.”

  She still looked a bit apprehensive but after closing her eyes, and taking a deep breath, she picked up the pen and signed the documents. Moments later, the agents returned. Chella wrote them a check. She had made her first long-term commitment.

  She rented a beautiful house with a pool and an incredible deck overlooking the Ocean. She moved in over the coming days and had even taken some things out of storage to spruce up her new place.

  Mitch had to go back to Sacramento to attend some meetings and try to close a multi-million dollar sale. He would be leaving the following afternoon for a week. She ordered them Chinese for dinner, and they spent time together on her new patio, taking in the gorgeous sunset views.

  Over the next few days, Chella set up the house. The pool experts came out that day, and the infinity-edge pool was flawless. It sparkled against the sunny blue skies and was seamless with the aqua blue ocean waters. The landscapers did a bit of yard maintenance on the grounds.

  The house started to feel like home, but she missed Mitch. He wouldn’t be back for another few days, possibly longer, if he had to make a stop in Santa Monica. Her thoughts were interrupted by sharp stomach cramps. She headed to the bathroom and took a shower then made a cup of tea. She hoped that would ease the pain. The sun was now setting, and Chella curled up on the coco chair on the patio to observe the bright orange ball dip below the horizon. Light jazz music played in the background, and she could not help but think about Mitch. The cramps worsened, and they were now accompanied by back pain. She locked the doors, initiated the alarm and headed to the bedroom. She took some painkillers and lay down. Chella was startled by her ringing phone.

  “Hello,” she answered groggily.

  “Hi, Sweetheart. How are you?” Chella smiled at the sound of Mitch’s voice at the other end of the line.

  “I’ve been better. I have some really bad cramps. My back aches, too. I guess my period will be here soon. Otherwise, I’m great. I watched a beautiful sunset this evening. I missed you.”

  “I miss you, too, Love. You’ve been pushing yourself too hard.”

  “I don’t think so. I had a lot of help. Believe it or not, the house is unpacked.”

  “I may stop in Santa Monica on the way back to see Emily. She’s getting her cast removed.”

  “Okay. Send my love to everyone.”

  “I will. Thanks for understanding, Chell. I’m sorry I had to extend my trip. I’m not particularly comfortable with you being alone all this time.”

  “Don’t worry, Mitch. Craig assigned one of the company’s drivers to pick me up and drop me off wherever I need to go. Once I’m inside, I lock the doors and activate the alarm.”

  “I love you. Get some rest.”

  Chella woke up the following day feeling a little better. She thought she would head to the office to see Craig. Since she was done at the house, and Mitch wouldn’t be back for a few days, she decided occupy herself.

  She poked her head into Craig’s office. He was on the phone but motioned her to come in. After ending his call, he came around the oversized mahogany desk and wrapped his hands around her.

  “What are you doing here? You haven’t accepted my proposal, yet.”

  “I got extra help from the movers, and I finished earlier than planned. Mitch had to make an unexpected detour, so I thought I’d come in to see you. I want to wait until the article is published before I accept your proposal. I’m not feeling one-hundred percent, though.”

  “What’s wrong?” Craig asked with concern.

  “Nothing major. Just stomach cramps.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “I’ll be fine. So how have you been? How’s Maggie?”

  “We’re good. Some of the grand kids are coming over this weekend, so she has her hands full with that.”

  “That’s great. Send her my love.”

  “On another note, I have some news for you.”

  “Really?”

  “The board was impressed with how you handled the Teen Sassy line. We all think you should handle the entire cosmetic division when you return. Think you’re up for the task?”

  “Wow, that’s amazing,” she replied in shock. “Really?”

  “Of course, that would come with a hefty raise and a new corner office. That’s a total of ten product lines and ten managers to oversee.”

  “I can’t believe this, I’ve barely settled into my first office, and I’m moving to another. Craig, I don’t know what to say.”

  “Say you’ll do it.”

  “I want to accept it, but let me see what kind of feedback we get from this story. I’m more than happy to do some work from behind the scenes, though.

  “I’ll have my secretary email you whatever you need, and Yoshi from the mailroom will be your assistant until you return. If you want to select your own assistant when you return, that’s fine.”

  “If I haven’t said it yet, thanks again for your support.”

  “You’ll always get that from me, my darling.”

  Still not feeling well but wanting to get to work, Chella went to Sheyenne International bright and early the following Monday morning to pick up some files. She reviewed all the files from the previous week and needed more information to write a detailed report.

  She was chatting with Craig about his weekend when she had those sharp pains again. She took some painkillers. When she didn’t feel better after two hours, she told Craig she would be heading home. He suggested she go to the hospital, but she told him she would visit her doctor if she were still in pain in the morning.

  After lying down for the afternoon, the pain intensified. She walked into the bathroom to see if she had any stronger medication but tumbled over onto the floor in excruciating pain.

  She knew something was dreadfully wrong when she felt her white tank dress wet. She looked down to see she was sitting in a pool of blood.

  Oh God, what’s happening to me?

  This was not her period. It was too much blood, too fast and the pressure and pain she felt were out of this world.

  She dragged her body on the floor and reached for her cell phone that sat on a glass table outside the bathroom door. After, trying to reach Vicky, Kacy and Mitch to no avail, she called 9-1-1. She called Mitch a second time and his phone went straight to voice mail. She started to leave him a message but fell unconscious.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Mitch got off the plane... Since Chella did not know that he was on his way home, he picked up a dozen red roses, then headed over to surprise her, excited to see her after over a week.

  He walked into a deadly-silent, dark house. Holding the roses, and playfully calling out Chella’s name, he heard nothing. All the doors were loc
ked throughout the house, but strangely, the alarm had not been activated. Her handbag was on the living room sofa, so he knew she must be home. He checked the bedroom while calling her name but still nothing. Walking from room to room in the house, he realized that the only other place she could be was outside. After checking and realizing she was not there, he grew concerned.

  He called her cell phone, but it went straight to voice mail. It was only then he realized he had a message from her. When he listened, all he could understand was her calling his name then her voice trailed off. This worried him.

  Her wallet was still inside her handbag. In a bit of a panic, he headed to the one place he forgot to check—the master bath and walk-in closet.

  In the bathroom, he saw all the terrible signs left behind: a large pool of blood on the floor, drag marks through the blood.

  The bouquet of roses fell from his hand.

  He heard the loud, repetitive thump originate from his chest as the thought of Chella being hurt was suddenly a reality. A terrible knot developed in his stomach. Something terrible had happened. That much blood did not appear on a bathroom floor with everything being fine.

  Pull yourself together.

  He raked his hands through his hair while thoughts–bad thoughts—raced through his mind. Did Aaron have something to do with this? He did promise to kill her. God, where is she? What’s wrong with her?

  Mitch immediately called the police, then Detective Carter, who both arrived ten minutes later.

  The police found out that Chella had been taken to the hospital a couple of hours before.

  Mitch rushed to the hospital, panicked because he had no clue what might have been wrong. He called Craig, Kacy, and Vicky on the way to see if any of them knew anything. Both Vicky and Kacy told him they had missed calls from her, and Craig told him she returned home from work because she had bad cramps again. He told Mitch he advised her to go to the hospital, but she said she would visit her doctor if she didn’t feel better by morning. Mitch was angry with himself. If he had insisted Chella go to the doctor, she would be fine. He had no idea what was wrong with her or whether she was dead or alive.

  At the hospital, Mitch saw Dr. Forrester.

  “Dr. Forrester, where is she? Have you seen Chella? Is she okay?” As the words spilled out of his mouth, he was petrified at what he might be told.

  “Mitch, she’s okay, but she’s not conscious. She is in serious condition, though.”

  “God, what happened? What’s wrong with her? There was so much blood on the bathroom floor.”

  “I’m sorry to have to tell you this Mitch, but Chella had a miscarriage.”

  Mitch felt the wind knocked out of him. His stomach felt sick and numbness traveled through his body. He sat on a nearby bench. Squeezing his eyes shut, he massaged brow.

  “Dr. Forrester, that’s not possible. Chella can’t have kids.”

  Sitting next to Mitch, the doctor replied, “After examining her, I can see why she might think so, but she did get pregnant. I’ve seen stranger things happen.”

  “This is unreal.” Mitch replied, combing his hair with his fingers. “Why is she unconscious then?”

  “As you saw, she lost a lot of blood. She needed a transfusion, but she got here in time. She’ll be here for the next few days.”

  “I need to see her.”

  “Sure,” the doctor replied, leading the way to the room.

  Chella lay in the bed fast asleep. The news would be bittersweet. The sad part was they lost their baby. The good part was she got pregnant in the first place. Either way, it was a lot to absorb.

  Sitting at the edge of the bed, he pushed away locks of her hair that had fallen across her brow. He placed his hand on her stomach. The loss made him realize how much he wanted a life and a family with her. A month ago, when she had turned down his proposal, he thought that hurt. This hurt was ten times worse. Holding her hand, his heart pounding, he realized how close he came to losing her.

  It was starting to sink in. Chella was pregnant with his child, and they lost their baby. He felt an overwhelming sense of sadness as he thought of what might have been. He wondered if it were a girl or a boy and what they would have named him or her. He imagined them playing outside a house like Chella wanted, swimming in the pool, or playing on a swing set he would build. He drifted off to sleep holding Chella’s hand.

  He awoke up to the sound of voices a while later. He opened his eyes. Dr. Forrester and a woman who seemed to be another doctor were discussing Chella’s chart.

  “Hi,” he said, as he got up to shake Dr. Forrester’s hand.

  “Hello, Mitch. Meet Dr. Suarez. She’s an OB-GYN and a psychologist.”

  “Nice to meet you, Dr. Suarez.”

  “You, too,” she responded, with a pleasant, supportive smile.

  “When do you think Chella will be conscious? Is she doing better?”

  “She is. Her vitals have improved. She should be up anytime now.”

  “What are your thoughts on her pregnancy, Dr. Suarez? We thought we’d never be able to have children. We weren’t even aware she was pregnant.”

  “It might be more difficult for Chella to get pregnant, but the fact that this happened is proof that it’s possible.”

  “If I knew this, I would have insisted she visit the doctor last week. I was in Sacramento, and she told me she was having stomach cramps and back pains. She thought her period was near. She wasn’t even bleeding. How far long along was she?”

  “Maybe eight or nine weeks. I’m so sorry,” replied Dr. Suarez.

  “Do you two mind if I tell her about the baby? This is going to be really hard on her. She’s always wanted a family of her own. When she realizes she came this close and lost it, it will devastate her.”

  “It will be difficult for you, as well. I’ll be in the hospital until ten. If you need me, have the nurse page me.” Dr. Suarez smiled. She handed Mitch her card before saying goodbye.

  “Why don’t you head home, freshen up, get something to eat and come back. I promise I’ll call you the minute she wakes up,” Dr. Forrester suggested.

  “I’m not leaving her side until she wakes up.”

  “Is there someone we can call to support you?” the doctor replied, patting Mitch on the back.

  “No, thank you. I think we’d both rather be alone right now.”

  “I’ll check on her once more before I leave for the night.”

  “Thanks, Doctor.”

  Mitch said a prayer. Dealing with the shock of the situation himself, he was not in the mood to have to relay the story repeatedly, so he sent out a vague text message to their closest friends and asked them for privacy over the next few days.

  Chella woke up. A nurse came in to administer medication. She felt groggy. “Mitch, Sweetie, you’re home.”

  “Chell. How do you feel?”

  Bright, fluorescent lights shone brightly. She realized she was in an unusual place.

  “I’m in the hospital?”

  “Yes, Sweetheart, you’re in the hospital. You’re going to be fine.”

  “All I can remember is blood and trying to get help. What’s wrong with me?”

  Mitch held her hand and kissed her lightly on the lips. He sat at the edge of the bed.

  “You’re scaring me, Mitch,” she cried, when he hesitated.

  “Sweetheart, you had a miscarriage.”

  She blinked, dazed. “That’s impossible. They’ve made a mistake.”

  “No mistake. Dr. Forrester and Dr. Suarez both examined you. I was shocked, too. They said it might be difficult for you to have a child but not impossible. So that’s some good news we can take away from this.”

  “So we lost our baby?” she said, her eyes welling up with tears. “How could we have come so close and have it taken away? What did I do wrong?”

  “This isn’t your fault. We didn’t know. From now on, we’ll be prepared. Sweetheart, you didn’t do anything wrong.”

  “I should have
gone to the doctor sooner. This would have never happened if I had gone in time.”

  “Chella, there’s no way you could have expected this. A pregnancy was the furthest thing from your mind. Maybe it wasn’t meant to be, at least not now.”

  “Then why bring us so close?”

  “I’ve asked myself the same question, but look at it this way. Yesterday, we thought we’d have to adopt. Today, we find out it’s a possibility for us to have kids of our own.”

  “I should have done more,” she cried. In the blink of an eye, she lost the one thing she wanted so much, to have a child with a man she loved, to have a family like she once did with her parents. Her world crumbled, and she only had herself to blame. If only she had listened to her body, if only she had gone to the doctor, she might have found herself realizing a life dream. Instead, all the hopes and dreams for a future had been cruelly snatched away.

  Mitch listened to her sobs. She cried for hours, and he could feel her pain as her tears soaked his shirt. Slowly, the sounds of sadness gave way to the beeping of the nearby machine. She fell asleep in his arms. Sadness overwhelmed him. He felt lost and empty. This was yet another situation he could not fix. He could not protect her from this pain. He wasn’t even sure how to deal with it himself.

  The next morning, he walked into her house, saddened by the events from the night before. After he put the wilted roses he had bought her in a vase filled with water, he pulled a mop from the kitchen along with some bleach and disinfectant and headed to the master bath to clean the floor. He stopped when he caught his reflection in the mirror—face swollen and blotchy, wrinkled clothes, hollow eyes.

  He regretted so much—that he wasn’t with her, that he hadn’t stayed. He would have been there to help her with the move and avoid all this hurt and pain. He had been so close to getting the life he wanted to share with her. Regardless of them not being married as he wanted, a child would have united them. It would have been a bond they would share together, forever. Rage welled up from within. With one clean swipe, he knocked over the bouquet of roses he had placed off the counter. The vase hit the door, sending shattered glass, water and rose petals across the travertine floors.