New Beginnings

by LaShawn Vasser

  The doctor followed by the nurse first went over to the registration desks before being pointed in their direction.

  He was walking over to them. The walk seemed to take forever although it was just a couple of feet from where they all stood. Was it possible to hold your breath while your heart was beating a hundred times a minute? Vicky couldn’t read the doctor’s face. The closer he got…nothing. The nurse however, didn’t make eye contact with anyone. She kept looking down onto that clipboard. THAT wasn’t a good sign.

  “Mr. and Mrs. Baker?” He lifted one eyebrow and looked at the elderly couple seemingly to verify.

  Mr. Baker squeezed his wife’s hand for support “We are Mr. and Mrs. Baker. How is our daughter?”

  The doctor reached out his hand to shake Mr. Baker’s hand “I’m doctor Rayford.” He then took off his head scarf “Sir, her injuries were very severe. I’m so sorry to have to inform you that we did all we could do for Jocelyn. She succumbed to her injuries.”

  Mrs. Baker screamed the scream as only a mother who has lost a child could scream before falling to her knees. “No, no, no...Not my beautiful baby! Not Jocelyn.” Mrs. Baker screamed and cried. Mr. Baker stood stoically as if he hadn’t heard that Dr. Rayford had just informed them that Jocelyn was dead.

  Mr. Baker was in shock. His face was drained of all color and his eyes looked empty as he bent down to help lift his wife to her feet. “Come on Mildred please get to your feet darling.”

  Once Mrs. Baker was on her feet again but still sobbing uncontrollably Dr. Rayford signaled to the hospital chaplain to come over. It was obvious Dr. Rayford had been shaken as well. “Again, we are so sorry for your loss Mr. and Mrs. Baker. If you’d like to spend a few minutes with Jocelyn before the hospital starts to prepare her body please follow nurse Jones.”

  “What about Angel! How is she? Where is she? I need to see her now!” Vicky started shouting and crying. Then she started running for the doors that she’d just seen Dr. Rayford come through moments earlier before Jason caught her.

  The nurse frantically called after Vicky “Ms. Martin please you cannot go back there right now. Angel is still in surgery.”

  She struggled against him. It took everything within Jason to hold her to him. “No, Jason. I have to be with her! I know she’s wondering where I am? She has to be wondering why I left her. She needs to know that mommy is right here! I would never ever leave her!”

  Vicky couldn’t breathe. Her heart was pounding so fast. Her head felt like it was going to explode until finally everything started to fade to black.

  Chapter 8

  When Vicky opened her eyes, she was laying in a bed. Not just any bed but a hospital bed. She was in a hospital room, an incredibly beautiful room, but it was still a hospital room. For a moment, she forgot why she was in the hospital and then it all came rushing back to her.

  “You gave us all a scare.” Mrs. Rutherford softly said as she wiped her forehead with a cool cloth.

  Vicky tried to sit up too fast and felt dizzy all over again. “How’s Angel?”

  “Here sip this baby...” Jason was on the other side of the bed. He tried to give her some water.

  Vicky slapped his hand and the cup away “NO! How is Angel?”

  “Vicky please, you’ve got to try to remain somewhat calm. Your blood pressure is too high. On top of that you are dehydrated. It’s not good for you or….our baby.”

  Vicky stilled at those words. As a matter of fact both John and Miriam froze too.

  He could see the questions in Vicky’s eyes. “I’m pregnant? For sure?”

  “While you were out the doctors asked a lot of questions. You know the ‘are you allergic to this or that’, then they asked if you were pregnant. I told them we thought you were but we weren’t sure. They needed to test you before they could administer any form of medication. They took the test and it came back positive. We’re going to be parents…again.” Jason’s eyes were glassy as he kissed Vicky softly on her forehead then looked at his own parents. “I didn’t want you guys to find out this way.”

  John Rutherford went over to his son with so much love and pride in his eyes. He knew that right now Jason and Vicky needed his strength. No one should ever have to go through the possible loss of a child. He took Jason by the shoulders and looked him in the eyes “You two will be great parents to this child and to Angel. Do you understand me? At some point, we are all going to walk out of this hospital healthy and together.” He released one of Jason’s shoulder’s to take Vicky’s hand into his and squeezed them hoping to transfer some of his strength to her.

  Mrs. Rutherford joined her husband. Her eyes were glassy but no less determined. She broke the chain and held her son’s hand while holding on to John’s waist. It was a beautiful sight to behold. This was Vicky’s family.

  The doctor stood at the doorway not wanting to interrupt the sensitive moment. He had to bring them the news. He cleared his throat “Excuse me. I’m doctor Franks, the surgeon who has been with Angel Martin for the last few hours.”

  Vicky moved to get out of the bed but was stopped by Jason “How is she? Can we see her?”

  “I’m sorry….”

  Vicky screamed “NO!! She has to be alright. PLEASE GOD let her be ok!”

  Dr. Franks moved quickly to clarify “Mrs. Martin, Angel is in recovery. It will be another forty-five minutes or so before she’ll be ready for you to visit with her.”

  “So, then she’s ok?” Jason was anxious to get an answer. He was sorry for Jocelyn but he wanted this nightmare to be over.

  “Honestly, Mr. Rutherford, we are not sure. When Angel was brought into our emergency room she had a collapsed lung, a crushed kidney, and there was extensive trauma to the brain. We needed to remove the kidney, her other kidney is somewhat damaged, and we’re doing what we can for the lung. We might need to go back in and repair her kidney after we review the x-rays. She’s currently on a ventilator. We also believe we’ve managed to find and repair most if not all of the areas of bleeding in her brain. As to be expected, there is extensive swelling. Therefore, we had to remove a portion of her skull to release the pressure. We won’t know how much or if there is any brain damage until the swelling goes down. Once the swelling goes down we will replace the portion of the skull that was removed. That’s one of the reasons why we will need to keep Angel in an induced coma for a few days.

  I wish I could say that was the most pressing problem that we are facing right now but it is not. Angel lost a lot of blood. We need to perform a transfusion within the next 24-48 hours. However, we’ve discovered Angel has a very rare blood type. She is vel – negative. This blood type is so rare that none of the blood banks currently have any available.”

  Jason held on to Vicky’s hands while they received this news before speaking to Dr. Franks “Well, obviously money isn’t an object. If we can’t find the blood locally I’ll have my private plane go get it from wherever we can locate this ‘vel-negative blood’ and bring it back here.” His parents nodded in agreement.

  “That’s part of the problem Mr. Rutherford we’ve had our staff run a query for all of the blood banks in North America and currently there is none available.”

  Vicky spoke up “So, what are you saying Dr. Franks?”

  “I’m saying that time is not on our side. Because of the trauma Angel has sustained I’m not sure if she can overcome her injuries without the transfusion. Everyone especially blood relatives that Angel has must get tested right away to see if they are a match. ”

  Vicky took a deep breath and closed her eyes to keep the tears from overflowing. She leaned into Jason and he held her tightly. “Baby, we’ll find a match. Angel will be okay. She’s strong just like you. Please, believe that.”

  “Yes Vicky, we’ll get tested too John and I. Dr. Franks what do we need to do?”

  “Vicky took another deep breath and opened her eyes. She was driven by purpose, the purpose of saving her daughter’s life. “Jason I need to use yo
ur cell phone. I have a couple of calls I need to make.”

  Chapter 9

  The second person Vicky could think to call was her aunt, Shirley Martin. As far as Vicky knew Aunt Shirley was the only blood family she had left after the death of her mother. It had been a long time since they’d talked. It had been years…10 years to be exact. Vicky hadn’t spoken to her aunt since the day she’d taken her to foster care when she was 15.

  She wasn’t even sure how to get in touch with her. However, when Vicky was pregnant with Angel, the closer she got to her delivery date the more she wanted to feel connected to family. She searched for weeks trying to locate her aunt. Vicky thought she’d found her and held onto that phone number seemingly like forever before she worked up the courage to call.

  Vicky remembered that day as if it were yesterday. She’d been living in a run-down studio apartment. It was drafty and damp. The only furniture was a couple of milk crates, a dirty old sofa someone had thrown out and a second hand bassinet that Vicky tried to clean up for Angel’s arrival.

  The police sirens seemed to go off every 10 minutes. When the sirens weren’t blaring there was yelling and cursing from her neighbors on the right and cursing and fighting from her neighbors on the left. There seemed to always be some type of commotion. Vicky finally worked up the nerve to call her aunt’s number. She didn’t want to bring Angel home to that environment. She hoped her aunt would allow her to stay with her at least for her first 6 weeks.

  Her fingers trembled as she dialed the number. The phone started ringing. It rang once… ‘ring’ Vicky’s heart was in her throat. She could hear it beating. What would she say if her aunt actually picked up the phone? She hadn’t talked to her in 7 years. It felt like minutes but it was only seconds before the phone rang a second time. Still, no one picked up. The moments ticked by very slowly before the next ‘Ring’. Vicky held onto the phone so tightly that her fingers were starting to hurt. ‘RING’….with each ring the sound seemed to get louder. Just when Vicky was about ready to hang up the phone a woman picked up.

  “Hello, hello, is anybody there?”

  The woman on the other side of the phone sounded like her aunt but Vicky couldn’t speak. Her voice wouldn’t work. What if she wouldn’t help her? Vicky hung up the phone. That was the last time she’d tried to contact her aunt.

  Three years later, Vicky still had that phone number on that crumpled piece of paper she kept in her wallet. This time it didn’t matter how her aunt felt about her. This was about Angel. She would do whatever she had to do to get her aunt Shirley to take the test.

  Chapter 10

  Vicky knew she needed to make at least one more call. She needed all the strength she could muster. She had to call Angel’s father, Ryan Carter. Vicky needed to make this call alone. “Jason, can you go and check with Dr. Franks to see if Angel is out of recovery yet?”

  “Of course.” He kissed her on the forehead and left the room.

  Vicky went through her purse and pulled out the business card that she’d held on to for the past 4 years. It had Ryan’s information on it. This time she used the hospital phone. It felt wrong to use Jason’s phone for this call. She dialed the number. It started to ring for the second time before someone answered.

  “Hello, this is Vicky Martin. I need to speak with Mr. Ryan Carter please, it is an emergency.”

  “May I tell him what this is regarding?”

  “I’m sorry it’s of a personal nature and I’d rather discuss it only with Mr. Carter.”

  His administrative assistant put her on hold for a few seconds. It felt like an eternity before she finally returned to the line. “I’m sorry Ms. Martin, Mr. Carter is in a meeting and would like for me to take a message.”

  Vicky was seething “Ms...I need to speak with Mr. Carter NOW. Whatever meeting he is attending needs to be interrupted. As I mentioned before this is an emergency, if he cannot come to the damn phone I will come to his office or perhaps his home whichever he prefers but I will speak with him today.”

  The operator stammered for a second “I’ll pass this message along. One moment please while I do so.”

  Vicky sat wondering if Ryan would pick up the phone. It had only been seconds from when his administrative assistant put her on hold but it felt like hours. The next voice she heard was Ryan’s. It had been four long years. “Ms. Martin?”

  “Yes, Ryan this is Vicky.”

  “Well, I was in a very important meeting. What is it that you could possibly want after all this time? If it’s money I can’t help you.”

  “I haven’t called you since the birth of YOUR child. If I wanted money I would have had my lawyers call you!”

  Ryan stood in his office looking at his watch. He didn’t have time for this. He’d hope the ghost of Vicky Martin would not rear its head ever again. Yet, somehow he knew this episode in his life would come back to haunt him. He closed his eyes and sighed “My my my…last I remember you couldn’t afford ramin noodles now you have lawyers? Aren’t you being a little dramatic? I haven’t heard from you in four years Vicky.”

  Vicky’s head was starting to throb all over again. She took slow deep breaths. She had to remain calm not just for her sake, but for the sake of her unborn child. She closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Ryan, if I could have gone a lifetime and never spoke to you again I would have. But, circumstances have changed. I need you…let me re-phrase that YOUR child needs you.”

  Ryan spat out bitterly, “I tried to locate you, you moved, and changed your number. But you managed to cash that check I sent.” THAT was a sure sign to me that you didn’t want me anywhere near you or MY child, which was probably best. Then you call me up out of the blue demanding to speak to me.” Through clentched teeth he spoke “What…do…you…want Vicky?”

  Vicky was not cowered by Ryan’s self-righteous bullshit. “You pig! You are not going to make me out to be the bad guy here. I was a naïve young woman. You preyed on that and took advantage of me. You were married for god’s sake! You knew I would have never dated you had I known you were married. So, yes, I cashed the check because Angel deserved better than to not live in that hell hole where we were living. I changed my number, my address, and I even changed my hair. What did you expect me to do? It was one thing to be with you and not know about your wife. I wasn’t about to willingly be your mistress!”

  “Can you get to the point, no need to re-live the past. I have important business to attend to. For the last time what do you want Vicky?”

  Vicky couldn’t let her anger and frustration toward Ryan keep her from getting what she needed from him. “Angel has a rare blood type and she needs an emergency blood transfusion within the next 24-48 hours. She’s vel-negative. I need you to get tested.”

  Ryan didn’t know what to say. The first thing that came to his mind was that Vicky had given birth to a daughter and her name was Angel. He’d wondered if the baby was a boy or a girl. After trying for so long with his wife he’d given up all hope of ever being a father. But, he did have a child. He had a daughter….with Vicky.

  What the hell was he going to do? When Vicky told him she was pregnant he’d tried everything to convince her to get rid of the baby. Ryan never told Alicia about Vicky or about the pregnancy. There had been other women even another pregnancy or two but he had always convinced them to terminate them.

  Ryan had never intended for the affair to get so out of control or for anyone to find out about it. It was suppose to be a simple ‘thing’. At the time, he loved his wife, but Alicia was so over bearing and controlling. Everything was always his fault. By the time he met Vicky their relationship had become virtually a partnership. But, when he was with Vicky she had made him feel loved and needed. Not only had Vicky been beautiful, she was so innocent and giving. He knew it had been wrong to let her think he was single and down on his luck but at the time he didn’t want to give her up. He also knew she had been in love with him. Ryan tried to use that knowledge against her and
he’d hoped the silent treatment would convince her to terminate the pregnancy.

  Days had turned into weeks and weeks turned into months. Initially, it wasn’t his intention to end the relationship the way it happened but he also realized it was for the best. He didn’t know what decision Vicky had made until she called him to tell him that she was in labor.

  Ryan remembered it like it was yesterday. Vicky had called Ryan while they were at Alicia’s parent’s home having dinner. Alicia was sitting right next to him. They had similar cell phones. When it rang she answered his phone possibly by mistake...or not. He could only imagine how the conversation went down. Alicia looked at him suspiciously and said into the phone “Hello….THIS is Ryan’s wife. Can I help you?” Vicky must have said something to the effect of “sorry wrong number.”

  Later, when Alicia questioned him about it he told her he didn’t know whose number it had been. At the time Vicky didn’t have a cell phone and he hadn’t taken on another lover. He had his suspicions but he didn’t recognize the number so he wasn’t sure who the woman was on the other end of the phone. However, when Ryan was alone he called the number back and Vicky answered.

  His conscience rarely appeared but it chose that particular moment to show up. Ryan confessed everything to Vicky. She deserved at least that much. She remained quiet the entire time. No matter how much he thought about starting over fresh and creating a life with Vicky and his child, he just couldn’t destroy all he worked so hard to gain. Ryan still needed Alicia’s parent’s money and connections. He had made up in his mind that he would give Vicky some cash and be done with it.