New Beginnings

by LaShawn Vasser

  “Son, is there anything else you need for me to do? Is there anyone you’d like for me to call? I’m good friends with Jim Noelle. He’s the Republican ranking member of the state Senate.”

  “Dad that might be useful if all else fails. My hope is that this doesn’t have to go public. I don’t want to put Vicky or Angel through that. One day Angel is going to grow up. I don’t want her to read about this madness when she gets older. I just can’t believe a man could abandon his own child. I could never do that.”

  Jason’s mother was so proud of her son. She didn’t think she had any tears left to shed but realized she must have held on to just a few more. “Jason, we haven’t really had a moment to talk about Angel’s accident. I wanted to tell you, both of you that we are so sorry about what happened. I feel like this was all our fault. If we had not encouraged Jocelyn to take Angel to the park and to get ice-cream, they’d both still be here.” Miriam those tears that had been threatening to fall came tumbling down.

  Jason couldn’t believe his parents felt guilty about this situation. It was an accident. “Mom, dad…Vicky and I don’t blame you for this. It was a horrible, horrible accident. Please don’t blame yourselves.”

  Miriam wrapped her arms around her son. “Thank you Jason forgiving us. I just hope Vicky feels the same way.”

  Jason kissed his mom on the cheek “I promise you, she feels the same way.”

  “Angel is so lucky to have parents like you.”

  “No mom, I’m lucky to have her. She’s truly an Angel in my life. I’ve been feeling so helpless not being able to fix this nightmare. I can finally do something to help her.” Mrs. Rutherford stepped up to him and hugged her son. She knew he needed it badly. He’d been trying to be so strong for everyone else and in this moment she wanted to pour into him some of her love and strength. He held on tightly to his mother. Before long Mr. Rutherford wrapped his arms around the both of them before speaking “We’ll get through this…..all of us.”

  The moment was interrupted when Jason received a phone call from his personal assistant. He stepped away from his parents before clearing his throat. “I’ve got to take this”. After one final squeeze of his hand from his mother, his parents left the waiting room so Jason could take the call. “What’s up Janice? Is everything all set for the press conference?”

  “Yes, Mr. Rutherford. Everything is all set. The press has been put on notice and everyone is eager to know what it’s all about. I have confirmed just about everyone’s attendance. Also, the hair and make-up people should be there within the next hour. You and Vicky’s wardrobe should be delivered within the next half an hour as well. Oh…and Mr. Rutherford, I am so sorry about Angel. I’m praying for her. I have a feeling she’s going to be alright.”

  “Thanks Janice. I’m going to hold on to that hope. Make sure you keep the phone handy so if I need you I can get in touch.”

  “No problem. I’ll make sure I’m available.”

  Jason disconnected the call. Jason really didn’t want to go through with this press conference but they were only 2 hours away from their deadline and they still hadn’t heard from Ryan Carter. If he didn’t come through, Jason didn’t know what he’d do if he ever came face to face with the man.

  Franklin and Sandy made it back to the hospital. They hadn’t talked much but held hands on the ride. Both were deep in thought trying to sort out their feelings about what just happened between them. Was that love making session a stress reliever or was it more? Well, for right now, whatever was going on between them would have to wait. In this moment, their jobs were to support Jason and Vicky as well as pray for a miracle.

  They knocked before entering the hospital room. Jason’s parents and Vicky’s aunt acknowledged them as they entered. Vicky was still in the same position she was before they’d left several hours earlier. Hovering over her daughter and holding her tiny little hand. The scene was just so heartbreaking that Sandy felt a tear slip down her cheek. The room was so quiet. All you could hear were the chirps and beeps of the machines and the pump and pull of the respirator. Then there were the nurses. They were checking Angel’s vitals and making notes on their clip boards after looking at the machines. Sandy wasn’t a rocket scientist but you didn’t have to be to understand that things had gotten worse since they’d left. The situation was looking even dire by the moment.

  There was a small knock on the door. Franklin walked back over to the door to open it. He was surprised at who stood on the other side of it. It was Alicia Carter. John and Miriam looked shocked to see her but stood up and held hope that Ryan Carter was here as well. However, Vicky’s back was to her new visitor. She had no idea Alicia had flown in using a friend’s private jet. Ryan had taken the company’s private jet and had not left a flight plan behind.

  Alicia was shocked at what she saw before her. She wasn’t prepared to walk into the hospital room and see that poor little baby in such a state. She knew she was a bitch but even her heart was touched. “Excuse me, Ms. Martin?”

  Vicky slowly turned around to come face to face with the wife of her daughter’s father. She’d never met Alicia in person but she’d seen pictures of her in the papers. The newspapers didn’t do her justice because she was a beautiful woman. She had raven colored hair and her eyes looked almost violet. At the moment, she couldn’t keep her eyes off of Angel. Vicky was so overwhelmed with relief that she just started to cry uncontrollably. She stood from her seat and almost ran over to Alicia and hugged her. It was that moment that Jason re-entered the hospital room. He was somewhat bewildered with all the commotion. Alicia on the other hand just stood stoically during the embrace. Vicky was so grateful “Oh my god. Thank you, Alicia. Thank you so much for coming and getting Ryan here.” After a few moments Vicky lifted her head from Alicia’s shoulder “Where is he? Is he talking to the doctors?”

  Alicia cleared her throat as everyone in the room was so clearly focused on her response. “Vicky, I hate to be the bearer of bad news but I’m still trying to locate Ryan. I have all of my people on it but I haven’t been able to find him. He’s not answering his phone. It is going straight to voice-mail.”

  Vicky couldn’t believe her ears. Ryan wasn’t at the hospital. Vicky looked over at Jason with pleading eyes. “Jason, please tell me you were able to locate him?” He had no idea how to tell her that he hadn’t. He’d called in ever favor and everyone he could think of to help him locate the bastard. But, at the end of the day he wasn’t able to locate him. They had about an hour left before they went live with the press conference.

  All of a sudden everything seemed to happen in slow motion. The monitors started going haywire. The machines started screaming with beeps and chirps. The doctors and nurses all rushed into the hospital room all descending upon little Angel pushing Vicky and Alicia away from the bed.

  The doctors seemed to be pulling and pricking Angel every which way. Vicky stood there watching in silent horror not knowing what to do. Everyone was stunned that these could be Angel’s last moments on earth. A nurse tried to get the family to go into the waiting room so the doctors could work on her. Dr. Franks was barking orders “It’s too many people in here.”

  A nurse who was sympathetic but firm tried to usher everyone out of the room. “I’m sorry you all will need to go into the waiting room and let the doctors take care of Angel. They’ll do the best they can for her.”

  “No, No, NO!! I can’t leave. I can’t leave her” Vicky started to panic. She couldn’t leave her little girl. She had to stay in the room with her daughter. “She NEEDS me. She needs to know I’m here. “Mommy’s here Angel. Mommy’s right here!” Jason had to grab Vicky and almost carry her out of the room.

  As they were crossing the threshold they heard Dr. Franks bark out “Her pressure is dropping too low! We’re losing her. We need to do that blood transfusions STAT! Then, prep her for surgery!”

  The last words they heard before the door closed was “Dr. Franks we don’t have a blood match for her
!”

  Jason, Vicky, The Rutherford’s, Aunt Shirley, Franklin, and Sandra couldn’t believe what was happening. Vicky started screaming and crying uncontrollably. Everyone was in tears. Angel was going to die.

  Jason held onto Vicky tightly as he finally let his own tears flow. Word was getting around the hospital quickly that Angel was dying. Doctors and nurses from all over the hospital started to come and stand around Angel’s hospital room. Angel had endeared herself to everyone who’d had any contact with her since she’d been admitted. The entire hospital staff had been going the extra mile to try and find a match for her. Despair was written over everyone’s face as they tried to console each other. Jason in all of this time never thought for one second that they wouldn’t get a match and that Angel could actually die. What were they going to do?

  As everyone stood around trying to wrap their minds around what was happening, two people came running down the hall towards Angel’s room screaming, “We’ve got it! We’ve got it! We’ve got a match!” The door to Angel’s room immediately opened and they rushed inside.

  The hospital staff and all of Angel’s friends and family started clapping, cheering, and screaming for joy. Jason and Vicky just stood there stunned.

  “Jason, what just happened? Did they say they have a match?”

  Jason picked Vicky up and spent her around kissing her hard on the lips before finally answering her. “Yes, baby. They’ve got a match for Angel.”

  After about fifteen minutes, Dr. Franks came out of Angel’s room “Ms. Martin?”

  Jason released Vicky from his arms as they both made their way through everyone to talk to him. “Yes, yes, I’m right here. What’s going on? How is she? Can I see her?”

  Everybody stood around with abated breath waiting to hear the news.

  “If you haven’t figured it out yet, through some miracle we were able to get a blood match for Angel. We are in the process of completing the blood transfusion now. However, I need you to know that this doesn’t by any means mean that Angel is out of the woods but it does mean she has a fighting chance.”

  They listened intently to everything Dr. Franks had to say. “Angel has a long road ahead of her and the next 24-48 hours are going to be critical but….we’ve got a real chance. I’ve got to get back inside. We’re prepping her for surgery.”

  Chapter 23

  Dr. Franks went back into Angel’s hospital room to continue working on her. Now, instead of everyone being blanketed by the feelings of death those feelings were now replaced with feelings of hope and life. The relief was so palpable and the jubilation was so contagious. Everyone just started hugging each other. Even Alicia Carter and she didn’t know a soul except for her husband’s mistress. That was probably why no one noticed when Ryan stepped off of the elevator. No one except Alicia. When she saw him she called out “Ryan!”

  Suddenly the room went very quiet and all eyes turned into the direction that Alicia called. Ryan walked over towards her. He bent to kiss her on the temple but she turned her head and hissed at him “Where have you been? I’ve been trying to get in touch with you all day.” After that, everything seemed to move in slow motion. Before Ryan could say anything Jason walked over to him and punched him in his face. Ryan fell to the floor knocked out cold. For just a few moments everyone stood around stunned. Everyone except for the reporter who’d followed Ryan Carter up to Angel’s floor. He captured everything on video with his iPhone.

  Some of the medical staff rushed to Ryan’s side to make sure he was alright. Alicia didn’t bother to help. She just watched the scene unfold before her. Ryan began to come to while being helped to his feet and Jason was ready and waiting.

  “Get up you bastard!” Jason couldn’t wait for Ryan to get his bearings so that he could beat him like he deserved. Franklin and Vicky made their way over to Jason to make sure he didn’t kill Ryan. Franklin could only imagine how Jason felt knowing that scumbag literally held life and death in his hands….with his own child no less. Yet, he couldn’t allow Jason to hurt him or got to jail. His family needed him to be strong for them as they got through this next critical stage.

  Ryan got to his feet and cleared his head “What the hell? Alicia what are you doing here? And...Why the hell did you hit me? I don’t even know you.”

  Jason was ready to charge him again but Franklin held him back. Mr. Rutherford Sr. tried to get control of the situation. “This is not a conversation that I believe needs to be had in the hallway of a hospital.”

  Vicky agreed and touched Jason’s arm in the hopes of calming him down. “Yes, thank you Mr. Rutherford. This is a conversation that Jason, Alicia, Ryan and I should have in private. I think we should all go into the private waiting room.”

  Jason looked into Vicky’s eyes and lost some of his anger. Not all of it but enough to calm down.

  The four of them left to go into the waiting room. As soon as the doors closed behind them Alicia hauled off and slapped Ryan across the face as hard as she could. “You deserved that and so much more. How could you get this woman pregnant and keep it from me for all these years?”

  Ryan wasn’t prepared to answer questions from Alicia so he proposed some of his own “What the hell are you even doing here Alicia?”

  Alicia and Ryan had been so engrossed in their own battle they’d completely forgot that Vicky and Jason were standing in the room. Vicky spoke up “I can explain that. I called her.”

  Ryan turned around incredulous. That was the first time he’d really noticed Vicky. He hadn’t seen her in over four years. She was still beautiful, more so because she wore maturity and confidence well. Ryan needed to catch his breath because Vicky still made his heart beat a little faster. He wasn’t prepared for that so he thought he’d try anger to hide from it. “So you thought you’d ruin my marriage because I wouldn’t let you control me?”

  Jason was ready to launch at it him again but Vicky stopped him before focusing back to Ryan. “Ryan, somehow, I knew that you would make this situation all about you. I called your wife hoping she could convince you to come and save the life of your daughter. I was prepared to do whatever I needed to do up to and including calling a press conference and announcing to the entire world that your public persona and your private one were two different people.”

  Ryan blanched at the thought of his republican constituents finding out about his illegitimate daughter. It would end his career. He was actually more concerned about that than he was Alicia finding out about Angel. His career may be first in his line of priorities but he wasn’t completely heartless. He did care if Angel survived.

  “I grant you that I’m a bastard but I’m not completely heartless. I am here. That must count for something.”

  “Honestly, Ryan, I don’t care why you came. I just care that Angel got what she needed from you and I pray that my baby comes through this alive. Oh, and the man who knocked you unconscious is Jason Rutherford, my fiancé and Angel’s father in every way that counts.”

  Vicky turned back to Jason before cradling his head into her hands “You are our hero. I love you so much and I thank god for you.” Vicky sighed before continuing “I think maybe we should cancel the press conference.” Then she tenderly kissed him on his lips.

  Jason just held Vicky for a moment feeling an overwhelming sense of love, pride, and relief. “I’ll make the necessary calls.”

  Jason and Vicky left Ryan and Alicia in the waiting room. They’d spent too much time away from their daughter dealing with all them.

  Once Jason and Vicky had left, Alicia eyes shot daggers at Ryan “I can’t believe you allowed this to happen to us! It’s not just your life you are ruining but mine too.”

  Ryan closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Alicia, I think I may know how I can salvage all of this.”

  “And just how do you think you can fix this? This isn’t fixable!”

  “What about if we beat them to the punch. We can call our own press conference to announce to the wor
ld that at considerable risk to myself, I selflessly donated blood to a daughter I never knew I had until the day of the accident.”

  “That’s all great for you but how will you explain that she was conceived while we were married Ryan?”

  “We can say that you and I were separated during the time Angel was conceived. But, we realized how much we meant to each other and decided to make our marriage work. Everyone can understand marriages going through problems.”

  The more Ryan spoke the more Alicia started to think this explanation might work.

  Ryan walked over to Alicia and reached for her hand “There is one more piece to this that would definitely put us into the Governor’s mansion. The whole plan rests solely on if you can accept this.”

  Alicia raised an eyebrow “And just what other sacrifices would you have me make Ryan?”

  “We’d need to file for sole custody of Angel.” Ryan thought this plan would solve all of his problems. He’d then have the Governorship and the child he’d always wanted.

  While they were waiting for Angel to get out of surgery, Franklin pulled Jason over to the side to have a private word. “There was a reporter here who was more than likely able to put two and two together. When I saw him, I ‘accidently’ smashed both his phone and camera. I might have been able to buy a little time but it looks like whether you want it to or not this story is going to come out.”

  Jason acknowledged what Franklin had to say “I’ll deal with that when I have to. Right now I can’t focus on anything but my future wife and daughter.”

  Three hours later Dr. Franklin emerged from surgery with a huge grin on his face. Everyone rushed around him. “Angel is a strong little girl. She came through the surgery beautifully. We were able to save her kidney and the swelling of her brain has gone down considerably. It’s even showing signs of firing off the way it is suppose to. Of course, it’ll be a few days before we’ll know for sure but I think she has a shot at making a full recovery. Give it about an hour before heading down to recovery to see her.”