Lola dozed in and out of sleep, happily accepting the rest that was coming in waves. In moments of consciousness, her hand would slip to the curve of her belly, happiness flooding her. Then she would fall back into a dreamless sleep.
Hours seemed to have passed when she finally woke up completely, mouth parched and hunger growing. She could see the sun setting through the window, creating a rainbow of deep pinks and purples across the horizon. She propped herself onto her elbows, adjusting to her surroundings.
The cold, sterile hospital room looked the same as it had on her other stays, and she desperately hoped this would be the last time she would see it until she gave birth. Suddenly, the idea of a home birth sounded more and more appealing. She laughed to herself thinking about one of those big water tubs and her mom pacing the room. Tommy standing in the corner, undecided whether he should run in terror or collect more “life event” moments or whatever he called them.
There was a soft knock on the door, and it creaked open slightly.
“Lola?” Mark's voice cut through the silence.
“I'm here,” she said with a scratchy voice, then reached for her water, taking a long sip through the straw. It tasted stale, and she made a mental note to ask for fresh.
Mark pulled back the curtain which hung in front of the door. He crept in slowly carrying a small bouquet of flowers. “Is this a good time?” he asked.
“Well, if you don't mind my bed head and bad breath, then it's a great time,” she smiled.
He came over and sat on the edge of the bed, and looked down at the flowers. “I brought these for you,” he said in a small voice. “I know it doesn't make up for...I know it can't fix...I've put you through so much stress.”
“You blame yourself for me having to be here?” she asked incredulously.
“If I hadn't unleashed a fury of information on you. Information you now have to process. I can't even imagine all the things you're questioning. All the things you want answered. Dang it, Lola!” he said as his voice grew more intense. He ran his right hand through his hair. “You should have never been in this position in the first place. If you could even understand, just a small amount of how much a care for you...for this baby...” he trailed off and took a breath. “I should have taken better care of you.”
Lola gently laid a hand on his arm. “Please don't blame yourself. My body has been malnourished, stressed and has almost quit on me a few times. I'm going to work on taking better care of myself,” she sighed and linked her fingers together in her lap. “If anything you've given more to wake up for everyday. Sure, things feel incredibly complicated,” she laughed, “but that's okay. I would rather know the whole truth. Especially now.”
He leaned in and kissed the top of her head. “So where would you like these?”
“Just over there, above the trash can,” she said pointing to a small shelf next to the window.
He walked the short distance to the other side of the room. “Oh, it looks like you've had another visitor.”
“I have?”
“Yeah, there's a card here,” he said holding up a small envelope. He brought it over to her.
Inside was a small card with the words “Get Well – Bryon” She groaned a little. With everything that had happened, she had almost forgotten about Bryon.
“Who's it from?” he asked.
“Our pal Bryon,” she said. “Oh, and did I tell you he rented a house down the street?”
Thank you so much for sharing this with me! I'm excited to write more and finish this story! Woohoo! All of the previous chapters are linked below. For more info about freewrites, visit @mariannewest!
If you would like to check out the story from the beginning you can find the previous chapters here!
1 |2|3|4|5
|6| 7 |8|9| 10| 11 | 12|13|14|15
To the amazing people that read this story! Thank you!
@cecicastor, @scribblingramma, @enginewitty, @janaveda, and @sirmartinet
Much love,
Stacie D
