“Can I see her?” Paul sounds almost broken right now and I remember that he and Esther raised Holly. She’s the apple of their eye since they took custody of her when her parents were killed.
“Yes, her husband and your wife have been going back and forth and I apologize for the delay in getting information to y’all, but we really did just get them somewhat stabilized.” With that, the doctor leaves as we stand there, stunned at the news.
I rouse myself from my thoughts and state, “Paul, Marnie and I will take the girls back to y’all’s house for you. Why don’t you and Samuel go and check on Holly and Rebel? I’m sure Esther isn’t going to want to leave Holly, and if Holly’s alert enough to say anything, she won’t want the baby to be alone knowing her. If you need me to bring anything up to the hospital, just give me a call. Otherwise, we’ve got it handled at the house.”
Paul looks so distraught that I reach out and hug him. I can feel his body shaking as he murmurs, “It’ll kill us if something happens to her. I’m not sure Esther would ever recover. The only reason she was able to go on after the kids were killed was because of Holly. That little girl needed us, and she helped heal the huge hole their deaths left behind.”
“They’re going to be fine, Paul,” I whisper. “Holly’s strong and so is Rebel. That little boy is the best part of both of them. He comes from good stock.”
“She’s going to be devastated that she can’t have more babies,” he continues.
I feel Marnie tense up beside me before she states, “Since I know the feeling even though I’ve never given birth to a child, I understand. There are a lot of kids who don’t have parents whoneed families if they want to add to their family, Paul. That’s what I’ll probably do when the time comes.” Paul starts to say something but my ol’ lady moves to sooth him and says, “It’s okay, Paul. I’ve had to make peace with my situation. I’m just saying that family isn’t always about who has your bloodline running through their veins.”
“Good point, girl. Good point. Okay, are you sure it’s not too much for y’all to handle the girls? They’ll help with the chickens. Well, Mina will. Ruby just giggles a lot.”
I snicker then say, “I’m sure we’ll be able to figure it out. You just concentrate on Esther, Holly, and Rebel. Go on now, we’ve got this.”
He moves to the two little girls who are still oblivious to the earthshattering news we just heard and leans down, talking to them quietly. I watch both of them wrap their arms around his neck as they hug and kiss him before they walk over to where Marnie and I are standing.
“Are you two ready?” Marnie asks. At Mina’s nod, we each take one of their hands and walk out of the waiting room. I know my woman’s hurting more than she let on, but right now, there are two little girls who need us but the moment they’re settled, I’ll be taking care of her.
THIRTEEN
ASH
Right now, I’m grateful as hell that I’ve got booster seats in both of my trucks. Once Holly and Rebel got together, I made that decision to get them so I could help my brother and his ol’ lady whenever needed. It was especially important after Rebel’s accident because I did a lot of back-and-forth transporting.
“What do you say we stop and buy something for your mommy and new little brother? Then, we’ll go and get some pizza before we head out to the farm,” I ask once everyone’s in the truck and safely buckled.
“Can we have pepperaroni?” Ruby asks, totally slaughtering the word. I see Marnie’s lip twitching and grin.
“Absolutely,” Marnie says. “What do you want to get your mommy?”
“I think we should get her a pretty gown and some flowers,” Mina decisively states.
“Hmm, like a nightgown?” Marnie asks.
“Yes! I heard her tell Grammy she needed some nursing gowns,” Mina exclaims.
I have no fucking clue what they’re talking about; a nightgown is a nightgown as far as I know. I’ve never heard of a nursing gown but when I see Marnie nod, I realize I’m about to find out. “I don’t know if we can get her flowers just yet,” I caution.
“Why not?” Mina asks.
Marnie looks at me, her eyes wide as she mouths, ‘Now what?’. Shrugging, I reply, “Well, right now, your mommy is in a special hospital room, and they don’t usually allow flowers. But I’ll promise y’all this, when she comes home with the baby, we’ll get her some then. How does that sound?”
“Okay,” Mina replies. “What’s our baby brother’s name?”
“Sweetie, we don’t know,” Marnie admits. “But we know he’s a boy, so we’ll find something that’s perfect for him, okay?”
“A teddy bear!” Ruby exclaims. “We both have them, so he needs one too. Mina’s is pink, mine is yellow, so he needs a blue one.”
“Well, she’s got her colors down,” I murmur to Marnie, which makes her giggle.
“Yeah, she does,” she agrees. To the girls she says, “We’ll find one.”
When it dawns on me that not only am I going to the mall, but I’m doing so with three females in tow, I burst out laughing. It looks like fate has decided to fuck with me once again.
Three hours and three new bears, courtesy of Build-A-Bear, later, plus one pepperoni and one cheese pizza of course, we’re on our way back to the farm. Both girls have fallen asleep, and Marnie looks worn out herself.
