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It’s not. I’m relieved to see Riley’s number. I wipe the tears with the back of my hand and then answer the call.
“Hey, you.”
A muffled voice comes on the phone, and I go into panic mode. “Riley? Are you okay?”
“No,” she says. “I’m at the hospital; can you come.”
“I’m on the way,” I say. “Where?”
Seconds later, I’m driving like a madwoman toward Bellevue hospital. I’m sick with worry. I couldn’t bring myself to ask Riley if the baby is okay. Oh God, please help the baby be okay. I say this over and over again until I reach the hospital.
I park the car in what I hope is not an illegal parking space and jump out. I sprint to the entrance and past the huge reception desk to the elevators. Riley is on the third floor, and when the elevator doors slide open, I rush out. I give my name at the nurse’s station, and I’m directed to her room. It’s the last one in the hallway, and I push the door open, feeling sick with worry. Riley is seated in bed, her face pale, and Leo is by her side, holding her hand.
“Riley.” I hurry to her, and we hug, and as we do so, she breaks into tears, and I fight back my own tears.
Leo pats my back. “I’ll leave you two ladies to talk.”
I draw back and stare at Riley’s tear-stained face.
She shakes her head and then places her hand on her belly. “The baby is still there, but it was close. It still is.”
Relief washes through me. For a second there, I thought she had lost the baby. “Oh, thank God.” I sit down on the edge of the bed and keep her hand in mine. It feels so cold, and I rub it in an effort to warm it up. “What happened?”
“I was at work and had been cramping most of the morning, but I thought it would go away if I just took it easy.”
She tells me how she started bleeding without warning, and her colleagues rushed her to the hospital. She’d found Leo waiting for her. By then, the cramps had increased to a dull ache that spread to her back and belly.
She had been given a series of injections and put on bed rest. As she’d suspected, it had been a miscarriage threat and what she’d felt were contractions.
“It’s so early in the pregnancy; what are the chances that I’ll carry the baby to term?” she said, sounding broken.
“Hey, stop it,” I said. “Lots of women have problems in the first trimester, and then afterward, it’s smooth sailing.”
“That’s what the doctor said,” Riley said.
My heart lurches at the sight of the strong Riley I know looking so frightened. I wish I could take her in my arms and squeeze away the fear. I reach for her again and hug her.
“I’ll probably be on bed rest for the next couple of months,” Riley says.
“It’s going to be fine. You just have to do as the doctor says. Anything to keep the baby safe, right?”
She nods. “Anything. I’ve never been so frightened in my entire life, and I know what you’re thinking. But this is different. With Jasper, I was given the news after the fact. Losing my baby was happening inside my body as I watched.” Riley tears up again.
I’m not surprised that the threat of losing her baby has brought back memories of losing Jasper.
“This is different, and the outcome will be different too. You have to stay positive. You have to stop going down that road of ‘what if’,” I say.
She sighs. “You know me too well.”
“The baby is going to be fine.”
By the time Leo is back, Riley is looking a lot better, and he looks relieved to see that. We chat a bit more, and he tells me that the doctor had said if everything goes well, Riley will be sent home the following day to continue with her bed rest.
I stay until it’s evening and then kiss Riley goodbye and promise to visit the following day.
In the car, my phone beeps with a message from Thomas asking how my day was. I hesitate before responding, and when I do, I tell him that it was fine. I don’t want to kid myself that he and I have something special. I can’t forget that he went out of town without bothering to inform me. That’s a red flag if I ever saw one. He wants to be my lover without a commitment. I’ll be smart, too, and keep my heart tucked away safely.
I’m emotionally exhausted after dealing with my mom and then getting that call from Riley. I’m happy to go home and have a relaxing evening. My phone rings as I’m entering the house, and I’m happy to see Fran’s name across the screen.
