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She rasps, "Where is my sandwich?" and we rush to bed.
"Hey there. We ate your sandwich too. Sorry about that." I smile down at her, and she twitches her fingers for me to hold her hand.
Her dad takes her other hand. "Hi, sweetie. You gave us quite a scare."
His face is tender and loving as he looks at his only child.
"I'm sorry, Dad," she says. Her eyes fill with tears.
"Shhh, you have nothing to be sorry about. Close your eyes and get some more rest, okay?" He pats her hand, and she closes her eyes.
We take turns in the lounge getting some shut-eye while Erica is resting. We make little jokes while she is awake and try to keep her talking so she will stay awake longer each time. Finally, after my turn in the lounge, I entered a full-on conversation between her and her dad. I stand there, thanking the big guy, counting my blessings, and praying she says yes.
The doctor comes in with a couple of other specialists and nurses, and they do some preliminary testing. We wait outside again, this time in a much better emotional state now that Erica is awake and talking. I hear her answer their questions clearly and concisely.
"How much pain are you in, Erica, one through ten?"
"It's a twelve," she says.
The doctor authorizes pain medication sparingly and gives her a milligram limit. The nurse scribbles a note and says, "Yes, doctor."
"We need to image your broken bones and assess the damage. The swelling should be down enough so we can do this. We will set up an MRI for you since you're pregnant. This will give us better information on how bad the breaks are. We will send a nurse up for you this afternoon."
I hear Erica thank the doctor as he and his team exit the room. He turns toward us. "Her brain function appears normal. We will have more information after the MRI."
He leaves, and we go back to Erica.
I hold a cup of ice water to her lips, allowing only little sips for now, per the nurse's instructions. I have her head as she sips.
***
We are in mid-conversation when the doctor walks back in. The doctor looks at Erica and smiles.
"Well, we have good news, but it comes with some bad news. Your left arm and left leg are beyond shattered. We will have to do surgery to put both back in place. You will need physical therapy after the surgeries, but we expect a full recovery. Your other injuries are more manageable — bruised bones, deep cuts. Your right ankle is severely sprained. Your brain still has a tiny swelling, and you have a serious concussion, but we will watch it. The bottom line is you will fully recover all the way around."
The doctor walked out. The room is silent for a few seconds, then we erupt in "woo hoos," and Mr. Melvin and I do a little dance. I leave the room and chase the doctor down.
"Hey, doc, wait up." I jog down the hall to catch up to him.
"How can I help you?" he asks.
"I'd like to propose to Erica. Do you think she is up to it, physically?"
The doctor smiled and said, "She is definitely up to it. Just take it slow and easy."
He pats me in the arms and gets in the elevator.
I high-five the air and then straighten myself up. I walk back to the room and ask Mr. Melvin if I can speak to him. We go out into the hall.
I began nervously, "I know you know the whole story about Erica and me. You saw my video, and now I'm asking for your blessing to ask your daughter to marry me."
He takes a good long look at me, taking his time answering me. I get it. I didn't treat his daughter very well when I learned about the baby. I stand there and take it. It's the least I can do to show him how much I love his daughter.
He takes a deep breath, and I brace myself. "I give you my blessing to ask for my daughter's hand in marriage."
He reaches out and pulls me into a bear hug. I hug him back. Now, if only Erica will say yes and make me the happiest man on the planet.
I do it right away. I go to the gift shop and find electric candles, chocolates, and a stuffed bear for the baby. I want to make this as romantic as possible. My original plan was to take her to an elegant restaurant and replace the cherry in the dessert with her ring, just like the story I told my parents. This is going to have to do.
