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“No, talking is keeping my mind off the terrible fear gripping me about giving birth,” Megan told her.
“You don’t have to worry, honey.” The doctor walked into the room. “We’ve got you.”
Mike left the room with a promise to call Sam. Megan asked if Nicky would stay with her when the doctor told her it was time for her daughter to be born. Mike sat on a chair near Megan’s room and called Sam, who answered on the third ring.
“Hello, Mike,” Sam answered. “Is everything okay?”
Mike glanced at his wristwatch and saw it was pretty late.
“I’m at Physicians Regional Medical Center, where myself and Nicky brought Megan because she’s about to have her baby,” Mike told her.
“That’s a few weeks early,” Sam said. “Is she okay?”
“Yes, the doctors say everything is fine,” Mike assured her. “Megan asked me to call you because you know she wants to give her baby up for adoption.”
“Ah, yes!” Sam answered. “I haven’t gotten the paperwork ready yet, and Megan still needs to ask —” She broke off.
“To ask Nicky if she’d take her child!” Mike finished for Sam.
“Has she asked Nicky?” Sam’s voice was soft.
“Yes, and Nicky agreed to it, and I agreed to be the baby’s guardian,” Mike told her.
“Oh!” Sam went quiet for a few seconds. “Are you okay with that?”
“Yeah, why not?” Mike exhaled as he accepted the role.
“That’s nice of you.” Sam’s voice was filled with admiration. “Tell Megan and Nicky I’ll finish the paperwork and bring it through tomorrow.”
“What happens to the baby in the meantime?” Mike asked.
“Well, as a close family friend, Nicky can take temporary custody of the baby until we can get the legal side sorted out,” Sam explained.
“Doesn’t Megan first need to see a counselor?” Mike was feeling concerned that Megan was making emotional decisions she’d regret.
“She has been seeing one,” Sam surprised him by saying. “When Megan first approached me about wanting to give the baby up for adoption, I made her seek professional help. She needed to know what putting her baby up for adoption meant.” She paused for a few seconds. “Megan really wants to be a doctor, and she wants what’s best for her child, which she knows she won’t be able to give her.”
“That’s basically what she said,” Mike told her. “She also wants to sell Riley Cottage to Nicky.”
“Yes, she told me that too.” Sam sighed. “Megan wants to leave Marco Island and start a new life in Miami. It’s where she’s studying medicine. While Nicky is paying toward Megan’s tuition, the sale of the cottage will help with the deficit and give her enough money to live.”
“Megan sounds as if she’s got it all figured out.” Mike nodded, but his heart still felt heavy and blue for her. “I just can’t help but feel so sad for her. I couldn’t imagine having to give up a child.”
“Megan is a courageous and intelligent young woman,” Sam said. “I felt the same way you did, and I still do. As a mother, I go cold thinking about handing the life that has grown inside me for nine months to someone else and never seeing it again.” She cleared her throat. “But I also know what it’s like to try and study to reach your dreams with a newborn. I had Harry and both our parents to help us. Megan has no one. And becoming a doctor is alotmore grueling with terrible hours.”
Mike hung up the phone after his conversation with Sam. He felt a mix of emotions swirling within him. The decision to become a guardian for Megan’s baby had been a weighty one. Still, he couldn’t deny the empathy he felt for her situation. It was a challenging choice, but it felt like the right one.
With his thoughts in turmoil, he began to pace the hospital corridor. Two hours passed like a slow-moving river. He couldn’t sit still; the anticipation gnawed at him. Every step he took echoed in the empty hallway, a metronome of his restless mind.
The minutes ticked away, and the soft murmur of hospital activity became a constant backdrop. Nurses rushed by, doctors conferred in hushed tones, and the world continued to turn, even as Mike’s life had taken an unexpected turn.
Finally, as if time had chosen this moment to relent, a nurse came to find him. She was a middle-aged woman, her face etched with the experiences of countless shifts. Her smile was warm, and her eyes held a reassuring twinkle.
“Mr. Sullivan?” she called gently, breaking through Mike’s anxious thoughts.
He turned to face her, his heart racing. “Yes, that’s me.”
“The baby is here,” she said with a soft smile. “Would you like to see her?”
