This chapter is also combined with Jeff's from A Ray of Sunshine and his point of view goes into more detail of how he's feeling. You can follow the link below to read his story.
A Ray of Sunshine - Chapter Thirteen: I'll Never Be Sorry
I had never been so happy to return to campus. The two weeks
that we had gone back to Appaloosa had felt like two months. I had made Carson promise that we would never
stay apart that long again. It was just becoming too hard to handle.
After we returned we got things ready for Jeff and Rosamund
to move in. They were able to come to the house a couple times. They shopped
for furniture and decorated so
everything would be ready for when they moved in.
I was getting really excited about Jeff moving in. I had
really missed him the last couple of years. I was also excited that I was going
to actually get to know a nephew or niece. Since we didn’t go home very often,
I didn’t get to see Kate and Charlie’s son, Charles very often. Actually living
with one was going to be different.
I stood by the window and watched for Jeff and Rosamund to
arrive. They were due to arrive anytime and I was starting to get antsy.
“I wish they were here already.” I told Carson.
“They’ll be here shortly. Are you going to play nice with
Rosamund?”
I turned around and looked at him. “Yes. I don’t find her as
annoying as I did a couple months ago. I am interested in getting to know her
better.”
“I bet you are.” He joked.
“What?! I will play nice.”
He kissed me on the forehead. “I’m going to keep you to that
promise.”
I heard a noise outside and I turned to look out the window
again. “They’re here!”
I ran out the door, “You’re finally here!” I gave Jeff a
hug. I was so excited, I even gave Rosamund a hug. Carson greeted them too and
we went into the house.
“The last of your furniture arrived yesterday. I wasn’t sure
where you wanted it so when you figure it out, Carson can help you move it
Jeff.”
“Thanks.” Jeff said.
“Well, what do you want to do first? We can hang out here or
we could show you around campus. I suggested.
Jeff looked at Rosamund, “Maybe we could have the tour
tomorrow. I think Rosamund is a little tired.”
“That’s fine. Are you hungry? I can make us something or we
can have pizza? There’s a great pizza place on campus that we can order from. .
.”
Jeff interrupted me. “Hmm. . .might have to think about it,
but right now I’m really thirsty.”
Carson came up to me and suggested that maybe we should get Jeff something to
drink. We walked into the kitchen and Jeff and Rosamund went upstairs.
Several minutes later Jeff came back down stairs.
“How was your trip?” I asked him and handed him a glass of
water.
“It was nice. It’s a pretty drive.”
“I’m so excited that you’re here! I’ve missed you the last
couple of years. Now I can keep an eye on you too.”
Jeff chuckled. “I’m going to be fifty years old and you’re
still going to keep an eye on me, aren’t you?”
“Someone has to.” I replied.
“Hey Carson, Rosamund showed me where she wanted the rest of
the furniture. You want to help me move it?”
“Sure.” They moved the furniture and came back downstairs.
We made our way into the living room and started talking. I heard the upstairs
door open and soon Rosamund was downstairs. She didn’t look like she felt good.
We all tried to convince her that eating might make her feel
better. She agreed and I got up off the couch and ordered the pizza. While I
was on the phone Jeff suggested to Rosamund that she go lie back down. He
helped her upstairs and then came back down.
“Is she okay Jeff?
Does she need to go to a doctor or the hospital or something?” I asked him.
“I’m not sure.” he admitted. “Some women have hard
pregnancies. Maybe she’s one of them.”
“But has she had problems before now?” Carson inquired.
“No, no she hasn’t.”
“I know you’re worried Jeff. We can both tell that. And if
we know you are, then it must be bad. You’re Mr. Cool, remember.” I stated.
“You’re right. I am concerned. I’m going to go talk to her.
Maybe I can find out a little more about what’s going on and if she needs to go
to the doctor or hospital.”
He walked back upstairs and Carson and I started talking
about how we thought Rosamund needed to go to the doctor when we heard yelling.
“NO! NO! NO! CALL 911! SOMEONE CALL 911!”
“You get on the phone and I’ll go see what’s happened.”
Carson suggested.
Carson ran upstairs and I started to call 911. He popped his
head out of the bedroom and told me that Rosamund was laying unconscious on the
bathroom floor and that it looked like something was wrong with the baby.
I told the operator what Carson had told me and within
minutes the paramedics were there. They rushed upstairs with a stretcher. I
didn’t want to get in the way so I stayed downstairs. A couple minutes later,
the paramedics carried Rosamund down the stairs on the stretcher. As she went
past me, I noticed how pale she was. Jeff came up to me and handed me a cell
phone.
“Of course. We’ll be there soon.” I told him.
They left and I looked at Carson. He shook his head and
that’s when I knew it was bad. I sighed. “It’s one thing to call Mom and Dad,
but her parents? What do I say?”
He came over to me and put his hands on my shoulders. I
looked in her contacts till I saw her parents’ number. It rang a couple times and her Mom answered.
“Mrs. Carter? This is Bridgette Hobble, Jeff’s sister.”
She immediately sounded worried. “Why are you calling from
Rosamund’s phone?”
“I don’t know exactly what has happened, but she just went
to the hospital. Jeff’s with her but he asked me to call you and let you know.”
“We’ll be there as soon as we can.” She said and immediately
hung up the phone.
“Now for Mom and Dad.” I picked up my phone and dialed home.
“Hey Bridge! How’s it going?” Dad asked.
“You both need to get here as fast as you can.” I explained
what had happened.
“We’re on our way.” Dad said.
Carson and I rushed to the hospital and I tried to keep Jeff
calm as we waited for news from a doctor. After what felt like an eternity, the
doctor came in and told Jeff the devastating news.
“I examined your wife
and there was no evidence of a baby. I’m afraid that your wife has had a
miscarriage.” Jeff closed his eyes and sat down in one of the chairs.
“But my wife, she’s going to be okay?” He asked as he choked
back tears.
“She’s very weak and she’s very dehydrated. She will need to
rest here at the hospital for a day or two, but yes, she will be fine.”
I watched Jeff follow the doctor and even after he
disappeared through the doors, I couldn’t seem to move. Carson gently put his
hand on my shoulder and I turned to face him. The second I looked into his
eyes, I lost it. We hugged for several minutes before either of us spoke.
“I feel so bad for them.” I told Carson.
“I know. This is going to be hard for both of them.”
“I can’t imagine the pain and hurt that they’re in and going
to be in.”
Carson and I continued to hug. I just wanted to make
everything okay. I wanted to take my baby brother’s pain away. I wanted to
believe that this was a bad dream.
The outside doors opened and both sets of parents walked in.
They saw Carson and I hugging and started freaking out.
“What’s going on, Brigde?!”
“Is Rosamund okay?!”
“How’s the baby?!” I was asked all at the same time.
“Maybe you all should sit down.” Carson suggested. I was
glad that Carson seemed to be taking control. I wasn’t sure if I could have at
that moment. They sat down and I went over and held Carson’s hand. “Jeff’s up
with Rosamund now.”
They all sighed with relief. “But. . .” Carson continued
and they immediately looked worried again. “The doctor said Rosamund had a
miscarriage.” The four of them sat there in shock for a minute. Mom was the
first to speak. “They’re absolutely sure?” She looked at me and I nodded.
Rosamund’s mom became very emotional and started demanding
to see Rosamund. “The doctor said they would limit visitors but maybe you can
ask the receptionist at the desk if you can go up.” I suggested.
They got up
and soon Rosamund’s parents were going upstairs.
Jeff came back soon after and while telling Mom and Dad what
happened he started crying. I lost it. I had never seen my brother cry and it
felt like someone was tearing my heart into little pieces. Mom and Dad started
hugging him and Carson and I joined them. Mom and Dad told Jeff that they’d be
in the lobby if he needed them and he went back upstairs.
We sat in the lobby, not speaking very much for a couple hours. Eventually
Rosamund’s parents came back to the waiting room and they said that Jeff wanted
everyone to get some rest and that he’d call if there was any news. We invited
everyone back to the house.
Once there it was decided that Mom and Dad would sleep in
the third floor bedroom and Regina and Robert would sleep in the second floor
guest room that hadn’t yet been converted to a nursery. Regina and Robert went
to bed while Mom, Dad, Carson and I stayed up talking for a little while.
*****
She looked at me. “I don’t know either.”
“If anything ever happened to you. . .” I couldn’t finish.
The thought of losing Bridge was too much.
She snuggled into me even more. We laid like that for a
while before a thought occurred to me. “Do you want kids Bridge?”
She quickly looked up. “Why?”
“It’s not something we’ve really talked about and all of
this has me thinking about it.”
“I had always imagined having children. I like being part of
a big family. What about you?” She asked me.
“I’d like at least three and for at least one of them to be
a girl.”
“Why?”
“Because I grew up with two brothers and I just think it
would be nice to have a daughter. What do you want?”
“I’d say no less than two. Beyond that, I don’t know. Twins
run in my family so there’s always a risk each time that there could be more
than one.”
“Twins. . .I like the sound of that.” She soon fell asleep
and I laid there holding her. It was
weird how major events like what was happening made you think about your life
and what was really important. At that moment, while holding Bridge, I realized
that nothing meant more to me than her.
