Rita continued to heave, no matter that she’d already emptied her stomach. “Who wants a doctor cutting on their bowel? And then they’ll tell me its cancer. I couldn’t face it.”
It wasn’t the time to rage at her mother. But how could such a strong woman show this amount of fear?
“Well, the doctor says it’s now or never.” The words brought back her late-night wedding ceremony, bringing a sad smile to Bonnie’s lips.
“I have to call JT. He’s expecting me soon.” At her mother’s weak nod, Bonnie left the curtained area that formed a room in the ER and made her way outside of the hospital.
Plopping down on a bench in the July sunshine, she pulled up her husband’s cell number and hit the dial button. He amazed her by answering on the second ring.
“Don’t tell me you’re not coming.” Even with the funny interference caused by something in the hospital, she could hear the tightness in his voice.
“It’s Mother. I can’t come right now.”
Softly spoken numbers sounded in her ear. When he reached ten, he spoke again. “What’s wrong with her?”
Bonnie explained about the blockage. “They’ll be doing surgery within the hour. After that, I need to be here at the hospital with her.”
When he said nothing, she weakly whined, “I wish you were with me. Holding me.”
A bitter laugh came through the phone. “Everything lined up so well. How could this happen?”
He didn’t wait for her response. Giving a sigh that sounded like it came up from deep within him he added, “Things are a mess at work, and I can’t get away.”
“It’s enough you want to.” She gripped the phone tightly. “I really miss you. This isn’t forever. I AM coming, you know. My car is packed as if it’s a sardine can, all ready to go.”
He gave a forced laugh. “Sardine can, huh? Well, that’s a good sign that you’re planning to stay.”
A hospital volunteer appeared at the door and called her name. Bonnie reluctantly ended their conversation. “I gotta go. But, know this. Distance has definitely made my heart grow fonder for you.”
Before she pushed the red button to end the call, JT’s words made it to her ear. “Aloha, my love.”
Epilogue
“I can’t believe this is happening now. I really wanted to be at the Oak Grove Sesquicentennial.” She wailed the words as JT threw her a worried look and drove faster.
“My mother can’t get away.” Her mother had rebounded well from the surgery last July. In fact, she hadn’t even needed cancer treatments.
“She’ll never come up. Not with being in charge of the food for the celebration.” This time she ended with a moan and not a wail.
JT’s look went from worry to anxious dread at her guttural moan. Letting out a whoosh, he used his best soothing tone as he encouraged her. “Hold on and don’t turn this into a white bag moment.”
She nodded, thinking about her wonderful, considerate husband. The man had to go and ruin the moment with his next words.
“Cross your legs or something, sweetheart. I don’t want that baby appearing here in the Explorer.”
“You and this blasted car.” She never got angry. This was so unlike her. It must be that transition phase they’d learned about in birthing class.
“Transition? Now?” Evidently, she spoke out lout because her husband squeaked out what she’d been thinking of a moment earlier. “I told you a midwife in Racine was a bad idea. She’s too far from our house.”
JT yelled into his Bluetooth, calling the midwife’s number. Conferring quickly, she advised him to head to their doctor’s office near their house and not try to make it to her.
By the time he pulled into the parking lot of the office, the doctor and her nurse already waited for them. There was only time after that to get a towel spread under Bonnie as the doctor stood in front of her with the SUV’s door wide open.
The woman’s no-nonsense voice urged, “Push now, Bonnie.”
A groan was followed by a short scream. JT watched his son arrive quickly.
“Well, that was easy.”
The nurse’s comment had JT’s knees buckling. “If that was easy, I’d hate to be around a rough delivery.”
The doctor handed the towel-wrapped baby to her nurse. “Amen to that. I’ve said it before and mean every word of it. I don’t think men belong in a delivery.”
That sounded wrong to him. JT didn’t argue, though. He was too grateful to the doctor to say anything.
As the stout nurse passed him, JT caught a look at his son’s red face and grinned stupidly. As if the tiny scrap of humanity embodied everything that was love.
Then he moved to the side of the doctor. There was enough room to reach around the woman and hold Bonnie’s hand.
“Thank you, sweetheart. He’s a fantastic baby.”
A tired sigh escaped her lips. “You won’t throw him back then.”
“Never. Before you know it, he’ll be dancing with my hula girl.” It was the start of their family.
No, not a start. Their family really began that warm July night when he saw his ornament come to life on a plywood platform.
“What are we going to call him? We never decided.”
She whispered past dry lips. “Spock? McCoy?”
How he loved this woman and her sense of humor! “Never. No more Star Trek names. How about August after Pa? We can call him Auggie instead of Gus.”
“August? How about August Elvis Kirkwood? We’ll call him AE for short.”
He groaned, loud and long. “I hope that’s only your dry sense of humor talking.”
Bonnie smiled and gripped his hand. JT raised her fingers to his lips. “I love
