Payton
Gordon walked into the room, his face grim as he sat beside my mom. "It’s not good."
"Hey, Elizabeth," Alex said. "Will you help grab so snacks from the cafeteria?"
I wanted to kiss him.
"Um, sure," she said, but I could tell she didn’t want to leave.
"I’ll fill you in when you get back," Gordon promised.
"Okay, Daddy." She stood in front of him. "Is Mommy okay?"
"She will be, sweetie."
Gordon hugged her and then Alex guided her out of the waiting area. Gordon broke down and it took a few minutes for him to gain his composure enough to speak. "They want to induce. There’s no heartbeat."
My mom wrapped an arm around his shoulders and gave him a squeeze. Brock and Dad held it together, but the rest of us couldn’t stop the tears.
"What does Kris say?" Mom asked.
"She’s refusing to let them do it. Wants to see a miracle," Gordon said.
We’d all been raised in a sowhat loose Catholic family, but Gordon was an evangelical Christian and he and Kris had a pretty strong faith.
"What do the doctors say?" Mom asked.
"We can wait a day, maybe two, but any later and she might be in danger."
"Oh, honey," Mom crooned. "This is a tough decision, but we know you’ll make the right one and we’re here. Whatever you need."
My mom was the best person ever. None of us would survive without her.
"She’s so stubborn," Gordon said.
A hint of a smile crossed my dad’s face. "She gets that from her mother."
Now, bear with here, because sothing happened that had never happened before. At least, none of us had ever seen it, and it was the most inappropriate thing on earth, but it also managed to do sothing none of us could imagine.
My mother (the supportive, gorgeous, G.I.LF. who always said and did the right thing... you’re tracking with right?). Well, my mother flipped my father the bird. In the middle of the hospital waiting room. Just raised her middle finger and scrunched up her mouth... all silent and totally non-graceful like.
"Mom!" Anna exclaid before the rest of us dissolved into much needed giggles. "Ohmigod, Dad, I bla you," Anna continued. "She was sweet before you got hold of her!"
"How would you know?" my dad countered. "She could have been a bad influence on ."
"Highly doubtful," Anna grumbled, grinning like a loon.
Alex and Elizabeth returned, their arms laden with food and drinks, and he raised an eyebrow in my direction as I helped distribute food.
Needless to say, the mood wasn’t quite so heavy, which was a relief. Gordon pulled Elizabeth aside and filled her in, age appropriately, on what was happening with Kristen, and then took her back to see her mom.
Once Kristen was settled in her private room, we all had a chance for a visit, albeit a short one, before it was ti for us to let her rest. Gordon would stay at the hospital for as long as he could, so Mom and Dad took Elizabeth ho with them. I was tasked with packing a bag for Kristen and Elizabeth, which Mom would bring back to the hospital when she brought Gordon dinner, so Alex drove to Kristen’s ho and I went about packing.
Chance, their six-year-old Llasa Aapso, t us at the door and I realized that no one had ntioned what to do with him. "Would you mind grabbing his food from the pantry, honey? His leash and stuff should be on the second shelf. We’ll take him back to my parents’ house and go from there."
Alex nodded, and I gave him a quick outline of the house, before he headed downstairs and I continued to throw things into an overnight bag for Kris. I dropped one bag in the hallway and moved onto Elizabeth’s room. When I turned to grab her makeup, I jumped. Alex was leaning against the doorfra watching .
"I need to put a bell on you."
He smiled. "Kinky."
I rolled my eyes.
"I grabbed the bag in the hallway and the food for Chance. Everything’s in the truck."
"Thanks, honey."
"You okay?"
I zipped up Elizabeth’s bag and sighed. "Honestly? I don’t know."
"How about we head to your parents, drop everything off, and then eat on the boat?"
I smiled and nodded. "Sounds perfect."
He reached for the bag, but I grabbed his arm. "I love you," I whispered. "In case there was any question in your mind. I love you."
Alex slipped his hand to my neck and covered my mouth with his. I did my best to relay my love in a kiss, but that proved to be difficult to stop, and had he not broken the kiss when he did, I’m pretty sure we would have made love on my niece’s bedroom floor.
"I love you, too," he said.
"Good thing you stopped."
He nodded. "We’ll pick this up later."
I t his eyes. "Please, honey. I really don’t want to wait anymore."
"Fuck, baby," he rasped, and kissed again. He broke the connection quicker this ti and stroked my cheek. "The boat."
I grinned. "Aweso."
I insisted on doing a little light housework before we left... making beds, doing dishes, and wiping down the kitchen counters and such. I knew Kris wouldn’t feel up to it, and Gordon did all the cooking in order to avoid the housework (his words).
Once I was finished, we loaded Chance into the truck and took off for ho. My entire family was in attendance, par for the course when sothing big happened... or sothing small. Pretty much all the ti, really. Anna and Bailey were prepping food, Mom was playing with the kids downstairs, and William, Brock, and my dad were out on the deck grilling (and probably drinking beer).
I grimaced up at Alex and shook my head. He stroked my cheek and kissed quickly. "No boat."
"Sorry," I whispered.
"Don’t be, baby." He kissed my forehead. "I told you. Whatever you need."
"Do you think Kayla would want to bring Lily up?"
"I can call her."
"Do you mind?" I asked. "I like the idea of the whole family being here."
The front door opened just as Alex pulled out his phone, and Macey and Dallas walked in. I rushed to my friend and pulled her in for a hug. "You’re here!"
"Where else would I be?" she challenged. "I brought wine."
"This is why you’re my favorite."
Alex ended his call, greeted Macey and Dallas, and then we moved enmasse into the family room. Kayla and Lily arrived an hour later, and we sat as a family and ate dinner before my parents headed to the hospital.
The rest of the evening was a much-needed distraction, even if we were missing a few of the clan, they were with us in spirit. Kayla and Lily fit right into the fold as they had on Thanksgiving, but it was different sohow. It was permanent this ti and we all felt it.
We put the kids to bed, I called in sick to work, knowing I wouldn’t be able to function at school the next day, and then the adults congregated in the family room with drinks and snacks. My parents arrived ho soti around ten, and rushed to join us.
"The baby moved!" Mom exclaid, clapping her hands. "The bleeding stopped and they found the heartbeat. She has been ordered on bed rest for the remainder of her pregnancy, but the doctors are hopefully optimistic. If all is still good on Wednesday, she’ll be released."
The relief we all felt was expressed loudly as we celebrated the good news as a group. Macey and Dallas left a little before midnight, as did Brock and Bailey, but Anna and William chose to leave soon after the good news had been relayed.
"We should go," Alex said after we’d said goodnight to Macey and Dallas.
"I don’t want you to."
He chuckled. "I know, baby, but Kayla’s got work tomorrow and Lily has school."
"Do you have to work?"
He shook his head. "I cleared my schedule in case you needed ."
"I don’t think I could love you any more right now."
Alex grinned. "How about I pick you up and we’ll eat lunch on the boat? If it’s not too cold, we can take her out."
I licked my lips. "Yes, please."
He smiled and kissed . "I’ll call you in the morning."
"Okay."
"Love you, baby."
"Love you too."
He gathered a still sleeping Lily into the truck, while Kayla took off in her car, and after one more kiss my way, he left standing on my parents’ porch wishing I was going with him.
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