I walk over to the bed and Ari’s eyes light up when she see’s me. My chest constricts and it feels like days since I last saw her, when in actual fact I haven’t left her bedside all week. I see a giant pink teddy bear sitting on the floor, with a giant gift basket of goodies, all for Ari. I look at Hannah and she shrugs, saying, “I couldn’t visit without bringing something for the patient. That’s rude.”
I chuckle. “Thank you, Han, but you’ve already done so much for me this week.”
It’s true. Hannah has been helping me stay up-to-date with all my classwork and assignments and spoke to all my professors about rescheduling a few tests.
“Oh please,” Hannah brushes me off. “That’s why you have me.”
“And me!” Taylor pipes up.
Macy yells, “And me!” and that has all of us giggling.
I slide past them and take a seat next to Ari on the bed, careful not to move around too much, and gently wrap my arms around her.
The door opens and I watch as Dr. Gates, Ari’s pediatric surgeon walks in.
“Good morning ladies,” he greets politely.
He stands at the end of Ari’s bed, making notes on his clipboard, and then smiles down at her. He’s a lot younger than I expected and far better looking than any other doctor I have ever seen, with his thick black hair, olive skin and dark brown eyes. I watch Taylor from the corner of my eye, and snicker. She’s flustered and totally beguiled by the good doctor. I’m tempted to tell her he had that affect on all of us, even my sixty five year old grandmother, but decide to wait until he’s left. I clear my throat and she whips her head back to me. Her cheeks flush crimson.
“How is my patient feeling today?” he asks Ari.
“Rough night,” I answer for her. “She didn’t sleep well.”
Dr. Gates frowns and makes notes again. He comes to stand on the other side of the bed, brushing past a still flustered Taylor, and moves to examine Ari’s cut. She squirms, trying to get away from him.
“It’s ok, Ari,” I reassure her. Her scared brown eyes meet mine and I give her a soft, comforting smile. “Dr. Gates just wants to make sure your tummy is getting better, ok? He won’t hurt you, I promise.”
Her little hands slide away from her stomach and Dr. Gates lifts her pajama top, going about examining her wound. He presses down and Ari flinches.
“Hmmm,” he says, scrubbing his chin. “It’s still quite tender, but that could be because we had a hard time getting her to keep still when she came out of surgery. I’ll give her something a little stronger for the pain, and something to help her sleep tonight, and then she should be okay to go home tomorrow. You’ve been shown how to clean the wound?”
I nod, remembering how I’ve been the only one, aside from Dr. Gates, who Ari has allowed near her stomach.
“Great,” he continues. “I will be back to check on you in the morning, Miss Arianna. And you ladies must enjoy the rest of your day.”
He looks at each of us, his gaze lingering a little longer on Taylor, and then promptly leaves the room.
“Holy cheese on a cracker,” Taylor sighs. “That man is fifty shades of sexy!”
“I know right!” Hannah chips in. “Did you see the buns of steel on his derrière?”
We laugh and I finally feel like I can breathe again, despite my state of exhaustion. My grandmother and Taylor decide to grab lunch for us and leave Hannah and I with Ari.
“Well, you look a hell of a lot better than you did yesterday,” Hannah observes. “How are you feeling?”
“I feel better, and I’m glad Ari can go home tomorrow. I’m just worried about having to take another week off school.”
“Don’t sweat it, Hayls,” Hannah says. “Your tests have been rescheduled and Professor De Jong said you can see her when you’re back at school for an extra credit assignment to make up for the practical you missed.”
“Thanks again, Han, I don’t know what I would’ve done if you didn’t go through all this trouble to help me.”
“Will you stop saying thank you already?” she chides. “It’s nothing. I’m just glad that you’re okay and that Ari is getting better. I also wish you had told me about her sooner, it’s not like I would have judged you or anything.”
I look down at Ari, seeing that she’s occupied with a new doll, and walk over to Hannah. “I’m sorry,” I tell her. “I thought I was doing the right thing by keeping quite about her. I want to protect her from my past for as long as I can. And I didn’t want anyone to ask me how I fell pregnant in the first place.”
“I understand,” Hannah says. She sighs and we both stand in front of the window overlooking the lush green hospital grounds. “But I want you to know that you can trust me.”
“I do. I guess I just expected everyone to react the way Cameron did. Not that I can be angry with him though.”
“Speaking of Cameron, I paid him a little visit this morning and pretty much tore him a new ass hole.”
I give her a stern look, motioning to Ari.
Hannah mouths ‘Sorry’ and I ask her, “Why did you do that?”
“Because he was a total…” she pauses, stopping herself from using another curse word that Ari is bound to repeat. “Jerk, and he could’ve handled it better.”
I’m in no position to argue, because I too believe Cameron could’ve handled it differently, but I’ve since let it slide on the premise that I don’t have time to wallow in self-pity. Sadly, it has given root to another concern; will every man I try to date react that way when I tell him I have a daughter?
Brushing the unwelcome thought away quickly, I meet Hannah’s gentle gaze. “It’s nothing Hannah,” I lie. It’s not nothing, but I need it to be. “I wasn’t as forthcoming as I should’ve been, and now that it’s over, Cameron is free to date someone who doesn’t have the kind of responsibility I do. I’m fine being alone.”
Her eyes stay fixed on me, probing me, dissecting the lie that has fallen from my mouth so easily. She doesn’t believe me, but I need to believe me. Thankfully our conversation is halted when my grandmother and Taylor, with Macy attached to her hip, come barreling into the room with food. My stomach growls from not having eaten enough over this past week. The hospital cafeteria food is less than appetizing but I’m too hungry to protest. We all sit around Ari’s bed, me next to her, and chat with a renewed sense of exuberance. The worry and fear that has plagued me, kept me from sleeping and eating, has finally left.
Looking at the two other women here with me, I start to count my blessings, knowing that the little one next to me is my greatest blessing of all. And no man, not even Cameron Argent, can make me feel ashamed of having her.
** ** ** ** **
It’s the next morning and Dr. Gates is checking Ari one last time before he signs her discharge papers. I’m happy that I can finally take her home, even if I’m a little nervous about looking after her and keeping her at home for the next two weeks. Dr. Gates gives us the all clear, asking me to bring Ari back again in three weeks for a check up and then giving me all the post-care information I’ll need. He’s advised me to keep Ari at home, where my grandmother and I can keep an eye on her, and keep her moving as little as possible for the first week. When we get home, I feed Ari and give her some medicine before tucking her in for an afternoon nap. I have a few things I need to sort out with one of my professors, so when Ari has finally fallen asleep, I take a quick drive to campus. Being Friday, it’s fairly empty, and I’m lucky to catch my Sports Reporting professor just as she’s leaving the lecture hall.