Page 44 of Catching Dreams

“Sorry, not sorry, if this is against the rules,” I said in a whisper while Tyler snored softly next to me.

“It happens a lot more than you think,” the nurse said with a kind smile. “Just make sure he’s out of the bed before the doctor or the head nurse make their rounds in the morning.”

“I can do that,” I said and thanked her.

I gently shook Tyler awake after the nurses next visit, and he got up and moved back to the couch. It was perfect timing because a few minutes later, the doctor came in.

“Good morning,” she said while she looked down at her tablet. “So, I have good news and bad news.”

Tyler got up off the couch and took the seat next to my bed. He took my hand and laid his head on my stomach. “Start with the bad news and then end with the good news.”

“Well, they kind of go hand in hand,” Dr. Cowan said. “The high stress of the tornado and your home and business being demolished is the most likely cause of the bleeding. I would recommend that Molly take it easy and try to keep away from as much stress as possible. Unfortunately, I would highly recommend that she not go on the road with you, Tyler. I am so sorry.”

I felt the first few tears roll down my cheeks. I knew that was a very likely outcome, but it still hurt hearing it out loud. I had really looked forward to spending the next couple of weeks with him on the road but had only made it for one game.

“Shhhh, baby, it’s okay.” Tyler had turned to face me and wiped away my tears with his thumbs. “You and healthy babies are more important than following me around.”

“I only made it one game.”

“And what an awesome game it was,” Ty said, kissing my nose and making me giggle.

“What was the good news, Dr. Cowan?” I asked.

“Well, it looks like the babies are doing just fine. With rest and taking care of yourself, my hope is that you will make it to full term for twins, which is thirty-seven weeks.”

We were excited to hear that our babies were okay but sad that I couldn’t go on the road with his team. The doctor mentioned that I would be released soon, and we just had to wait on the discharge papers. As we were waiting, my phone rang.

“Hi, brother!” I said to Dominic as I answered the phone.

“Hey! Are you with your husband? I tried his phone, but it went straight to voicemail.”

“Yeah, he’s here. I’ll put you on speaker.”

“Hey, Dom,” Tyler said. “I forgot to charge my phone last night. What’s up?”

“Well, I’m guessing you haven’t seen the news yet. Russell Hamilton is out.”

“What do you mean by out?” I asked.

“They did a random drug test, and he tested positive for steroids as well as cocaine. He must have partied hard after they won their game last night.”

“Are you serious? What an idiot,” Tyler said and grabbed the controller to turn on the TV. He scrolled until he got to the Sports Network Corporation channel. “Man, you really should be an agent.”

“If I were your agent, I’d be calling Schroeder and making a play for you. You’re better than Johnston is on Triple A’s Storm. Even if they call Johnston up and not you, then you would move up to Triple A. It wouldn’t hurt to get some playtime there.”

“Ty’s only been playing in the minors for six months! Do you really think he’d be called up so fast?” I asked with a huge grin on my face.

“Sis, your man is freaking awesome. With the way he studies every player and trains, he’s every coach’s dream,” Dom said and then let out a chuckle. “By the way, I like calling you Sis.”

I had to laugh. “I love it, too, bro!”

“Charge your phone, Stone. I bet your agent, Henderson, or even Jim Berger, the manager of the Storm, will be calling you soon.”

The phone call never came. We were a little bummed, but I had only been in the minors for a few months. The Coyotes ended up using their back up catcher. They traded some players and got a catcher from a different team not long after.

Molly and I had a long, tearful goodbye before she left to drive back to Trinity Falls. We did have a good laugh as she said this was probably going to be her last time being able to drive to one of my games until after the babies were born. Her baby belly was getting so big that she could barely touch the pedals anymore with her short legs. I raised the steering wheel as much as it would go to give her a little more room, but I didn’t think she’d be able to drive much longer. I was more bummed about not getting to spend time with her than I was about not getting called up, but I understood and just wanted the babies to be healthy.

During the next few weeks, the team was doing awesome and the Lightning moved into first place in our division. One big thing that changed was Hunter’s roommate decided to give up on baseball and went back home. I talked to the coaches and was able to move in with him. We were much happier living together.

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