Page 87 of Finding Jacob
“Wow. I can’t believe I just unloaded all that on you,” I said, feeling embarrassed.
“I’m glad you did. You sure needed to. You know that you can get to King’s in just about a half hour. It’s not that far away. You can leave her, she’s in great care here. Get over there, see your man, and then get back.”
“I just feel so torn. I don’t know what to do. I’m paralysed right now.”
“I can imagine. Go to him, Anna. Paloma will be perfectly safe for a couple of hours. Once you’ve seen him, spoken to his doctors, you might find you feel a little more settled.”
I nodded, what she said made sense. It would be a wrench, but I would. I could be discharged if I wanted to. I could take up the offer of the family room. Whatever choices I needed to make, I had to do them soon. I made the decision to get proactive and stop wallowing. I sent Dory home, she looked utterly exhausted and still in the same clothes from our lunch out. She protested, stating that she’d go and shower, sleep, and then come back, but I told her to give me a couple of days to get everything sorted. I wasn’t sure she would be able to stay in the family room with me. She promised to speak to some friends to see if anyone was holidaying soon and would let me have their homes in London. I couldn’t return to mine, it was too far away, and it was still too painful to be in. Plus, I wanted it sold as soon as possible. I knew I’d given Jacob the neighbour’s details but had no idea if he’d contacted them or not.
Jacob needed me; Paloma needed me.
I needed me.
CHAPTERSEVENTEEN
I fed Paloma and washed her little body, taking care around her tubes. I pulled a vest over her head and changed her nappy. Her little legs kicked, and she waved her arms. She stared at me curiously, I thought. I picked her up and held her against my chest, feeling her warmth against my skin. She curled her hand around my finger.
“I’m going to see your daddy tomorrow,” I whispered to her. I wasn’t naïve enough to believe she smiled, but her lips curled upwards. “That’s right, your daddy. His name is Jacob and he’s a wonderful man. He loves you so much already.”
I told her all about Jacob, from the colour of his eyes and hair, to how caring and generous he was. I told her about her nursery and the animals she’d have to play with. And maybe we’d get a puppy. I chuckled, not seeing Jacob as a dog, or any pet, person, but knowing he’d give in to keep me or Paloma happy. Tears formed in my eyes.
“You are going to love your daddy,” I said, finally putting her down to sleep.
When I returned to my room Nathan had returned with two bags, one for me and one for Paloma.
“How is she?” he asked.
“Good, she’s feeding well and she’s very strong. The nurse said she’s big for her age so that’s a plus. Nathan, I need to get some things sorted. I need to sell my house, and what do we do about Jacob’s company?”
“I can manage his company until he’s back. I’ve already been on the phone to Philip, his assistant, and I’ll call a meeting with the team leaders, let them know what’s going on. Right now, they think he’s on holiday. As for your house, I’ll call on the neighbour, he lives in the one to the right, doesn’t he? You concentrate on you and Paloma and getting over to see Jacob.”
I hugged him. “Dory is going to see if she has any friends who live locally. They’ve said I can stay here but I think it’s pretty basic.”
“I have this, as well,” he said, pulling a box from one of the bags and handing me a new phone.
“Thank you. Have you seen Jacob today?”
It was his turn to nod. “Nothing has changed, other than the doctors want to start lowering the meds keeping him in the coma from tomorrow, so it’s probably best you get over there.”
I felt sick at the thought. “What if...?”
“Don’t go there, Anna. He’s going to be fine, I know it. He has way too much to live for and he knows that.”
It was the first time, ever, I saw fear in Nathan’s face, heard it in his voice. Tears filled his eyes and he blinked them back. He turned his back to me, taking a step away to compose himself. I saw him straighten his back and inhale deeply.
I placed my hand on his back. “It’s okay to be scared,” I said gently.
Nathan shook his head, before turning back to me. He hugged me to his chest and kissed the top of my head.
“Right, let’s get organised,” he said, pulling away from me.
I took my washbag and some clean clothes into the bathroom. I’d washed, but it was the first shower and hair wash. I scrubbed my body, keeping clear of my stitches and dried myself. I wore loose jogging bottoms and a sweatshirt and slipped on a pair of trainers. Once ready, I headed to the nurses’ station.
I needed permission to leave and although hesitant, they agreed. It was extremely unusual circumstances. In the meantime, I’d move into the family room until Dory had an alternative for me. I didn’t want to take a bed unnecessarily, I wasn’t ill. I was in pain, but I’d manage that. I needed to be mobile.
While Nathan drove us to King’s College Hospital, I downloaded all my contacts from the Cloud and sent one bulk message to my friends.
Hi, all. If you don’t know, unfortunately Jacob and I were involved in an incident resulting in the premature birth of Paloma Santiago-Domínguez.Our beautiful daughter is doing well but staying in hospital for a little longer. Jacob isn’t doing as well and currently is in an induced coma being cared for at King’s. Right now, neither can have visitors so please bear with us. Dory and Nathan are with me, they’ll keep you updated when there’s news to share.
