Page 6 of The Soul that Redeems Me
I spoke low enough for only her to hear me. “I will never tell your secrets to another living soul, Emily. Anything you say to me stays with me. I want to be here for you whenever you need someone to lean on or someone to pick you up. You can trust me to protect you and, if needed, I will stand for you if you can’t stand for yourself. I will never betray you. Icouldn’tbetray you. Ever.” I moved my hand to her face, cupping her cheek as I leaned down and kissed her forehead, a gentle and chaste kiss.
I could hear the uptake of her breath as she slowly moved her eyes to look into mine, a shy smile telling me she felt it too. This had been the first time I had treated her any differently than I do Maddie and Caroline and I knew the significance of her reaction. I had just given her the first confession of my feelings for her. I wanted her to understand that I would always be here for her, defending her against the world, and helping her spread her wings to fly.
We were still sitting hand in hand when Lisa and Joe returned both smiling and animated, as they talked about the happenings with their daughters.
“I just talked to Maddie and they are bringing her up from the emergency room now. She is progressing pretty fast and I’m wondering if she may beat Caroline,” Lisa mused aloud as they settled back into their space in the waiting room.
“Jason should be here any minute. How is Caroline doing?” Emily asked, her voice strong and her smile infectious. I liked to see the real joy on her beautiful face and so far she seemed to be handling the time in the hospital better than when we arrived.
“She is great now that the epidural is working. They think it may be another hour, but babies dictate the timeline so, for now, we wait. I made arrangements for Maddie and Caroline to be next door to each other, so they can give each other moral support, even if there is a wall separating them.” Lisa rambled, looking toward the elevator, waiting on Maddie and Lucas, I assume.
Moments later, the elevator opened and out walked Jason, followed by Lucas holding Maddie’s hand while she is wheeled into the hallway. Her breath is coming in short pants and I recognize the technique from seeing Caroline and Andrew practicing a few weeks ago. She exhaled a huge breath and appeared to be past the contraction as Lisa and Joe rush to her side.
“How are you doing, sweetheart?” Lisa asked her while Joe and Jason embraced and he nodded his head toward Emily and me, still sitting in the chairs in the waiting room.
I acknowledged Jason, and Emily gave him a small wave as she rested her head on my shoulder and released a pent-up breath that seemed to relax her. I then realized her grip on my hand was strong and her palms were sweating. She was hiding again or allowing something to bother her and I needed to calm her down before anyone else saw her physical symptoms and drew attention to her.
I stood from my chair, her hand still in mine as we approached the group, waiting for them to move Maddie into her room. I smiled down at my friend, who looked a little hesitant behind her false smile, before addressing the small group, “I’m going to get Emily something to eat while they get Maddie settled into her room and Caroline is stable. I’ve got my cell if we need to come back sooner. Is that okay?”
Lisa responded for the group, “I think that’s perfect, Josh.” Maddie’s contractions started again and she began the rapid in and out breathing that let me know it was time to leave her to nature’s course.
Emily and I got on the elevator and were whisked down to the ground floor, following the signs indicated where the cafeteria was. My plan was to make sure Emily had the food she needed to get through the day and, hopefully, she would open up a little more to me.
