Page 48 of Jeremy
“Ilove you, Melissa.”
“Ilove you, too.”
We’rewaiting to hear a cry, but no cry comes. The doctors rattle off numbers andeveryone rushes around, but I don’t even realize he’s been delivered until theymove him to a clear table and crowd around him.
“Ishe out? He’s not crying. Is he breathing?” Melissa cries in a panic.
Oneof the nurses walks around to talk to her. “You have a beautiful baby boy. Heneeds some help breathing, like we talked about before, which is normal for apreemie. Other than that, he looks healthy. All ten fingers and toes.” Thenurse smiles at her, and Mel breaks into tears.
“Thankyou.” Her eyes roll back as she whispers it again. “Thank you.”
“Mel!”I leap to my feet, but the nurse puts a calming hand on my shoulder.
“She’sokay. Patients often lose consciousness from the trauma of the surgery andanesthetic. Her heart rate is good. They’ll get her closed up, and she’ll go torecovery where they’ll keep her sedated for a bit. I’ll take you back to herroom, so you can change.”
Landonand Justus sit perched on the wide windowsill in her hospital room and theyboth look up as soon as I enter.
“Isshe okay?” Justus asks.
“Yeah,she’s going to recovery. They won’t let me in for a little while.”
“Andthe baby?” Landon asks.
“Hangingin there. He wasn’t breathing on his own.”
Iflop down into the chair, and my head falls to my hands.
“He’llpull through, man,” Justus says. “Give it a little time.”
“Ithought the same thing with Frannie.” The words spill out of me.
Landonwalks over and sits in the chair beside me. “This isn’t the same thing. I wasthere too, we all were, and that was a nightmare I know you suffer more than wedo, but this isn’t the same. That was a murder. This is a medical emergency andshe got help fast enough. You aren’t going to lose Melissa or your son.”
“Myheads all messed up,” I confess, looking up at Landon. “I’m still so pissedover Frannie, that she didn’t get to have the long life she deserved. It wasn’tuntil after she died I realized I really did love her, but now, with Melissa,it feels different, like I didn’t know what love really was until now. But ifwhat I felt for Frannie wasn’t love, I don’t know what it was.”
“Thereare different kinds of love. Just because you’ve fallen in love with Melissadoesn’t mean you loved Frannie any less.”
“Ifucked up with her. All the back and forth, trying to get under each other’sskin and get our way. I let it go on too long. I missed my chance. I won’t letthe same thing happen with Mel. She’s it for me.”
Justusnods and hops off the window sill. “Then don’t fuck it up by doing somethingyou’ll regret when it comes to this cult. There are other ways than killing allthe leaders. We can free the followers and find a way to take down the socalled First Men. Just give us time and worry about your new family.”
Inod, accepting his words if not agreeing with the plan. “Don’t make any moveswithout me.”
“Wewon’t,” Landon promises.
“AndI have to continue volunteering for them. We need to know what they’re up to. Istill don’t know the target they have in mind for the C4.”
“Iagree,” Justus replies. “Let’s get the girls up here to help with Melissa and yourson.”
Sittingup, I feel a little of the stress drain away. “Yeah, I think we should.” I lookfrom Landon to Justus. “Thank you.”
“They’refamily now,” Landon says.
“Andwe take care of family,” Justus adds.
Anurse arrives to take me to the NICU before Mel gets out of the recovery room.My heart is racing as I’m suited up again, and lead into the room filled withmachines. The baby is in what looks like an oversized plastic storagecontainer. The sight of the wires and tubes leading to his tiny body breaks myheart, and I can’t stop tears from forming in my eyes.
“He’sso tiny.”
