Page 50 of Jeremy
“Youneed to recover from the birth and get your strength back. You can visit himevery day. Zoe and Leah are going to help too.”
Melissajust met them yesterday, but they all hit it off, and I know how they are.They’ll mother her and the baby until they can’t take anymore. Tucker and Dareshowed up with them. Justus really called in all the backup this time.
“Calvin,”she says softly. “That’s his name. I filled out the paperwork for the birthcertificate this morning.”
“Calvin,”I repeat, kissing her forehead. “You can visit Calvin every day. I know it’llbe hard, but this is where he needs to be. His job is to gain weight and grow.Your job is to recover so you’ll be ready for all the sleepless nights we havecoming.”
Myphone chimes, and I grin as I load up Skype. I talked to Amos earlier, and heisn’t quite as technologically challenged as Agnes, so we arranged a videocall.
“It’sfor you,” I tell Mel, accepting the call.
Agnesappears on the screen, exclaiming, “Oh! I can see her!”
“Thentalk to her, you goof,” Amos says, poking his head in front of the camera. “HiMelissa. Congratulations. I hope you and your son get well soon.”
“Thanks,Amos,” Mel giggles, as Agnes pushes him aside.
“Moveit, you old coot.” She regards Melissa. “I can’t leave you for a second. Howare you doing?”
“I’mdoing fine. And the baby is improving, but he’ll be here for a while. I namedhim Calvin.”
“Well,I’ll be coming to visit you and baby Calvin as soon as I can.”
“Shewould’ve already been back up there if she had her way!” Amos calls from thebackground.
Theychat for a few minutes, and Melissa promises to keep her updated on Calvin’sprogress before they hang up.
Sighing,Mel hands me the phone and lies back. I’m a little worried about what darkthoughts she may be thinking when she asks, “Can you do one thing for me whenwe leave tomorrow?”
“Nameit.”
“Stopand get me the biggest, greasiest cheeseburger you can find. And a chunk ofchocolate the size of my wide ass.”
Chuckling,I pull her close. “I’ll make sure you’re in junk food heaven.”
Weboth sleep through the night despite the uncomfortable hospital bed. The momentthey come to deliver her discharge papers the next morning is bittersweet. Nomother wants to leave the hospital empty handed after their child’s birth, butit could be so much worse.
BabyCal is doing great, surprising the doctors with his progress. They’ve even beenable to turn down the breathing machine so he’s breathing a little more on hisown. They’ll keep decreasing it until he can come off it completely.
Tearsrun down Mel’s face as she changes her shirt, then grimaces as she gets to herfeet. Considering she still has a row of staples from one hip to the other, I’mnot surprised she’s in pain.
“Letme help, babe,” I tell her when she picks up her clean sweatpants.
Shesits back down and lets me slide them over her feet. When she stands back up, Imove behind her to pull them up and my heart stops cold.
Onher right ass cheek is a tiny tattoo.
Avery familiar tattoo.
Anornate T and L overlapping each other.
Allthe pieces fall into place. How could I not have seen it before? She wasmissing, completely off the grid for years. And now I know where she wasliving.
Shewas one of them.
ATrue Life cult member.
Sheglances back when she feels me freeze up. “Jeremy? What is it?”
