Page 96 of Moving to Love
“Don’t cry, baby. Look, she’s healthy.”
Joci tried to control herself. “I know. I’m so relieved. I can’t believe she made it through.”
Dr. Wan touched Joci’s leg and patted it. “Looks like you have a strong little girl there.”
The technician spoke up. “We can’t tell the sex yet.”
Jeremiah informed the tech that he knew it was a little girl. He had dreamed about her. The technician just nodded her head.
A few more pictures were taken, and the technician packed up the machine and made her way out the door. Dr. Wan told Joci she would see her at her scheduled appointment in a couple of weeks, and she left. The attending physician came in a while later and released Joci to go home.
It took a while to get her into the car and then into the house. She let out a huge sigh of relief. It was great to be home. “I need to lie down. I hope you don’t mind. Will you all be here or are you leaving?”
Jeremiah chuckled. “We’re staying. JT and Ryder are running out to get lunch in a little while.” He kissed her lightly on the lips.
“Then do you mind if I sleep on the sofa? That way I can hear you as I fall asleep.”
JT shrugged. “Will you be comfortable on the sofa, Mom?”
She stared at JT and swallowed the knot in her throat. That was the first time he had called her Mom. She smiled. “It makes me feel better to hear people talking.” As she walked by him, she gave him a brief hug. He gently wrapped his arm around her, afraid to squeeze her.
Jeremiah patted JT on the shoulder, his eyes growing moist, then walked into the living room with Joci.
She sat on the sofa. He plumped some pillows behind her back and gently pulled her feet up. Gunnar ran and got her a blanket and threw it over her. She smiled and drifted off to sleep right away.
“Ryder, you’ll have to climb out of your shell eventually,” JT laughed.
“Fuck you, JT. It might be easy for you to come on to women; it’s not for me,” Ryder muttered.
Joci opened her eyes and looked around the room. Ryder leaned forward and smiled at her.
“How are you feeling?”
Joci smiled at him, “I’m feeling pretty good. How are you doing? Are they picking on you?”
Ryder shrugged. “They’re assholes. I’m sorry, Mom. I feel bad that you’re going through this.”
“Thank you, Ryder. I don’t want you to worry. I’m just fine, getting stronger every day.” Joci smiled and held his gaze.
He leaned forward and kissed her forehead. Her eyes glistened at the sudden show of emotion. Ryder…the shy boy.
When he sat back, JT piped up. “Are you hungry? We put some stuff together for a quick dinner.”
She nodded, noticing for the first time that she was feeling a bit like eating. Gunnar and Jeremiah jumped up to bring the food into the living room.
She turned herself on the sofa, so her legs were on the floor. She struggled to sit up with only one hand free. With her bandages, she felt out of balance. Ryder and JT both jumped up to help her.
Joci looked up and smiled. “If I could just hold onto one of you, I should be able to leverage myself around.”
Ryder leaned down and held his hand out for her. She grabbed his hand with her left and pulled herself to the edge of the sofa. Just that little movement caused pain to shoot up her right arm. She winced and yelped. Ryder leaned down closer and looked into her eyes to assess her.
She smiled weakly and took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. Sometimes I move wrong, and it hurts. But it hurts less today than yesterday. Tomorrow will be better still.”
Ryder nodded and took a deep breath. “I love you, Mom.”
Joci couldn’t help herself. Tears sprang to her eyes, and a small sob escaped her throat. She reached her left hand up and cupped the back of Ryder’s head, pulling him down for a little hug. Shaking from the exertion and emotion, she said, “I love you, too, Ryder.”
When he sat back, she looked over at JT. His eyes were glistening as he watched them. “JT, I love you, too.” He nodded and opened his mouth to say something, but closed it quickly.
