Once In A While (The Cherished Memories Book 1)

by Linda Ellen

  The hated, oft-imagined picture of Louise on her wedding night, once again began to worm its way under his craw. He clamped his lips together and looked away, fighting against the surge in his emotions. However, Louise saw it, lurking in his eyes, and her eyes filled even more.

  “Vic…I hated it every time he touched me,” she softly confessed, watching him wince as he heard the words. “I…the day I…married him…I felt like I was making a mistake…but I didn’t listen to my own conscience. Now…now I know God was trying to tell me not to do it…”

  Desperate to make him understand how repulsed she was with the whole situation, Louise reached up with her free hand and grasped the amethyst necklace around her neck, drawing it forward so he could see. “I never take it off, Vic. I’ve worn it every moment of every day since you walked out of my life. It was my way of keeping you with me.”

  Vic observed the purple stone sparkling in the late afternoon sun and he remembered the joyous day he had placed it around her neck. He knew he had to get past this, to reconcile with it, get over it, but…it was so hard…

  “Oh Vic…if you only knew what I went through…how much I missed you, wanted you…how much I…wish it had been you,” she squeaked.

  He met her eyes then, seeing the depths of her anguish. Knowing everything needed to be on the table for them to move forward, he sucked in a breath, mumbling brokenly, “When I found out you’d been with that bas…” he stopped himself from uttering the explicit word, “I felt like my guts had been kicked in. It ‘bout killed me.”

  Tears spilled down Louise’s cheeks as she raised their joined hands to her lips, her tears wetting Vic’s fingers, as she sobbed, “Please forgive me, Vic. I’ve cried a million tears for you… If…if there were some way to go back…to undo all of it…I’d wait for you for the rest of my life if I knew you would really return!”

  Overcome, Vic finally pulled her into his arms with a groan. Crushing her against his chest, his hand cradled the back of her head as her arms wound tightly around his back. They stayed that way for quite a while, rocking back and forth; weeping together for all the lost time, and unnecessary circumstances that had kept them apart. Each begged the other’s forgiveness for their shortcomings that had led to such misunderstandings and tragic decisions. They whispered their confessions to one another until all had been talked out and resolved. Finally, Vic felt as if he could move on; the knives that had tormented his soul his whole life dissolving in the warm glow of Louise’s love.

  When at last they pulled back, Louise reached for her purse with a shaky hand to retrieve a handkerchief. She dabbed his eyes, and he in turn lovingly wiped her tears away.

  Rays of the setting sun dappling through the leaves on the tree warmed their skin as they sat for a time drinking in one another’s features, each feeling as if they were living a scene in a movie. Everything seemed alive, and beautiful…seemingly for the first time in longer than either could remember. Each one became acutely aware of sensations, the mesmerizing sounds of the water lapping at the river’s edge nearby, and the earthy aroma of the moss at the bank.

  She reached up and ran a hand gently through the tousled waves of his hair. Gently, he touched a finger to the amethyst pendant around her neck, truly moved that she had confided that she wore it all the time.

  Smiling softly, she murmured without thinking, “He hated that I wore it…’cause he knew you gave it to me. During our last big fight, he nearly tore it off me…”

  Vic’s eyes flared with anger at that and he shook his head, gritting his teeth. “If I ever come face to face with that guy…I’m liable to beat him to within an inch of his life,” he fumed. Then with a wry smile, he added, “I used to dream about doin’ that.”

  Louise chuckled softly as he lifted a hand to gently caress her soft cheek. She nuzzled his warm palm, totally content. Totally, that is, except for one more detail that she was trying to get up the nerve to tell him. Then she saw the look in his eyes change from anger to something else, and her pulse began to speed up.

  He slowly leaned in, giving her time to stop him, before softly pressing his lips to hers. She immediately felt herself responding, as she had every time he had kissed her during their enchanted summer. The effect instantly became akin to complete and total intoxication.

  “I love you, Louise,” Vic whispered against her mouth.

  “I love you, too,” she managed between kisses. Then remembering again her promise to herself, to God, and to Irene to keep no secrets and tell no untruths, she began, “But Vic, there’s something I need to tell you. I…” but his lips suddenly opened to surround hers, inhibiting her words. With a shuddering sigh, she surrendered to him, helpless to pull back and deny him. Within moments, he had turned her in his arms and gently laid her down onto the quilt, his lips never leaving hers as their kiss dramatically deepened. Never had they shared such intimate loving. Vic found himself tossing caution to the winds, his hands caressing her cheek and neck, and then roaming further down her anatomy as she curled into his embrace. Her hands stroked his cheeks, finding their way into his hair and trailing toward the back of his neck as she gloried in the invigorating sensation of their tongues dancing in familiar rhythm.

  They kissed hungrily, as if each one wished to become immersed in the very essence of the other. Tongues fondled, breaths mingled. The taste of her mouth and the delightful scent of her hair and skin drew Vic with such irresistible force that he mindlessly pushed aside his earlier determination to exercise prudent restraint. He was like a man possessed, and wholly focused on the fact that the love of his life was finally, willingly, in his arms – and responding with a fervor he had only experienced with her in his wildest dreams.

  Louise was also overcome by the myriad of sensations bombarding her consciousness. Never had T.J. ignited her passions as did Vic’s touch, taste, and scent. She was thoroughly caught up in him and in sharing this moment with the man she loved…

  Then in the blink of an eye, everything changed.

  Vic both felt and heard Louise gasp and then tense up, as if she were in pain.

  Breathless, he pulled back enough to see her face, and became instantly alarmed that her expression reflected that she was, indeed, experiencing discomfort.

  “What’s wrong, babe?” he whispered, his concern growing as he watched her hand find its way to her abdomen, where it pressed in firmly.

  “I…I don’t know…” she gasped as she tried to rub the puzzling pain away. “All of a sudden…I…aaahh!” she wailed as it increased as if a knife was stabbing her insides.

  Then her eyes flew open and stared into his in a panic as she whispered, “Oh Vic…something’s wrong…”

  Vic started to sit up, becoming more alarmed by the second. “Babe, you’re scarin’ me…what’s goin’ on?”

  She drew her knees up higher and lay on the quilt, dropping one hand over her eyes as the pain mercifully began to slowly subside. Hot tears began to pool and drip down her temples as she shuddered uncontrollably.

  “Babe…hey…don’t cry, honey…it’ll be alright,” Vic soothed, reaching to gently wipe away a tear with one finger.

  Ashamed and guilt ridden, Louise took a deep breath, confessing softly, “I didn’t tell you everything, Vic…I was afraid…that you wouldn’t want me…” she hesitated, more afraid than she had been from the start, but she knew she had to be honest and not wait a minute longer.

  “I…I’m pregnant, Vic…”

  He had gently laid his hand over hers on her abdomen, but at her words, his eyes widened and he pulled back a bit. Stunned at her revelation, he whispered incredulously, “What?”

  She went on, “I started to tell you earlier.” Moving her hand from her eyes, she chanced a look at his face, but his expression was blank, as if he were in shock. “I…I got so caught up…in being with you…”

  He stared at her, battling truly conflicting emotions. Anger threatened to rise in his heart as he thought about her keeping secrets from him y
et again.

  But before that thought could take a firm hold, she gasped again, “Oh Vic…I’ve been feeling…odd…for days…but now…aaahh!” she suddenly screamed as a white hot searing pain ripped through her lower belly, accompanied by a rush of hot, thick liquid between her legs.

  “Vic! Help me!” she wailed.

  In further shock at this completely unexpected occurrence, Vic turned his head and looked down at the quilt beneath them – and the frightening red stain that had begun to appear.

  “Oh my God!” he whispered. She was bleeding! His Louise! He had to DO something!

  “Hold on, honey!” he ground out as he quickly maneuvered to his knees. He had never been so scared. “I’m takin’ you to the hospital!”

  Securing the quilt around her, he scooped her up and pulled her tight against his chest. Staggering to his feet, he shouldered through the thick underbrush and immediately took off at a run for the car. A glance at her face frightened him even further – she was already appearing quite pale, her eyes shut as if she were starting to lose consciousness.

  “Stay with me, honey… Mary Louise…don’t leave me…just hang on…please don’t leave me now!”

  ‡

  CHAPTER 33

  God Please Don’t Take her From Me Now

  Vic reached up to rub his chin, turning for the hundredth time as he paced back and forth in the waiting area at the hospital emergency room.

  Louisville City Hospital – he hadn’t been inside its doors since he had helped rescue that family during the flood. Truly, he hoped this visit would have as happy of a result. He gazed around at the other people gathered in pockets around the room, and then at the stark white walls and gleaming white tile floors of the waiting room. Its cleanliness should have instilled a feeling of confidence within his heart, but the reason for his visit overshadowed every other thought.

  What’s takin’ so long? Why won’t anybody tell me anything? Did I get her here in time? Vic wondered. Oh God, don’t take her from me now…that’d be the last straw…

  Unbidden, the graphic images came rushing back in living color as he relived running to the car, managing to get the door open and placing her carefully inside…driving at breakneck speed down River Road on the way to the hospital as he kept glancing over at Louise and her deathly pale face. The pool of blood had expanded steadily on the seat beneath her…her eyes, so woozy they hardly focused the few times she had opened them in response to his impassioned pleas. And then the mad dash through the swinging doors of the emergency room with him screaming like a banshee for someone to help them…the flurry of orderlies and doctors as they came running with a gurney and whisked her away from him. Then finally, she was gone, through the doors and down the hall to emergency surgery, leaving him standing there…with her blood on the front of his clothing as the only thing left to prove she had even been with him at all…

  He glanced down at it now, the sight turning his stomach. Why had she bled like that? He’d never heard of such a thing happening – just from being pregnant? He assumed she was losing the baby…the baby she had told him about only seconds before. Of that detail, he was not entirely certain how he felt.

  “Vic!” a familiar voice brought him out of his troubled thoughts and he turned, relieved to see his friend and mentor, Doc Latham, striding toward him.

  “Doc. Thanks for comin’,” Vic murmured as he took a few steps to meet his friend and they shook hands warmly.

  Immediately, Doc’s eyes widened as he took in his young friend’s appearance. “Are you injured?” he asked, concerned, as he tried to remember the details of the frantic phone call he had received from Vic.

  “No, I’m alright…this is…hers…” Vic mumbled, gesturing to the dried blood on his clothing.

  Nodding in relief, the kind pastor inquired, “Tell me what happened.”

  Vic recounted what details he knew, although he left out the part about he and Louise engaging in some passionate kissing just before the attack. He did speak to the fact that the staff had taken him back and allowed him to donate blood, upon his offer to do so, in case it might help the woman he loved. After that, he shared his frustration that since then he couldn’t seem to find out anything about Louise’s progress, even though he had been waiting for two hours.

  At this, Doc laid a hand upon Vic’s shoulder and pressed his lips together in determination before turning to approach the reception desk to try and use his influence as a man of the clergy to receive information about Louise.

  However, after only a few minutes, he turned away from the attendants, and shook his head in response to Vic’s hopeful expression. “They said she’s still in surgery, but the doctor will come out to speak with us when he is finished.”

  Vic closed his eyes; the worry was nearly driving him insane.

  “Vic…let’s send up a prayer for her…okay?” Doc murmured softly. Vic nodded as Doc joined hands with him, delivering a heartfelt prayer that Louise would survive whatever had happened to her, that the doctors would know exactly what to do, and that she would make a full recovery. Vic drew in a deep fortifying breath of gratitude when the clergyman also asked for God to strengthen Vic and let him know that he wasn’t alone.

  Feeling a bit better after the prayer, Vic managed a half smile for his friend and they moved over to some seats near the door.

  “Did you let her family know?” Doc asked, clarifying when he saw the flash in Vic’s eyes and knowing he thought he meant her husband, “I mean…her brother, or her parents.”

  “I called Sonny and left a message with his wife. She said she’d let him know,” Vic acknowledged, privately wondering about the tone in the woman’s voice. “I didn’t know how to get hold of her parents.”

  “Do you know what might have brought this on?” Doc wondered. Having been privy to similar occurrences in the past, the reverend had a feeling he knew what had happened. However, he chose to keep his speculations to himself so as not to unnecessarily worry his young friend. Vic shrugged helplessly and shook his head.

  “One minute she seemed fine, and the next…she started gettin’ these real bad pains…and then…” he moved his shoulders in speechless confusion.

  A few minutes later, Vic looked past the clergyman and smiled. Although it had been four years, he recognized Louise’s brother coming through the swinging doors with a woman clinging to his arm. The pair were nicely dressed and seemed quite anxious and worried, Sonny especially, as if he were expecting the worst. The woman looked to be with child, and Vic figured instantly that she must be the one he had spoken with on the phone. Sonny went right to the desk and inquired, but received the same information Doc had only a few minutes before. They seemed both relieved and a bit disheartened, but when they turned to find seats to wait, Sonny caught Vic’s eye and headed in their direction.

  “Hey Vic. Good to see you again,” he greeted, shaking hands with first him and then with Doc as introductions were made. “This is my wife, Sarah,” he added, and the men acknowledged her respectfully.

  Looking at Vic, Sonny asked in concern, “I just heard and we came right over. What happened?” In truth, his wife had exaggerated and embellished Vic’s message, prompting Sonny to imagine that Louise had been in some horrible auto accident and was not expected to live.

  Not that he wished to recount it again, Vic complied, filling Louise’s brother in on everything he knew, hesitating only briefly before saying that Louise had confided to him that she had been pregnant. Although he was quite certain that she wasn’t anymore, he felt her brother had a right to know.

  Sonny’s eyes widened and he exchanged a deliberate look with his wife. “I kind of wondered if she was…she’d been saying she was sick to her stomach and things…”

  No one wanted to say the words out loud that they were all positive, from Vic’s description of how much blood she had lost…that the baby would have had no chance of survival. But the question on everyone’s mind…did Louise?

  *
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br />   A doctor, with traces of dark red blood on the white material of his physician’s coat, came through the doors and looked around at the different clusters of people in the large waiting room. Everyone had been quietly talking among themselves, but when the swinging door opened and he came in, they all went silent and stared wide-eyed at him, wondering if it were their loved one’s blood they could see staining his coat.

  “The family of Louise Blankenbaker?”

  Vic immediately jumped to his feet and hurried over to him. “Is she all right?”

  The physician took in Vic’s appearance as he offered a handshake. “Mr. Blankenbaker?” he asked innocently.

  Vic blanched and shook his head. “No…Vic Matthews…I’m…I’m her…” he stopped, unsure of his current role. Was he her boyfriend? The man who loved her? “I…I brought her in when it happened.”

  “Is her husband here?” the surgeon asked, leaning his head past Vic’s to look at the others who were drawing near.

  Sonny stepped around Vic then and shook the doctor’s hand. “I’m Joseph Hoskins, Louise’s brother. She’s uh…she’s separated from her husband. I don’t know where he is.”

  “Ahh, well then…” the doctor hesitated. Glancing at Vic, he wondered if he had been the father of the child. However, he reminded himself that was none of his business, and continued with the task at hand.

  “I’m Chief Surgeon John Hamilton. Mrs. Blankenbaker has suffered an ectopic pregnancy…” he paused as he met the puzzled expressions of the three younger people, although he could see in the eyes of the clergyman that he understood and maybe even had expected as much.

  “What’s that?” Vic asked, feeling decidedly in the dark.

  The family had no way of knowing, but Louise couldn’t have been in better hands. Dr. Hamilton had recently been recognized by the American College of surgeons for developing an implement that greatly helped in complicated abdominal cases. A tall man, with short-cropped black hair, dark eyes, and bushy black eyebrows, he would have been quite imposing if not for his practiced gentle manner when speaking with the family members of his patients. He smiled understandingly at Vic’s question. “In layman’s terms, it means that at fertilization, the baby becomes implanted in the wrong location, where it cannot continue to full term. At some point, it becomes impossible for it to remain viable and it separates, causing massive hemorrhage.”