Cat sat back once more, defeat clouding her features. "All right, Billie," she replied. "I'll try."
***
Later that afternoon, Cat elected to stay indoors and write while Billie mowed the lawn. Normally, that was a chore Seth took care of; however' as much as Billie had just lectured Cat about dwelling on the issue, she was crawling out of her skin with anxiety and worried about what they were bound to live through over the next several weeks...or even years. She needed to get out of the house, move around, and take her mind off the troubles that plagued her family.
Billie finished mowing the front yard and was starting on the back when Karissa came running across the lawn.
"Billie! Billie! Mom needs help! Where's Cat?" she asked, nearly hysterical with fear.
Billie immediately shut off the mower and took Karissa by the shoulders. "'Rissa, honey, what happened?" she asked.
"Mom is bleeding," she rasped out between sobs. "She fell on the floor with pains in her stomach, and she's bleeding."
"Oh, my God!" Billie exclaimed. "Is she alone?" she asked.
Karissa nodded. "Stevie is working and Dad went after groceries. Billie, she needs help," the girl cried.
"Run back home as fast as you can so your mom isn't alone, okay, sweetie? I'll get Cat and we'll be there right away."
Billie sprinted into the house as Karissa turned and ran back across the lawn.
"Cat! Come quickly, Jen is in trouble," she shouted before she even made it through the kitchen.
Cat was on her feet in seconds, her own problems totally forgotten. "Billie, what is it?" she demanded, meeting Billie at the doorway between the kitchen and living room.
"Jen is bleeding. She's alone with Karissa. God, Cat..." Billie said, fearful for her friend's life.
Dr. Charland took over as she began to bark orders. "Billie, call an ambulance then do what you can to find Fred. I'm going to Jen's." Cat grabbed her doctor's bag from the kitchen closet and ran out the door.
***
Cat burst into Jen's house to find her laying on the living room floor, clutching her stomach, a pool of blood collecting under her. Karissa was kneeling by her mother's side, trying hard not to cry.
Cat dropped to her knees next to her friend and brushed the hair from Jen's face. She fought her own tears as she began to examine the fallen woman. "Jen. Jen, honey, Billie is calling an ambulance. You're going to be all right, do you hear me?" she asked. Cat wrapped the blood pressure cuff around Jen's arm.
"Cat...the baby," Jen said painfully. "Oh, God..." Jen drew her knees into her chest as a round of cramps wracked her abdomen.
"Help is coming, my friend. Hang in there." Cat tried not to let her personal attachment to this woman affect her professional competence as she took Jen's pulse. "Karissa, fetch a cold face cloth, will you honey?" Cat asked, giving the teenager a reason to remove herself from the crisis for a moment.
"Cat, it hurts. My stomach...shoulder." Jen gasped as another cramp doubled her over. "Cat, please tell me I'm not losing the baby. Please," she pleaded.
Cat looked at her friend and cursed the fates that were condemning the unborn child whose life was ebbing away at that very moment. "I'm sorry, Jen," was all Cat could say. Jen closed her eyes and released the tears that were trapped under the lids.
Billie crashed through the door. "Cat, the ambulance is on the way...oh, my God!" Billie felt sick to her stomach at the scene before her.
Cat once more took charge. "Billie, grab that throw off the back of the chair. She needs to be kept warm."
Billie snapped into action and spread the blanket over Jen. She too knelt by Jen's side. "Jen, we're here with you. You're going to be fine," Billie assured her.
"The baby..." Jen repeated weakly.
"Here's the face cloth." Karissa offered it to Cat as she knelt once more beside her mother.
Cat looked assuredly at the girl. "Wipe the sweat off her face with it, would you sweetie?"
Karissa looked down at her mother and began to wash her face. Pain distorted Jen's normally jovial features. Karissa had never seen her in this state before. Her mother was always the strong one. She was the one who took care of them when they were ill. She leaned in and placed a kiss on Jen's flushed cheek. Jen forced a smile onto her face for her daughter and mouthed a silent 'thank you' to the girl, bringing a teary smile to the young girl's face.
The ambulance arrived at the house at the same time Fred did. Billie did what she could to calm Fred while Cat identified herself as a doctor then filled the EMT's in on Jen's condition.
"She needs you to stay calm right now, my friend," Billie told Fred. She physically held him back so the EMT's could strap Jen onto the stretcher.
Fred was frantic. "Billie," he said shakily. "Billie, I can't lose her." His voice was choked with emotion.
Billie had her hands on Fred's shoulders. "She'll be okay, Fred. She's in good hands."
One EMT approached Fred while the other discussed Jen's condition with Cat and made arrangements for to ride to the hospital in the ambulance.
"I'm going with her." Fred moved immediately to Jen's side and took her hand.
"I wanna go too," exclaimed Karissa.
Cat shot a look at Billie who immediately caught her meaning.
"'Rissa, honey, why don't you come home with me and spend some time with Tara. Your dad will call with news when they get to the hospital," Billie suggested.
"Baby girl, do as Billie says," Jen rasped from the stretcher. "Honey, I'll be okay. I promise." She reached her hand out to her distraught daughter.
Karissa immediately went to her mother's side and buried her face in Jen's neck. "Please come home," Karissa whispered tearily.
"I will, baby. I will," Jen assured her daughter. "Now, go with Billie, okay?" she asked.
Karissa nodded and went to stand next to Billie who immediately tucked the teenager into her side with a reassuring arm around the girl's shoulder. She mouthed a silent "I love you," to Cat, and then led Karissa out the door.
***
It was late into the evening when Cat called from the hospital.
"Cat?" Billie answered the phone with the single syllable.
"She's resting under sedation," Cat said stoically.
An uncomfortable silence followed. Neither of them wanted to discuss the obvious. Finally, Billie spoke. "The baby?" she asked.
"Gone," was all Cat said, sadly.
Billie wrapped her arms around her middle and stifled a sob, the silence of which Cat heard loud and clear over the phone.
"Are you all right, Billie?" Cat asked.
Billie sniffed away a tear. "I'm fine. How are Fred and Jen taking it?" she inquired.
"Fred's main concern is Jen's health. He's sad over their loss, but he's relieved that Jen will be okay. Jen? Well, Jen is devastated. She blames herself, of course," Cat explained.
"It's not her fault, Cat," Billie replied.
"No, it isn't, but she is too emotionally raw right now to accept that," Cat said.
"And you?" Billie asked. "How are you doing?"
"I'm tired, and I'm ashamed. I'm ashamed that I have been too self-centered and too wrapped up in my own problems to see that Jen needed me."
Billie immediately regretted the distance between them. "Cat, don't talk like that. This is not your fault. Look, come home. There's nothing else you can do for Jen and Fred tonight. Okay?"
"I'll be home soon."
"Okay. I love you, Cat."
"I love you too."
***
Billie was sitting in the dark living room when Cat arrived home. She instinctively knew Billie was there and went directly to the chair she was sitting in and lowered herself into her Billie's lap. Billie placed a light kiss on Cat's head and wrapped her arms around her.
"What happened, Cat? Why? Why Jen?" Billie asked softly.
Cat sat up. The light from a street lamp partially illuminated Billie's features and enhanced the strong lines of Billie's jaw. Cat
ran her index finger along the side of Billie's face and inhaled deeply.
"Jen had what is called an ectopic or tubal pregnancy. This happens with the fertilized egg becomes stuck in the fallopian tube and begins to grow there. Most of the time, ectopic pregnancies resolve themselves without the woman even knowing she's pregnant, but sometimes they grow and can be pretty dangerous if they rupture. That's what happened to Jen. Thank God, Karissa was home with her, or she could have bled to death," Cat explained.
"But why, Jen?" Billie asked once more.
"Jen had her tubes tied after Karissa was born. Because her tubes were damaged, there wasn't a clear path for the fertilized egg to travel to the uterus," Cat replied.
"Those pains she had at the cookout must have been the beginnings of the rupture," Billie observed.
"You're probably right," Cat answered. "If she had only gone to the doctor like I told her to, it wouldn't have gotten to the point it did. She could have died," Cat explained, choking up on the last sentence.
"Are you saying they could have saved the baby?" Billie asked.
"No. Ectopic pregnancies never end with a live birth, but the massive bleeding and cramping could have been avoided. Poor Karissa. She was scared out of her mind seeing her mother like that," Cat recalled. "By the way, how is she?" she asked.
"She was pretty quiet for most of the evening. Tara and Skylar did their best to entertain her, but she was pretty down in the dumps. Finally, they all went to bed. I checked on them just before you came home. She seems to be sleeping pretty soundly," Billie explained.
Cat suddenly bolted upright. "Oh, my God! Stevie! Has anyone told him? Where is he?" she exclaimed.
"Don't worry, Cat. Stevie and Seth are camping out in the family room tonight. I left a note for him to come over here as soon as he got home from work. With Seth's help, I broke it to him as gently as I could. He seemed pretty shook up, but after I assured him Jen would be okay, he seemed to handle it all right," Billie replied.
Cat relaxed once more and settled back into the protection of Billie's arms. "You're a good mom and a good friend, my love," she whispered.
"It's no more than Jen would do for us. Heck, it's no more than Jen has done for us," she explained.
Cat yawned loudly.
"All right love, time for bed." Billie rose to her feet, still cradling Cat in her arms.
Cat laid her tired head on Billie's shoulder as they ascended the stairs to their room.
CHAPTER 17
Early the next morning, Billie and Cat were awakened by a knock at their bedroom door.
"Whaa...?" Billie sat up in bed and looked at the clock flashing 6:18 a.m.
The knock came again.
"Cat, wake up, someone is knocking at the door," Billie said, nudging Cat awake. "Who is it?" Billie called out.
"Karissa. Can I come in?" the young girl's voice said through the door.
Cat sat up. "Karissa, sure, honey, come in," she replied.
Karissa turned the handle and slowly pushed the door open. "I couldn't sleep," she said. "I'm worried about Mom."
Cat threw back the covers and patted the bed, inviting Karissa in. Within seconds, the teenager crawled into bed and allowed herself to be wrapped in Cat's arms. Billie joined the fray by throwing her arm over both of them.
"Cat, is my mom gonna be okay?" Karissa asked softly.
"She's going to be fine," Cat replied. "She was sleeping comfortably when I left last night."
"Did the baby die?"
Billie tightened her hold on the two girls as Cat prepared her reply.
"I'm afraid so, sweetie," Cat confirmed.
"Why?" she asked.
Cat brushed the hair away from Karissa's forehead while she thought of how to answer. "The baby started to grow in your mother's fallopian tube instead of the uterus, so your mom's body rejected it. Nature has a way of taking care of things that aren't right, honey. It's really sad that the baby is gone but sometimes things are just not meant to be. It's nobody's fault. It just happened," she explained.
Karissa nodded while Billie marveled at how delicately Cat had handled the questioning. She lay there for long moments with her arm still wrapped around them, waiting for the next question that never came. Finally, Billie lifted her head from the pillow to see that both Karissa and Cat had drifted off to sleep. She smiled and rested her head once more on her pillow, where she soon joined them in dreamland.
***
Karissa was gone when Billie and Cat awoke the next morning.
Billie wrapped her arms around Cat as she stood before the bathroom mirror brushing her teeth. "You were very gentle with her this morning,"
Cat rinsed her mouth and tapped the toothbrush on the side of the sink to rid it of excess water before she returned it to the caddy mounted on the wall. She raised herself on tiptoe and kissed Billie full on the lips. "Thank you," she said.
Having just stepped out of the shower, Billie continued to towel dry her hair while Cat dressed herself. "Are you going to call the hospital this morning?" she asked Cat.
"I didn't have to. Fred called us while you were in the shower. They're releasing Jen around noon. Fred asked that we come to pick them up since they both rode in the ambulance and don't have their car," Cat replied.
"Did you speak with Jen? How is she this morning?" Billie asked.
Cat slipped a shirt over her head. "No, I didn't. Fred called from the lobby. He left the room while the doctor examined Jen and took advantage of the break to call us."
"Did he say how Jen was?" Billie asked again.
"He didn't say much, except that she was pretty quiet. She's going to need a lot of moral support over the next few weeks. I can imagine she's feeling pretty guilty about losing the baby," Cat replied.
Cat slipped her shoes on and tied the laces while Billie combed out her long dark hair. "I'm going to make a pot of coffee if you're interested," she offered.
Billie mentally noted the upbeat mood Cat was in. "Coffee sounds great. I'll be down in a few minutes." Billie dressed quickly and carried her shoes down the stairs and into the living room, where she found Karissa, Tara and Skylar splayed all over the furniture as they watched cartoons and ate bowls of cereal. She stopped and looked at the girls. "You know you aren't supposed to be eating in here," she observed.
"Mama saw us and didn't say anything." Tara replied, without taking her eyes from the television.
Billie frowned and went into the kitchen in search of Cat. She found her humming lightly while filling the coffee machine with water. She stood there in the doorway with her shoes still in her hand.
Cat turned around and looked at her. "Billie, I'm going to run over to Jen's after breakfast and clean up the mess we left behind. She doesn't need to come home to that reminder." She turned back to filling the reservoir.
"If you don't mind, I'll join you." Billie sat in a kitchen chair to put her shoes on while Cat continued to hum happily.
"Oh, and while we're there, remind me to grab a change of clothes for Jen. All she has with her is the soiled ones from yesterday," Cat said with her back still to Billie.
Cat turned off the faucet and slipped a pod into the coffee machine to brew. She stepped into the sunlight coming in through the open kitchen door and looked out over the back yard. "Looks like a beautiful day today," she remarked.
Billie stood there with eyebrows raised into her hairline.
Cat turned from the door and tipped her head inquiringly to one side. "Is something wrong, Billie?"
The question snapped Billie into awareness. "Wrong? No, not really. It's just that I haven't seen you in this kind of mood in a week," she replied.
Cat looked apologetically at her and sighed. "I have been kind of a bitch for the past few days, haven't I?"
Billie approached Cat and stopped in front of her. She took Cat's hands in her own and kissed each one before holding them close to her heart. "No, Cat. I wouldn't say that exactly. I can understand how you would be preoccupied w
ith everything that has been going on lately."
"Well, I realized this morning when Karissa came to our room, that we have a lot to be thankful for. Here was this helpless child, worried sick about her mother...a mother she could have easily lost yesterday, and there I was, feeling sorry for myself." Cat paused for a moment and then looked once more into Billie's eyes. "I'm sorry, Billie."
Billie placed a finger on Cat's lips. "Shhh. There's no reason to be sorry, love. Just remember, we're in this together, okay? I'll be right by your side tomorrow during the biopsy, and no matter what the results are, we'll deal with it. We'll get through it. I promise," she said softly.
Cat smiled and tilted her head to accept a delicate kiss. "I love you" Cat whispered.
"And I love you."
"Oh man! Are you guys at it again?" Tara complained as she walked in on the tender moment. "Geesh, get a room!" she added, laughingly.
Billie and Cat looked at each other with raised brows. "Time for 'the talk'!" they said in unison.
***
Cat entered Jen's hospital room and found her sitting on the edge of the bed, clad in a hospital gown. Billie followed close behind. Cat sat beside her and hugged her affectionately. "Hey sweetie, how are you feeling?"
Jen shrugged and looked at the hands she had folded in her lap.
Billie sat down on the other side of Jen and looked over her head at Cat. Instinctively, they both wrapped their friend in loving arms, sandwiching her between them. Jen sat very still, as though absorbing the love radiating from her friends.
"We're so very sorry for your loss, sweetheart," Cat said.
"We're here for you, Jen...always," Billie added.
Jen squeezed her lids tightly and allowed liquid sorrow to seep down her cheeks. Unable to manage a verbal reply, she reached her hands up to squeeze the pair of arms crossed before her and nodded slightly.
Billie reached for the tissues and handed one to her friend, then with a quick pat to Jen's thigh, she rose from the bed to join Fred who stood at the window overlooking the parking lot. She rubbed his back then wrapped her arm around his waist. "And how are you doing?" she asked, not forgetting that he too had lost a child.
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