The Christmas Promise

by Sean D. Young

  Barbara jumped to her feet and her husband Edward stood as well. “We’re the Bakers,” Edward said, holding his Chicago Cubs baseball cap in his hand.

  Extending his hand, the doctor said, “I’m Dr. Netano.”

  Edward shook his hand first, then Barbara followed. “Please tell us about our son’s condition,” Edward said.

  Barbara was grateful that Edward spoke up because she had no idea why she got tongue-tied all of a sudden. She was thankful that Charlie had stood up and enveloped her with his arm around her waist. It seemed as if the floor was slipping away from her as she imagined the horrible shape her son had to be in.

  “I’d be happy to take you to him,” the doctor said, turning to walk away. “Please, follow me.”

  Barbara and Edward walked beside him while Charlie brought up the rear, heading down a long, drab hallway.

  “Simeon came to us a couple days ago in our Level 1 trauma unit after a collision.”

  Barbara started to weep. “What does Level 1 mean?” she asked.

  “Our Level 1 trauma team is one of the best in the country. We take care of patients in need of immediate attention because of risks of death or long-term disabilities.”

  Approaching the end of the hall, Barbara could see two double wooden doors with the words “Acute ICU” in bold red letters. The doctor pushed through the doors and they all traveled down another long hallway to a different wing of the hospital. There were medical personnel coming in and out of the rooms.

  “Your son’s room is at the end of this hallway,” Dr. Netano said as they passed the nurse’s station.

  The closer they got to the end of the hall the more anxious Barbara became. She rushed around the doctor, but he stopped her. “Wait, Mrs. Baker,” he said, then hesitated.

  “What is it?” Barbara asked, studying the look on his face. The tone in his voice alerted Barbara that something was terribly wrong. “What is it?” she asked again, wanting him to blurt out whatever he needed to tell them, so she could see Simeon.

  “Simeon isn’t conscious,” the doctor finally said.

  “Lawd, Jesus, my baby,” Barbara whispered, shaking her head.

  “Was he ever?” Charlie asked, stepping around his parents, standing in front of the doctor.

  “He was semi-conscious when they brought him in, but his injuries were so extensive and severe, we had to do emergency surgery. He lost a lot of blood, his spleen had to be removed, we had to repair a huge gash on the back of his left shoulder, his nose, left leg and right arm are broken and so are several of his ribs. He had a lung collapse so we had to work quickly to repair all the other internal injuries.”

  Before Barbara realized it she was in Charlie’s arms weeping. She couldn’t take hearing any more of the details. Standing up straight, she pulled several tissues out of her purse, then looked at the doctor, trying to find the words to formulate her next question. “Do you think he’ll make it?” she finally asked him.

  Dr. Netano laid his hand on Barbara’s shoulder. “Your son is strong, he’s made it this far, but only time will tell. That is why we have him in a medically induced coma.”

  “I still want to see him,” she said.

  Dr. Netano nodded. “Of course,” he said.

  Charlie bent to speak to his mother. “Mom, why don’t you and Dad go on in and see him. I’ll wait out here.”

  At that moment Barbara realized that this tragedy had affected Charlie more than she thought at first. All three of her children were extremely close and Charlie wasn’t ready to see his brother in a comatose state. She understood, so she wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him tightly.

  “I don’t want you to worry about me, Charlie. I’m going to be better as soon as I see your brother.” She pinched his cheek. “Now, when you’re ready to come in, we’ll be there.” She kissed him, then patted his arm before walking away.

  Arm-in-arm, Barbara and Edward walked down the brightly lit hallway to their son’s room. The closer they got to the door, the tighter she clutched her handbag to her chest. They could hear the beeping sounds coming from the machines from outside the door.

  Once inside the room, the intermittent buzzing coupled with all the tubes coming out of his body annoyed her. She followed the thin tubes up to the bags of intravenous fluid that hung on a hook of a portable pole. She squeezed her husband’s arm as a signal of the pain she felt as she stared at her son lying so still with a machine breathing for him.

  Hesitant to release her husband’s arm, Barbara took slow and deliberate steps to Simeon’s bedside. The nurse was scribbling something onto his chart when Barbara walked up beside her. The young woman gave Barbara a slight smile, stepped back and walked quietly from the room.

  Simeon’s lips were swollen, his body limp, stretched straight out with a cast from his left leg up to his thigh, his right arm in a sling as he lay on the narrow bed surrounded by machines. She reached out to touch him, even with all the tubes in his arms, she gently rubbed the back of his hand.

  “I remember the day you were born,” she whispered, continuing to caress his hand.

  Edward walked up behind her and squeezed her shoulders gently. Barbara leaned into him as the tears flowed down her cheeks.

  “Doctor, can you tell us what will happen next?” Edward asked.

  “How long will he have to be in the coma?” she asked, watching her son’s lifeless body with only his chest moving up and down with the help of the ventilator.

  “Simeon’s recovery will be slow and agonizing. He has a long road ahead of him because of the life-threatening injuries he sustained.”

  “We need to get him back to the United States and into a rehabilitation facility,” Charlie said, walking into the room.

  Barbara hadn’t realized that Charlie had come in. She looked up at him with pleading eyes. “Can you handle that for us, Charlie?”

  “Of course, I will take care of everything,” Charlie responded.

  “We know you’ll need to get back to Chicago to your own family,” Edward said.

  Barbara nodded in agreement. “We would appreciate you doing that for us, son. I’m not leaving until Simeon leaves,” she stated, rubbing Simeon’s right hand, trying not to weep.

  “That might take a while. We can’t move him until he’s stable,” Dr. Netano said.

  “That’s fine, we’ll just take things one day at a time,” Barbara said.

  For the rest of the evening the Bakers sat quietly together in Simeon’s room until Edward and Charlie went back to the hotel. Barbara insisted on staying, and slept in the reclining chair next to her son.

  Chapter Seven

  Jennifer hated when she got the flu. It always tore her down and for the last three mornings as soon as she opened her eyes, she’d have to run to the bathroom. She just couldn’t understand what could be going on with her body since she came back from vacation. At first she was sneezing like crazy, nose running like a faucet, followed by fever and a constant headache. She contributed all of that to her allergies and the change of climate, so after those symptoms went away, she felt better. Then she started feeling tired and the nausea just wouldn’t quit.

  Jennifer picked up the phone to call her sister Faith who lived with her husband in New York. She didn’t dare call her mother because she would be hovering over her and Jennifer only had a question.

  Pushing herself up in the bed, she rested her back against the headboard, waiting until her sister answered.

  “Jenn, what’s up girl?” Faith said.

  “Faith, I’ve been feeling horrible lately.”

  “You sound like it. What’s been going on?”

  Jennifer told Faith all about what happened with Roderick and how she went on vacation alone and met Simeon.

  “I thought Roderick was a stand-up guy. He fooled me.”

  “You? How do
you think I feel?”

  “I’m sorry that he hurt you, sweetie.”

  “It’s done now.”

  “I didn’t know you went on vacation alone,” Faith said with concern. “I would have gone with you.”

  “I know, but that’s not what I wanted. I needed to clear my head.”

  “Looks like you did a little bit more than that,” Faith teased her.

  “I know. Don’t start, and please don’t tell Renee and Treecie.”

  “Girl, please you don’t have to worry about that. I’ve never betrayed your confidence before.”

  Jennifer dropped her head. She knew if she could trust anyone it was Faith. “I know, Faith, but I’m worried because I can’t keep anything down, especially in the mornings.”

  The silence on the other end concerned her. “Faith, are you still there?”

  “Yeah, I’m here. This isn’t rocket science, Jenn. You’re probably pregnant.”

  “No, no, no,” she said adamantly. “I had my period two weeks after I got back, so that’s not it.”

  “I think you should take a pregnancy test to be sure.”

  “That would be a waste of money, Faith.” Jennifer didn’t even want to go down the pregnancy road. She knew her body better than anyone, so she was sure she wasn’t pregnant.

  Another wave of nausea hit her, causing her to inhale deeply to keep from losing her stomach. Unfortunately, that would be a violent action since she hadn’t had anything to eat or drink yet.

  “Jenn?” Faith said. “Are you okay?”

  A few seconds later she said, “Yes, I’m okay. My stomach is so queasy.”

  “If you won’t take the pregnancy test, then go to the doctor.”

  Jennifer exhaled. “Okay, okay. I’ll go and get the pregnancy test. I don’t want to be going to the doctor with some nonsense and it could just be the flu.”

  “Call me back when you get the results,” Faith said before hanging up.

  It took Jennifer a couple more minutes before she got up, slipped on a pair of jogging pants and hurried down to the nearest drugstore. Looking at the signs at the top of the aisles, she searched for feminine products. She checked to see if there was anyone in the store that knew her, because the last thing she needed was for one of the neighbors to see her and call her mother. She was a grown woman, yes, but she didn’t need to be interrogated by Myra McClendon.

  Myra was the matriarch of the McClendon family and was tough as nails. Married at a very young age, she and Jennifer’s father Russell worked hard to raise their five children together. If she found out that Jennifer was purchasing a pregnancy test, she’d run with it and Jennifer would never hear the end of it.

  Standing in the aisle, Jennifer grabbed the first pink box from the shelf, scanned it, and then put it back before picking up another one. The box was the same color, but it looked different from the previous one, so when she spotted a blue one, she lifted it from the row. There probably was no significant difference between each of the boxes, but Jennifer wanted to make sure she got the right test.

  Flipping the package over, she read the instructions before repositioning her leather purse, which was slipping off her right shoulder. She needed to compare the tests side by side, so she lifted them up together. The pictures on the box made it look easy, but the directions were different for each of them. All she wanted to do was pee on the stick and let it tell her if she were pregnant or not. It was as simple as that.

  Glancing at the shelf again, she saw yet another brand. Upon closer inspection, she found that there were five different tests, plus the drug store had its own version as well. Anxious and confused, she didn’t know which one to choose, but it shouldn’t have been this complicated. Frustrated with going back and forth trying to decide, she swiped two boxes of the one that had the easiest instructions and rushed to the counter to pay for it.

  “It’s probably going to be wrong anyway,” she mumbled.

  “I’m sorry, what did you say?” a young lady with purple and blonde hair asked Jennifer.

  Jennifer hadn’t realized that she was talking out loud. She looked up from the box at the young lady. “Oh, nothing, I was talking to myself,” she said, opening her purse to grab her debit card before paying for her purchase and rushing back home.

  When Jennifer returned, she ran quickly to the bathroom, followed the instructions on the box and took the test. For one panicked moment, Jennifer’s hands trembled, her lungs tightened and her pulse quickened when she lifted the white stick up to the light, glancing into the little window. A sinking feeling hit the pit of her stomach.

  “Calm down, Jenn. Just calm down,” she said out loud as she flipped the box over. She compared the pink line on the test with the one on the box. Amazingly the line had grown darker in a span of a few seconds and continued to deepen.

  “This damn thing can’t be right,” she said, shaking her head. She rested the stick on a green bath towel that she had on the sink, picked up the plastic shopping bag from the floor and pulled out another test. She was so glad that she purchased more than one because the first one had to be defective.

  She followed the instructions again to the letter and it came back with the same results. Pushing her hands down on the sink, she wanted to scream, but knew that it wouldn’t make the results come out any different. Jennifer stared at her reflection in the mirror.

  “Oh no,” she said just as her cell phone rang. She looked down at it lying on top of her purse and as she expected it was Faith.

  Jennifer was embarrassed to tell her big sister that she was right about Jennifer being pregnant, so she didn’t answer. She would tell her soon enough, but right now, she just couldn’t. She needed to absorb the information herself and go to the doctor to confirm everything. If it wasn’t just a fluke, she would have to tell all three of her sisters and then maybe she could conjure up the courage to tell her parents. She was so ashamed of herself.

  Suddenly, a wave of nausea made her move quickly in front of the toilet. Dropping to her knees, she hung her head over the opening. Oh no, please no.

  Trying to breathe through her nose, she rested her head against the tub across from the toilet.

  She quickly dialed the doctor’s office and made an appointment for this afternoon with her family doctor. Using a small cup of minty mouthwash, she rinsed the bitter taste out of her mouth and changed clothes so she could get ready for her appointment.

  The waiting room at Dr. Claire Motley’s office was relatively empty when Jennifer arrived, so she hoped to be seen by the doctor before she had another sick spell. The trusted physician had been treating the McClendon family for many years. Jennifer was glad she only sat for ten minutes before the nurse called her to the back.

  Once she was seated in the exam room and they took all her vitals, Jennifer started getting anxious. She had to know whether or not she was going to have a baby. She was hoping against hope that it wasn’t the case, but if she was pregnant, she needed to know so her heart could get settled with the idea.

  “When was your last period?” the nurse inquired with Jennifer’s chart in her hands.

  Her period. But she’d had it already and thought everything was fine. It had come two weeks before she’d slept with Simeon and again once she returned. She thought she was safe.

  Her hand flew to her mouth, as tears sprung in her eyes. “Three weeks ago.”

  “Did you have a normal flow?”

  “It was kinda light, but that has happened to me before, so I didn’t think anything of it. Do you think something is seriously wrong with me?” Jennifer wanted to know.

  “I think we should do a pregnancy test,” the nurse suggested. “But let’s see what the doctor says.”

  Jennifer picked up her purse off the floor and pulled out a Ziploc bag with the two positive tests. “I took these already before I left home.”

>   Jennifer could tell the nurse was trying her best not to laugh. Because the older woman had known Jennifer for many years, she said, “Sweetie, we’re going to draw some blood and get you a conclusive answer.”

  “I don’t understand how I could be pregnant. I’ve had my period,” Jennifer said adamantly. She had to admit she thought it was a bit lighter than it usually was, but she’d had one just the same. The thought of her being pregnant was ridiculous since she hadn’t slept with any other man since Simeon. There had to be another explanation for the tender breasts, being tired all the time, and of course, the nausea. Maybe it was the Chinese food I ate last night.

  The nurse patted her on her thigh. “Wait here, the doctor will be in shortly.”

  Jennifer pressed the back of her head against the wall to try to stay calm and stop her mind from wandering. She imagined so many different scenarios, but they all ended with her having a kid. She didn’t want to get ahead of herself and worry about something that hadn’t occurred, so she had to be calm and wait.

  The doctor came into the room and Jennifer quickly sat up straight in her chair.

  “Hello, Jennifer. I understand you’ve been nauseated for the past couple of days.”

  “Yes. Every morning when I wake up, I’m throwing up.”

  The doctor sat down and removed her glasses, laying them on the desk. Crossing her legs she cupped her knees and laced her hands together. “Listen, Jennifer, many women have their period well into their second trimester,” she said slowly. “I’m not saying you are pregnant, but we have to take the test to be sure. If that is the case then we know why you’re vomiting every morning,”

  Jennifer nodded.

  “I’ll have the lab technician come in and take your blood and we should know right away.”

  “How?” Jennifer asked.

  “The blood test will detect the presence of a hormone called HCG, or human chorionic gonadotropin, which is produced by the placenta if you are pregnant,” Dr. Motley said, rising from the chair.