Almost As Much (The Cherished Memories Book 3)

by Linda Ellen

  Vic stared at the form, especially the line for him to fill out the name of his new daughter.

  “Whatd’ya going to name the lit’le darlin’?” Jack slurred, leaning forward to try and get a view of the paper. Vic’s heart rate sped up as he realized he didn’t know, and time now seemed to be of the essence. He raised his gaze to his wife’s peacefully sleeping face.

  “I think we should try and wake Louise,” Goldie warned, trying desperately to remember the name Louise had told her just the week before that she intended to name her little girl. She rose and went to the side of the bed, laying a hand on Louise’s shoulder and giving her a gentle shake. “Louise?” she spoke gently. Louise moaned softly and moved her head, as if to say leave me alone. She mumbled something unintelligible. “Louise? Wake up, honey…Vic needs to fill out the birth certificate and…” she waited as Louise again mumbled something, trying to open her eyes, only to allow them to drift shut again, obviously unable to stay awake.

  Goldie turned toward Vic. “Looks like it’s up to you, Vic.”

  Vic wished he hadn’t taken that last big swig of old Five Brothers. Five Brothers? But there’s only three of us…’less you count the three that died…but that would make six… he shook his head at his ramblings and made himself focus on the task at hand.

  Slowly he realized his now bumbling two brothers were trying to be of help. “How ’bout Elizabeth? I like that name,” Jack recommended. “Well, how ’bout Goldie, then,” Al contributed.

  Jack mentioned another name, followed by Al with something else. Liz and Goldie shared their opinions and suggestions. The bombardment of names were beginning to swim around in Vic’s head and he wished fervently that Fleet hadn’t already gone home; he was sure she’d know what Louise wanted. Turning to the women, he asked, “Could one of you find a payphone and…call the house? Ask Lilly?”

  “I’ll do it,” Goldie volunteered and rose from her seat, exiting the ward on her errand. While she was gone, the others continued to volley names at Vic, each combination sounding less appealing than the last. Even people from the next bed got in on the act. Through it all, Louise slept like the dead.

  After a few minutes, Goldie returned. “I called your house, but the phone just rang and rang. Don’t know where everyone is at.”

  “I gotta come up with something!” Vic grumbled, exasperation building by the second. It never occurred to him to tell the nurse they would give her the paper the next day.

  Jack looked over toward the door to the ward and tried to suppress a hiccup. “Uh oh, that nurse’s coming back. She’s headin’ this way…”

  “I think you should pick a name that means something…a family name…” Liz cautioned.

  Al snapped his fingers. “I got it! How about…remember Jack, the old man used to tell us that our mother always wanted a girl, after having six boys…and she would have named her Linda something – after her two grandmothers?”

  Jack scratched his head, searching his memory. “Yeah…Linda…Linda…Elaine? Linda…Helen?”

  “Linda Ellen!” Al shouted, immediately clamping a hand over his mouth when he realized how loud it had come out. The people visiting with the new mothers in the beds across the aisle looked over at him.

  “Yeah, that’s it. Linda Ellen,” Jack agreed, swaying a bit on his chair. Looking over at Vic, who was staring at the piece of paper, he leaned over and tapped him on the arm. “What’dya say to that, Chief?”

  Vic looked up, clearly uncertain, his eyes a bit blurry. “I don’t know…what if Louise doesn’t like it…”

  “I think it’s kind of pretty,” Liz offered. “It’s different. Lindas are usually named Linda Sue or Linda Jane.”

  The nurse arrived at their sides. “You have the form filled out? I don’t mean to rush you, but…” she offered, but her expression said she wondered why the family hadn’t already picked a name before the birth.

  Vic looked around at his family members. “You think Louise’ll like Linda Ellen?”

  The others nodded encouragement.

  Vic glanced once more at Louise’s sleeping face, took a deep breath, and nodded once in agreement. “Okay.” He bent over the paper, filling in the name and murmuring as he wrote the letters, “Linda…Ellen…Matthews.” He signed his name and handed it over to the nurse. She took it, uttered a quick thanks, and turned to exit.

  Vic grinned at his co-conspirators. “Well, looks like we’ve got ourselves a little Linda. Never thought it would happen…but we’ve got our girl.”

  As the others fondly agreed, Vic turned his head back to gaze lovingly at his deeply sleeping wife. To him, she had hardly aged since he had first fallen in love with her all those years ago. In his mind’s eye, he could still see that big wooden door swing open and there she stood, a vision of loveliness in champagne lace. A hazel-eyed beauty, with a smile that set his heart on fire. And now, she was his very own.

  She’s got her girl, now. Maybe everything’ll get back to normal…

  ‡

  CHAPTER 20

  The Admission

  Louise had drifted in and out of a medicine-induced sleep. Having very few memories of the hours after delivery, she could only recall vague words and voices.

  The next evening, after her husband had spent the day overseeing the repairs to the station, she looked over to see him walking through the ward in her direction. Smiling, she noticed with appreciation that he had made it a point to go home, shower, and change out of his perpetually stained uniform before coming to see her. Their eyes met for just a moment before the baby in Louise’s arms made a soft sound and immediately yanked her attention away from her husband.

  She refocused on the tiny face scrunched up in a grimace and gently ran a finger over the wispy strands of dark hair on her little girl’s head. Readjusting the baby’s position in her arms she hummed to her softly. As Vic reached the bed, Louise looked up and smiled a silent greeting, accepting his kiss as he leaned down.

  “Hiya,” he mumbled a second before his lips touched hers.

  “Hi yourself,” she whispered back.

  He sat carefully on the bed, reaching to caress the baby’s delicate skin with the back of one finger, before bringing around his other arm and producing a small bouquet in a glass vase. He flashed his dimpled grin, crooning in answer to Louise’s smile, “For my two beautiful girls.”

  “Thank you, honey,” Louise responded, leaning forward to touch his lips with hers again. Tilting her head toward the bedside table, she added, “Put them over there for me?”

  “All right,” he whispered, leaning up to do as she asked. He resettled once more, watching her actions with the baby with gentle amusement. Finally after a minute, he asked, “How you feel?”

  Without looking at him, Louise answered, “Sore. Tired. Aggravated at the nurses. But…happier than I’ve ever been in my life,” she added as she drew the baby closer and pressed tiny kisses to the tiny cheek. Angling the baby a little toward him, she sighed adoringly, “Isn’t she beautiful?” Then, she seemed to remember the events that led up to her delivering the baby a week early and she looked up at him, scanning his features to reassure herself that he truly wasn’t hurt. “So…tell me…why in the world did Goldie drive their car into the side of the station?”

  Vic chuckled quietly and shook his head. “That was the da…darndest thing I’ve ever seen. There I was, mindin’ my own business, talking to you on the phone, when I look up and WHAM, I think my number’s up and I’m scramblin’ to get outta the way of the front end of an Olds.” Then, his words halted as their eyes met again. “By the way…I’m sorry that all the drama caused you to go into labor early. You, uh…she’s really okay, right?”

  At that, Louise smiled broadly and nodded, looking back down at the sleeping infant in her arms. “Oh yes. She’s perfect. Just like I knew she’d be. And really, she was only a week early, so that’s not too much.”

  Vic changed his position a bit in order to get more comfortable. �
�That’s good. I’m glad the office is the only casualty. Things woulda been a lot worse if Al and Goldie weren’t drivin’ the civilian version of a tank,” he snickered. “An expensive, luxury tank. Only scratched the paint and broke the headlights, but other than that, nothin’.”

  “That’s good,” she said, a bit distracted as she concentrated on the baby. Vic shook his head, idly wondering if Louise would be concerned if he’d actually been hurt in the crash. Then, ashamed of that thought, he chastised himself. Aw, cut her some slack, she’s got other things on her mind right now.

  They spent the next half hour alternately between talk about the craziness of the day before, making over the baby, and chatting with people visiting new mothers in the nearby beds. Louise was just telling Vic about her lunchtime visit from her brother and sister-in-law, Sonny and Sarah, when suddenly, a loud voice declared from the direction of the main aisle, “Where’s that newest Matthews I’ve heard so much about?”

  Vic looked up and sent his best friend a grin as Alec and Fleet sailed down the room, with Earl and Ruth following in their wake and making a beeline for Louise’s bed.

  “Hey girl! You don’t look too worse for wear,” Fleet greeted as she dragged a chair up next to the bed. The men shook Vic’s hand as Ruth circled to the other side and leaned down to give Louise a hug.

  Reaching for the baby in Louise’s arms, Fleet murmured, “Come here Anita Louise.”

  Vic visibly blanched. Oh no…THAT’s what she wanted to name her…oh man…how’m I going to tell Louise…I hope she won’t be too upset…

  Ruth settled herself at the foot of the bed as Fleet sat back in the chair, comfortably cradling the quietly fussing baby. “So you’re the one that was causing all that commotion yesterday,” she accused in a singsong voice, chuckling a little when the baby yawned and blinked up at her.

  “I’m so glad Anita is all right. I was a little worried at first because she’s a week early, but she’s fine,” Louise enthused. “Perfect. Look at that little face. Did you ever see a prettier baby?” she added as she reached to touch the edge of the baby blanket.

  “She’s a darling, all right,” Ruth agreed.

  “Oh, I don’t know – our Alexa is pretty darn cute,” Alec interjected as he leaned over his wife’s shoulder to view the baby. “But yeah, this one’s pretty nifty. Especially considering the amusement park ride my wife took you on to get here – or so I understand,” he teased, laughing when Fleet smacked his leg and peered up at him, the tip of her tongue darting out.

  “So I can’t drive a stick shift like A.J. Foyt! Big-time race driver! Sue me. That baby was comin’ and Louise refused to wait for an ambulance. At least I got her here in one piece.”

  “That you did, my darlin’. That you did,” he agreed, leaning down to give his wife a quick nuzzle.

  “Was the truck all right, Vic?” Louise asked. She shot him a look, wondering why he suddenly seemed distracted. “Vic?”

  “Hmm?” he startled, meeting five sets of eyes that were curiously trained on him.

  “Was the pickup all right after Fleet’s attempts at stripping the gears?”

  “Hey!” Fleet countered amidst the others’ laughter. Feigning insult, she continued, “See if I drive you to the hospital the next time you have a kid.”

  Louise grinned playfully at her friends, enjoying the camaraderie that had always existed between them. It took her mind off just how uncomfortable she was at the moment.

  “Oh, this will be my last baby, believe me. What a day! First, on the telephone with Vic I get scared out of my wits, and then it took forever to find out he wasn’t hurt. That was bad enough – but that ride…it was like a never-ending roller coaster – I’ll never forget that as long as I live,” she laughed and shook her head in amazement, her eyes meeting her best friend’s. “I was sure you’d be beeping the horn for that motorcycle cop to pull over and bring Anita into the world by himself…”

  “Babe…” Vic interrupted. “There’s something I need to tell you…”

  “What, honey?” Louise turned her head to look at him again and raised her eyebrows, completely unsuspecting. Wondering what he was about to tell her, she tried to decipher the confounded look on his face, but she hadn’t a clue.

  “I…that is…me and Al and Jack…that is…” he paused, running a hand back through his hair in frustration. Opening his mouth, he looked as if he were going to blurt something out, but he clamped his lips shut when Earl interrupted, “Hey, look who’s here.”

  The assembled friends turned as one to see Vic’s brothers and their wives walking past the last few beds to get to Louise’s own. It crossed Louise’s mind she now had so many visitors, some of them might be asked to leave.

  “Oh good, you’re awake,” Goldie’s dulcet voice crooned as she glided around the bed to Louise’s left and leaned in to give her a hug. She returned the embrace, giving her sweet sister-in-law a kiss on the cheek.

  “I’m so glad you were here to welcome Anita,” Louise greeted, “and I’m glad no one got hurt yesterday. Thank you for coming.” Turning her eyes to the other three standing at the end of the bed with eyes like saucers, she added sincerely, “All of you.”

  Oblivious to the suddenly strained atmosphere, Ruth immediately reached for the wrapped bundle in Fleet’s arms. “You’ve had your turn, now it’s my turn to hold her.”

  Fleet obligingly and carefully passed the baby to Ruth. Vic looked on with a tight smile, although he exchanged a silent communication with his brothers and their wives.

  Ruth gazed into the baby girl’s face as she raised her up to brush a feather-light kiss on her forehead. “Oh, she’s precious. Just precious,” she whispered fondly.

  Louise, by this time, was getting a bit fatigued. Yet, she was, at the same time, pleased that so many of their friends and family cared enough to come for a visit. She shifted a bit on the bed and smiled at her in-laws. “It was a bumpy ride getting her here, but I’m relieved to say everything is fine now,” she commented as she watched her long-time friend fuss over the baby.

  Vic cleared his throat and lowered his eyes. “I still feel bad that I was talking to you on the telephone and got you upset.”

  Earl gave Vic a playful push. “Yeah, Chief, now what is this about a car crashing through your service station?”

  “Oh please, let me just hide my face if you’re going to tell it again,” Goldie moaned, and everyone laughed.

  Vic shook his head thinking here we go again, and launched into another retelling of the story. He stole nervous glances several times over at Louise, half afraid that she would be upset by the details, but she didn’t seem to be paying attention. Just as it had been earlier when they had talked, his words about being the most frightened he’d ever been in his life while being run over by the car seemed to skim right over her head. Rather, all of her attention seemed to be centered on their baby girl lying asleep in Ruth’s arms.

  Once he was finished, Fleet – not to be outdone – took up the tale of the impending birth from her perspective. People around them had been sending looks of aggravation at the small crowd that had congregated around the last bed in the row. Now they stopped their conversations and listened to the auburn-haired woman’s descriptive reenactment of her and Louise’s wild ride from Buechel all the way downtown, complete with sound effects of their motorcycle police escort. Louise corroborated details of the story several times, adding her own feelings and impressions of Fleet’s comedic attempt at driving Vic’s old pickup. Each time the story was told, it seemed to get funnier and funnier.

  However, the whole time Fleet was telling the story, Vic sat in a chair and stewed, deep in thought about how to break the news to his wife that he had filled out the birth certificate for their little girl with the wrong name. Every time he heard the baby referred to as Anita Louise, he cringed. Should he wait until they were alone? But…their friends were already becoming used to the wrong name. His siblings and their wives kept giving him the eye,
with subtle body language, wondering why he hadn’t told her yet. He knew he would have to take the bull by the horns and just do it.

  He moistened lips that had gone dry from nerves. Fleet seemed to be finished with her story, and while Louise was reaching for the baby, right before another conversation could start, he took a deep breath and blurted, “Her name isn’t Anita Louise. It’s Linda. Linda Ellen.”

  Silence met his statement. He swallowed and took a chance to meet his wife’s stunned expression. Frozen in mid-reach, she said nothing, just looked at him, her mouth open a bit as if she’d almost turned to stone.

  After a few moments, Fleet cleared her throat. “Oh, um…okay. I thought…” Then she stopped, bouncing her stare from Louise’s shocked expression to Vic’s clearly shamed one.

  The others exchanged uncomfortable looks, but they could see storms brewing.

  Before another comment could be made or questions asked, a voice came over the intercom and announced, “Attention visitors. Visiting hours will be over in ten minutes. Thank you.” Orderlies with rolling bassinets immediately began their nightly vigil of taking the babies back to the hospital’s nursery.

  As one, the Matthews’ visitors realized that the couple had some important talking to do and they each rose from their chairs or perches on the end of the bed before making their farewells. In thirty seconds, they were walking out the door together.

  Glad they were at the end of the row, which gave him a few more moments, Vic approached the bed. She had taken the news even worse than he’d initially dreaded and he briefly wondered if she was about to have a conniption. He opened his mouth to start, but she cut him off. “What did you say?”

  “I didn’t name her Anita Louise. I’m sorry, babe,” he added with a self-conscious shrug.

  “But…but why? You knew…” she sputtered, trying to form her thoughts into words.

  “See…Jack had this bottle of bourbon and I took a couple of swigs,” he paused, grimacing as he realized how that sounded. But it was the truth, as stupid as it was. “The nurse came around and handed me the birth certificate and told me to fill it out…I couldn’t remember the name you’d picked out…we tried to call home, but couldn’t get Lilly, or Fleet…” again he paused his quickly delivered monologue. “So…Al and Jack suggested the name Linda Ellen – it was…” he faltered, trying to gauge how mad his wife was, or hurt… “They remembered that our mother had always wanted a girl, kind of like you did, and she was gonna name her after her own grandmothers…my great grandmothers…so I thought that might be good…”