A Love Story Page 19

  “Mommy Callie, Mommy Callie,” the little boy cried.

  “Tomorrow you can talk to her on the telephone.’

  “I want to talk to her now!’ he demanded, staring at his father.

  “She’s sleeping. She needs sleep to get better,” he said.

  Jason calmed down and Mac gave him a hug. He put a Muppets video on the television and cuddled up with Jason, now three years old, and watched TV. He didn’t want to think, he needed to talk to Callie. He picked up the phone.

  “Ruth, I need to ask you a favor…”

  Ruth Emerson was at Mac’s door at six o’clock to watch Jason. By the time Mac got her and Jason squared away, it was time for him to head back to the hospital.

  Mac was still upset when he drove up to the hospital at six-forty-five pm. He walked down the hall with a dozen red roses and stopped at Callie’s room. He peeked in nervously. She was putting on lipstick and trying to comb her hair, with the help of Nurse Nina.

  Callie turned and saw Mac at the door.

  “Oh, these are lovely! Let me find a vase for you, Callie. Why this must be the handsome husband you were talking about. Hi, I’m Nina, Callie’s night nurse. Six till six,” she said, shaking his hand.

  Mac smiled and mumbled a greeting. Callie looked over at him. She gave him a weak smile. Her injuries were freshly bandaged, but it was the injury to her spirit most upsetting Mac. He approached the bed, leaning down to give her a gentle kiss, taking care not to injure his already bruised wife. As she looked up at him, her eyes filled with tears.

  “Callie, about the baby…” he said gently, moving strands of hair off her forehead.

  “I didn’t mean to keep it from you. I wanted to tell you myself but I didn’t find out officially until today after class. Amanda told me my growing chest might be because I’m pregnant. She said it happened to her when she was pregnant. So I got a home pregnancy test and it was positive, but I wasn’t convinced. I didn’t want to get you all excited until I knew for sure, I went to the doctor for a blood test. I got the results this morning, right before I got the text message.”

  Mac leaned over and kissed her and stroked her hair.

  “And now it’s gone, Mac. Our baby is gone. It’s dead. It will never be. And I was so excited. I couldn’t wait to tell you, then I got the damn text from Venus and I couldn’t stop, she said be there in ten minutes or we wouldn’t see Jason again. I thought they had Jason, but they didn’t,” Callie started to cry.

  “They said they had Jason?” he asked.

  “There wasn’t time to check and I didn’t know whether to believe them or not. But I didn’t want to risk it and they didn’t have him, it was a trap to get me there,” Callie said, quickly, getting more upset.

  “Shh. Shh. It’s okay. It’s all over now. You’re safe and it’s over. Dave has arrested everyone,” Mac said, touching her face.

  “It’s not over. We lost our baby. Our baby. My baby. Your baby. It’s gone and we can never get it back!”

  With this Callie began to cry. Mac closed the door and pulled the curtain around the bed. He got on the bed and took her in his arms as best he could with all the bandages and tubes connected in the way. She buried her face in his chest and sobbed. When the nurse came in, concerned, Mac raised his hand to show her everything was okay. She understood and left.

  Mac kissed her hair and held her close resting his cheek on her head. Tears formed in the corners of his eyes and try as he might, he couldn’t hold them back. When Callie took a breath and sat back, she could see he was crying, too, for what he lost and what he almost lost.

  She cried softly against his chest, spent with her grief. What plans she made, even in the short time she suspected and then knew. Her baby. She loved the sound of it. A baby of her own…hers and Macs. A child Mac could be sure he fathered. To have a child with Mac…her greatest wish, so many dreams…all shattered before they could take flight.

  Eventually she quieted down. Mac and Callie lay together on the hospital bed.

  “I’m sorry, Mac,” Callie said, “about everything.”

  “Nothing is your fault.”

  “Thank you for saving my life,” she said.

  He smiled, pulled out his handkerchief and gave it to her.

  Callie smiled. They sat up when doctor came in.

  “We’re letting you out tomorrow afternoon, Mrs. Caldwell. We’ve done all we can for you. We need these beds for sick people,” he said smiling.

  “Doctor, why did Callie have a miscarriage?” Mac asked.

  “There are lots of reasons, Mr. Caldwell. Could have been something wrong with the fertilized egg, you know, the chromosomes, but it’s more likely it was the trauma she suffered.”

  “You mean getting shot?” Callie asked.

  “The gun blast left a big hole, Mrs. Caldwell. You lost a lot of blood. The blood loss or the trauma alone could’ve caused the miscarriage. It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly why miscarriages happen,” he said.

  “But it doesn’t mean she will have another, does it?” Mac asked.

  “Certainly not. She’s young, in good health and physical condition. There is no reason why she can’t have plenty of healthy babies. Perhaps it’s best to look ahead, Mrs. Caldwell, to the next pregnancy. We gave her a D & C to be safe, so no sexual relations for a week and no unprotected sex for two months. Watch for excessive bleeding and fever. If that happens you need to come back here right away.

  The shoulder wound shows no signs of infection. Come see me in five days, so I can check it is healing properly. I expect it will be quite sore for the next few weeks.

  Here are some exercises you can do when it stops hurting to get your range of motion back. If ibuprofen doesn’t control the pain, call me and I’ll give you a prescription. You took quite a shot. Fortunately, it didn’t hit anything major. Good luck, Mrs. Caldwell,” the doctor said and shook hands with Callie and Mac.

  “Thank you Dr. Cho,” Callie said.

  After the doctor left, she turned to Mac.

  “You’re not mad at me about not telling you are you?”

  “No, but how did this happen?” he asked.

  “In the usual way.”

  “I mean an accident, did you plan it? If you planned it, why didn’t you discuss it with me?” he asked.

  “You are mad. I didn’t plan it. I think it happened around Valentine’s Day. You know, one of those days when we got carried away.”

  “It’s so easy to get carried away with you, Callie,” he said, smiling.

  But she didn’t smile back, her face was still pale. She lay back on the pillow and took his hand with her right hand.

  “I wanted the baby, Mac. Do you want a baby with me?” she asked, tearing up.

  “Of course I do!” he said, stroking her hair.

  “Please don’t be mad. I can’t take it now.”

  “I’m not mad at you, Baby,” he said, “I love you. Thank God you’re okay. In two months we’ll make new plans.”

  Callie tried to smile but couldn’t. Her emotions and her hormones were all messed up. She felt incredibly sad. Tears streamed down her face.

  “Jason is worried about you,” Mac said.

  “Is he?” she asked, the corners of her mouth rising slightly.

  “Could we call you tomorrow morning before daycare? He needs to make sure you’re okay. You are okay, aren’t you Callie?”

  “Call me. Tell him I’ll be home when he gets home. Am I okay? I don’t know.”

  “I’m going to have to get you dressed and undressed with this bandage. Can you move your arm at all?”

  She shook her head.

  “Not fair! I get to undress you but nothing more. For a whole week,” he joked, leaning over to give her a sweet kiss.

  She reached up to touch his cheek.

  “Does it hurt much,” he asked.

  “Only when I smile.”

  “We’ll get through this, babe…together.”

  Nurse Nina came in.


  “Time to end this visit, Mr. Caldwell. Callie needs her rest,” she said.

  Mac gave Callie another tender kiss.

  “You can pick her up tomorrow around 1pm. Bring some clothes. What she wore in here was ruined and discarded. A top without sleeves would work.”

  Callie squeezed his hand and lay down. She tried to smile, but her eyes were closing. She needed sleep. He stole out quietly and drove home on automatic pilot. At home in the driveway, the reality of what had happened hit him. Mac put his head down on the steering wheel and cried.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Mac reached for his handkerchief and remembered he left it with Callie. The thought made him smile. He was always running out of handkerchiefs when she was around. He found some tissues in the glove compartment and cleaned himself up a little. Eliza and Simon were waiting for him inside, so he didn’t want to look like a total wreck.

  As soon as she took one look at his face, Eliza’s eyebrows shot up in alarm.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  Mac plopped down on the sofa, exhausted.

  “How about a drink first?”

  “Wine, Mac? Beer or the hard stuff?” Simon asked.

  “Whatever’s handy, Simon,” Mac said, too tired to care.

  Simon poured him a glass of red wine. Mac took a gulp and sat back.

  “Is Callie okay?” Eliza asked.

  “Depends on what you mean by okay,” he said, taking another big swallow of wine.

  “You know what I mean,” she insisted.

  “Physically, she’s okay…healing and there’s no permanent damage from the gunshot. But mentally she’s not so good,” he said.

  “Why?” Eliza asked.

  “Because it’s more than likely the gunshot caused her to miscarry,” he said.

  Eliza gasped.

  “She was pregnant?”

  “Apparently. I didn’t know.”

  “She didn’t tell you?”

  “To be fair to her, she only found out today, officially, although she suspected it for about a week. She planned to tell me, but then got the text from Venus…then everything went to Hell. Now our baby is gone and Callie is depressed,” he said.

  There was silence.

  “How are you feeling?” Eliza asked quietly.

  “I’m numb,” he said.

  “I’m sorry, so sorry,” Simon said.

  “Let’s keep this between us, okay? I doubt Callie wants everyone to know. You know how private she is,” Mac said.

  “Of course. There must be something we can do to cheer her up,” Eliza said.

  Mac didn’t respond, instead he stared out the window then finished his wine.

  First thing the next morning, Eliza told John Lawrence everything. John was shocked to hear about Callie. He called Mac and told him to take the day off and work at home for the next week. Then he brought Jonesy into his office.

  “Jonesy, I’m going to break my confidentiality pledge and confide in you,” John said, then he proceeded to fill her in.

  “Ohmigod!” Jonesy said.

  “They need help, Jonesy,” John said.

  “John, I know exactly what to do,” she said.

  * * * *

  Mac and Jason got a late start to daycare.

  “I want to talk to Mommy Callie now!’ The boy demanded.

  “Okay,” Mac said, picking up the telephone.

  Callie sounded sleepy when she answered.

  “I’m sorry. Did we wake you?”

  “I’ve been up for hours. Dozed off, I guess.”

  “Here’s Jason,” Mac said, handing the phone to Jason.

  Jason wasn’t used to talking on the phone. He didn’t quite know how to do it.

  “Mommy Callie, its Jason, your son. Are you sick? When are you coming home? I want you to come home now. ” he said, shooting questions rapid fire at Callie.

  “Jason, Jason. Slow down,” she said.

  Jason handed the phone to Mac.

  “Jason! Wait! Ask Callie one question and wait for her to answer,” Mac instructed, returning the receiver to the boy.

  “When are you coming home Mommy Callie?” he asked.

  “I’ll be home by the time you get home this afternoon.”

  “Okay. Good bye,” he said and gave the phone back to Mac.

  “Did you get that?” Mac asked, laughing.

  “I think so,” she replied, also laughing.

  “I’ll see you soon. Gotta go, Jason’s at the door. Love you,” Mac said.

  Nurse Nina came in, surprised to see Callie smiling.

  “Feeling better today?” she asked.

  “Not really. But I had an adorable conversation with my 3-year-old stepson on the phone.”

  “I’m glad he cheered you up. Let’s get your dressing changed. I want to check your progress. Then we can wash you up and get you ready to go home to your man, excuse me, men.”

  Mac was at the hospital shortly before 1pm, with a bag of clothes. Doctor Cho pulled him aside.

  “Mr. Caldwell, can I speak with you for a minute?” He asked, motioning Mac into an empty examination room.

  “Of course, something wrong?” He asked, following the doctor the closing the door.

  “Mrs. Caldwell appears to be quite depressed, which often happens after a miscarriage, but I’m reluctant to prescribe anti-depressants. Do you think you can help her get past this point and back to a healthier frame of mind?”

  “I’ll try, Doctor, I’m not feeling too cheerful myself. You want me to cheer up Callie? Doesn’t she have a right to mourn this loss a little?”

  “Of course. But you shouldn’t let it go on too long. Depression can be tricky. While some mourning is natural, too much can become obsessive and dangerous.”

  “I’ll keep an eye on her.” Mac assured the doctor.

  “Good. Call me if there are any problems,” Dr. Cho said, handing his card to Mac.

  The two men shook hands.

  It took Callie, Mac and Nurse Nina to get Callie dressed. They cut a sleeve off a tee shirt, all Mac could find, but they got her dressed. Callie was relieved to be going home.

  “Patients always rest better at home. Too much noise in the hospital and too many germs, too. What about these flowers?”

  “You keep them, Nina. And thank you for everything,” Callie said.

  Callie refused a wheelchair ride to the door, preferring to go with Mac. As they were walking down the hall, Callie turned to Mac,

  “Oh, Mac! You gave me those flowers. I’m sorry, I should have asked you. Was it okay to give them to Nina?”

  “It was a nice thing to do,” he said, patting her hand.

  Mac walked on Callie’s right side. She made him slow down as his big stride was too fast for her. Outside the wind was blustery, making the sunny day feel chilly and cold. Callie shivered and her knees buckled. Mac grabbed her before she fell down. She swayed against him, feeling weak.

  “Callie! Callie! What is it?”

  She buried her face in his coat to hide her tears, but he felt her crying. He held her and didn’t say anything. In a few minutes, she stopped crying. Mac freed up one hand to reach into his pocket and pull out his handkerchief and hand it to her, which made her laugh…then he laughed.

  Mac kept his arm around Callie’s waist for support on the way to the car. He helped her into her seat and buckled her in. Driving home, he felt some of his depression start to lift, after all, Callie was coming home. They’d begin to rebuild their life together and resume their love affair. That’s what their marriage was for him, one long, satisfying love affair.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  When they pulled into the driveway, Ruth Emerson waited at their front door waving. Both Mac and Callie were puzzled by her presence in their house. Mac ran to the door.

  “What’s wrong, Ruth? Why are you here?”

  “Nothing’s wrong, Mac. The delivery men needed to get in and I have your key, remember? Go get your lovely wife, sh
e needs to see this,” Ruth said.

  Mac forgot he left Callie struggling to get out of the car by herself. When he returned, she was annoyed he had forgotten her.

  “Nice, Mac! Did you forget I don’t have two arms to get out with? I need help, here,” Callie snapped.

  “Sorry, sorry,” he said, helping her out of the car.

  She walked into the house and stopped. Her mouth hung open when she spied baskets of flowers everywhere.

  “What is all this?” Callie asked.

  “These are all for you, dear. They’ve been arriving all morning…from people who love you. Read the cards,” Ruth said as she put on her coat and left the house.

  Each arrangement was bigger than the next. There were two on the dining room table, one on the side table two on the coffee table. A Fichus tree stood near the kitchen. Callie went to each one and opened the card. She read them aloud to Mac.

  “For a speedy recovery to my favorite dance partner, signed Jacob Stonington.”

  “To our bravest girl, signed Diana Brown.”

  “Get better soon, with love, Eliza and Simon.”

  “Get well soon, Professor Gaffney’s Curriculum Class.”

  “Love and good wishes for a speedy recovery, signed Annika and John Lawrence.”

  “Thanks for your help. Get well soon. Dave Williams.”

  “Get Well Soon, Whit and Carol Ferguson.”

  Mac was as amazed as Callie…and the deliveries kept coming. Fruit baskets, wine and cheese, chocolates and more flowers arrived. Pretty soon there was no room in the living room. Jonesy and Bill sent one, and then there was one from the office staff, and Dale dropped off one of her fabulous cakes. The neighbors brought casseroles, a pan of lasagna, a pot of chili. Callie was overwhelmed by all the love and kindness. She started to cry happy tears.

  “This is incredible,” she said, wiping her eyes.

  For the first time in two days, a true smile appeared on her face. Mac sighed, relieved to see her grinning again. Callie changed into her nightgown and, with Mac’s help, threw her robe over her bad arm. She walked around looking at and sniffing the sweet scents of all the flowers and plants. The love in the air from these heartfelt gifts surrounded her like a soft warm blanket, soothing her spirits, helping to heal her emotional wounds.