But the Children Survived (26 page)

Antonio was careful not to mention the drug that would have saved her from this pain.  Dr. Tangen had told Antonio that if they tried to have another baby, Teresa might have to be in bed for the whole term of her pregnancy, but there was every reason to believe she could have a baby.  Antonio knew that if she ever got pregnant again, he would give her the purple spores even if he had to do it intravenously. 

*****

In the spring of 1993, Wilmer and March opened their new Tampa, Florida facility.  Jake Rawlings approached Antonio to ask him how he felt about moving to Florida.  The company wanted Antonio to run their Tampa research labs.

This was a wonderful opportunity for Antonio, but he wasn’t sure how Teresa would handle it.  She loved living near her parents.  They had a wonderful life here.  He told Jake he would have to think about it. 

“Don't think too long, Antonio.  They have some guy named Todd in animal research jockeying for the position.  I know for a fact that they would rather have you.  I vouched for your abilities.  You’re the best in this lab.”

This was a shock to Antonio.  In all the time he had worked with Jake, he’d never heard him say one thing about his performance.  Even during his reviews, Jake would say “Keep it up” without specifying what “it” was.  Antonio knew he was up to the task and he hoped Teresa would be willing to support him.  She would graduate in a few weeks and was firming up her resume.  She could easily transfer those skills to Florida.

That evening Antonio brought home flowers.  He came through the back door into the kitchen.  Teresa looked up from her cooking and saw the flowers.  She frowned as he gave them to her.

“Who died?”  She said.

“No one died.  What a thing to say,” Antonio said.

“Well, you never bring me flowers unless you have bad news.” 

Antonio thought about this and realized it was true. 

“I hadn’t realized I did that.  No, this is good news, maybe,” Antonio said.

Teresa was still frowning.  She took the flowers out of the wrapper and cut the ends off before putting them in water. 

“So, you might as well spill it,” she said.  Antonio gave her a strange look.  “The news, spill the news, tell me.” 

“Oh, well, I’ve been offered a big promotion.”

“But...”  Teresa instinctively knew that there was some big catch.

“They want me to go to Florida.”

Teresa sat down at the table.  Antonio took his seat there too.  She looked at him for a long time before speaking.

“This is very important to you, your career, isn't it?”

“Yes, it is.  I would be given a lot more responsibility, more assistants, and more important assignments.  It would be very good for me.”

Antonio could see the wheels spinning behind Teresa's eyes.  He knew what she was thinking.

“It's far away, Antonio.  Florida is too far to drive.  My parents are getting older and I would feel very guilty leaving them alone here.  You have to let me think about this.  When do they need to know?”

“Jake says soon.  Some other guy is being considered, but they really want me.  It’s a brand new facility in Tampa.”

Teresa could see the excitement behind Antonio's grim facade.  He was trying to look as though this would be hardship for him too, but he wasn’t fooling her.  He was chomping at the bit.

Teresa thought about how he’d always gone along with everything she wanted to do, how he had encouraged her.  He’d never held her back except where more puppies were concerned.  He even left his country and his family to be with her.  And he’d never asked her for anything like this before. 

“I want to call my mother,” she said and headed for the bedroom.

When she came out, she was smiling.  Her mother told her that they would be fine, and that they had even been considering relocating to Florida themselves.  The Jersey winters were getting to be too much for them.  She encouraged Teresa to go and support her husband.  Teresa didn’t know that she was pregnant.

Chapter 33

They drove to Tampa with Chloe between them and Ricky on Teresa's lap looking out the window.  Every so often he would bark at a passing car.  They followed the moving van to the house they had rented sight unseen in Brandon. 

They had sold their house in Colt's Neck for a huge profit and Teresa was learning how to invest it.  In the meantime, they would stay in the rental house.  Teresa suggested they put most of their stuff in storage until they knew where they were going to live and Antonio agreed.

The house was a small stucco affair with two bedrooms and one and a half baths.  There was a pool in the back yard and an attached garage.  The moving men emptied the van quickly and left Teresa and Antonio to sort through the mess.

Teresa had been feeling really tired and was concerned she might be pregnant again.  She remembered Dr. Tangen telling her she would have to be on constant bed rest if she ever got pregnant again. 

Teresa took Chloe and Ricky to the vet to get them squared away for their new licenses.  She told the vet's technician that she was new in the area and was looking for an OBGYN.  She told the tech that she had lost a baby and needed someone who specialized in that area.  The young woman thought a minute and then asked her colleague if she knew anyone. 

“Yeah, I know somebody.  Let me make a quick phone call.” 

Five minutes later the woman came back and gave Teresa the number of a Dr. Michael Tomlinson in St. Petersburg. 

“Isn't there anyone closer?”  Teresa asked.  St. Petersburg was miles away.

“I talked to my sister.  She had the same problem and he was real good.  I don't know anybody local.” 

So Teresa thanked the young woman and left the office.  Not being familiar with the area or having any friends to ask, Teresa decided to give Dr. Tomlinson a call. 

When she called, the receptionist said the doctor was booked for the next two months.  Teresa made an appointment anyway and asked the receptionist to call if he had a cancellation.  Then she waited for Antonio to come home so he could make her a batch of the nasty looking purple drug.

*****

Antonio had transported his lab to Florida, but right now it was sitting in storage.  When Teresa asked him to prepare her some of the drug, a look of dismay crossed his face. 

“But you have the plants here,” she said.

“I know, but it is not that easy.  I have to have the right equipment.” 

Antonio thought of Maggie scraping the spores into a bowl and adding some water.  He felt uncomfortable giving his wife and child a dose he hadn’t properly prepared in a lab.  But he also knew that the women of the rainforest had been giving birth this way for hundreds of years, maybe thousands, and he really needn’t worry about Teresa or the baby. 

“Please, Antonio, I can't get in to see the doctor for two months.  What if something happens before then?” Teresa was on the verge of tears.

“When I offered it to you the first time, you said you didn't want a purple baby.” 

“Better a purple baby than no baby at all.  Antonio, I trust you.  Look at Ricky.  He’s so healthy.  Please help me.” 

She was pleading with Antonio and he could see how important this was to her.  He sat for a minute thinking of the consequences should something go wrong.  The placenta would be purple.  How could that be hidden from the doctor who delivered her baby?  How would he explain a baby with a light purple sheen to its skin? 

“It would work.  I know it would.  But how do we hide the purple placenta?” he asked.

“We could get a midwife to deliver me at home.”

“No, not after what happened before.  You have to be in a hospital,” said Antonio.

They sat together for a long time thinking about what to do.  In the end, all Antonio cared about was saving his wife and baby.  So that evening, he brought a plant into the house from the garage and cut one of the leaves off it. 

He scraped the spores into a paper bowl and pounded it into a paste.  He added a little more water, and when he thought it was ready presented it to Teresa in a paper cup.

“God, that looks nasty.  It doesn't smell good either.”

“Chloe liked it.”  Antonio was smiling at her. 

“Well, here goes,” Teresa said as she sipped the drink. 

She raised her eyebrows signifying it did not taste that bad.  They she drank the rest down quickly.  She put the cup down on the table.  Very shortly thereafter, her face glowed in a light purple sheen for a few seconds and then returned to normal.  That always amazed Antonio, and it let him know the spores were going to work. 

“Do you feel anything?” he asked Teresa.

“I feel good, like I could run a marathon.”  Teresa was smiling a big smile.  “I think I need to put some of this stuff away.” 

There were still boxes to unpack and Teresa attacked them with a fervor seldom seen in womankind.  She cleaned the house once over and then started to clean it again.  When she slept, she entered into a deep sleep.  When she woke up, she jumped out of bed ready to conquer the world.  She felt she could do almost anything. 

When she went to see Dr. Tomlinson, she noted that he looked like Santa Clause.  He had long white hair and a short white beard.  He wore small round metal rimmed glasses.  He also had a big belly. 

“Yes, I know,” he remarked, “I’m a jolly old elf.” 

Teresa laughed with him because it really was true.  Dr. Tomlinson was a genial soul.  He examined her and told her that she was fine, that her cervix was doing nicely and there was no sign of dilation. 

Dr. Tomlinson told her that she was four months along and if she remained this well he could see no reason for concern.  She left his office feeling as though Santa had come early, which of course he had.

Antonio was thrilled with his wife's progress.  She glowed, thankfully not purple, and she said she hadn’t felt this good, pregnant or not, since she was a teenager.  With each passing month, she and Antonio relaxed.  They knew this baby would be fine and that she would carry it full term.

When she began to approach her final weeks, Dr. Tomlinson suggested she stay in St. Petersburg until the baby was born.  He didn’t want her going into labor so far away.  Antonio worked with a man whose parents owned a waterfront home on St. Pete Beach that they used only in the winter.  Antonio asked if Teresa and her dogs could live there for a month until she delivered.  The man's parents agreed and Teresa moved in with Chloe and Ricky.  Antonio would come down on weekends. 

Lorraine said she could fly down the last week to stay with Teresa when Teresa told her it was time.  Teresa’s parents would come a week later to give Teresa time to settle in.

Lorraine was reading a book she’d bought at the airport.  She and Teresa were sitting on the beach in lounge chairs.  Teresa felt a pang.  She wasn’t sure what it was until it happened again and her eyes bugged out of her head.  Lorraine, who had never given birth, got up and ran to phone the doctor, leaving Teresa splayed out on the beach in her chair. 

When she came back, Lorraine helped Teresa up as best she could.  Teresa first had to roll over with Lorraine watching helplessly by her side.  Finally, she was able to get herself up on her knees and Lorraine was able to help her balance so she could get up. 

By the time they got off the beach, the ambulance was there to take Teresa to the hospital.  Lorraine called Antonio, who said he’d meet her at the hospital as soon as he could get there. 

Lorraine was in the room with Teresa when Antonio arrived.  She took Antonio aside.

“She was in bed when her water broke.”  Lorraine was looking rather grim.  “Antonio, she asked me what color it was.  I didn't want to look, but she kept insisting.  I wanted to get the nurse.  But I did look.  Antonio, it was
purple
.  The most beautiful shade of purple I've ever seen.  Is that normal?  I mean, is that the color of the stuff around the baby?”

Antonio suppressed a smile.  Lorraine was so earnest he dare not laugh. 

“Umm, well, sometimes.  It depends on what the mother eats.  I know that Teresa was very fond of eggplant during this pregnancy.  She also ate a lot of grapes and plums.  So maybe it affected her amniotic fluids.” 

“I can see that,” Lorraine said.  “It's all over the sheets.”

Antonio peeked under Teresa's covers.  Indeed the sheets were damp and purple.  Antonio asked Lorraine to ask the nurse for a new sheet and padding.  When Lorraine brought them back, Teresa got out of the bed and Antonio changed the sheets before anyone could see them.

“Shouldn't the nurses do that?”  Lorraine said.

“Ah, they are very busy tonight, full moon and all.  I try to help when I can.” 

“Damn Antonio.”  Lorraine was smiling at him.  “No wonder she puts up with you.” 

Antonio asked Lorraine to get him some coffee because he wanted to be alone with Teresa.  Lorraine took the hint and left the room.  When they were alone, Antonio closed the door and sat next to Teresa on the bed.

“How are you feeling, Cara?”  He put his arm around her.

“I’m not in hard labor yet, so it's not too bad.  But it's bad enough.  I can't believe the color of those sheets.  How are we going to hide the placenta?”

“We may have to bring Dr. Tomlinson into our confidence.  I don't know what else to do,” Antonio said.

“I think we can trust him.  How can he argue with the results of us using that drug?  I am nine months pregnant without a hitch.” 

Teresa grabbed Antonio's arm and her monitor went off the charts.  The pain ripped through her like a hot poker on her back.  Antonio called the nurse, who came in to check her vitals.  She also checked Teresa's dilation.

“It should be pretty soon, now.  I'm going to get the doctor,” the nurse said.

The nurse didn't mention anything unusual about Teresa's nether regions.  When Dr. Tomlinson came in, he examined Teresa and told the nurse to move her to the OR.  Teresa was wheeled into the OR while Antonio dressed in scrubs and a mask.  The actual birth took very little time.