Meant To Be (28 page)

A few moments later he saw Marienne through the glass panels.

“Hey,” she said, as she opened the door. “What are you doing here?”

“Delivery.” He held up the bag.

Her eyes widened. “Thomas Sweets?”

He nodded, thrilled when her face erupted into a huge grin.

“Oh my God, come in.” She stepped aside. “I can’t believe you’re bringing me ice cream, it’s all I’ve been thinking about since you mentioned it the other night.”

“Ah-ha.” He felt very proud. “I knew it.”

He followed her to the kitchen and set the bag down on the table. She lowered herself into a chair with such care he could practically feel the pain.

“How are you?” he asked.

“More bored than anything else. All I can do is sit and think. Even drawing is uncomfortable because the table seems out of reach. I spent three hours playing solitaire today. Owww.” She cringed.

“You okay?”

“Just a strong kick. Hey, that reminds me. Watch this.” She grabbed the box of playing cards and placed it atop her tummy. Two seconds later the deck leapt off her.

“Oh my God, did the baby do that?”

“Yes. The other night we were watching TV, and Frank put the remote down on my stomach, as a joke. The baby kicked it right off. Anything I put on it gets kicked off.”

“That’s hilarious. Future soccer star.” Daniel leaned toward her stomach and whispered. “Arsenal.”

Marienne giggled. “Don’t let Frank hear you saying that.”

“Oh, right, I imagine he’d be happier with Eagles or Jackie Chan.”

“Well, that too, but I meant Frank thinks talking to the baby is ridiculous. He says I’m crazy.”

“That’s silly,” Daniel said. “The baby can hear you, and is with you all day long, why wouldn’t you talk?”

“Exactly.”

“Okay, pressing matter here, the ice cream is melting. I didn’t know what you’d want so you have four choices.” He repeated the combinations to her as he handed her the Rice Krispies Treat and unpacked the bag. He removed the lids and stuck a spoon in each cup before setting them in front of her.

“You’re a pregnant woman’s dream date.”

Daniel laughed. “I’ll have to update my resume. Maybe you can work on that for me tomorrow.”

Marienne took the spoon out of the chocolate and M&Ms blend-in and slipped it into her mouth. “So good.” She closed her eyes.

Daniel was delighted to see her happy. “Did I do all right with the flavors?”

“Like I said, dream date. You’re amazing.” She pointed to the ice cream. “You have to eat some too, though. Normal sized people must eat with fat pregnant women. You know the rule. Speaking of which, why didn’t you get any peanut butter cup blend-ins? You don’t like them anymore?”

“You said peanut butter’s been giving you heartburn.” He took a spoonful of the Heath Bar concoction.

“That’s when I eat it, not when I’m around someone who’s eating it.”

“I know you like them too so I wouldn’t eat them in front of you when you can’t have any. Show of solidarity.”

“Justine’s going to be a very lucky pregnant woman some day.”

“We’ll see.” Daniel scooped up a spoonful of the KitKat blend as the phone rang.

Marienne glanced at the cordless and groaned.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“It’s my sister.” Marienne rolled her eyes. “She’s been calling me daily, trying to convince me to let my mother come when the baby is born. I don’t want to hear it.”

“That’s your decision.” Daniel noted the deepening furrow in her brow, even after the phone stopped ringing. “It’s your choice, you know. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do.”

“I know. I can’t win either way. If I don’t let her come, I feel guilty, and if I do let her come I know she’ll make me feel bad. And the worst part is all I keep thinking about lately is what if I have a daughter, and I wind up having the same horrible relationship with her as I have with my mother? What if I’m an awful mom?”

“That’s not going to happen.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Yes, I do,” he said.

“How can you be sure?”

“Because I know you. And from what I know about your mother I know that you aren’t capable of being like that to another person. Any other person, let alone your own child.”

“You really believe that?” she asked.

“I’m certain of it. And I can tell, because I had the benefit of having a really great mum. You’re going to be wonderful.”

Marienne looked into his eyes. “What made her a great mum?”

“Tons of things. Mostly it was the way she treated me. She never talked to me like I was a kid, never talked down to me, yet she was always understanding when I behaved like a child.” He took a mouthful of peppermint ice cream. “It’s hard to explain. So many mums and dads seem to talk at their kids, tell them what to do and set arbitrary rules, then get irately angry when the kids do stupid stuff that’s normal for someone their age to be doing.” He twirled his spoon in the Kit Kat cup. “Don’t get me wrong, my mum got mad at me plenty, and I did more than my share of stupid stuff, but when she calmed down we’d sit and talk, and she listened to me. It made me feel like I was a person, not some dumb kid. She made certain I understood why she was mad, or why she set a certain rule. I don’t know.” He noticed that Marienne’s eyes hadn’t left his face. “It made me feel loved, and important, like my feelings and opinions mattered.”

“She sounds amazing,” Marienne said.

“She was. Everyone loved her. Well, everyone apart from my father, and some of the other arseholes she dated.”

“Men don’t always appreciate women’s finer qualities.”

“No, I suppose not. Some men. Stupid men, who she seemed to attract, frequently. That was the one area where her judgment was awful. She had horrible taste in men. I used to think I felt that way because no one would have been good enough for her, but that wasn’t it at all. She picked some real prats. Including my father.”

“Well, he wasn’t totally without merit,” Marienne said. “He gave her you.”

Daniel stared at her.

“What?” Her brow furrowed.

“That’s what she always said.”

“Oh. Well, she was right.”

“See, that’s why you’re going to be a good mum. You’ll see the good things in your child, and you’ll say them out loud.”

“I hope so.”

“I know so.”

They silently ate more ice cream.

“I’m sorry she never got to see you as a grown man. She’d be so proud of you,” Marienne said quietly.

Daniel shrugged.

“Seriously, look how great you turned out. You’ve got a nice house, a beautiful wife, a fantastic job where you’re actually doing something meaningful, you’re always helping people. You bring ice cream to your pathetic, housebound, pregnant friend. I guarantee she’d be proud.”

“Thanks.” He smiled.

“No, thank you.” She seemed to sense that he needed a break from the conversation. She held up the Rice Krispies Treat. “So, should we split this now? Or should I eat it for breakfast with the rationale that it’s made of cereal?”

“Definitely breakfast.”

Chapter Thirty-One

Marienne could not get comfortable. She shifted her position in bed, trying to prop herself up, turning to her side, nothing helped. It wasn’t pain, so much as pressure. Thinking maybe she needed to pee, she forced herself out of bed and waddled into the bathroom. She had to stop twice to get her balance. Her head was spinning.

She sat down on the toilet and bent forward, try to quell the swirling in her head. The heaviness in her belly grew stronger, aching now. She barely peed at all and decided that must not have been the problem. She wiped and glanced at the tissues. To her complete shock they were covered in blood.

Cold prickled through her from head to toe. She unrolled fresh toilet paper and wiped again. Bright red blood.

“Frank.” There was no answer. She started to shake. “Frank.”

“What?” He mumbled. She could hear him turning over, probably drifting back to sleep.

“I’m bleeding,” she said, as loudly and clearly as she could.

“Hmmm?”

“I’m bleeding.” Her voice was barely a whisper, but somehow he heard her this time.

He stumbled toward the bathroom, rubbing sleep out of his eyes. She was frozen with a bloody handful of toilet tissues. Frank clutched the door. He couldn’t deal with the sight of blood.

“Call 911,” she said, seeing that he’d turned white. Marienne was headed beyond panic. “Call 911.”

Frank snapped to attention. She listened to him dialing. Hearing him tell their emergency to the operator made her feel more frantic.
This is really happening.
Her heart pounded with frightening speed.

The doctor had told her that as long as there was no bleeding the low-lying placenta would not present a problem. Partial previa he’d called her condition, a cause for caution, not worry. She had read all the articles, and she knew bleeding meant there was a problem, a big problem. “Please let the baby be okay, please let the baby be okay.”

She heard the beep as Frank hung up. “They’re on their way,” he said, but he didn’t come back into the bathroom. She rocked back and forth, “Be okay, be okay, be okay.” She rubbed her tummy. There were no fluttering replies, which scared her even more.
Where the hell is Frank?
She moved the bathroom door aside so she could peek through the opening by the hinge. He was darting around the room, getting dressed.

“Frank.” She was too scared to move.

“Are you okay?”

The question struck her as ridiculous.
Do I look okay? This is not my idea of okay.
The annoyance she felt distracted her from her fear.

“Please make sure you bring my suitcase. I’ve got all my things in it. I may need it in case the baby….” She doubled over in pain as a contraction hit her, hard. This didn’t feel like Braxton Hicks. This hurt like hell. Her entire abdomen turned rock hard, and she felt a rush of liquid leave her body.

“Oh my God.” She didn’t know if her water had just broken or if the contraction had forced a ton of blood out of her, either way she knew it wasn’t good. “Are they here yet?” The pain of the contraction subsided, but her terror remained.

She saw the flashing lights through the bedroom window.
Thank God.
She tried to remember to breathe. She heard Frank rush down the stairs and open the front door. “You’re okay,” she whispered to the baby. This time a flutter came.

She heard a female voice. “Ma’am?”

“Yes.” She was grateful they were there. “I’m in the bathroom, I’m afraid to move.”

“May I come in?”

“Please.”

“I’m Sheila. What’s your name?” She reached down to take Marienne’s wrist and do a quick count of her pulse.

“Marienne.”

“Okay, Marienne, can you tell me when the bleeding started?”

“Maybe ten minutes ago, right before my husband called. I have partial placenta previa. I’ve been on bed rest. My doctor, Dr. Nowell, said not to worry unless I started bleeding.” She felt her breath coming way too fast again.

“Okay, Marienne, take it easy. Slow deep breaths. We’ll have you at the hospital in a few minutes. Jerry, can you help me get Marienne up?”

“How you doing, Marienne?” Jerry’s voice was strong and friendly. “I’m gonna help you get downstairs, okay?”

Marienne nodded, feeling another contraction start.

“Breathe, Marienne,” Sheila said, as Marienne doubled over. Another rush of liquid came. “It’s okay.”

She heard the voices, but couldn’t listen any more. All she could think about was the baby.

****

Daniel awoke with a start, sitting straight up in bed, his heart pounding. He looked over at Justine’s side of the bed, and it was empty. He remembered she was in LA. His pulse continued racing. He shook his head.

What happened? A dream?
He struggled to remember, but nothing came to mind. His mouth was dry and pasty. He shuffled downstairs to get a glass of water, rubbing his eyes.

As he reached for the kitchen faucet, a flashing light caught his attention. He squinted and blinked before it dawned on him what it was. There was an ambulance at Marienne’s house. Someone was being carried out on a stretcher.

Daniel’s heart felt as though it had stopped beating. Without a second thought he rushed out the back door. Frank was standing in their driveway, looking very much in shock. Daniel could hear Marienne’s screams coming from the ambulance.

“What happened?” Daniel asked, as soon as he reached Frank.

“I don’t know. We were sleeping. She got up and went to the bathroom and told me she was bleeding.”

“Sir,” the paramedic said to Frank. “We need to get your wife to the hospital right now. You can ride with us or follow in your car.”

Frank seemed frozen. He didn’t answer.

“Go with Marienne,” Daniel told him. He didn’t move. “Frank. Go with her.” He kept his voice strong as he tried to snap Frank out of his daze.