Love After Marriage (Forever After #2) (12 page)

"I'm with Beth right now."

"I want to speak to her." My tone was fierce with fury. The fury almost choked me.

"She's unavailable. I need you to come here."

"Give her the phone. Now."

"We're here at the hospital.” The urgency in his voice pushed fear to the surface. “Something's wrong with the baby."

The air escaped my lungs as though he'd just sucker punched me through the cell.

"Wh-what?" My voice broke into a quiet hush. I backed up against the closest wall, leaning on it for support, feeling as though the floor would swallow me whole. "I want to talk to her." My tone turned from harsh to pleading, my voice small.

"She just stepped in with the doctors. She asked me to call you."

"Is she okay?" I blinked rapidly as the edges of my phone dug deeply into my palm.

"I don't know." Concern marked the edges of his voice, which only heightened my anxiety.

Another sucker punch, this time harder.

My feet raced down the hall. I rushed down the stairs and out the door, not worrying about the meeting or my jacket or leaving without notifying anyone.

The only thought that filled my mind was getting to my wife.

"Which hospital?"

"Eastern Medical."

"I'm on my way."

* * *

N
ever in my
life had I driven faster. I swerved through cars, passed by cabs, and raced toward the hospital as if my life depended on it.

My life did depend on it. Beth was my life. In the ten minutes it took me to get to the hospital, different thoughts played loudly in my head.

Was she okay?

How was the baby?

I should have been there. She should’ve called me first.

Her not feeling well—that was something I needed to see and hear from her. Not from her ex-boyfriend.

I threw my car into park, pushed open the door, and rushed into the hospital. After announcing Beth's name numerous times to the Registration desk, they pointed me in the right direction.

Anxiety suffocated me as I ascended to the eighth floor and waited for the doors of the elevator to open.

When I stepped out and turned right as instructed, I staggered to a halt. Jason was standing in front of the nurses' station, pacing back and forth. I wanted to ram my fist into his face, but that was only second to seeing my wife.

"Where is she?"

"She's in room eight-twelve, at the corner. I think the doctors are in there right now."

My jaw tightened. "Her phone."

He placed her cell in my hands and, when I turned, I heard him say, "I'm sorry. I didn't know she was pregnant."

I couldn't hold it in any longer. I flipped to face him, jaw tense and eyes tight.

"Why would you know something like that? You're nothing to her."

He straightened his stance, ready to strike back. The bitterness in his eyes clearly showed. Bitterness for what? That I had her and he didn’t.

I could have said and done more. I could have threatened his job, punched him in the face for violating my wife, but I didn't. I didn't want to risk getting kicked out of the hospital before seeing Beth.

He opened his mouth to say something but shut it back down, most likely silenced by the look on my face.

In the next second, I sprinted toward eight-twelve because it wasn't worth it, and ultimately, I had already won. Beth was my wife.

When I entered the room, Jason was long forgotten as I stared into Beth's red tear-filled eyes. The doctor was standing by her side.

I rushed toward her and reached for her hand, the warmth in her touch comforting me. "What's the matter?"

"They’re not sure. The...the baby," she choked out.

My insides churned as I lifted my head toward the doctor and stuck out my hand. "Kent Plack, Beth's husband. Doctor, please tell me that our baby is okay."

Our baby. It was the first time I’d said it like that. But it was true. Because it was. The baby was part Beth and part me. My blood flowed through the baby's veins.

My chest tightened, and I sent a silent prayer, hoping and wishing that the baby was okay.

"We don't know yet, but we're waiting to take an internal ultrasound. It should only take a few minutes before they wheel the machine in."

"Thank you, doctor." I turned my attention toward my wife and gripped both of her hands as tears coursed down her cheeks. "It'll be fine," I promised, though I wasn’t sure it would be.

Her body trembled and I pulled the sheet higher to cover more of her.

She shook her head. "It's okay, I'm not cold." I realized she was shaking from fear, and I had never felt so weak, so terrified, so powerless, unable to do anything but wait.

I sat at the edge of the bed and angled as close as possible to comfort her. "Everything is going to be okay." I forced certainty in my voice for her benefit. There was such fierceness in my tone that I swallowed back a lump in my own throat.

This was my job. I functioned as her rock, the one who took care of her and made sure everything was okay. But for the first time in forever, I doubted my words. I was worried about the living, breathing human inside her. I could buy her anything, give her anything, but the health of our baby was beyond my control, and I was suddenly scared shitless.

"Will it?" Her lip quivered, her eyes begging to believe me.

I nodded and squeezed her hand to convince her because it had to. "I'll make it okay. It will be okay."

"I'm scared, Kent."

I hated those words. The fact that they came from her mouth and I was helpless to do anything about it weakened every bone in my body.

In the next second, she was in my arms, and I kissed her forehead. "I'm scared, too," I whispered, "but I promise you everything is going to be okay."

Her voice was barely above a whisper. "What’re you scared of?"

Honesty escaped me. With Beth, there was no way I could give her anything less than the truth. "I'm scared for the baby. For you. For us." I clenched my jaw with pent up emotion. "Mostly, I'm scared that you'll never forgive me if something happens to her." I cupped her face and brushed the tears away lightly with my thumb. "I'm not a very religious man. You know this, but I'm praying. Praying that you'll be okay and that our baby will be okay."

She chewed on her bottom lip, clenched her eyes, and started to hyperventilate as strong breaths escaped her. "I can't deal, Kent. If anything happens to the baby..."

I needed the tears to stop, so I silenced her with my lips. "I'm here. Everything will be fine. I’ll make it fine."

My hands rubbed the center of her back. I wanted to consume her sorrow and take the weight of her worries on my shoulders. "I'm sorry I wasn't there today, to bring you here. I'm sorry I haven't been man enough to take some of this pregnancy stress."

"It's okay." She peered up at me with her tear-filled emerald eyes. "And I know."

"We'll get through this together." I stared deeply into my wife's eyes, the one who had forever changed my life for the better.

When she nodded, I met her lips once again.

Our heads jerked up when we heard the doctor come in, and I stood from the hospital bed, never releasing Beth's hand. My jaw tightened and my shoulders tensed as the doctor pulled in the ultrasound machine.

"Hi." The doctor proceeded to the bed. "We're just going to do an internal exam to check the baby."

"Okay," Beth peeped. Her voice was as small as a little child’s.

My stomach rolled as the doctor slipped on gloves and positioned the machine closer to the bed. Air escaped my lungs as I clenched Beth's hand, more for my support.

"Beth, lay all the way down and legs up in the stirrups."

Every second seemed to slow to a stop and the beating of my heart accelerated in my ears until it was difficult to distinguish where one beat ended and the next one began.

Beth positioned herself as directed. My eyes widened when the doctor pulled out the probe and slipped a condom on it.

I shifted from my unease. "Uhhh."

Beth squeezed her eyes shut and gripped my hand in a tight vise. I didn't know who was comforting who at that point.

And in the next second, he slipped the probe inside my wife.

The sound was clear, loud and electrifying.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

My eyes knitted together to search my wife's face, whose stare was focused on the screen.

"That's a strong heartbeat there." When the doctor smiled, my whole body relaxed as though I was floating on water.

Heartbeat?

"Oh thank God." Beth lifted her head to the ceiling. "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you."

I covered my mouth with one hand as my breath rushed out of me.

The doctor pointed to the screen. "See that blinking little dot? That's your baby."

My head tilted and I stepped closer, releasing Beth's hand. I pressed in toward the screen and watched the little blink of light while the pounding of the baby's heartbeat rang loudly in my ears. There were no words to describe how I felt in that moment. Joy, elation, happiness? Those words could not describe the warmth that radiated from my chest. I was going to be a dad. Dad—a name that seemed so foreign until this point.

I cleared my throat. "That's our baby?"

Beth’s awe-filled eyes met mine. She reached out for me and entwined our fingers. "Yes, that's our baby."

My breathing slowed as a dull awareness took over and sudden clarity filled me. Everything that my mother had said rushed to the forefront. Our conversation replayed in my head like a broken record. That's why I loved my mother, she had so much faith in me. The same kind of faith that Beth had in me. Sometimes faith that I knew I didn't deserve.

As I stared at the ultrasound, all I could hear was the beating heart of the life growing inside of my wife. Our little munchkin.
Ours.

The little baby that we had both created out of love.

Heat formed behind my eyes, but I pushed it down. Shit. I swallowed hard. The last time such strong emotion had hit me was when we had exchanged vows, which only seemed like yesterday.

The doctor threw his gloves in the trash and approached the bed. “Everything looks fine with the baby. You may have been a little dehydrated, which can induce cramping.” He pulled out a little pad from his pocket and jotted down notes. “I need you to drink lots of liquids and rest up. If you feel any more pain, don’t hesitate to call me.”

After tearing the top sheet from the pad and putting it on the side table next to Beth, he placed his hand on my shoulder. "And you. Congrats, Daddy.”

I blinked a couple of times, gaining back some of my composure. "Thanks."

When he shut down the computer, he handed me a couple of pictures and my eyes stared at the tiny spark that would eventually light up our world.

The doctor walked out and minutes passed since, my eyes never leaving the black and white picture.

"Kent?"

Her sweet voice broke me from my trance.

I shook my head back to the present and sagged against the edge of the hospital bed. "I'm sorry. I just can't comprehend this."

"What? The fact that you're going to be a dad?"

My lips curled up into a smile. "Yeah, that. But mostly..." I pressed one hand lightly on her stomach. "I can't believe something so tiny is growing inside of you."

"I know, right?" She placed her hand on top of mine just above where our baby lay. "It's our own little miracle. Amazing."

"Amazing..." I agreed.

She tugged at my shirt and wrapped both hands around my neck. "And you're going to be one great father."

I gulped. "You think?"

"Oh, I know." She inched forward. "And I can't wait to see it happen."

I smiled, getting nose to nose with her. "I've never wanted to succeed more at anything." And for the first time, I couldn't wait for this baby to come. "Thanks for having so much faith in me."

"Always and forever."

Closing the gap between us, I met her lips and whispered, "Always and forever."

K
ent
:

I patted my stomach, fully satisfied from our dinner as I sat and watched a cooking channel. I'd been working out double-time since the pregnancy because I had to. Ever since she passed the first trimester, she had twice the appetite. Too bad I loved to join her in the eating fest.

The doorbell buzzed in the background, forcing me from my spot on the couch.

"That's Caroline. Babe, can you grab that?" Beth called from our bedroom.

I rushed to the door when the buzz continued without interruption. Caroline staggered in, baby carrier in hand. She shoved the carrier in my direction and bucked forward, dropping to her knees.

I placed the baby on the floor, but in the next second, I dropped down to the ground. "What's the matter?" My voice spiked with anxiety, my eyes scanning her body. Was she hurt? Bleeding? "Caroline?"

When she lifted her head, her eyes were filled with tears. "Shit! Should I call nine-one-one?"

"What's going on?" Beth charged toward us and dropped to the floor.

"My stomach. I'm in pain," she cried through a waterfall of tears.

Beth cradled Caroline against her. "Kent... please." She gestured to the phone on the counter. "Call for an ambulance."

I rushed toward the counter, grabbed the phone, and dialed for help. With one hand, I gripped the top of my head as the operator answered.

"Nine-one-one emergency."

"We need an ambulance at the Trump Tower. Penthouse condo. Our friend." My eyes skittered to my wife holding Caroline, whose body was racked with tremors. "She's in pain." I searched my wife's face.

"I think a cyst erupted," Beth called out, running her hands down Caroline's arms to soothe her pain.

Caroline whispered a few words that I couldn't hear. It seemed as though she was using all her energy to speak and was unable to form full sentences.

I repeated what Beth had told me, and after I hung up, I approached them. "What does she need? Something to drink? Water?"

"I don't know." Beth had sympathetic tears in her eyes, which punched me in the gut even more. "She said, she has a surgery scheduled next week to take out an ovarian cyst that they found. She thinks it might’ve burst or something."

When Caroline began to wail, I bent down, lifted her, and gently guided her to the couch. More buzzing filled my ears, but it was the kind of noise I welcomed as I sprinted toward the door and pulled it open, welcoming reinforcements.

Two EMTs entered, and I pointed to the couch. They wheeled in a stretcher behind them, then chaos erupted around me. Caroline's screams sounded as though she was in a horror movie, which caused my stomach to flip.

Beth pointed to the carrier that I had completely forgotten about. "Chase. Kent, check on Chase." Caroline had Beth's hand in a death grip, squeezing the life out of it.

When I approached the carrier, I was pleased to find the baby sleeping soundly through all the noise.

"Kent!" I jumped at Beth's frantic voice. "Call Jeff. Tell him to meet me at the hospital."

I ran to the counter and picked up the phone, realizing I didn't have Jeff's number. "Where's your phone?"

Beth retrieved her cell from her back pocket and chucked it at me as the EMTs lifted the stretcher with Caroline in it.

I scrolled through, looking for Jeff's name, then placed the phone against my ear. When the call went straight to voicemail, I squeezed my eyes shut. "Hey, man. It's Kent. Caroline's hurt." My breathing slowed, and I clutched the front of my shirt, finding it difficult to breathe because I could empathize and knew exactly how he'd feel when he got this call. "She's fine, but they're taking her to the hospital. Please meet them at Eastern Medical." When I opened my eyes, they were halfway to the door, Caroline's hand tight on Beth's.

"Yes, Eastern Medical," Beth confirmed. "Kent, you need to watch Chase."

The phone dropped from my hands as my eyes widened. "What?"

Beth threw me a reassuring smile for my benefit. "I'm just going to drop her off and come right back. I’ll hail a cab back home."

"No, I'll just go with her. You stay here.” I rubbed the back of my neck as panic shook me.

"Beth!" Caroline wailed beside her.

If I started to cry, would she stay with me instead? "Beth." I begged her with my eyes.

"Everything will be fine. I'll be back within the hour." It seemed as though she was speaking on fast forward. "Please. You can do this. He's asleep. He'll probably be asleep when I get back. Caroline’s said that he's eaten already and his next feed is in three hours."

Caroline’s wails could not drown out the fear rising in my whole body.

The stretcher was at the entryway.

"Wait!" I called out.

Beth bit her lip and gave me an encouraging smile. "You'll be fine. Diapers and everything you need is in the bag. Call me if you need anything."

And then the door closed behind them and shut me in. With the baby. All alone.

"Okay," I said to no one in general. Maybe I was talking to the baby, but that didn't even make any sense since he was sound asleep. I walked over to the carrier, hands on my hips, and took deep breaths through my nose and exhaling through my mouth.

"Okay," I repeated. Maybe if I said it enough times, I'd believe I'd be just that—okay
.

I paced back and forth, glancing at the tiny tot in the carrier and then down at my watch. Beth said she'd be back in an hour. She had left two minutes ago. I bet this boy will still be sleeping by then. She did mention he’d been fed.

But a sudden, tiny ‘coo’ had me sweating like I'd lifted five hundred pounds. My eyes stared back at two crystal blue ones.

"Fuuuuck!" I said, gripping my hair with both hands. "Shit...” Is there an alternative to shit? Shoot? I shook my head and corrected myself, “I mean, fudge."

The little boy blinked in my direction and scanned the area. For a brief moment, he seemed to be entertained by the dangling frog hanging on his carrier. When he smiled, a little tension in my shoulders eased. When I came closer, his eyes met mine, and I froze as though I'd been stunned with a gun.

With a wave of my hand, I introduced myself. "H-Hi." I cleared my throat. Damn it. Why was I so nervous? I straightened my back and stood taller. I'm the future CEO of Plack Industries. There was no need to be afraid of the infant.

Shit, I was ten times his size.

I squared my shoulders and stuck out my hand. "Kent Plack." Then I retrieved my hand when I realized how stupid that was and bent down instead. In my softest voice, I cleared my throat and reacquainted myself. "Hi, buddy. Remember me?" With my two fingers, I lifted his hand, noting the miniature size compared to mine. My breathing slowed as I took him in. My other hand went to the top of his head, wanting to feel the silkiness of his hair. "Your mommy is going to be just fine." I smiled and let out a slow, relaxing breath.

When he smiled back, I sagged with relief. "I think I can do this," I said, to no one in particular. Again.

Little man started to giggle, and I stood and lifted my hands like I was a rock star quarterback that had just made a touchdown. "Yes!"

When he giggled more, I repeated the motion. "Yep. I can totally do this." I remembered the movie Beth and I had watched not too long ago about three men finding a newborn baby on their doorstep. Me, being the smart guy that I was, got into the little man's face and started playing Peek-a-boo. Not sure where my knowhow was coming from. Maybe there was some instinct in there.

I peeked through my fingers, and he looked thoroughly interested. "Peek...." I lifted one hand and covered my face again. "Peek-a..." And then, "Boo!"

My smile spanned my whole face, but he had no reaction. None. So I did what I did best—I jumped up and raised both hands to the ceiling as though I'd made a touchdown. When he erupted in more giggles, I did it again and again. This wasn’t so bad. I could do this. I could jump for the next hour until Beth came back. I glanced down at my watch. It had been ten minutes since the last time I peered down.

And Aha! Into the football touchdown pose again.

His happy demeanor melted my defenses away. I felt rewarded by those smiles.

I had to admit...little man was kind of cute. He looked like Jeff from the eyes up, but that smile—and I'm sure the way he pouted—was all Caroline.

The touchdown pose worked for a little while, but after about five minutes, it was losing its effect. Chase's laughter lessened and when all his giggles ceased, I stopped, placed my hands on my hips and tried to catch my breath. I felt like I’d just done a thousand jumping jacks.

"Okay." I had to think. What else could I do to entertain this child?

He pursed his lips, staring at me with wonder.

My weight shifted, and I placed my hands behind my head, then I pointed a finger in his direction. "One second, buddy."

Wait a minute. Children loved to be read to, so I walked to the counter and picked up a stack of magazines.

"Alright. Let's see what we have here." I picked up the first off the stack, Time magazine. "This is the president of the United States." Little man yawned and rubbed his eyes. Rightfully so, I was boring him to death.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" I pulled out the next magazine under the stack and winked at Chase. "This is more like it." The Victoria Secret model was smiling seductively, her tiny bikini squeezing the life out of her breasts, making them larger than life.

I motioned between the two of us. "See, me and you? We're not that different. I’m a boob man, too. It may feed your body, but for me?" I smirked. "It feeds my soul."

Chase pursed his lips together into an almost smile, and I had the sudden urge to take it up a notch. I wanted to hear his giggles again because I wanted to know that the baby was happy. Narrowing my eyes, I tried to recall more of that movie. I guess I should’ve paid more attention, but at the time I didn't think I'd be in this situation.

Dropping the magazines, I placed my fingers between my lips and made annoying sounds. This seemed to work in the movie, but Chase wasn't entertained. He squished his face into a painful smile as though his face was stretching, cheeks back. When his hands clenched at his sides and his face turned beet red, I reeled back.

Did he stop breathing? What was going on?

And then I heard it. A ripple through the air to rival a grown man's flatulence. Loud and clear.

"Shit. Like literally!" I reeled back as horror knotted my stomach. I glanced at my watch, wondering how long a kid could sit in his own shit. It had only been fifteen minutes since Beth and Caroline had left.

I pinched my nose as the stank of the century filtered through the air. It was like the shit bomb of all time had been dropped in my condo.

"Tiny but deadly,” I muttered. “That's what they should call you." I stood and placed my hands on my hips, debating whether I should call Beth.

I reached for my phone in my back pocket when Chase began to wail, full out crying with tears. His cries tore through me and were loud enough to combat his mother's cries of pain.

I dropped on all fours and patted his leg. "It's okay, buddy." I coughed from the stank and stared at the ceiling as my eyes began to water. Then I decided I couldn't let him sit in his own shit for an hour.

"We'll take care of this mess." I retrieved my phone and dialed my wife. Maybe she was on her way back, which I highly doubted. Either way, she could give me a step by step on what to do.

When the call went straight to voicemail, my stomach churned. I wasn't usually nervous, but this—this had me freaking out like I'd lost the whole company making a bad deal.

I dialed my mother next, but when her call also went to voicemail, I went into freak out mode. I pinched the bridge of my nose and breathed deeply through Chase's crying. I needed to focus and think.

When I opened my eyes, I reached for the carrier and brought the baby into our room. After placing him at the foot of my bed, I grabbed the remote and searched for the movie. Apparently, I had hit quite a low point, using Hollywood for baby tips. But desperation had no boundaries.

I picked up the carrier with one hand and rocked it back and forth while my other hand flipped through the DVR. Nothing was calming the baby down. When I found the movie, I pressed play and forwarded it to the part where the three men were trying to figure out how to change the baby's diaper.

I paused the show.

First things first, I needed diapers.

I ran to the living room. I reached for the diaper bag, then I shuffled back to our bedroom where I dropped on all fours and threw everything out of the bag.

Diapers.
I needed diapers.

"Aha!" I waved a diaper at Chase. "I found it." Tossing it on the bed, I grabbed the next thing I needed, wipes, and tossed the container next to the diaper.

"I've got this." My voice quivered with uncertainty, but I gave Chase a thumbs up. Though I doubted my ability to get through this, I didn't want him to worry.

"Alright." Diaper and wipes. Check.

I pressed play on the remote and watched the scene unfold on the screen.

"What else do I need?" I shook my head. "Baby...yes, that would be good."

I undid his seat belt. It took me a little bit to get him untied, but when I finally did, I had no clue what to do next.

"Alright.” I pressed my lips together and gave him a serious stare. “Just so you know, I've never done this before. But it's going to be okay. I promise." My promises did nothing to stop his wailing. At this point, he was crying so hard my ears were beginning to ring. Poor fellow. I hated seeing him all worked up. I needed to speed up the process.

My hands went under his armpits, and I held my breath as I gently lifted him. His head wiggled back and forth, so I straighten my hold and held him closer to his neck. Laying him down slowly on the bed, I continued to take deep breaths.

"Alright. Off with the goods." I unsnapped his pants and then his under shirt. Damn, babies came with a lot of snaps. "Hasn’t anyone heard of Velcro?" I mumbled.