All The King's Horses: A Tale Of Eternal Love (15 page)

“You realize we might not have a girl don’t you?”

He looked skeptical. “I suppose that’s a possibility,” he said reluctantly. “But the same will hold true even if we have a boy.”

“I will leave all those decisions to you, Kent. All I ask is that you continue to be a good husband to me, and a good father to our baby.”

He looked pleased, and she realized he must be doing what all expectant fathers did, he was planning his child’s future right down the minutest detail.

She would leave him to his happy dreams for now, knowing full well that when the baby was born most of his plans would have to be altered or abandoned. Life quite simply didn’t fit in to a preconceived pattern.

“I want to get her one of those hand crafted rocking horses we saw at the craft market a few months ago,” Kent said. “They were absolutely amazing”

“They were an absolutely amazing price too,” Christy added. “I hope you’re not going to spoil this child.”

“Aw, come on, Christy, a Daddy has to spoil his little princess now and again.”

“A two thousand dollar rocking horse is more than just a little spoiling I think.”

“It’ll last for generations,” he argued. “It was hand crafted, and by a master craftsman. Talitha’s grandchildren will ride that horse one day.”

“I can see I’m going to have to keep a close eye on you, or you’ll have us bankrupt with all these expensive presents you’re planning to buy her.”

He didn’t appear to hear. “We’ve got to get her a pedal car too. I had one when I was a kid. A blue one made out of steel it was. None of this plastic junk they churn out these days.” He scratched the stubble on his jaw. “If I advertise I might be able to pick up one of those old ones, and Jack can give me a hand restoring it.”

She looked lovingly at him. Why couldn’t she have met him years ago? They would have a whole batch of kids by now, and every one of them spoiled to rotten.

“What about a golliwog? Would that be alright to give her? I used to have one when I was a kid but I don’t know if they’re considered to be politically correct anymore.”

“It wouldn’t be long before she could feel this baby inside her. She longed to fell that first kick, and to check her belly in the mirror each morning knowing that Kent’s baby was growing inside her.

“A paddling pool…that’s what we need to look at when we get back home. Babies and little kiddies just love paddling pools. We’ll have to watch her like a hawk though. I’ve heard too many stories about toddlers drowning in paddling pools. We don’t want something like that happening to Talitha.”

Christy wondered what the child would look like. Would she have her green eyes or Kent’s brown ones, Kent’s dark hair or her auburn tresses? Would she be short or tall?

“And a sand pit. I’ve never come across a kid who doesn’t like playing in sand. I’ll talk to Jack about it when we get back. Between us we should be able to knock something up.”

“It really didn’t matter what she looked like. She would be beautiful no matter what. She would be theirs and that’s all that mattered. She would be the most loved child on the planet.

“I think we should keep her away from all those modern gadgets until she’s older though. I don’t think it’s good for a kid’s development to be on an ipad or whatever else they waste their time on these days. Getting her interested in old fashioned toys is the way to go.”

She hoped Kent wouldn’t become jealous of the baby. Husbands often did when their wives put more time into the child than they put into them. And it was inevitable that she would have to do just that, initially at least anyway.

“A slide…they’re always good value. She would have to supervised until she was older of course. But I’m sure Jack and I can come with one of those too.”

It would be sad if she were an only child. Christy hadn’t liked growing up without siblings and she was sure this baby wouldn’t either. Maybe she would see how this pregnancy went first. Then if all was okay she would try and get pregnant again.

Sure, Kent would advise against it. He might even outright forbid it. But after a while he would come around to the idea, especially after he got used to having Talitha around. Men usually wanted more then.

“I wonder which time it was?” Kent gave Christy a nudge.

“What?” she broke free of her musings and gave him her attention.

“I wonder which time it was that we made Talitha.”

“Oh, I know the answer to that.” Her mouth turned up in a grin.”It was that wicked knave Sir Wally that did this to me.”

He looked surprised. “Are you sure?”

“Yes, it was Sir Wally alright. I didn’t stand a chance after he ravaged me in the woods that day. An incredibly virile knave he was.”

“How can you be sure that it was that time that did it?”

“A woman can work it out by certain dates in her cycle. I can assure you that the culprit is definitely Sir Wally.”

Kent chuckled. “Good old Sir Wally. Our daughter was conceived beneath the battlements of a mediaeval castle. Wouldn’t that make a great romance novel?”

♥

“Okay, take a deep breath and relax,” Christy said, as the plane made its descent to the runway.

Kent as usual had his eyes tightly closed as Christy watched the planes progress from the window. “And in three, two, one, touchdown,” she said calmly. “Okay, you can open your eyes now, we’ve safely landed.

“Home sweet home,” Kent said, as he exhaled slowly.” It would have a perfect holiday if it hadn’t been for the flying part.”

“Never mind, we’re safe and sound now.” She studied his face. It was amazing how his normally tanned face went a ghostly shade of pale when he was in the air. The poor guy, he had gone on this trip for her. She knew he had done it to take her mind off her disappointment at not having a baby. And what had he got out of it? A pregnant wife and several days of fear-filled air travel. He had certainly drawn the short straw this time.

She placed her hand against his cheek and turned his face towards hers. “Thank you for a wonderful holiday, I will remember it for the rest of my life. And pass on my thanks to Sir Wally for his contribution when you see him next would you?”

He winked at her. “Why don’t you thank him in person? You’ll be seeing him tonight.”

“Oh that saucy knave, I suspect he’s hoping to have his wicked way with me again.”

Jack was waiting for them out in the car park, and when they got close enough Christy could see that he looked strained. Obviously the news of her pregnancy had caused him a great deal of concern. If she knew him as well as she thought she did he wouldn’t have been sleeping too well with worrying about his little girl.

Jack wrapped her up in his arms. “How are you, Baby Doll?” His voice crackled with emotion.

“I’m fine, Daddy,” she assured him. “Now that the morning sickness is all but gone I’ve been feeling really healthy.”

He held her at arm’s length and studied her face carefully. “You don’t look too bad I suppose,” he conceded. “But we’ll need to get the doc to give you the once over.”

“If it’ll put your mind at rest, Daddy.”

“I’d feel better if we did. No point in leaving anything to chance.”

“I’ll book an appointment as soon as Kent and I have settled back in.”

“Good girl.” He turned to Kent. “Hello, Kent,” he said abruptly, signaling that he blamed him for the situation Christy found herself in.

“Hello, Jack.” Kent busied himself with packing the bags into the car. He was too tired to care just at the moment.

Christy was whispering frantically to her father, and as Kent squeezed the last suitcase in place Jack came round to his side of the car to see him.

“I’m sorry, Kent,” Jack said sheepishly, “I thought maybe you’d talked my little girl into having this baby, so I was a little angry with you just then.” He put his hand out to Kent. “But she’s just explained what happened. It’s good to have you home.”

Kent shook his hand. “It’s good to be home, Jack,” he said sincerely. “You and I have got a lot to discuss. We’ve got a baby girl on the way and we need to get things ready for her.”

“Ready, willing, and able,” Jack said. “I’ve been tossing a few ideas around myself. But we’ll discuss them in a couple of days when you’ve had a chance to settle back in.”

♥

Kent slept in until one in the afternoon the next day. The change in time zones was playing havoc with his jetlagged body. He left Christy sleeping and drove down to the marina to check on the Bonnie Lass.

The late autumn sun shone across the water illuminating the Bonnie Lass as if she were the number one gem in a king’s crown. She looked magnificent, and he suddenly realized how much he had missed her.

Bob Thomas was at the marina to greet him. “Good to have you back,” he said warmly.

“You’ve kept her in tip top shape, Bob,” Kent said appreciatively. “I can’t thank you enough.”

“No thanks necessary, I thoroughly enjoyed my time on board her.”

“Was there much business?” Kent asked hopefully.

“Jack and I have been run off our feet. In the eight weeks you’ve been gone we’ve only had ten days with no clients.”

“That’s pretty impressive. You’re overdue a good break by the sounds of it.”

“It was a lot of fun. There was only one down side to the whole thing.”

“What was that?”

“Jack couldn’t get a single clients name right. When it came to some of the Chinese names you wouldn’t believe what he came out with.”

Kent laughed heartily. “I wish I’d been here to witness that.”

“It was amusing at times,” Bob admitted. “But it was a miracle no one took serious offence. Some of the names he came out with were a little on the nose.”

“You must come around to dinner one night, Bob,” Kent insisted. “Christy and I would like to treat you to a slap up dinner meal for all you’ve done for us while we’ve been away.”

“I’d like that. Just give me a yell when you’re ready and I’ll come running.” He leaned on a jetty pile and gazed down at the sprats darting around in the water. “I was staying a few nights at Jacks last week and Jack was having a shower when the phone rang so I answered it. It was from Don Nelson in the States. Apparently they’ve had a bit of a breakthrough with the drug they’re working on.”

Kent felt his pulse rate go up. This was great news, just what he needed to hear. “What did he have to say?”

“He said there’s more trialing to be done so they’re taking on more cancer victims to undergo the treatment. But Christy has to sign up within the next thirty days or she’ll miss out on getting on the list.”

“When does the next trial start?”

“They’re doing them in batches, but he said he could delay Christy’s for up to twelve months.”

Kent frowned. Christy was still seven and a half months off giving birth. That would only give her four months to start the treatment or she would miss out. He didn’t want her to miss out. This was her only chance to beat the leukemia and live a long and fruitful life. He would ring Don tomorrow and get her on the list. For the first time in months he felt hopeful that he would see his beautiful wife grow old beside him.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

“Right, I’ve got your bag.” Kent raced out the bedroom door and began to descend the stairs. He stopped dead. “I’ve forgotten the wife,” he said out loud. Racing back to the bedroom he found Christy sitting on the edge of the bed breathing heavily. “Sorry, Sweetheart.”

“I need you to be calm, Kent,” she said between breaths. “We’ve got plenty of time to get to the hospital.”

“Right, calm, that’s what I need to be.” He helped her up from the bed and was nearly to the bottom of the stairs when he realized he had left her bag sitting on the bedroom floor.”Drat. I’ve left your bag upstairs. I’ll have to go get it.”

“Take your time, Honey,” she insisted. “We can’t afford for you to go falling down the stairs, and you will if you keep charging around like you have been.”

“It was a mercilessly short labor, and Kent never left Christy’s side once. When the baby made its appearance Kent was the first to hold her.

“She’s perfect.” He gazed adoringly at his daughter. “You’re every bit as beautiful as your mummy.”

“Careful, Buster,” Christy jokingly warned. “You’ll make me jealous of her.”

Kent carried the baby over to Christy. “Talitha Christy London meet your mummy,” he said, as he placed her gently into his wife’s arms.

“Oh, Kent,” tears were forming in Christy’s eyes, “she’s beautiful.”

“How could you ever doubt she wouldn’t be when her mother is such a knockout?”

Christy looked up at her husband. “So, does Sir Wally approve?”

“Indeed he does, Your Majesty.”

“I want another one,” Christy said, as she gazed lovingly into her daughters face.

“Steady on there, Your Highness,” Kent said quickly, “we’ve only just had this one.”

As they wheeled Christy along the corridor Kent pulled out his cell phone. “Jack, it’s a girl,” he said proudly. “We’ve got our little girl. We’ll meet you in the ward.”

“Come to Papa my little princess,” Jack cooed as he gently took Talitha from Christy’s arms. “Oh you’re a pretty one aren’t you? Just like your mummy was when she was born.”

Christy took in the scene. The three people she loved the most in the world were in this room. There was her father, her husband, and her daughter. Life didn’t get any better than this.

“Now, now, don’t you go getting all greedy with her, Jack,” Kent teased, “share her around a little.” He held out his arms for Talitha and Jack reluctantly relinquished his hold.

“You’ve done well, Baby Doll,” Jack said softly to his daughter. “I’m really proud of you. Little Tallulah is a stunner.”

Christy smiled tiredly. “It’s Talitha, Daddy, not Tallulah.”

“Oh dang it,” Jack said. “Why couldn’t you have named her Jane or Mary? I wouldn’t have had any trouble remembering either of those names.”

“Just call her ‘Little Girl’ then, Daddy. That’s what Talitha means.”

“Little Girl,” Jack repeated. “That sounds kinda sweet. I might have to do that until I can remember its Tallulah.”

“It’s Talitha!”

♥

Christy held Talitha closely on her lap and with her free hand clutched Kent’s hand tightly.

“I’m afraid the news isn’t good,” her doctor was saying. “Your latest tests have shown up cancer cells in the blood.”

Christy’s heart pounded savagely in her chest. She hadn’t anticipated this. Everything had been going along so well recently. She hadn’t felt ill at all. She turned to look at Kent. His face had gone like it did when he was about to take off on a plane flight.

“I realize this has come as a shock to you both.” Tania Burton paused while she typed something into the computer keyboard. “I’m referring you to a specialist in Auckland. You are going to need expert care from here on in.”

Christy clutched Talitha even tighter. This was so unfair. She had only had her baby for six weeks, and her husband for less than eighteen months. She hadn’t had time to really enjoy being a wife and mother yet. Was the leukemia about to take all this away from her?

“How fast moving is this likely to be?” Kent asked, staring stony faced at Christy’s doctor.

“It’s difficult to say. But it will be more aggressive than it was the first time around. Each individual is different, so it’s difficult to say how long it’ll take for the cancer cells to reach the bone marrow. It could be months or it could be years.’

“And when they do reach the bone marrow?”

“There will be nothing that can be done except making Christy as comfortable and pain free as possible.”

Kent’s chin drooped to his chest.

Christy gave his hand a gentle squeeze. “You have to be strong for me, Darling. I am going to need you there for me.”

He nodded but didn’t say anything.

“Make another appointment to see me for next week,” Tania said. “I should have the specialist sorted out by then.”

Nothing was said on the car ride back home. Even Talitha didn’t make a sound in her kiddie seat, even though she was wide awake.

It wasn’t until they had reached home and Kent had parked the car in the garage that he spoke.

“I think I’ll get in touch with Don Nelson and tell him we’re ready to give that trial a go,” he said solemnly. “It looks like there’s not going to be much the medical profession in New Zealand can do for us.”

“I don’t know, Kent, America is a long way off and we can’t drag Talitha all the way over there. And goodness knows how much it would cost.”

“The cost is irrelevant. Talitha needs you. I need you. We can’t afford to let this thing go without a fight.”

Christy looked into the back seat at her wide awake baby. Kent was right she couldn’t leave Talitha without a mother. “Alright,” she said quietly, “we’ll give Don a call.”

♥

“The treatment is relatively painless,” Don explained, as Kent and Christy were given a tour of the laboratory. “However, a lot of people who are trialing the drug do report symptoms of severe nausea and irritability.” He looked from one to the other. “So you could be in for a rough ride.”

“It’ll be worth it if this new drug actually works,” Kent said. “It’s really our only hope now.”

“I’m feeling pretty optimistic,” Don confessed. “It has worked on eighty-six percent of those we’ve trialed it on. Of course, we treated most of them while they were in the early stages of their condition.”

“So Christy wouldn’t be considered to be in the early stages?”

“No, she wouldn’t. But the cancer cells haven’t reached the blast phase yet, so that’s a promising thing.” He smiled at them both. “I’m hopeful that it will work. I’ve seen a number of people cure who were a whole lot further down the track than Christy is.”

Kent sighed. “I just want my wife well so we can raise our little daughter together.”

“And we’ll be doing everything we can to achieve that for you.”

“We are very grateful to you for getting us onto the program, Don,” Christy said. “We realize how hard it must have been considering I am not a U.S. citizen.”

“I did have to pull a few strings,” Don admitted. “But you and your husband made quite an impression on me when I was in New Zealand, and so I was determined to do this for you.”

Handing Talitha to Kent Christy pulled Don’s face down to hers and placed a gentle kiss on his lips.

“Wow, I would have walked bare foot over broken glass for that,” Don said, after Christy had released him.

♥

Kent held Talitha in the crook of his arm as he tapped the milk teat against her lips. She took it in her mouth and began to suck greedily.

“I hate that I can no longer breast feed her,” Christy said, as she watched from the doorway. “It made me fell complete as a mother.”

“It’s a small price to pay if this trial drug is going to cure you,’ Kent answered without looking up from his task.

“I know, but it makes me so frustrated. Every time we bottle feed her I just want to hurl that bottle across the room.”

Kent looked up this time. “I know it’s hard for you but we’re really doing it for her. Don’s right when he says the drug would be in your breast milk. We don’t want Talitha being seriously affected by it.”

“No, of course not, but it does seem terribly unfair.”

Kent laid Talitha against his shoulder and gently patted her back until she burped. “Try and concentrate on the positives rather than the negatives.”

“Oh, Kent, I don’t need you preaching to me,” she snapped. “It’s tough enough missing out on feeding my daughter without you going on about things.”

He felt a sudden stab of pain. She had never spoken to him like that before and it saddened him But Don had warned him one of the side effects of the drug would be irritability.

“If you’re finished with her I’ll have my baby back,” she said curtly, her arms stretched out to take Talitha from him.

“I might just take a walk,” Kent said, once he had handed her over. “Will you be okay?”

“Of course I will.” The frostiness was still there. “I’m not an invalid, Kent.”

Light rain was falling as Kent walked with rain hood over his head down the dreary New York sidewalk. The sky was as gloomy as his current mood. Christy was going through a torrid time at the moment. She had been trialing the drug for three weeks now, and FK14B as it was known was at least holding her cancer at bay. He was grateful for that. The mood swings were just part and parcel of the whole procedure. He knew that. But since the treatment had begun she had definitely become more distant from him, and he hated that. They had been so close before, especially right after Talitha had been born.

He checked his watch. He would give Christy a couple of hours alone with Talitha. She needed this time with the baby so the two of them could keep up the bond that had developed.

His thoughts strayed to what this whole business was costing. He hated counting the cost but he had to be practical. Renting an apartment, food, transport, none of it came cheap. He had spent most of his spare money on the trip to Britain. It was Jack who was bankrolling this venture. Poor Jack. His life savings gone in one fouls swoop. But Kent knew the old fellow wouldn’t care one hoot if it brought a cure for his only child.

Bob Thomas was keeping the Bonnie Lass on the water, and Kent had insisted he pay him well to do it. He couldn’t expect him to do it for nothing for the three months they would be in the States, so money was going to be tight when they got back to New Zealand. He sidestepped a pile of dog poo on the pavement. Why couldn’t people clean up after their pets?

It was ironic how the Bonnie Lass had taken such a back seat to everything else in his life this past year. She had once been his obsession. The sole reason he had strived so hard. But now he barely gave her a second thought. Christy and Talitha had become his whole world, and nothing else seemed to matter anymore.

He felt sorry for Jack. His father-in-law had to spend three months separated from his only daughter and the grandchild he had come to adore. Talitha would have grown a great deal by the time they returned home, and Jack would have missed out on all of that. He smiled to himself as he remembered the difficulty Jack had in remembering the little girl’s name in the early days. It must have taken him all of two weeks before he finally got it right, and then it was only because he wrote it down on his forearm, referring to it every time he needed to remember his little angel’s name. He was certainly a card was Jack, forgetful, but with a heart of pure gold.

It was even gloomier when he finally turned and headed back towards the apartment He had walked several blocks as he mulled things over. Walking had always helped him to clear his head and think a little straighter.

“I could have done with you over an hour ago,” Christy growled, as he walked through the door. “Talitha’s been screaming her head off and just won’t stop.”

“I’m sorry, Sweetheart, I thought you’d want some time alone with her.”

“Not when she’s behaving like this I don’t. I’ve tried everything to shut her up but she just keeps at it.”

Kent went into Talitha’s room and peered into the cot. The little girl stopped her racket and looked at him for a moment before starting up again.

“Hey…hey,” Kent said, softly, “what’s all the noise about?”

Talitha ignored him and carried right on bawling.

“I wish you would do something,” Christy complained. “She’s given me a splitting headache.”

“I’ll do what Mum used to do for me.” He pulled up a chair and sat down beside the cot. He cleared his throat and began to hum. Talitha stopped for a moment and stared at him. Then she started up again. Kent began to whistle this time, and Christy recognized the tune as Brahms Lullaby.

Talitha’s screaming dropped to whimpering as she watched her Daddy perform. Then Kent began to croon. “Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall…Humpty Dumpty had a great fall…all the king’s horses and all the king’s men…couldn’t put Humpty together again.”

Talitha’s eyes began to flicker as Kent ran through the nursery rhyme again, and he was so melodic that Christy fancied she could feel her eyelids begin to grow heavy as well. By the time he had run through it for the third time Talitha’s eyes were shut, and so Kent continued to hum for a few minutes until he was sure she was sound asleep.