Stronger Than Ever (My Best Friend) (12 page)

“Did you say Jeremy?” Mrs. Anderson asked
Yes, Mom, his name is Jeremy.” Jason massaged Kay’s neck.

“Thank yo
u.
Y
ou don’t know how much that means to me.”

“I think I do, Mom. It’s the way I felt when she told me.”

The doctor came in with a nurse by his side and by the looks on their faces Jason knew it wasn’t good news. He stepped away from Kay and walked over to the doctor. Mrs. Anderson leaned over to console Kay.

“Mr. and Mrs. Anderson, I’m sorry but….” The doctor paused. “We made a mistake. When we did the tests on the baby we overlooked testing him for meconium aspiration. We have stabilized him. He is hooked up to a ventilator to help him breathe. I want to deeply apologize for our mist—”

Before the doctor could finish apologizing, Jason had him up against the wall by his collar. “You told me he was healthy. If anything happens to
my son
….”

Kay tried to get out of the bed to stop him, but Mrs. Anderson stopped her. “Jason, let him go. It’s not his fault
!
”
Kay
yelled.

He turned his head to the side and looked at her. What she saw scared her
. S
he had never seen his eyes that dark, filled with fear, hurt, and anger. He turned back to the doctor. “I’ll make you pay.”

Mr. Anderson pulled him off the doctor. “Jason, calm down. I know you’re upset, but this isn’t the way to handle this.”

Jason looked at his dad, released the doctor, and stormed out the door.

“Jason, come back,” Kay screamed. She got out of bed. “Ouch!” Overcome, she bent down in pain. Mr. Anderson rushed to her side, picked her up, and gently placed her back on the bed. “He needs me,” she said through her tears. The doctor walked over to her side and
started
examining her.

“Kay, I’ll go get him. You need to take care of yourself. Your kids need you.” Mr. Anderson walked out the door.

“I’m sorry about my son lashing out like that, but he is hurting right now,” Mrs. Anderson told the doctor.

“That’s okay, ma’am, I understand. He is not the first father that has reacted that way,” he said, looking at Kay. “You have a strong baby.”

“Can he die?” Kay asked, with tears
in her eyes.

“No, ma’am, the worst has passed, but he’s still weak. I have to go back and check on him. Once again, I apologize.” He turned and walked out.

Mrs. Anderson hugged Kay. “You heard him. My grandson is a fighter. After all, he is an Anderson and we are very strong people.”

“Will you pray with me?” Kay whispered.

“Yes.”

They closed their eyes and pray
ed
, asking God to watch over baby Jeremy.

Mr. Anderson finally caught up to Jason, who was outside the hospital, pacing back and forth. He grabbed his son and hugged him.

“Jay, everything is going to be okay. You’ve been here before. When your wife’s life was in danger, you had faith. Where is that faith now?”

He pulled away. “Dad, he’s so tiny.”

“Why did you storm out like that? You didn’t even let the doctor finish talking.”

“I needed to breathe.” He leaned against the wall.

“You didn’t even know what the doctor was going to say. You left your wife alone to hear it. Do you think she deserves that?”

Jason just stared at his dad. “She wasn’t alone. You and mom were there.”

“She needed you there. Do you know what she said and did when you stormed out of the room? She jumped out of the bed and said.
He needs me
. She hurt herself Jay, trying to get to you to comfort you. She didn’t think of herself.”

“She never does.”

“You need to be with her and share your pain. Your love for each other has survived so much, son. Don’t shut her out now. That’s her son, too.”

“I didn’t mean to hurt her
.
I would never intentionally hurt Kay. Dad, if I didn’t leave that room when I did, the police would’ve taken me out in handcuffs,” he said, putting his hands in his front pockets.

“Do you really think it was the doctor’s fault that they skipped the test? He just did the admirable thing and took the blame for someone else’s incompetence. He’s trying to save your son.”

“I’m going to sue this fu—” He realized he was talking to his father. “This hospital.”

“Go ahead and sue. I know you’ll win, but tell me what will you gain.” His dad stared straight at him.

“Nothing, Dad. Nothing.” He walked away toward the parking lot.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m done talkin
g
.
I need to clear my head.” He
turned and
kept on walking.

***

Mr. Anderson returned to the hospital room. Kay looked up and stared toward the door. “Where is Jason?”

“He needs some more time. He’ll be back.” Her father-in-law walked closer.

“Honey,” Mrs. Anderson said, talking to her husband. “Where is he? Is he in the hospital? I can talk to him.”

“He left the hospital.” He said as he took a seat.

“Can you please hand me the phone?” Kay asked. Mrs. Anderson leaned over and gave her the phone. She dialed his number and it went straight to voice mail. “Baby, he’s going to be okay,” she said, hanging up. “He’s not answering. I hope he’s okay. He’s out there thinking the worst. He’s always been my rock.”

Mrs. Anderson wiped her tears away. “You’re his rock, too.”

“Kay, my son loves you. He just needs to clear his head before he hurts someone. You know how hard headed he is,” Mr. Anderson said.

“I know he loves me, but you guys didn’t see his face light up when he was holding his son, the pride and joy that he held in his eyes. If something happens to our baby, he will never be the same.”

“What about you, sweetie? He is your son too.” Mr. Anderson stared at her.

“I have faith. His has been broken. I saw it in his eyes.”

***

Jason opened his car door and sat down. He grabbed the steering wheel and finally broke down crying. “Why does this keep happening to us? Why us? When will we ever get a break?”

He took out his cell phone and browsed the web to look up the baby’s condition, and read for a while. What he read made him realize that Jeremy would be okay. He calm
ed
down and thinking about Kay.
She needs me. If I’m feeling this way, she must be
…. He wiped his tears and got out of the car and ran back into the hospital.

When he opened the door, Kay was staring at him, as though hoping all along that he would come back.

“Jason.”

He ran over to her and hugged her. “I’m sorry, so sorry.”
He
pulled
her
closer and ran his hands through her hair.

“Why did you leave?” she asked,
leaning
away and wiping her tears with the palm of her hand.

His parents got up and left the room.

“When I heard what the doctor began to say, I lost it. I thought he was saying our baby was going to….” He paused, clearing his throat.

“You assumed, Jason. You didn’t bother hearing the doctor out. If you had, you would know he’s not dying.” She looked away from him.

“I just needed some time to clear my hea
d, so
I sat in the car, looked up and read about the baby’s condition.” He turned around.

“What did you find out?”

“There’s different types of levels, and where he is, he’ll be fine.”

“He’s in NIC
U.
I’ve been waiting for you to go see him. Help me up,” she said, leaning off the bed.

He helped her up. “Why didn’t you go see him without me?”

“I want him to know his parents are here for him. I want him to feel our love.”

He leaned down and kissed her cheek. “I love you.”

They
walked
to
the NICU. The primary nurse handed caps and gowns to put on over their clothe
s,
they washed their hands with antibacterial soap.

Jason and Kay
went
into
the room, following the nurse as she guided them to the baby’s incubator. They both gasped when they saw their son.

“Oh my God.” Kay turned into
Jason’s
chest
and cr
ied
.
His arms tightened around her. He bent his head down and whispered in her ear. “We have to be strong for him, he needs us, baby.”

Jeremy was hooked up to monitors and a ventilator. He had a tube in his nose and mouth to help him breathe and there was an IV in his right arm. He looked so fragile.

“Your right.” She pulled away from him, placing her hands on his
chest
.
She turned to the nurse. “Will I be able to hold or touch him?” Jason never once looked away from the baby.

“Yes, ma’am, you will be able to touch him. When he’s stronger you’ll be able to hold him.”

She didn’t have to say it twice. Jason pulled away from Kay and put his hands through the hole and caress
ed
the baby’s head and hands.

“Jeremy, Daddy’s here,” he whispered.

“Will I be able to breast feed him?”

“Not right now, ma’am, but soon you will. If you have any other question, I’ll be at the desk.” She turned away quietly and passed by Kay with a touch to her shoulder.

Kay grabbed and squeezed Jason’s
left
hand
while he caressed the baby. “He is strong. Look, baby, he’s moving his
little fingers
. He’s letting us know everything is going to be okay.”

After a while, the doctor entered the NICU room and walked over to them. “Sir—”

“Doctor Rivera,” Jason said, “I want to apologize for the way I acted today.”

“No worries, I understand. You’ll be able to hold him tomorrow.”

“Can my daughter see him?”

“No, sir,
children have a greater risk of introducing infection. I will be checking on him later.” He nodded and walked to the nurses’ station.

Jason helped Kay back to her room.

“He’s going be okay.”
Kay
smiled, hugging
Jason’s
parents. His dad stepped away and hugged Jason.

“Thank you, Dad.”

“You’re my son. I will always be there for you,” his
d
ad said,
holding him tighter
.
His mom went over to him.

“When can we see him? I want to meet my grandson
,
” she said, smiling.

“You can see him no
w
. T
he nurse is waiting for you guys. I already told her you were coming.”

Mrs. Anderson rushed out the door. “Come on, honey.”

“Before I forget, Amy and John came to see you. They said they’d be back.” He hurried to follow Mrs. Anderson.

“Let’s call—”

“Angel.” Kay picked up her cell phone and dialed Sophia’s number.

“Hello,” Sophia answered. “How’s the baby? I’ve been praying for him.”

“Thank you. Our prayers worked because he is doing a lot better. The worst has passed. How’s my girl?” Kay asked.

“She has been driving me crazy asking about her little brothe
r, but
right now she’s playing with Cara.”

“Can you put her on?” She placed the phone on speaker.

“Mommy,” Angel yelled. “When can I see baby brother?”

“Hi sweetie, you’ll see him soon.”

“Are you behaving?” Jason asked.

“Yes, Daddy. I’m a very good girl. Bye…Cara is calling me.”

“Damn, I guess we were boring her.” Jason laugh
ed
.

“I guess,” Kay said, giggling. “Sophia, thank you for taking care of her. Her grandparents will be there to pick her up later.”

“Okay, let me know if you two need anything. Bye.”

Jason helped Kay to the bed and tucked her in. “Baby, I love you. I needed your strength to get through this. I didn’t mean to shut you out. I didn’t want you to be burdened with my pain.”

“Why not? I love you and your pain is also mine. You let me burden you all the time. It goes both ways.”

“I was afraid of losing hi
m, and
I didn’t want you to see that. I wanted to be strong for you.”
He
took her hands in his
. “I would never shut you out.” He
bent
down and kissed her gently on her lips.
H
e
leaned
back.