You're Gone (Finding Solid Ground) (38 page)

The mural was beginning to take shape. Left unfinished because Charleigh was unable to work on it, her cousins decided to pitch in and do their parts to help.

Armed with diagrams, Liz, Brian, Kyle, Connor, and Garrett
, along with Liz’s BFF Ben, Kevin and Jenna set out to do it for her. And she had every bit of faith that they’d do the job right. Charleigh knew that they were going to take the project seriously, after all, the majority of the kids were Randalls, and they’d all been brought up with the same work ethic to complete a job the right way the first time around.

Charleigh was absorbed in an episode of ‘I Dream of Jeannie’ and didn’t hear the doorbell ring. But a few minutes later, Garrett appeared wide-eyed in the open doorway of her bedroom with the visitor.

“Hello, Charleigh,” the person said, stepping around her cousin and into the room.

Charleigh had just taken a sip of water and almost choked at the sound of the woman’s voice. She jerked her head in that direction.

“What are you doing here Claudia?”             

“I came to see my children. And you.”

“Me? You’re not supposed to come anywhere near me, and you know it.”

“I was hoping that we could change that.” Claudia’s face distorted in what Charleigh thought was a smile. “I was thinking that we could come to some sort of agreement over the custody of my grandchildren.”

Here we go again!

“Didn’t we go through this before, when you tried to get me to break off my engagement to
Jamie? You couldn’t pay me off back then, and you sure as hell can’t buy my children now.”

“Mother?” Jenna exclaimed, coming into the room with Kevin and Brian on her heels. “Why are you here?”

“I’ve come to make amends with this incessant fool, but she starts screaming her head off about how I can’t buy her babies.” Claudia’s face was frozen, showing no emotions. Too much Botox, Charleigh assumed.

Jenna looked from her mother to Charleigh and back again. She didn’t know who to believe. The troubled look on Charleigh’s face versus the nothingness of her mother.

“She’s lying,” Garrett said loudly from the doorway, where he’s seen the entire scene play out. He pointed at Claudia. “That woman started it!”

“Can’t
you leave well enough alone, Mother?” Kevin asked. “After everything that you’ve said and done to Charleigh, and everything that she’d been through, why do you have to keep antagonizing her?”

Claudia turned her fiery eyes on the young woman
who remained in bed. “You’ve turned my own children against me. First the dead one, and now these two.”

Charleigh was flabbergasted. Couldn’t she even bring herself to say their
names? Jamie. Kevin. Jenna. Was she really that self-absorbed? Was it a possibility that she’d even gone so far to forget their names?

“No, Mother. You did that all by yourself. It happened a long time before she
ever
came into the picture with Jamie.”

To add insult to injury, Jenna added, “I’m moving here. To be closer to Charleigh and my nephews. And to be with Brian.”

Claudia sent the boy a hateful look and laughed. “You want to come to this hellhole for that? What about school?”

“I turned in my application to Southeastern back in December,” Jenna said, defiantly. “I’ve already been accepted for this coming
fall.”

“You’ll stay in New York, if you know what’s good for you,” her mother replied.
“I’m not going to pay for you to get uneducated at some third-rate institution of redneck.”

“I don’t need your money. I have what Daddy left me to pay for school, and I… I’ll get a job to pay for everything else.”

“And uh, I’m coming to do my residency at OU Medical Center in Oklahoma City,” Kevin added.

Charleigh watched Claudia as all the blood drained from her face. Without another word, the woman stomped from the room. Garrett
, poor kid witnessed the whole fiasco, almost melded into the door to keep from touching her. As if she would burn his skin with her poisonous attitude. Charleigh’s eyes followed Claudia down the hallway until she disappeared around the corner. She listened until the sound of the front door slamming came from downstairs and then breathed a sigh of relief.

Turning back to the group, she laughed, still a little nervous. “Oh, my God,” was all she said.

Jenna looked stunned. Her eyes were wide. She had stood up to her mother. Something she had never done before, Charleigh knew. Because face it, Claudia Davidson-Matthews was one scary woman.

“It’s okay,” Brian whispered, wrapping his arms around his girlfriend, and kissed her ear. She only nodded.

“So, when was this move decided on?” Charleigh asked, swatting at Kevin as he sat down on the edge of the bed. “And why wasn’t I told before now?”

“You’ve had so much on your plate already,” He replied with a shrug. “We just didn’t want to add to it.”

“Where are you going to live? Dorms? Apartment?”

“I’ll be in Oklahoma City most of the time
. I already have an apartment there, and Jenn’s going to live with Gram and Aunt Lenore.”

“Already have everything figured out
, then.” Charleigh smiled, but it instantly evaporated as a thought entered her mind. Claudia wasn’t going to let them go so easily. They could try to wash their hands of their mother, but the woman would still do everything in her power to stay in the fold, and Charleigh said so.

Jenna came over to the bed. She sat down next to her brother and leaned over to hug her friend. Her sister.

“It doesn’t matter what she does because our family is here. You and those precious babies.” She put a hand on Charleigh’s belly and felt them move. “I can’t wait until they’re here and I can hold them.”

A little more than a week left.”

“Well, I’ll be here rooting you on,” Jenna assured her.

“What about school? Finals?” Charleigh reminded her.

“Done. Did them all last week before we headed down here. Just waiting on my grades now, with fingers crossed.”

Charleigh held up her own hands with twisted fingers. “You’ll do fine, I’m sure,” she said, scooting off the bed.

She wanted to see how the work on the mural was going and forget about Claudia. The woman was a loose cannon, but at the moment, she didn’t even cause a blip on Charleigh’s radar screen.

She was just excited to have Jenna and Kevin moving to Oklahoma, that way Caleb and Jacob would have their aunt and uncle close by.

And speaking of Caleb and Jacob, they would made their grand appearance in just a matter of days. Charleigh could hardly wait. To hold them and count their fingers and toes, and to make sure there were ten of each on both boys. She ached to feel them in her arms and to look into their eyes, even if she had to be split half-open just to get them here. It was a small price to pay for healthy babies.

“Looking good,” Charleigh said to her cousins as she came into the nursery and saw the gorgeous array of colors that covered the walls. It was going to be the most perfect roo
m for her two perfect children.

Everything was falling into place. Thanks to her cousins, the mural was finished, and it looked amazing. It couldn’t have looked better if Charleigh had done it herself. The only thing left to do was arrange the nursery furniture. That’s how Cord, Kevin, Keith, Dillon, and Kent were spending their Monday evening.

There were only six
days left until the scheduled C-section, and the anticipation was making everyone anxious. Especially Charleigh, as she sat in the rocking chair in the middle of the room, directing all five of her handy men.

Kent was at one end of the crib, and Kevin was at the opposite end as they debated the perfect location. Dillon and Cord were leaned against the second crib, while Keith sat on the floor folding t-shirts and onesies and put them into dresser drawers. Charleigh had to smile at the sight of this huge man with bulging muscles taking so much care with the tiny pieces of clothing.

“I think I’d like this crib along the wall, just this side of the windows. The other crib can go on that wall, “Charleigh explained, motioning both hands together to form an ‘L’. “Just don’t have them touching. Make sure there’s enough room each way to fit this table.”

“You don’t want the crib in front of the windows,” Cord replied. “It could be drafty.”

Charleigh shook her head. “I don’t want it in front of the window. I want it
next
to the window.  And those windows better not be drafty. They’re brand new.”

“Ok,” Kent agreed
, and pulled his end of the first crib toward the corner. “Like this?”

“Exactly.” She pointed to the second crib. “Now, put this crib along that wall. About the same distance away from the corner.”

Once the guys had the baby beds positioned how Charleigh wanted them, Kevin took a small square table and put it in the corner. He took a small white lamp, with a racing scene painted on the shade, from Charleigh and place it on top.

“Thank you, boys,” Charleigh said with an appreciative smile then stood up. “The chests of drawers can both go against this wall. And the changing table will fit perfect next to the closet.”

“Then, that’s it? Are we done?” Dillon asked, astonished. He had thought there would be a ton of stuff to do and furniture to put together. He’d been surprised to find that it had already been done.

“No,” Charleigh replied with a laugh. “After that, there’s a couple of bassinettes that need to be put together
. The infant carriers need to be put in my Tahoe. A dual jogging stroller is in the closet that’s still in the box. Clothes and blankets need to be put away. And…”
Ooh.
Charleigh felt what she thought was a gas pain and stopped.
Dang!
She’d been having them all day long, and the cramps seemed to get a little worse every time.

But Charleigh just couldn’t seem to go to the bathroom. Constipation was one of the worst, if not
the
worst, consequences of being pregnant, in her honest opinion, and she told the guys so.

“Just be glad that you can’t get pregnant,” Charleigh said, heading for the door.

She was going to try one more time, and then she was going to take a shower and go to bed. Her very last weekly appointment with Doctor Emerson before the birth was early the next morning, and Charleigh wanted to sleep as long as possible.

“What do you think the nurses will say when they see me walk through the door with you in the morning?” Kent asked as he emptied the contents of one box onto the floor.

“Just make sure you take plenty of Sharpies, Superstar,” she replied with a laugh.

“Hey, Char, do you think I can have this bear when I go home tonight. I mean, he
is
my favorite driver,” Dillon joked, holding up the bear with a black and red fire suit replica and a backwards cap next to his face.

“No, I think Junior best stay here with me. He belongs to Caleb and Jacob,” she laughed harder, wiping tears away from her eyes. “Kent, keep an eye on this guy here to make sure that he doesn’t make off with any of my boys’ loot.”

“Will do.”

Charleigh took one more look around the room from the doorway. Oh yeah, she was anxious. Very, very anxious.

By this time next week, Charleigh hoped to be back home with her healthy little men sleeping in this room. Which she hoped would be finished if these guys stopped goofing off and got to work.

She yawned.

              “Just go get in the shower. I’ll make sure that everything is put away before I head to bed. We have to be in Durant early in the morning,” Kent reminded.

             
“Aye, aye, Captain,” Charleigh laughed and saluted.

             
“Hey, don’t salute me. He’s the soldier.” Kent pointed at Keith.

             
“Yeah, and I’m a grunt. I actually work for a living, pretty-boy.”

             
Charleigh laughed as she headed down the hallway toward her own bedroom. She got halfway there and felt another pain. This one was bad enough to steal her breath away, and she stopped to lean against the wall for a moment.

             
The bubble dissipated just as quickly as it had formed, and Charleigh continued on her way.

             
She sat down on her toilet for five minutes while nothing happened yet again. Giving up, Charleigh took off her clothes and stepped into the shower. After turning on the water, she sat back, closed her eyes, and let the warm water cascade down over her face and chest.

The heat was beginning to relax Charleigh as she realized how tired she really was. She could probably fall asleep right there in the shower and stay there all night. The water was so nice and warm on her skin, it was like a blanket.

And just as she started to drift off, pain filled Charleigh’s body once more. It felt different this time, and her eyes flew open as her belly suddenly hardened beneath her palms.

Oh, Lord.
Something was wrong, Charleigh realized. Could she be in labor, or was it simply Braxton Hicks? Obviously Charleigh wasn’t exactly sure because she’d never given birth before.

No, it couldn’t be false labor, because she’d read that Braxton Hicks were supposed to be painless.
Ooh.
These were definitely
very
painful.

Coming to the conclusion that she was in labor, Charleigh struggled to her feet. She needed to get help. Fast. Stuff could go very wrong if she didn’t get to the hospital.

Oh, Lord. Oh, no, Please.
There was a puddle of blood-tinged water on the seat where Charleigh had just been.

Biting hard on her bottom lip, Charleigh tried to remind herself to breathe through the pain. It was easier said than done. Once the contraction was over, she pushed open the shower door and rushed to get her robe from where it hung on a hook on the back of the bathroom door.

Just as Charleigh reached that point, she was overcome by another contraction. It was as if her insides were being ripped out. She leaned her head against the door, and panted through the pain.

“Help me,” Charleigh tried to yell, coming through the doorway. It seemed to catch in her throat and came out only as a whisper.

“Help.” She tried again with no success.

Halfway across the bedroom, Charleigh was attacked once again. She stopped and gripped a post on the bed’s footboard for support. Her legs felt like limp noodles.

“Oh, God,” Charleigh whispered as a tear ran down her cheek.

Resting her head against the post until the cramp was over, she looked down to see tiny red streams snaking down both of her legs.

The previa. Her cervix was dilating and blood was draining from her placenta. Her worst fear was that she would bleed to death. That might very well happen if Charleigh didn’t make it down to the nursery where the guys were working.

Breathlessly, Charleigh began to move again. Her lungs were screaming for oxygen, but her brain wouldn’t allow her to stop. Every second mattered. It was literally a race for life or death.

It was only six steps from the bed to the doorway, but it felt like an eternity. Like she was moving slower than slow motion.

In the hallway, Charleigh tried to yell again, but nothing came out. It was as if her voice was being held captive. So with every step, Charleigh began to bang her fist against the wall. Even if she couldn’t call out to them, she was determined to get their attention in one way or another.

“What the…” Dillon said, coming out of the nursery. He saw Charleigh, pale as a sheet, standing a few feet away from her bedroom door. Blood was running down her legs. With his heart sinking, Dillon rushed to her.

“Help,” she whispered to the man as he scooped her up into his arms.

“It’s gonna be okay, sweetie,” he replied, carrying her back down the hallway. “You just hang on.”

As if Charleigh was weightless, Dillon brought her back into the nursery where the other four men were.

“Guys, I need one of you to call 911, and someone else needs to get us some towels.” He laid Charleigh down on the floor and immediately began to take her pulse.

The other four men stood stunned for only a single moment, and then immediately jumped into action.

Kent grabbed a cell phone out of his back pocket and began to dial for help. Kevin came over to see what he could do to help.

“I’ll get the towels,” Keith said, and ran from the room.

“Charleigh? Charleigh, can you talk to me?” Kevin looked into her eyes. “Can you tell me if anything hurts?”

She nodded slightly, feeling woozy. “I think… I think I’m in labor.”

“Okay,” Dillon said, “Good girl.”

Keith came back with white towels and handed them to Dillon, who began to unfold and spread them beneath Charleigh’s bottom.

Charleigh could hear Kent talking in the background but didn’t understand what he was saying. She looked up at the ceiling, which was beginning to look fuzzy.

“Don’t let anything happen to the babies,” Charleigh whispered to no one in particular just as a contraction wracked her body. She reached up and griped Cordell’s hand.

“No. Nothing is going to happen to you or those boys. Do you hear me?” Cordell declared firmly, choking back tears. “Where is that ambulance?”

Kent snapped his phone shut. “The dispatcher said they’re ten minutes out.”

Dillon and Kevin looked down at the towels and exchanged a look. They were drenched red.

             
“Forget the ambulance,” Kevin said. “Charleigh doesn’t have ten minutes. Get me more towels. We’ll take her to the hospital ourselves.”

“Call her Uncle Josh, then,” Cord agreed, standing. “Her family needs to know, and he can get us an escort or something.”

Charleigh lost consciousness shortly after that. Kevin rode in the backseat of the Tahoe with her to keep an eye on her vitals. Her pulse rate was weak and breathing shallow. Kent drove no less than ninety miles per hour all the way, flashing caution lights and honking at every car that got in their way.

“It’s not gonna do her any good if you roll this thing,” Keith urged, gripping the armrest of the passenger seat. Kent said nothing.

Cordell and Dillon followed closely behind in Dillon’s Dodge Ram truck.

The Emergency Room was expecting them and all of Charleigh’s family had been notified that she was being rushed to the hospital.

“Pull through there,” Keith pointed out the ambulance entrance of MCSO.

By the time they arrived, Charleigh was still unconscious.

“Twenty-two year old female. Thirty-seven weeks pregnant with twin boys. Experienced complications with Placenta Previa late in the second trimester,” Kevin filled the ER nurses in on the specifics as they loaded Charleigh into a gurney.

An hour and a half passed, and they hadn’t heard anything. Charleigh’s family had filed into the ER Waiting Room. Madie and Lenore were there with Jenna. They had overtaken the area, and the receptionist finally had to ask them to move to the waiting room for the labor and delivery to make room for patients who were actually sick and hurt.

Cord sat in the far corner of the room with Dillon. Charleigh’s dried blood dotted Dillon’s shirt. He picked nervously at a sore on the elbow of his left arm.

For the most part, the group was silent. When someone did speak, it was only in hushed tones. A twenty-inch television was tuned into the ten o’clock news, but nobody paid attention to it. They were waiting for a bit of news of their own and couldn’t be bothered at the moment with everything else that was going on in the world.

At a quarter past eleven, Ronald Emerson finally appeared in the doorway. He wore a pair of blue hospital scrubs with a white bandana tied around his head. Hands on his hips, the doctor’s eyes scanned the people in the room until they settled on one man. He walked over to John Randall and sat down in an empty chair beside him.

“How is she?” The old man asked wearily. Madie, Jenna, and several other family members came to see what the prognosis was.

“We’ve got her stabilized for now,” Ronald replied, but he had to be honest. “It doesn’t look good.”