Epilogue
Mychal
Six Months Later
It is 10:45 on a Tuesday morning. I am just heading into a meeting when my phone flashes with a call from Kenzie. Knowing she was supposed to spend the day with Piper, I don’t hesitate to accept the call.
Hey sis, what’s up?
Mychal! Her voice sounds frantic. I need you to get to the hospital, now!
Kenzie, what happened? Is Piper, okay?
Just get to the hospital, NOW! I think the baby is coming!
I’m on my way!
I quickly end the call, telling my associates I must leave, before rushing to my car. It takes me twenty minutes to reach the hospital, but it feels like an eternity. Parking in the first spot I can find, I run inside. Impatiently, I wait for the lady at the desk to get off her phone, so I can ask where my wife is.
“May I help you?” She asks.
“I’m trying to find my wife, Piper Hartley; she is pregnant and was just brought in here.”
She types on her computer for a few moments before telling me they took her to the maternity floor and giving me instructions on how to find it. I am gone before she is even finished talking.
The elevator I found has got to be the slowest one ever. By the time I reach the correct floor I have checked my phone a million times, hoping for something from Kenzie. There is nothing. When the doors finally open, I burst into the waiting room where I find my mom, dad, Tim, and Tyler. “Mychal, you’re here.” Mom says as soon as she sees me.
“Yeah, is Piper okay? Is Kenzie with her?” My mind is racing. The one person I want to see is not in this room. I need to know that she is ok.
“Mychal,” Tim says placing his hand on my shoulder. “She was having breakfast with Kenzie and her water broke. Calm down, son. I’m sure they will let you go in with her. You just need to press that call button over there to let them know you are here.”
Nodding my head in thanks, I turn to get someone’s attention with the call button. It only takes a moment for them to buzz me in and tell me what room to go to. The door is closed, so I softly knock. However, when I hear Piper scream, I open the door, not waiting for an answer; I am at her side as quickly as my feet will get me there. “Piper, Baby. I’m here.”
“Mychal!” She takes my hand and begins to cry.
“I’m sorry it took me so long to get here.” I tell her before turning to Kenzie, it’s obvious she has been crying. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, just worried about Piper. She scared the hell out of me.”
“Hello, I’m right here.” She says before screaming in pain again.
“Why haven’t they given you something to help with the pain?”
“They tried.” Kenzie states flatly.
“NO! I don’t want it! What if it hurts the baby?” She cries.
“Baby, they wouldn’t give you something that would hurt her. They are here to make sure you both get through this safely.” I explain.
“Mychal, I’m scared!”
“I know, Baby. We are going to get through this together.
Just then a nurse comes through the door to check on her. “How are we doing?” She asks walking over to check one of the machines.
“Just peachy!” Piper retorts.
The nurse chuckles but stops abruptly when an alarm sounds on the machine she is checking. “What is that?” Piper asks, the worry clear in her tone.
“I’m not sure, hopefully it’s nothing, but I will be right back with the doctor just to have her take a look.” She says hurrying out the door, returning a moment later with Dr. Mason.
Concern is the prominent feature on her face as she studies the printout from the machine the nurse was just checking. “Piper, the baby is under stress and her heart rate is dropping too quickly. We need to perform a cesarean, and we need to do it now.”
“I want to do this naturally.” She cries looking from the doctor to me.
“We don’t have time, we would not only be putting your life at risk, but risk losing the baby.”
“Do the cesarean.” I say.
“Mychal, no, please.” Piper cries.
“Piper, listen to what the doctor is saying. I won’t risk losing you. There is no other choice.”
“Call up and tell them to get the room prepped for immediate surgery.” The doctor instructs the nurse. Everything begins moving in slow motion, a whirlwind of activity.
I want to remain calm for her, but I am more scared than I have ever been. “Baby, it will be fine. It has to be. I love you.”
“We are ready to go.” The nurse releases the brakes on the bed and pushes through the doors. I quickly follow along beside, holding her hand. Once we reach the doors to the operating room, the doctor stops me. “Mr. Hartley, you can’t go with her. We need you to stay out here?”
“What? No, I need to be with her!”
“Sir, I understand your concern, but please let me do my job. You need to stay out here so I can work on saving both your wife and your daughter.”
Relenting, I lean in kissing Piper’s forehead. “Baby, I love you. You are both going to be fine. I have to let the doctor do her job, so she can make sure that happens. I need you to be strong for me, okay?”
“Mychal, I can’t!” She cries.
“Shhh, you can, and you will. You are the strongest person I know, and you will do it for her.” I say placing my hand on her belly.
“Sir, we need to go, now.”
“Mychal!”
“I love you, Baby!” I scream as they push her through the doors and I watch them close behind the doctor. Leaving me feeling helpless. My body numb, I walk back to her room to find Kenzie.
Once I get there, I rip my hands through my hair, drop to the chair and let the tears go. “What am I going to do, Kenz?”
Hugging me, she tells me through her own tears, “You wait. Just like I am going to do. Because in just a little while they will bring your baby girl to you and take you to see your wife. I refuse to accept any other possibility.”
After a few moments, I send Kenzie out to let everyone know what is going on. I sit here, not wanting to face my current reality. Not able to accept what is going on in that operating room. This is supposed to be one of the happiest days of our lives. We are supposed to be doing this together. Instead, I am sitting here while she is in pain and I can do nothing!
I sit here and reminisce on the last six months. Life has been great. It has had its up and downs, but it’s been perfect in my eyes. I think back to when we told Tim about the baby…
Once we shared the news and Piper set off to get ready to go to my parents’ house, he pulled me aside. “Mychal, can I talk to you for a minute.”
“Sure, what’s up?”
“When you called me a couple days ago to ask me if you could marry my daughter… you left out a very important detail. You failed to mention that you had already gotten her pregnant.”
“I know, I’m sorry. We had this planned out, and I didn’t want to take that away from Piper.”
“That isn’t where my concern is. I need to know for sure that you are serious about marrying my little girl and not just doing it out of obligation.”
“With all due respect, sir, I understand your concern. I promise you, your daughter is my life. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for her. I know I am doing all of this backwards, but I would still want to marry her even if she weren’t pregnant. I love her with all my heart and soul.”
“Good, that’s all I needed to hear. I suspected as much, but I needed to hear you say it.”
Smiling at the memory, my thoughts quickly drift to the day she officially became a Hartley.
“Mychal, you have got to calm down! You’ve already got the girl, what is there to be nervous about?” My dad asks me.
“I don’t know. I just don’t want to screw this up.”
The baby is expected to be here in two months, we both agreed that we wanted her to share my last name before the baby made her appearance. Piper insisted we have a small, intimate service. Just our family and a preacher. So, here we are in my parents’ backyard.
“Son, you can’t screw this up. The two of you share a special kind of love.“
“I know you’re right, but I still can’t calm my nerves.” He pats my shoulder and takes his seat beside my mom, leaving Tyler and I standing here, waiting for the ceremony to start.
I do not have to wait long before Kenzie walks out around the side of the house. As the Maid of Honor, she leads the way for Tim and my bride. My breath catches when I see her, all nerves forgotten. She is the most beautiful woman I have ever laid eyes on.
She has kept her hair in the short, pixie style she had it cut into just after we got together. It is a perfect look for her features, showing off those bright blue eyes I can’t get enough of. Her belly is rounded with the baby, there could be no hiding it now if we wanted to. Surprising me, my non-traditional girl wanted to wear a dress. Nothing too fancy though; it is a cream color, fitted to perfectly show off her baby bump, as opposed to trying to hide it… long with a lace overlay. She looks stunning.
When she reaches me, I lean in to kiss her causing our small audience to laugh. “Uhh, Mychal.” Tim begins. “Once again, you are doing things backward.”
“DAD!” Piper says in embarrassment.
The exchange brings on a new bout of laughter from our audience. Once, everyone calmed down, the ceremony carried forward. We recited our vows, meaning each word, speaking from our hearts. In conclusion the preacher said, “Mychal, NOW you may kiss your bride.”
It was a perfect day. I will never tire of hearing people call her Mrs. Hartley.
Now, I sit here, twisting my wedding band around my finger. I have no idea how long I have been sitting here. “FUCK!” I shout to no one and everyone at the same time. As if knowing I can take no more, the door opens and Dr. Mason walks in. I quickly stand, wiping the tears from my face. “How is she? They? How are they?”
With a sympathetic smile she tells me, “Piper is in recovery. We almost lost her because she started to hemorrhage. Thankfully, we were able to stop the bleeding with no long-term ramifications.”
Hearing they almost lost her has me dropping my face into my hands. The thought alone is even too much to bare. “And the baby?”
“Your daughter’s umbilical cord got wrapped around her neck three times. If we hadn’t gotten to her when we did, we would have lost her. She seems to be doing fine. We are keeping an eye on her for now. But you should be able to see them both within the hour.”
“Dr. Mason, I can’t thank you enough.” I tell her, hoping she knows how sincere I am.
“I will personally come get you when you are able to go see them. For now, I’m guessing you have some very anxious family out there that would like some answers.”
“Of course, thank you.” I wait for her to leave, then wipe my face; giving myself a moment before I head out to the waiting area. When the doors open, everyone stands, anxiously waiting to hear what I have to say.
“Dr. Mason says they should both be fine.” A collective sigh of relief fills the room before I tell them the rest of what I know, which is not a lot. Now I pace the room waiting for the doctor to come and take me to see my wife and daughter.
Just as promised, Dr. Mason steps into the waiting room almost an hour later. “Mychal, if you’d like to come with me, I’ll take you to meet your daughter. The rest of you will see them soon.”
I follow her, not knowing what is expected of me. I don’t know how to be a dad; I need Piper here with me, learning with me. We walk up to a long set of windows. When I look inside, I see several small baby beds on wheels. Dr. Mason points to one about a quarter of the way down the line. “Mr. Hartley meet your daughter. She weighs six pounds; four ounces and she is nineteen and a half inches long.”
I am in awe. She is beautiful, more so than I ever could have imagined. “Would you like to go inside and hold her? It is just about time for her to eat if you’d like to try to feed her a bottle.”
“Yes, please. I would love too.” Walking down just a little further, she opens a door, motioning for me to enter. Once inside, she leads the way. She picks up the baby and hands her to me; showing me the proper way to hold her. I am done. This little girl has me wrapped around her tiny little finger already. I once thought I could love no one as much as I love Piper, I was wrong. In a matter of seconds, this itty-bitty little bundle of pink has embedded herself in my heart. I feel the tears wetting my cheeks as I thank the doctor.
I’m not sure how long I sat there, holding, feeding, and just admiring her… but Dr. Mason reenters the room asking if I am ready to see Piper. “Can the baby go with us?”
Of course, I know she will be ready to meet her. I’m sure she would love it if you were the one to bring her in. I agree, not willing to leave her behind. I am so nervous… holding her close, careful not to drop her.
Thankfully, it is a short walk to Piper’s room. Dr. Mason knocks on the door before opening it, allowing the three of us to enter. Piper is awake but looks groggy. “Piper, I have someone here that has been waiting to meet you.” She says with a smile in her voice.
She looks up and smiles. “Mychal. We did it. How is she?”
Eager to be near her, I walk over sitting on the edge of the bed; careful not to hurt her.
“I’ll leave the three of you alone for a while. If you need anything, hit the call button.” Dr. Mason walks out, closing the door behind her.
“Baby, I’m so sorry.”
“No, Mychal. Don’t apologize. You could do nothing to prevent this, none of us could.” She winces when she tries to sit up.
“Let me get you some help.”
“No, please. I just need a second. Can I hold her?”
“Of course. She is so beautiful, just like her mommy.” I say placing the baby in her arms.
“I can’t believe she is really here.” I see the tears swimming in her eyes when she looks up at me.
“You both scared the hell out of me Baby. Never do that again.”
“I’ll do my best.” She replies, leaning back against me.
“Piper, I love you.”
“I love you too, Mychal.”
I let Piper have a little time with just the three of us before going out to get the family. I know they are all a mess, sitting in that waiting room, just as I was. Walking into the room my beautiful wife is sitting there, holding our beautiful daughter. She looks up to our family and says with love in her eyes. “Everyone, meet Jana Rose Hartley.”