Major

Samantha’s bruising looks better already. The nurse has allowed Davy and Summer to sit on the bed next to their mother and hold her hands. I’m not sure if they are doing it because they think it will help her come around or because they think it could be the last time they see their mother alive. Whatever the reason, it’s making them feel better and it isn’t hurting Sam.

The room is quiet but for the occasional word exchanged between Davy and Summer. Violet is in the waiting room with Malory. We all wanted to see Sam, but the hospital has a two person at a time visiting rule that is already being broken. We didn’t want to push our luck.

“I’m going to check on Malory. You won’t touch anything, will you?” The nurse has given them instructions on how to hold Sam’s hands without disrupting her IV lines and the electrodes elsewhere on her body.

“No, promise,” Summer says, and Davy nods.

The waiting room is right across the hall from Sam’s room. I don’t really have to leave the room to check on them, but I thought the kids might want a little privacy.

The halls are bustling with activity this morning, a stark contrast to the calm quiet before we left last night. The hospital seems to come alive during the day. I hope that rubs off on Sam.

Violet and Malory are cuddled up together on a couch watching the Disney channel. Malory is engrossed; Violet, not so much. They are so comfortable with each other after only meeting a day ago, but in times of crisis, bonding intensifies. I read that somewhere once, and it stuck with me. Turns out it’s true.

I sit down on the other side of Malory and stretch my arm along the back of the couch behind Violet’s neck and squeeze some of her tension away.

“Mm, that feels good.”

“How are my girls?”

Malory tilts her head up to see my face, “Okay, Daddy. Is it my turn yet?”

I kiss her forehead and breathe in the familiar scent of her strawberry shampoo.

“Not just yet, but soon.”

Her bottom lip slips out in a pout, “She’s my mommy too, not just theirs.”

I gather her in my lap and kiss her cheek. “Of course she is, but the rule is two people at a time. You and Violet can go in next.”

“Is Violet going to be my mommy now?” Her big blue eyes are full of equal parts hope and confusion. My poor daughter doesn’t know where she belongs, and that is my fault.

Violet and I lock eyes. “I think Violet might like to be your mommy sometimes, and when Sam wakes up, she can be your mommy too. How is that?”

Malory nods vigorously with an ear-to-ear smile.

“That’s okay with you, isn’t it, Mommy Violet?” I ask, rubbing her neck a little harder to influence her answer.

“Mommy Violet would be honored.”

“Violet?” Summer says in her softest voice behind me. Violet leans around Malory to see Summer, and I crane my neck so I can see her too.

“Yeah, honey, is something wrong?” Violet asks.

“No, but you wanted me to tell you when the Angel came back, and she’s in Mommy’s room.”

“Nobody else is supposed to be in there, they said two at a time. Damn it, who would be visiting her? We haven’t even told anyone she’s here.”

“Major,” Violet says, taking my hand from behind her neck.

“I think she means a real angel, not a person.”

Violet’s lost her mind. Angels don’t hang out in hospital rooms, and people certainly can’t see them. She must be going along with it for Summer’s benefit.

“Oh, okay, well in that case, we had better get in there and see what she has to say today.” I say, playing along.

Summer’s face lights up when she thinks we believe her. She turns to run back into Sam’s room and the three of us follow. The nurse eyes us, and I hold up my hand, palm out. “We have to see an angel. It’ll only take a second, and I promise to go back to two visitors.”

She nods, and we all enter the dimly lit room. Summer is having trouble crawling back onto Sam’s bed, so I go to give her a boost.

“See? I told you she would come back. She wanted you to come in the room so she could do something.” Summer is pointing at the empty space at the foot of the bed. I wonder if kids hallucinate when they’re really stressed out, and if they do, am I supposed to encourage it or not?

“Really? What’s she going to do?” Violet says, moving to the space next to where the angel is supposedly standing with Malory.

“She’s going to wake mommy up,” Summer says, smiling wide.

Violet and I exchange worried looks. I hate to see Summer disappointed again. This is so hard on her.

“She is? That’s amazing, is she sure she can do it?” Violet asks.

Summer looks to the void next to Violet and back, “Yep, she can do it. She says God sent her to answer our prayers. You were right, Violet. Praying works.”

“Oh no, this is going to be heart wrenching.”

I reach out and rub Summer’s back and break the news that prayers aren’t always answered quickly, and sometimes the answer is no. “Sweetheart, I don’t want you to get your hopes up too—”

“Major,” Violet says, interrupting me.

“We need to explain this to her, Violet—”

“No, Major look,” she says, pointing at the screen that reads Sam’s vital signs and brain wave activity, or lack thereof, as it’s been lately. At the exact moment Summer made her claim about the angel answering our prayers, the minimally wavering lines reading her brain’s activity started to spike and drop drastically.

No way. I can’t believe it.

“See, told ya,” Summer says, leaning down to hug her mother around the waist. With her eyes closed, she snuggles her mother with the most peaceful smile. Davy hasn’t said a word. He’s been staring at the end of the bed with his mouth hanging open since we walked in.

Summer reaches behind her for her mother’s hand and pulls it around her waist. If you didn’t know better, it looks like Samantha’s hugging her daughter, and then I see it. Sam’s fingers moved, all of them. She’s patting Summer’s hip ever so slightly, but she’s moving.

“Get the nurse. Tell her to get Dr. Kumar,” I say, making my way around the bed to look at Sam’s face. Her lips part, but that is all. She’s trying to talk. She’s trying to wake up.

When I look down at Summer, she peers up at me through her eyelashes with a slightly smug expression. Then I glance around the room at Davy, who is now concentrating on his mother’s face, and Malory, who is smiling up at the empty angel space.

“Malory, what are you doing?”

She looks at me with sparkling eyes and says, “Daddy, Violet’s going to have a baby. I’m going to have a real brother or sister!”

I can’t swallow past the lump in my throat, and I stumble back a step and grab onto the bed rail for support. She can’t know that, there’s no way . . . unless . . .

Violet returns with a nurse and Dr. Kumar. When our eyes meet, she can see something’s wrong—or right. I can’t think right now.

Nurses and Dr. Kumar gently escort the kids out of the room, and Violet pulls me aside while they examine Samantha.

“Hey, are you okay? You don’t look so good.”

“I need to sit down.”

“Oh, okay.” She takes my arm and leads me to a chair at the opposite end of the room from the activity happening around Sam.

“Do you feel all right? Should I ask Dr. Kumar to check you out? Seriously, Major, you’re white as a ghost.”

“Did you tell Malory about the baby?”

“What? No, of course not. I would never do that.”

“Who else knows?”

“My mother and Dr. Kumar. That’s it, nobody else. Why? What’s going on? You’re freaking me out.”

I turn to face Violet in the chair next to mine. “She knows. Malory knows you’re pregnant, and she said the . . . the angel told her just now.”

I’m not a man of faith. I believe in God, but I’ve never been a big prayer or churchgoer. The first half of my life I hated Him. I couldn’t understand how a loving God could give me such horrible parents. But as time went on and I grew up, things got better and I released my anger. Now I’m sort of in limbo, well, until a few minutes ago anyway.

“I think there was a real angel in here, Violet. I think Summer and Malory saw something.”

Violet chuckles and takes my face in her hands. “Of course there was.” She presses a soft kiss on my lips, “You don’t believe in angels and fairies and leprechauns, do you?” she asks with disapproval in her tone.

“I do now. Maybe not leprechauns though, they’re creepy.”

She laughs and kisses me again, and my mind wanders to all of the things Violet has given me in the short time we’ve known each other. She’s given me a calm I’ve never experienced, happiness, a new child, a soon to be wife, a family of my own, faith, support, and above all, love.