CANE

3 1/2 Months Later

Remember when I said if there was too much peace in my life, a storm would always come rolling by? Well, I could feel it coming, and for the first time in my life, I knew this was a storm that was going to make me suffer. I’d drown in its treacherous waters with no one to save me. Because sometimes, we couldn’t be saved. Sometimes we got swept away with no one to help us.

My phone buzzed on my desk, and I saw it was a text from Kandy. I remembered the day she texted me. March 20th.

I’d told Cora I couldn’t fly out of town for three months straight. The work was going to have to come to me since Kandy had just hit the eight and a half month mark and the baby was due at any time. Not only that, but the Braxton-Hicks contractions were getting stronger.

Her doctor suggested that I remain close, and also mentioned that since Kandy was such high risk, that the baby could come way before forty weeks. Her induction was scheduled in two more weeks, so yeah…this was happening, and the whole pregnancy felt like it had flown by. Kandy was currently at thirty-four weeks, her belly growing rapidly. She thought she looked awful, but to me she was a goddess.

While l worked on writing up emails, my phone buzzed on the desk again. A call from Lora.

“Q!” Lora yelled into the phone. I could hear the worry in her voice, so intense it was almost like I could feel it. I jerked to my feet.

“Lora? What’s going on?” I asked.

“You need to get to the hospital right now! I’m taking Kandy there. She had a few bad cramps this morning and took a nap, but when she woke up, there was blood on the bed. We’re on the way now but she’s in a lot of pain.”

I didn’t have to hear her completely before I was charging out of the office. “I’m coming.”

Fuck. My heart pumped faster, going into overdrive. I jammed my thumb into the elevator button, impatiently waiting for it to open.

“Is everything okay, sir?” Cora asked behind me. I turned to look at her. Her face was etched with concern.

“Kandy is having some bleeding,” I said as the elevator doors open. I marched in. “Clear my schedule until further notice.”

“Of course, sir. You got it. I hope everything is okay.”

Yeah, I hoped everything was okay too.

I jogged through the lobby to get to the parking deck. When I was in my car, I started it up and zoomed away from my building. I remained as calm as I possibly could, but it was hard. I was hoping this wouldn’t happen, and I prayed to the Almighty above that it was just a false alarm and nothing too bad was happening. Something deep down inside me was always telling me that this bliss wouldn’t last, that something was going to disturb our peace and shake up our world. I could handle a lot, but losing her or the baby was something I wasn’t so sure I would be able to handle.

To my good fortune, there was no traffic, so I got to the hospital in record time. I shut my car off and jogged to the emergency room, scoping the lobby as soon as I was inside.

“Q!” Lora’s voice rose and I looked to the left, spotting her rushing my way with Mama trailing behind her.

“Where is she?” I panted. “Is she okay?”

Lora looked defeated, her eyes watering. “I—I don’t know.”

I walked around her, going to the counter. “They took a girl back there,” I huffed, focusing on the woman behind the counter. “Kandy Jennings. I need to be with her.”

The woman seemed unfazed by my urgency. I wanted to slap some sense into her for taking my situation so lightly. “I can’t let you back unless you are related to the patient or are a spouse.”

“She is my fiancée!” I yelled.

“But you aren’t married yet,” she stated through clenched teeth. “There is nothing you can do until we hear from the doctor. You’ll have to wait out here, sir.”

“You have to be fucking kidding me!” I snapped. I glared at the woman behind the counter. “I need to be back there with her. She is my fiancée, and she’s carrying my baby. If something happens to her again, I’ll—”

I didn’t even have the words in me. Couldn’t complete the thought. If something happened to Kandy, I’d lose it. I swear to God I would.

“Sir, I understand your frustrations, but I can’t let you back until we have authorization from the patient. Now, I’ll let them know you are waiting, and someone will come speak to you when they can. Until then, please try to relax,” she said, but her words were meaningless. She didn’t know Kandy’s situation or the risks. She didn’t know what would happen, and she didn’t care.

“Cane?” Mama called, and a hand wrapped around my wrist. “Come sit, son. Please.”

Fuck that! How was I supposed to sit when my girl and my baby might have been dying back there, alone? I snatched my hand away and trudged away from the counter, going to a corner. Lora and Mama followed after me.

“If something happens to her or the baby…” I paced back and forth, shoving fingers through my hair.

“She’ll be oaky, Q,” Lora murmured, but even she didn’t sound too convinced.

“You don’t know that!”

“Cane…” Mama stepped in front of me, stopping me mid-pace. “She will be okay. What is it that you’ve always told me?” I stared down at her, but it was hard to see through the thick layer of tears. “She’s strong,” she reminded me. “That girl is strong. Just sit. Wait.”

I snatched my eyes away, looking up at the ceiling, then sniffled, dropping my hands to dig in my pocket. “I need to call Derek.”

Mama grabbed my elbow, guiding me to a chair. I found Derek’s number, and he answered pretty quickly, his voice sharp. “Cane? What’s going on?”

“Hey, D. Something happened with Kandy. She had some cramps this morning but started bleeding, so we’re at the hospital now.”

“What?” he wheezed. “Is she okay?”

I looked toward the double doors, where they most likely took her. “I don’t know. They won’t let me back since I’m not related, and I guess they aren’t in a position to ask her permission.”

“Fuck—all right, I’ll call Mindy. We’ll get there as soon as we can.” He paused, and I heard him sigh before continuing. “It’s scary as hell when this happens, not only for her, but for you too, I’m sure.” He cleared his throat. “Keep me updated.”

“Yeah, I will.”

He hung up, and I lowered the phone. We all sat in the lobby, waiting for someone to come out and tell us something—anything. My pacing continued, my eyes flicking to the double doors every few seconds. It took two endless hours for someone to finally come out and say Kandy’s name.

I rushed toward the man in teal scrubs. He had a face mask pushed down to cover his chin, rectangular-framed glasses around his eyes.

“I’m here for Kandy Jennings,” I breathed. “I’m her fiancé, Quinton Cane. How is she doing?”

“She’s doing okay, but she specifically asked for you.”

I glanced back at Mama and Lora. He wasn’t speaking too confidently. Something must have been wrong. “Okay. Where is she?”

“Right this way,” he said, turning.

“Keep us updated!” Lora called after me.

I nodded, following the man down a few hallways. He reached a room at the end of one of the halls on the maternity wing and pushed it open. This room was spacious, full of machines and other devices. A hospital bed was in the middle of the room and lying on top of it was Kandy. When she saw me, she gave me a weak smile, and I rushed for her, hugging her, probably a little too tightly.

“Shit, baby, you can’t scare me like that!” I panted. “You okay? How’s the baby?”

“I’m okay, and the baby is fine,” she assured me, my face clasped in her hands.

“Jesus.” I closed my eyes, kissing the middle of her forehead. “What happened?”

“The bleeding wasn’t from the baby. They think there may have been a slight rupture so they’re doing a C-section to prevent anything worse from happening.” Her eyes glistened as she peered into my eyes. “We’re going to have a baby soon, Cane.”

“Seriously?” I looked back and the man was still there, but was talking to another nurse. “Like, now?”

“Yes,” she laughed. “Now.”

“You’re serious?” I cupped her face. “Holy shit, you’re serious!” I kissed her everywhere—her nose, her mouth, her cheeks, her forehead, anywhere my lips could find.

A throat lightly cleared behind me, and I let go, looking toward the person. Dr. Maxine was there, a relaxed smile on her lips. “Sorry I’m late, but I’m happy to see you both here!” she sang. “Now, who’s ready to have a baby?”