Page 36 of Loving Jake

“Wait,” she called to his retreating back.

“Jake, I have to talk to you. Please, you don’t understand?—"

The sound of screeching tires against asphalt assaulted the otherwise quiet morning. A loud thud followed and then silence. Jake stopped in mid-stride, paralyzed. “Please, God, no.” He whipped around to look behind him.

“Kimberly—" He rushed to where she lay motionless in the middle of the suburban street.

The driver of the car approached him in near hysterics. “Oh man. I didn’t see her... she ran out of nowhere, mister. Oh man, oh man,” the teenage boy rushed on in a panic-filled voice.

Jake knelt down next to Kimberly’s unmoving form. He wiped away the wild tangles of hair from her face. “Come on, sweetheart. Open your eyes,” he urged in a shattered breath.

A small crowd gathered around them. Many ran from inside their homes at the sound of the commotion coming from the street. Jake sensed, rather than saw them, gather around. His head darted up. “Somebody, call an ambulance,” he commanded in an unsteady voice. “Somebody, please call an ambulance!”

SIXTEEN

Jake paced the noisy emergency waiting room with tense, anxious strides. He was oblivious to the numerous people being shuffled in and out of the area, many on stretchers or in wheelchairs. He focused on the door to the examining room, the same door the paramedics had carried Kimberly through over an hour ago. He should have told the hospital personnel to call the father of the baby when they had asked him for his name and Kimberly’s, but he hadn’t been thinking clearly, and he wasn’t sure if he ever would again.

If anything happened to her... no, he wouldn’t allow his thoughts to take that dark and narrow path. He had never considered himself a religious man, but now he found himself praying for God’s assistance with each ticking of the clock on the emergency room wall.

“Jake. Jake,” cried a voice from behind him.

“Carly.” He practically crushed her in his embrace. He took in her tear stained cheeks, her normally immaculate facade shaken and disheveled, and he felt like crying himself, but seeing Carly release enough tears for both of them helped him to remain strong.

“Have you heard anything?” She pulled herself from his embrace to take a tissue from her purse.

“Not yet.” He motioned to a pair of empty seats, as he realized his own need to sit down. He had been pacing the waiting room for over an hour. He could do with a strong cup of coffee, but that would have to wait until later. There wasn’t a chance he was going to miss the doctor coming out of the door with news of Kimberly. He would sit here for days, if that was what it took.

“Jake what happened? I was at the movies with the girls and didn’t get your message until twenty minutes ago. I was so upset. I don’t think I understood any more than Kimberly and the name of the hospital.”

“I’m sorry about that. I was rather upset myself. Carly... it’s my fault that she was hit by a car. She called after to me to stop, and I didn’t listen. I just kept walking away from her.”

Confusion marred Carly’s tear stained face. “Jake, whatever are you talking about? I didn’t even know you were back in town, let alone you and Kimberly?—"

“I flew in this morning from Peru. I met this woman on a plane from Venezuela... a grandmother of twenty-seven children.” He caught the puzzled arch of Carly’s perfectly formed brow, and he paused. He was rambling, something he never did. He was definitely on the verge of losing it. He shook his head, as he tried to make sense of the last few days.

“Anyway, she made me see the light, as the saying goes. She and her husband couldn’t have children of their own, so they adopted. I got to thinking that maybe adoption could solve the problem, my problem, with Kimberly. The next thing I knew, I was on a plane back to San Francisco, even though I knew she didn’t want to see me again.” He exhaled a deep breath.

“And you came home to discover Kimberly pregnant. Very pregnant,” Carly interjected with a nod of understanding.

“It was stupid, I know. I didn’t even send her a text for over six months, and for some idiotic reason, I thought she would be waiting for me with open arms. I’m a fool.” Jake leaned over and rested his elbows on his knees. He braced his face with his hands and shook his head in tired defeat.

“I didn’t even realize she was pregnant when I first saw her. She had a large basket of clothes in her arms, for some damn bazaar or something. It looked heavy. I tried to take the basket from her. That’s when I saw...I found out she was pregnant. I practically stormed out of the place. She followed me and called after me, but I wouldn’t listen. I just needed to get out of there. She ran out into the street trying to reach me before I drove away, I guess. The car that hit her couldn’t have been going that fast. I never even heard it approaching us. If anything happens to her, Carly—.” Jake’s voice cracked. He buried his face deeper into his hands.

Carly reached over and tenderly placed a hand on his back. “Jake, it’s going to be all right. Kimberly needs us to be strong for her.”

Jake shook his head in surprise; their roles had quickly reversed. Carly was the strong one now. She comforted him while he fell apart. Choked full of pain, Jake began, “I know she didn’t want to?—"

“Mr. Taylor?”

Jake’s head darted up. A woman dressed in green scrubs stood in front of him. He swallowed deeply. “Yes?”

“I’m Doctor Holloway.” She smiled briefly at him. “You’ll be happy to know your wife is going to be all right. She suffered a mild concussion from the fall. Otherwise, there are no signs of additional injury. The trauma did cause her to go into premature labor, and we had some initial concerns, but we contacted her OB, and before we could do more then put on a pair of gloves, the baby came out kicking and screaming, probablythankful for his early release. He is a tiny guy, although doing well for entering this world almost eight weeks early. He’s going to be with us for a while, but his lungs are strong, and that’s always a good sign.” She smiled. “Nurse McEntire will take you up to the nursery,” she informed him with a nod to the woman dressed in brightly colored scrubs next to her. “We should be transferring your wife to the postpartum ward within the hour. She may be a little drowsy from the sedatives she received, but I think I can allow her to visit with her husband for a few minutes. Nurse McEntire will take you to see her after you’ve been to the nursery.”

“Thank you, Doctor.” Jake released his breath in a heated rush. He reached out and shook the doctor’s hand. “But I’m not Kimberly’s hus—" He was interrupted by a targeted elbow into his ribs. “Thank you, Doctor Holloway,” he amended and turned sharply to stare at Carly once the doctor walked away.

“Jake, please trust me on this and just go with it. It’s not my place to explain, but I promise you that it will all make sense soon.”

If the nurse overheard their exchange, she didn’t acknowledge it. “If you’ll follow me, I’ll take you up to the nursery.”

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