Page 123 of Love By The Falls

“She?” I turn to see the doctor holding a whitish-blue baby in his hands, then passing the baby to the nurse. The monitor beside me starts blaring again, but I’m mesmerized by those tiny little toes and raised fists.

Another nurse rushes into the room, carrying a bundle of towels, and starts placing them between the stirrups. Quickly, she removes one, and it’s soaked in blood, and then another. “Call the OR. We need the room now!”

“What’s happening?”

“She’s losing a lot of blood. There may be a tear or something internally. We’ve got to go in and check.”

What?!

I turn back to Charlotte and her face is now the same color as the bedsheet next to her head. “Charlotte? Charlotte!”

She opens her eyes, and I nearly fall from relief. She smiles. “Is it a girl?”

“Yes.”

“I knew it,” she breathes. “She’s beautiful.”

She stares at me, and her smile grows. “I love you, too, Caleb.”

Her eyes flutter and then stay closed. Despite the alarm bells and rustling of sheets and towels, it feels as though the world is muted. Everything around me moves in slow motion. I move to touch her face, but the nurse inserts herself between us. I move and grab her hand, but it’s cold and clammy. “Charlotte?”

“Sir, move out of the way,” the nurse says and pushes me aside. They steer her out of the room through the double doors and I remain in the silent room, frozen.

Her parents rush inside along with Sage. They stare at me. My face must terrify them because Charlotte’s mom bursts into tears.

I curl my hands into fists and shout at whatever deity would listen.

“Charlotte!”

28

Caleb

There’s a beeping sound in the distance and muffled voices around me, but I don’t peek through my fingers. My head is still in my hands, but I’m sitting now in a waiting room. I don’t remember how I got here. Someone must have ushered me inside.

“Caleb, do you want to meet your daughter?”

I think that’s Sage, but I’m not sure because I don’t look up. I shake my head and the footsteps recede.

I’m not meeting her without Charlotte. We will hold our baby for the first time together.

My bones ache, and I have no idea what time it is. I haven’t eaten in hours, but I’m not hungry. I close my eyes and drift off into nothingness.

A little while later, a woman sits beside me. From her perfume, I know it’s Charlotte’s mother. She sobs quietly beside me. I squeeze my eyes tighter and tune her out.

I don’t know how much time has passed when a man enters the room. “I’m looking for Charlotte Tanner’s relatives.”

“I’m her mother.”

I look up and there’s a doctor in blue scrubs and a mask hanging from his neck. “There was a tear. She’s lost a lot of blood, so we had to give her a transfusion. But her vitals are stable now.”

“Is she—is she going to be okay?”

It feels like an eternity before the doctor responds. He doesn’t smile, but nods instead. “She’s come through the worst of it. She should make a full recovery.”

“Can we see her?”

“Yes.”

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