Page 124 of Love By The Falls

Her parents rush past the doctor, but I remain seated. Although I respect that her parents want to see her first, my knee bounces as I wait for the moment to hold her in my arms again.

I can’t believe how close I was to losing her. How stupid I’ve been, wasting so much time traveling back and forth, staying so long away from her.

And for what? More money? More things I don’t need? While I waited in this room, I thought about how my life would be without her. How I would simply go back to the way it was, and the thought fucking depressed me. I live in an apartment above my office. I have no real friends, and my family only cares about my connections. I have no idea where my parents are, and I don’t think they care about where I am. The only person who came looking for me was Charlotte. The onlyperson who calls to ask if I’ve recovered from my cold is Charlotte.

Fuck. I was so stupid.

I can no longer wait. I walk toward her room and see her parents standing over her.

There’s color in her cheeks and lips again. Her skin doesn’t seem so pale. Her eyes flicker toward me and she smiles. “We have a baby girl,” she says.

I nod, and God help me, I fight back tears like a little baby myself. I want to drop to my knees and thank God that she’s alive.

“Is she okay?” Charlotte asks.

“Yes, sweetie,” replies her mother. “She’s doing great.”

But Charlotte’s eyes are still on me, and she’s smiling. “Does she look like you?”

Her mother turns to look at me, and I swallow. “She’s beautiful,” I say because although I haven’t seen her yet, any daughter of Charlotte’s is sure to be as lovely as her.

Her smile brightens the room and my eyes water. I turn away and clear my throat. When I turn back, Charlotte’s smile is gone. “Mom, Dad, can you give us a minute?”

“Sure, honey,” says her father, but her mother frowns. “We’ll be right outside if you need us,” she says, patting her daughter’s hand.

“Come here,” she says, and I do.

“What’s wrong?”

I scoff. “What’s wrong? You almost died, Charlotte. I almost lost you. I—I—”

She grabs my hand, and her grip is so weak, I nearly weep. “I didn’t die. I’m right here.”

“So am I, Charlotte.”

I hold her hand and stare into her eyes.

“Who’s Trudy?” she asks, and for a second I have no idea who she’s talking about. Trudy was the furthest thing from my mind. Then I remember Brigitte’s conversation with Charlotte just before she went into labor.

“God, Charlotte. She’s no one. My sister-in-law tried to set me up with her, but nothing ever happened between us, I swear. I’m so sorry Brigitte called you, and–”

Charlotte squeezes my hand. “I believe you.”

I exhale and kiss the back of her hand. “I promise to take care of you. I’ll never leave you again. You and the baby are my priority now. I imagined my life without you, and it was a sad excuse for a life. It was terrible.”

She laughed. “You don’t have to make me feel better. I’m okay.”

“I’m telling you the truth. It’s as if I’ve been going through the motions of what everyone told me I needed to accomplish to be happy. But I wasn’t happy. I washustling. I didn’t need to hustle with you. I could just be me, and it was enough.”

“You are more than enough.”

“You are everything to me.”

She swallows and tears gather in her eyes.

“Don’t cry. I don’t ever want you to cry.”

“They’re happy tears.” She sniffs. “I want to meet our baby. Can you bring her to me?”

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