Page 77 of Only ever you-Ana & Byron
Deaglán's brow furrowed. Then his eyes drifted to Ana's belly. "What about the baby in your belly? Will she stay and play with me?"
"I'm sure she will," Byron said, kneeling beside him. "But she can already hear you. You have to tell her stories and sing to her, so she won't be scared. So, she knows your voice."
Deaglán's face lit up with the seriousness of the task. "Okay. I can do that." He fumbled in his pocket and pulled out a chain of crushed daisies. "Ma! Daddy and I made a daisy chain for ya. Lookie!"
Ana took it with careful fingers, eyes shining. She pressed a kiss to his cheek.
They stood together a moment longer, hands brushing against the plaque, tied together by memory and hope.
Then they turned and walked down the hill towards their farmhouse, hand in hand, toward the future.
As they walked, Deaglán’s little legs half-skipping to keep up, he craned his head back to look at Ana again.
“So, Ma,” he began, all wide-eyed curiosity, “how did the baby get into your belly? Did you eat it? And then it grow-ed like a tree inside?”
Ana choked on a laugh. Byron bit down on his cheek to keep a straight face.
“Not quite like a tree,” Ana said diplomatically, exchanging a helpless glance with Byron.
Deaglán was undeterred. “But how does the baby come out? Do you sneeze really hard? Like that bogey came out of my nose when I did an Achoo?”
Byron finally lost the battle and snorted.
Ana groaned. “Sweetheart, can we save this particular chat for when you’re at least... eight?”
“I am nearly five,” Deaglán huffed, clearly offended.
Byron leaned down, ruffling his hair. “And that’s exactly why your job is to stick to singing songs and telling stories, yeah?”
Deaglán considered this. “Fine. But I’m still gonna ask Uncle Gray. He knows everything.”
Ana muttered under her breath, “Oh, fantastic.”
And with that, they disappeared down the hill, the sun dipping low behind them, hands tangled, laughter echoing through the breeze, and questions still flying.
Peace settled behind them like a soothing baby blanket.
***
Chapter thirty-three
Chapter 32
After the surgery
That day, after the surgery, they waited.
The neurosurgeon finally came out, still in scrubs, her hair tied back with a cool dinosaur scrub cap that her son had got her for her birthday. She looked exhausted but was smiling.
"It went well," she said, addressing Byron, Cadi and Ana's mother, who had flown in the night before. "Though because it was long-standing and there was quite a bit of scarring, it took longer than we anticipated. But there was no breach into the spinal canal, no leak of cerebrospinal fluid."
"Always a good sign," she added, giving Cadi a small smile.
Cadi's shoulders sagged with relief. She whispered to Byron that she would explain.
"She's just coming out of GA. Understandably, a bit drowsy. There may be some weakness, maybe some tingling, but I don't expect any focal neurological deficit."
She turned to Byron and said, "I mean paralysis or long-term issues. She's in the ITU for the night, just for observation. We'll move her to her room in the morning."
