Page 76 of Forever Christmas
Chapter 28: Gavin
It takes a good half hour for the nurses to get us set up on our row in the NICU. Ethan isn’t holding his temperature, which is expected for his gestational age, but he only needs a heat lamp, a heart monitor disc, and a tiny tube of oxygen going in one side of his nose.
Otherwise, everything seems to be okay.
Corabelle sits in a rocker, unwillingto take her eyes off the baby. Then she suddenly jumps up and says, “Oh!”
“What is it?” I ask.
She takes a step away, looking at the glass windows to the hall.
“Your mom?” I ask. “Is she out there trying to get in?” Mrs. Rotheford hasn’t seen the baby up close yet. Corabelle’s dad is out waiting with her until we’re settled.
She turns to me. “No, I forgot with everything. I guess they’re lost.Or with my parents.”
“Who?” I ask. “Jenny? Tina? I thought they were coming tomorrow.”
Her eyes lift to mine. She looks a little guilty.
“My parents did something you’re not going to like,” she says. She sits back in the rocking chair.
My gut tenses. “What is that?” But I have a pretty good guess.
“Your parents are here. I saw June before I came.”
Now I’m the one popping out of the chair.But the windows are empty. Of course they are. It’s after midnight.
“Where are they?”
“I bet they are waiting at the normal nursery, not the NICU,” she says.
Damn. I did not need this. Although I guess it had to happen eventually.
“So you’re saying Dad is here too?”
“Yes,” she says.
Great.
“You okay here?” I ask. Ethan is sleeping. The nurse said it would be a while before they tried togive him his first feeding.
“I’m fine. Tell Mom to come.” Corabelle looks up at me with worry. “Will you be okay?”
I shrug. “It’s my family. Anything that can go wrong, will.”
My boots strike the floor with each step as I leave the ward. The other mothers look up as I pass. I should be more quiet.
But I am not looking forward to this. Only anger will get me through.
When I approach the desk,I consider telling the woman stationed there not to let my parents in. But my mom will want to come.
I just have to deal with this.
Once I’m in the hall, I examine the signs to figure out where the regular nursery is. We didn’t pass it on our way. It must be farther on.
My anger rises with each footfall. How dare my father just show up here. He wasn’t invited to my wedding. He isn’t invitedto anything.
But then there’s my mom. Damn it. I do want her here. She’s been through enough already. There’s no reason to cast her out.
