Page 91 of This Love
“I’ll call back from the road.” He hung up.
I blew out a long breath. This was hard.
I read Gram’s message. Should I come up?
That was a good idea. She could bring the bag when she did. Better than Isadora going out of her way. But not yet. Things were too wild for visitors.
Me: Yes. I’ll let you know when we have a timeline. Right now, they think I hurt her or something. I need to get that handled. I left the bag at home. It’s on the dresser. Can you bring it?
Gram. Of course. I’ll see to Rosie. You can let me know when I should come up.
Me: We’ll need a few more things.
Gram. You can send me a list.
I relaxed a small degree. She could bring the scrapbook. We needed that. Ava hadn’t wanted it to get damaged in the duffle bag, so it was in her office. The important videos were on both of our phones.
Ava’s phone. We would need to find that, too.
I would explain all this to Gram when we got to that point.
I texted Isadora next.
Me: We’re settled. Please let Rosie out of the office if you haven’t. Gram is coming to look after her until she comes up here. Thank you. I’ll update you.
Isadora: That was so scary. Are you okay? Is Ava okay?
Me: As much as we can be. She’s getting an epidural, and we’ll go from there.
Isadora: I’ll be praying for you both. Baby, too.
Me: Thanks.
Right. The baby. In all this, I was mostly worried about Ava and the dog and her trusting me and getting to the hospital.
But the baby was on the way. Ava just found out she was pregnant.
She didn’t even know his name. Had she understood that I was the father? Did any of this make sense to her at all?
She’d been focused on the pain. She was so afraid.
I leaned against the wall. This was too much, too much.
I had to pull myself together. Ava was in there, lost and confused. I had to get proof of her condition. Get the doctors involved.
But all the doctors’ offices were closed now. Maybe they would page Dr. Chancellor. I would have to try if they didn’t. He had said that an obstetrician on call would deliver her if he wasn’t available.
Another stranger. A doctor who didn’t know or understand.
A middle-aged woman in a floral dress approached, her hair swept into a glossy black updo. “Are you Ava’s husband?”
I shoved my phone into my pocket. “Yeah.”
She held out a hand. “I’m Clarissa, a social worker here at the hospital.”
Right. The one who would decide if I had hurt her.
I stood up straight and reached over for a handshake. “Nice to meet you. Ava’s getting an epidural.”
