Chapter 28: Chapter 28

ODETTE

When I woke up in the hospital and realized I was no longer pregnant, I feared the worst. Reece, however, quickly assured me that our little girl was alive.

Seeing Caroline for the first time was an indescribable emotion. It was as if she took all my pain away yet simultaneously gave me pain because she was suffering.

Seeing her in the incubator was something I had prepared myself for. But feeling her tiny hand around my finger melted me.

My emotions were at odds. I wanted to be happy, but I also wanted to be angry. I felt guilty because Caroline was born too early.

I wanted to breastfeed Caroline, but for now, I had to pump my milk so she could get it through a tube.

“Are you feeling okay?” Reece asked.

“I want to hold her,” I said.

“I do too. I can ask the nurse.”

“Ask me what?” Lacy, our nurse, walked in. She had been great, and she even seemed fun.

“Can I hold Caroline?” I asked Lacy.

Lacy’s lips formed a smile, and she placed her hand on her hip.

“Girl, you’re a mind reader. I was coming in here to ask if you were up for some skin-to-skin time with her.”

“Yes!” I exclaimed, wincing at the burn in my throat.

“Careful, your throat is still healing,” Lacy lectured. “Let’s get you washed up and go to Caroline.”

I slowly followed the nurse. It was painful to walk, but the doctor said moving would help the healing process. Once I scrubbed my arms and hands and sat down next to Caroline’s incubator, I started to get emotional.

“Are you okay?” Lacy asked.

“Yeah. I can’t believe I get to hold her.”

“Well, you better believe it. I know it’s only one night, but she’s doing well. We want her to be skin to skin with you, so we need you to pull your gown down, just barely covering your chest.”

I did as Nurse Lacy instructed while she carefully picked up Caroline and placed her stomach down on my chest.

Having her in my arms made me feel whole. I had been on the fence about having children, but now I knew I wanted them. I wanted Caroline to have siblings.

I heard the door open and looked up to see Reece walking toward us. He kissed my head as he kneeled to my level.

“She’s so beautiful,” he whispered.

“She’s perfect,” I corrected.

“Can I take a picture of you holding her?” Reece asked.

I gave him permission, and he stood up and took some photos with his phone.

“Theo is here. He’s waiting in your room,” Reece stated.

“Can you bring him here so that he can see her?” I asked.

“Of course.”

Reece had been great. He was dealing with everything. He told the police that I needed a day before giving my statement, and he contacted James, who said that I could take as much time off as I needed or work remotely for a while when I felt better. He was also making sure my brothers didn’t overwhelm me by trying to come and visit every day.

Theo flew in and was waiting for us to tell him to come to visit.

“Hey, little sis,” Theo stated.

“Hey, Theo.”

“Reece had to stay out there.”

I nodded, understanding that only two people were allowed back here at a time.

“How are you feeling?” he asked.

“Better now that I have my daughter with me,” I honestly answered. Holding Caroline made everything feel better.

“So this is my niece?” Theo asked.

“Yes, and you’re the first uncle she gets to meet. Theo, meet Caroline Rose.”

“Caroline, after Mom?” Theo said with a crack in his voice.

“And Rose after Reece’s mom,” I added.

“I love it. She would be so proud of you, and both Mom and Dad would love Caroline.”

I didn’t answer him; I just stared at Caroline.

“How have you been, Theo?” I asked.

“You know, living the single life. I’m sorry for not being here for you.”

“Don’t apologize. You have a life, and you deserve to live it. Besides, Reece is doing a great job of taking care of me.”

“He loves you, Etta. Don’t let him go,” Theo stated.

“I don’t plan on it.”

“I’m going to let you spend some time alone with Caroline and Reece. I’ll call you later. Love you,” Theo said as he kissed my forehead.

“Love you too.”

***

“I’m sorry you didn’t get to hold her,” I said to Reece.

“It’s okay; I’ll get my time. She probably needs you more than me right now.”

I placed my palm on Reece’s cheek. “She needs us both.”

I spent close to an hour holding Caroline, and I absolutely loved it. I didn’t want to put her down.

I leaned forward and kissed Reece. The kiss was brief but enough to let him know that I appreciated him.

Reece pulled away from me when a knock on the door disturbed us. It was my doctor.

“Good afternoon, Ms. Hart. How are you feeling?”

“I’m good. I have a little bit of pain, but nothing unbearable,” I admitted.

“Good. Do you mind if I have a look at your face and stomach?”

“No.”

The doctor put on some gloves and started looking at my face.

“Does it hurt when I touch it?” the doctor asked.

“It’s sore, but it’s nowhere near as sore as the first day,” I told the doctor.

“Good. Lay back so I can take a look at your stomach.”

The doctor pulled up my gown while covering my legs with the blanket.

“Does this hurt?” he asked as he slightly pushed down.

“A little.”

“It looks a little irritated. I think you’ve been moving around too much,” he said in passing while continuing to look at it. “How does your arm feel?”

“It’s the least bothersome.”

“If Doctor Carr decides surgery isn’t needed, we’ll put your arm in a cast.” Doctor Carr was the orthopedic specialist that I had been waiting to see.

“Back to my c-section wound, you said to move around, that it would help the healing process,” I stated.

“I did, but there is a fine line between moving around and moving too much. I’ll want to keep you at least another day or two to make sure an infection doesn’t set in, and that will give us enough time to find out if your arm will require surgery.”

“How is Caroline doing?” Reece asked the doctor.

“She’s doing well. We may try to lower her oxygen tomorrow and see how she does. We will probably want to keep her here for a while, so you may end up getting released before she does.”

I wasn’t sure I could handle Caroline being here without me.