Incredible Beauty (So Many Reasons 2)

I had missed calls from Maria, Cass, Claire and the hospital. Blood pulsated through my veins as I threw on a pair of jeans and a tee shirt, at the same time I called the hospital.

“ICU please.”

“Hi, this is Simon Anderson, Emma Mancelli’s fiancé. I have a missed call from the hospital. It will either be about Emma or the baby,” I added.

“Simon, yes the surgeon needs to speak to you about Emma’s surgery. Can you come down?”

“Yes, I’m leaving now,” I replied, already out the front door. I jumped in my car and sent Claire a text.

Sorry, have to get to hospital, tell Maddie I love her and will see her soon.

The reply was instant.

Hope all is okay xx

The doctor led me into a small room. I’d seen enough shows on TV to know that when they spoke to you privately, it was never good. I sat down and waited for him to do the same.

“I’m going to get right to the point, Simon. We need to operate today. Emma’s condition is deteriorating and the clot has increased in size. If we don’t try to remove it soon we are concerned it may burst.”

“Okay, so remove it,” I said, not understanding why he was wasting time in here with me when he could’ve been getting this surgery happening sooner.

“There are risks we need to make you aware of,” he looked down at his desk briefly before his eyes reconnected with mine. “The chance of a successful outcome is about sixty percent.”

“What do you classify as successful?” I asked hoarsely.

“That she survives,” he replied simply. “If she does survive, there is a further fifty-fifty chance she will have some form of brain damage. The location of the clot makes it very tricky to reach.”

Fuck. I drew in a breath, knowing there was no other option but to agree to the surgery. At least then she would have a chance.

“When will it be done?”

“Today,” he replied, “We need to do some scans, the operation is scheduled for this afternoon.” he hesitated, not meeting my gaze. “You might want to spend some time with your fiancé, Simon.”

Before I went to see Emma, I stopped past to check on bean. She was going well, every day she was getting bigger and stronger, the only thing she lacked was a name.

If there was one thing Em and I had not been able to agree on, it was the name of our child. She hated every name I put forth and I equally disliked every name she offered.

I reached her crib to pick her up and smiled as she gazed back up at me with her big blue eyes. All my apprehension and pain melted away when she looked at me with those eyes because I knew no matter what happened I needed to be strong for my daughter.

As I cradled my week old baby girl in my arms, I realized something. If I lose Em today, I wanted her to at least know her daughter’s name. I have to believe she can hear me when I talk to her and I have to believe she knows how much we both love her.

I held Mirabella for a few minutes longer, before laying her down in her crib.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Emma

Apparently I can't be left alone.

At least that’s the impression I get from the influx of visitors to my room, one after the other almost like a procession of people coming to say goodbye. I’d picked up enough from listening to the nurses to know I was having surgery today, though exactly what the problem was, or how serious I wasn’t sure. Judging by the visitors and the feeling in the room, things weren’t looking good and that scared me.

Cass and Tom arrive just as my parents are leaving, gran with them. Mom had managed to get through most of the visit without bursting into tears, which is progress, but also disappointing that gran didn’t get the chance to tell her off again.

“Hey Em.” Cass says, kissing my forehead as either she or Tom squeeze my hand.

“You're looking better today,” Tom says from the other side of the bed. Okay, so it is Cass holding my hand, not Tom.

“I brought you something,” he says. He places something over my ears that feel like headphones. “I know how much you like your crappy soppy movies, so I thought I'd put some on your IPod,” he explains, as sound filled the speakers and Pretty Woman begins to play.