“I like Betty, too.”
“Betty Paige Westbury? And we’ll call her Paige?”
“And not Mason?”
I shake my head.
“Hi, Paige,” he says. Her mouth opens in agreement.
“Sorry to interrupt, but we need to take her and get her vitals. Then we’ll be taking her upstairs for observation.”
I reluctantly let her go and tell Liam to go with her. I don’t want her alone.
“Before you take her, we need to introduce her to our family. They’re waiting.”
The nurse nods and carries Paige over to the station they’ve set up. Once she’s weighed, measured, cleaned and has had her Apgar test done, she’s bundled up and placed in Liam’s arms. He sits down next to me and pulls out his phone.
“Smile, Mommy.” I don’t, I lean in and kiss Paige’s head instead. This is how I want her first photo to be.
Once my delivery doctor leaves, the nurse opens the door to let everyone in. My mom walks in first and covers her mouth as tears start flowing.
“Oh my, it’s a girl. She’s so tiny.”
“Very tiny. She weighs five pounds, six ounces and is nineteen inches long. I bet she’ll be tall like her mom,” Liam says as he looks at me. I never thought he could look at me any differently until now. To see the love in his eyes when he looks at me is breathtaking. I lean in and kiss him in front of our family and friends.
Once everyone is in, Liam turns Paige to face everyone. Noah sits beside me, begging to hold her. It’s funny how his tune has changed now that she’s here. At first, he didn’t want a sibling, or maybe it was just another boy he didn’t want.
“Everyone, the Westburys are overjoyed to introduce you to Betty Paige Westbury. We’ll be calling her Paige.”
I look to Bianca for a reaction and get what I was expecting. Tears are falling and she’s mouthing “thank you”. All I can do is smile. Smile at my family and friend
s. If it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t be where I am today.
My mouth is parched and my throat hurts. My hands seem heavy as I try to move them. As I open my eyes, I squint even though the lights aren’t very bright. My tongue darts out to wet my lips, but they’re still dry and feel chapped.
“Here.” I turn to the sound of the voice. It’s Harrison.
“Where am I?”
“You’re in the hospital, mate.” It’s good to know that JD is here as well. I wonder where everyone else is.
Harrison brings a straw to my lips and I suck greedily, taking all that I can to wet my mouth and soothe my throat.
“What am I doing here?”
“There was an accident,” Harrison says as he puts the plastic cup back on the track. He’s sporting a beard and I’m not sure I like it. I slowly move my head to look at JD and find that he has one too.
“What happened?”
“An eighteen-wheeler lost control and hit the bus. You were sitting up front, talking to the driver when it happened. You were thrown to the back of the bus, breaking your back. You’ve been in a medically induced coma for six months.”
“What? What about…” I can’t imagine what Josie must be going through and for me to be hurt in the same type of accident as Mason; her mind must be going crazy. Why isn’t she here? Where are my kids? The last thing I remember is Paige being born.
“You need to calm down. You don’t want to accelerate your heart rate,” Harrison says.
“What town are we in?”
“Some rinky dink place called Beaumont.”