Chapter 3 Encounter

Elodie

My inconsistency at the workplace has been piling up, and today is one of those days I have to send yet another email asking for permission to be absent.

My finger glides across the red button and it clicks Send.

I sit quietly, staring at the white ceiling of the hospital when the doctor walks in with a file and a wide smile on her face.

That kind of smile that is either too good... or about a change in everything.

"Congratulations, Elodie," she says softly, "you're pregnant."

My heart races, skipping a beat as I blink once.

Twice.

Then I laugh.

Not a happy laugh.

A bitter, crack sound that makes the nurse beside her shift uncomfortably.

"I think you're mistaken here," I whisper, shaking my head. "I can't be."

But the smile on her face didn't falter. "I ran the test twice. You're eight weeks along. There's no mistake."

My throat tightens, and my fingers curl around the strap of my purse, squeezing it like I'm holding on to reality.

Pregnant?

Me?

"How?" I squint as the word slips from my lips.

Dr. Lucy lets out a soft chuckle. "How? You don't mean that, do you?"

My lips curl inwardly, in response to her harmless gesture.

It has been barely two months since I moved down to Emberveli town-since after Mason left me. Adjusting to the new environment hasn't been so smooth to me, now this.

This is a cruel joke from the universe.

I'm finally carrying a child?

A miracle I prayed for endlessly to save my marriage but it never came.

Why now?

After all I've been through?

My eyes burn, threatening to unleash flow, but I blink fast.

No tears, not here.

"So now, Dr. Lucy says, breaking the silence, "you'll need to level up the care you give yourself, knowing there's a life growing inside you."

"Yes, Doctor." I nod, forcing a faint smile that doesn't reach my eyes.

"Here," she says, handing me the test results. "Ensure to go through it and follow up all the instructions there. Congratulations once more Elodie."

"Thank you." I say and swallow hard.

I walk out like a ghost, clutching the paper with trembling hands. When I get to the major road, I wave for a cab.

As it pulls to a drive, I lean my back on the soft leather seat, speechless, except for the rustling sheet of my lab test breaking the silence.

In less than an hour, I'm back to my apartment. I pay the driver and step out.

I rush inside, slam the door shut and stand there freezing, still holding the result.

"I, Elodie...Pregnant...?"

I stagger backwards until my legs find the edge of the couch, and I collapse onto it.

My hands quiver as I place it over my flat stomach, the same stomach my ex and his mother had mocked.

"You're barren. Useless. A disgrace to our name."

Those words still echo in my head like a cruel chant.

A single tear rolls down my right cheek.

Another follow.

Then a loud, broken sob racks my body as years of shame and rejection come crashing.

I weep for years, I spent begging God for a child to save my marriage, and now when no one expects it, life blooms inside of me.

A wave of happiness and confusion washes over me at the same time.

How am I going to survive?

I barely feed properly.

"I'm finally going to be a real mother? I whisper through my sob, squeezing joyfully through my teeth. "But for who?"

I blink hard, trying to force back the tears that are already slipping out.

"For a man who treated me with no respect like I meant nothing?"

I close my eyes against the rush of pain that fills me. "I'll keep you safe, my baby, away from Mason." I said and move my hands across my belly. "I promise."

Just then, my stomach churns violently as a sudden rush of nausea sweeps past me.

I rush to the bathroom, holding my mouth with one hand and pressing the other against my belly.

I lean over the toilet bowl and gag, my body shaking with the force of each heave. A Bitter bile and remnants of my meal surges up my throat, leaving a sour taste in my mouth.

When it finally stops, I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand and let out a weak bitter laugh.

"So... it's real after all." I murmur.

...

Five years later...

Oh my God. It's almost 5 p.m.

I'm late again.

Hurriedly, I grab my handbag and dash out to the busy road. I wave down a cab.

"Main and Elm, please," I pant as I hop in. "Quickly!"

The driver nods and speeds off. But barely ten minutes into the drive, rain starts, pouring heavily.

Suddenly, the road clusters and I get stuck in traffic.

I tap my foot nervously. "Please...go faster."

He sighs but doesn't answer. I stretch my neck, trying to see past the sea of cars ahead.

Just then, my phone buzzes with a message from the school: "Liam is waiting safely at the drop-off point"

I exhale deeply. I feel relief and whisper a soft "Thank you Jesus." I put the phone back into my bag.

Shortly the road clears. The cabbie speeds forward as fast as he could, but nothing prepares me for the scene I meet when he turns the corner.

A silver car diverts sharply at the school drop-off point.

And Liam. My Liam is right there.

My eyes bulge as I watch it speed towards him. Panic crawls through my veins.

My pupils dilate. "No. No, no." My scream catches in my throat.

"Stop, stop, stop. I slap the front seat, praying my fears were wrong.

The moment it slows, I fling the door open and dash out. My bag spills onto the wet road but I don't care.

A small crowd is gathering.

Hazard lights blinking nonstop.

And then I see him. His small body... lying still on the wet ground.

There, a man in a soaked dress shirt is already kneeling, performing a frantic CPR.

My heart nearly stops.

"Liam!" I scream, as I push through the people.

My legs give out when I reach them and see his pale face, blood smears on his temple, and one of his shoes has flown off.

I kneel closely beside him, my heart drops. "No! Liam!"

Voices were muttering words from behind but I can barely hear them. My entire mind zeros in Liam.

"Baby... Mama is here. Please...open your eyes." Tears blur my vision. My hands tremble as I cup his face.

But when his body gives no response, my fear grows stronger.

"The ambulance has arrived." A voice speaks.

"Help my baby! Please!" My words hang in the air like a challenge as EMTs move in swift motion.