Everything that you know can be taken away in a single instant. I had woken up this morning with the sick sense that something was wrong at home. I called the number that was so familiar to me. My older of my four year old daughters answered the phone, then I heard an amused chuckle from my wife. She had assured me that everything was fine, and that Isabella would be picking up the twins for Pre-School. Now I'm on a late evening flight back to Danville, to see my newborn son and make funeral arrangements for my now deceased wife. I try to keep myself together as I recall the events leading to my sudden departure from Los Angeles. I was working on set with the director when a call came in for me.
"Mr. Fletcher, there's a call for you from a Dr. Tjinder," An assistant said coming up to me as he handed me a handset.
I frowned as I took the phone from him. I placed it to my ear and answered, "Fletcher."
"Oh Thank God I got ahold of you Ferb," Ginger's voice came through the phone her voice flooded with relief but with a slight hitch like she'd been crying.
"Ginger what's wrong?" I inquired.
"Ferb, I'm really, really, sorry, but she's gone," Ginger replied her voice shaking uncontrollably.
"What? Who's gone Ging? Who?" I asked, my grip tightening on the phone.
"G-G-G-Gretchen," Ginger managed to squeak out.
"No, no that's not possible, I just spoke to her this morning. She was fine," I was in disbelief, no way in hell was she gone.
"Ferb, she went into labor earlier today. Your son is doing fine but we lost her. We don't know how it happened, she went through the delivery just fine. Everything was fine until an hour ago, we thought she was just tired from the delivery. She said 'Tell him I'm sorry about his heartache' then she flatlined, we tried so hard to bring her back...But we were too late she's gone," Ginger explained and the closer she got to finishing I could hear fresh sobs.
It's been ten years since that day. My son, Gregory, is now ten years old, and my twin daughters, Lyra and Sora, are fourteen and are having to face high school without their mother's reassuring words. She always was better at that then I was. I feel bad for my son because he'll never know his mother. At least the girls knew their mother for a short time. I dropped them off at the bus stop and head for work. The sky is dark and grey and threatening to burst open with rain at any given moment. As I drive the Chevy Nova that once belonged to my wife into the parking lot, did I notice the date as the clouds finally released their load of moisture. It was her birthday. Then everything goes red...
I sit up with a gasp. The alarm clock read 3:30AM. To my left, Gretchen is sleeping peacefully, her still belly tells me that Gregory is asleep in the womb as well. Damn that nightmare, it seemed so real. I reach out and touch her to assure myself that this is real. She stirs under my touch.
"Something wrong?" She asks me sleepily.
"No, nothing is wrong," I reply and I pull her close.
"Alright," She mumbles and slowly falls back asleep.
As I snuggle closer to her, I am relieved that I am not Alone. Relief that she"s here in my arms. I know that she can feel the pounding of my heart against her back. She snuggles in closer to me, an action that surprises me, as for the last week she had been putting pillows between us. It was as if she knew I had a nightmare about losing her. For all I know she does, but I'm not complaining. It's nice to have that reassurance that she's there instead of that sickening feeling of her not being there. As long as I have her, I'll never be alone.