July 22, 2002
Daryl knew that today was going to be a great day. He had just gotten off work and was going to be off work from the factory for the next two days. He planned to surprise Carol with a romantic picnic lunch at the quarry by their hometown after her doctor's appointment. Neither of them had ever really wanted to go back to their hometown. Painful memories of that place were still too fresh. The quarry though, that place was full of good memories. That was the place where they had finally admitted to each other that they were in love. It was also the place where Daryl had proposed. He had a huge puffy blanket and a cooler packed with food from their favorite deli in Atlanta. Now he just had to wait for Carol to come back to surprise her with the day trip.
Practically speaking, Daryl knew that this was probably the last chance they would have to do anything like this before their daughter was born. Carol's pregnancy was now in the eighth month, and they would want to stick closer to home after this. They still had to decide on a name for the baby girl they were expecting, and Daryl couldn't wait to tell her the name he had thought of today. He was happy and couldn't wait for the time spent alone with his love in the midst of nature. He just knew that it was going to be a great day.
Carol left the doctor's appointment, relieved at the news that her occasional Braxton-Hicks contractions were nothing to worry about. She was barely dilated to one, but that was apparently common enough in the eighth month. She had no restrictions given to her. She was grateful that Daryl was going to be off work for two days. She had the feeling that he was planning something for them to do. Now she just wanted to get home to him and find out what it was.
As she walked the block to the bus stop, she once again found herself contemplating baby names. They knew their baby was a girl, but no name they had thought of thus far had seemed right. They were going to have to bust out that baby name book again soon. She boarded the bus and spent the short ride thinking about and vetoing names in her head. By the time the bus stopped outside her apartment building, she was cursing the fact that there were no well-loved family members to bestow the honor of their baby's name. That would have made the job much easier.
Daryl was very proud of the fact that his surprise had delighted Carol. Here they were, side by side in his old truck, driving up to the quarry like they had so many times in their high school days. He was listening to Carol talk about what the doctor said about the Braxton-Hicks contractions, relieved that they were harmless at the level they were. Unless things got a lot stronger or more painful, baby Dixon should be happy to stay put until her late August due date.
Once they were at the quarry, he pulled out the puffy blanket and laid it in the grass under a tree. The cooler was unpacked, the sandwiches and sparkling cider delighting Carol's pregnancy cravings. They laid about in the Georgia sun, thankful that there was a steady breeze to keep them comfortable. They talked a lot about what they still had to accomplish in the last month of the pregnancy. It was then that Carol brought up the topic of baby names. Daryl smiled. This was one of his favorite things to do with her, consider names for their baby. He was also excited to share his idea on a name. Somehow, he knew she would love it too.
"So, unless we plan on letting the doctor name her, we have really got to get going on finding a name that's right. I don't want us to wait for me to pop to decide."
"Ain't lettin' the doctor name her. We'll think of somethin'."
"We've gone through so many though Daryl. We always veto them."
"Well, I thought of one today; and I think ya will really like it."
"You said that when you suggested McKenna, and we definitely are not naming her McKenna."
"I swear, it sounded good in my head at the time."
"So lay this perfect baby name on me. What name has you so sure it's right?"
"Well, what do you think of the name Sophia?"
Carol's face practically froze upon hearing the name, and then her whole face lit up. He had suggested a couple names that had sounded marginally ok to her before, but this one in particular made her smile wide.
"I love that a lot actually. What about a middle name?"
"Well, how about giving her your middle name?"
"Sophia Ann Dixon. Sounds perfect. Do you think she'll like it?"
"I think she'll love it."
The rest of the picnic was spent talking about things they still had to do for the alcove in their apartment that they were turning into the nursery. There were smiles, laughs, and stolen kisses. After they had been out there a couple hours, they decided that they best head for home.
They packed up the cooler, and Daryl helped Carol to her feet. Once she was upright, Daryl bent down to retrieve the blanket. It was only because of his distraction that he overlooked the danger. He heard Carol scream a warning. There was a rattlesnake at her feet. Daryl sprung up and managed to get the snake's attention turned towards him instead of his wife. He yelled at Carol to get out of there and get up to the truck. In her haste to get away, she turned her foot wrong and took a nasty tumble on some loose rocky gravel. She fell hard, stomach down on the rocky ground. By the time Daryl got to her, she was already bleeding.
Daryl scooped her up and ran for the truck. They were too far away to get back to Atlanta. He packed her into the truck and headed towards their hometown hospital. Somebody there had to help her. As they drove, Daryl was talking to Carol and trying to keep her calm. He had finally gotten her to take in some calming breaths to stem her panic, when the unthinkable happened.
Her water broke.
