July 23, 2020
Daryl felt the rays of sunlight begin to filter through the window, straining to warm his exposed skin. Last night had been just as rough as he knew it would be. In some ways it was worse. Carol had always blamed herself for not being cautious enough in pregnancy with Sophia. It didn't matter that the circumstances of Sophia's birth and death were tragic flukes wrapped up in the danger of a rattlesnake. It didn't matter that her pregnancy had been completely normal prior to the accident. What Carol continued to be focused on even to this day was that if she had been as knowledgeable about her environment as she had forced herself to be while pregnant with Mika and Luke; Sophia would be there with them all.
Pregnancy with their two surviving children had proved to be an exercise in caution bordering on panic and OCD. Carol spent the majority of both pregnancies on a self-mandated quarantine at home. She took leaves of absences from teaching and did not venture outside of the home for anything other than doctor's appointments and anything else strictly necessary. Her self-imposed isolation had rewarded her with two healthy children, so to her it was justified and well worth it. Her guilty thoughts had fueled her isolation and continued to plague her today. What if she hadn't gone to the quarry that day? She never blamed Daryl for taking her there but focused on her decision to happily follow him on the outing. It made no logical sense, and she even acknowledged that fact to her husband and to their still occasional visits with Milton Mamet. But that didn't matter. In her mind she had failed.
Last night after looking over the baby book, Carol had done as Daryl expected, following the routine of what she usually did when their grieving period was upon them. She had put the grief flowers, Cherokee Roses to honor the pain of a mother's loss in water, ignored the food he had brought home, and then promptly opened their first bottle of wine. Both of them as a result had a bit too much wine and not enough food. The resulting headache was something that Daryl knew she would also kick herself over. Their yearly compartmentalization of grief was at least predictable on that front. Hangovers Daryl could deal with. Carol's blame he could not.
She would inevitably bring up any and all instances where she could have done something differently that day. Never had she ever assigned any blame to Daryl though, which was both a blessing and a curse in his eyes. He could have thought of something else to do that day. Anything would have been better than what they had experienced at that quarry. He could have even simply made a floor picnic inside their tiny apartment. She would have been just as happy with that. But no, he had decided to do something romantic and meaningful. All his good intentions were now rewarded with an empty baby book and a hole in both their hearts.
July 23, 2002
Carol and Daryl were trailed by Milton as they left his office. The little man had been surprisingly easy to talk to and had delivered the beginnings of some tiny form of comfort for the grieving parents. Once he left though, it was glaringly clear that they were on their own. There were no comforting nurses or doctors visiting with them. Jenner and his nurses came in from time to time to discuss everything related to Carol's recovery with a clinical detachment that the parents didn't know was misplaced. They had cut ties to their family members years ago, so they had nobody there to help them through the trauma besides Milton. Even though they were literally less than five miles away from their blood, the phone calls for in-person familial comfort were never made. Instead, they grieved alone.
One detail of recovery was the walks Carol was encouraged to take. 'Being encouraged' was a polite way to describe the badgering she experienced from the staff to be up and on her feet moving around. The fact that she had abdominal staples and stitches literally holding in her organs did not change their mandate. So, she slowly and painfully roamed the halls of the wing she was in with Daryl at her side. She took exception to the fact that she was in the same area with other women recovering from birth with their babies at their sides. That concern was addressed with acknowledgement that their non-maternity recovery area was full.
It was on one of those walks where Carol barely observed an anxious older couple who seemed to be of great importance to the staff. They were not patients but were being shown around the ward with an enthusiasm that was apparent. The couple were soon met with a man in a suit who continued the tour while the staff were dismissed. As Carol walked past, she took no note of the conversation occurring between those gathered.
"She is under BILI Lights for the jaundice that is typical of premature births. While she is on the small side, once she puts on weight and can maintain her blood sugars naturally, she will be released to your care. She is small, but for the most part very healthy. The jaundice will pass. She is breathing on her own. The rest of her stats are on par with what we would expect of an infant born at this stage of gestation. I trust that the doctor answered all your questions?"
The woman nodded excitedly while her husband was more guarded. "Doctor Jenner explained that all. I just want to make sure that everything is in order for us to take her home as soon as possible. Our son is anxious to meet his baby sister."
When the man in the suit turned, he took note of the young couple walking. He abruptly ended the discussions and whisked the older couple into a private office to continue their talk. None of this was noted by Carol or Daryl who were too focused on getting the walking done that would speed up their stay at the hospital. Carol was anxious here in the place where she lost Sophia. She would much prefer to be in the care of her doctor in Atlanta. They wanted to go home. That desire was tainted however with the knowledge that they would be going home alone.
"God damn it, Scott! How could you have that discussion with the Marquand's with the birth parents practically beside you?! Even for you, that was damn stupid.
"Relax Phillip. I brought the Marquand's into a consultation room as soon as I saw them. There are no worries since they never paid any attention to us."
"If you screw this up Gimple, it could mean exposure for us. You know as well as I do what the media would do with a story about our organization's activities. Right now, we are a respected, up and coming organization for private adoptions. We can't screw that up."
"I am just as invested in this as you Blake. We have a clear record of private adoptions. This one is no different to us or anybody who matters. Now, let's get this one cleared so we can get back to running this fucking hospital."
"Do we have any other cases coming up that fit our criteria?"
"None known. Of course, we knew nothing of this one before they showed up at our doorstep. Where there is one, there will always be more. Make sure Sharon in registration gets her bonus as soon as possible. She alerted us to this little opportunity. That woman should be utilized more. She caught this opportunity on the fly and got things moved quickly. We may able to get more deals outta this place by using her."
Phillip Blake assured his partner of his agreement before stating, "Thank God for stupid teenagers. They have no business being parents in their economic reality. Our little favor to the world is going to help me pay for my new boat."
Scott Gimple nodded along in agreement. Privately though, he had to concede he had more reservations on this deal than others they had done. The birth parents while young, were obviously committed to each other and to having a child. The adoptive parents were already in their sixties, a fact that had prevented them from adopting via the traditional methods. Those concerns were quickly disposed of though when he was able to comfort himself with the fact that their organization's private adoptions provided homes of means to children who would have grown up in much leaner environments. Parents who were prepared to offer their children the world, and to pay a pretty penny for the opportunity. Young parents like the Dixons? Well, they could always have more children.
