My phone buzzed on my desk. I briefly checked the message from Jazmine that informed me that she had made it to the gallery safe, and asked me to hang up the picture of wildflowers from her scholarship contest when I got home. I shot off a quick text telling her to be safe and to stay away from any harmful substances. She sent me a smiley face sticking its tongue out. I smiled and shook my head and set my phone on my desk. My eyes shifted to my wedding picture: Jazmine's face smiling up at me and my own face smirking. I stroked her cheek through the glass frame then focused back on the bill the House and Senate would be voting on in 2 weeks. I had been trying for what felt like weeks to focus enough on what the bill stated, but my mind just wasn't on politics for some reason: a dangerous situation to be in considering the voting for Senate was 7 months away. I stood up and pulled off my suit jacket, draping it carelessly over the back of my chair, and then loosened my tie to give me a little more room to relax. I really wanted to kick my shoes off, but that was taking things a little too far.
I grabbed a yogurt from my small in-office fridge and a packet of granola and began to eat, anything to keep me alert enough to get through the dry language of a House bill. I was almost tempted to grab different color highlighters, a tip from Jazmine when she got so bored with studying. The colors would always brighten up her mind, she used to say, but I highly doubted pink, green, orange, and blue streaks would help me focus this Monday morning. Something had felt off, and I honestly just wanted to scrap today and lay in bed, cuddled with my wife; however, Jazmine would hear none of it.
When she was active and alert, she wanted to get as much work done as she could, but when she was exhausted, she was dead to the world. Jazmine's sleep schedule was completely thrown off by the baby, and my schedule seemed to be following hers. Jazmine would fall asleep anywhere during the day, and at night she was restless between her over active bladder and strong body shots from Ellie Rose. Jazmine also had this annoying little tendency to not close the first door to our bathroom while she turned on every light on her way every time she went to the bathroom, which meant that light as blinding as the sun shone on my face at least 5 times every night. I had started to face away from the bathroom door, but Jazmine liked when I rubbed her stomach as she fell asleep, so until I figured out a comfortable way to rub her stomach with my back facing her, I was stuck waking and falling asleep with her.
I looked at my clock and calculated I could grab a quick nap now and just work through my lunch time. I sent Tasha a message saying I would be unavailable for 30 minutes then kicked off my shoes and collapsed on the warm leather couch, throwing my suit jacket over my chest like a blanket.
30 minutes later my phone alarm went off and I rose feeling a little more aware and alert. I put my shoes back on and fixed a cup of coffee, hoping the power nap and caffeine would keep me going until my second wind kicked in. Just as I was about start back on my work, Tasha came barging into my office. I glared at her at first, but my face switched to concern after I looked at the haunted look on her face.
"You need to get to St. John's Hospital!" Tasha shrieked with tears pooling in her eyes. I was about to ask what was wrong when my phone rang. I grabbed my phone and answered as Tasha dragged me out into the common area where her desk was situated. She muted the T.V. but turned me so I could see the news broadcast.
"Hello?" I answered, not sure who was calling since I didn't look at the caller I.D.
"Mr. Freeman!" Erin shrieked from the other side of the phone. I had to turn the volume down for a second to be able to hear her clearly.
"Erin, what's going on? Are you ok?" I asked trying to calm her down.
"I'm so sorry Mr. Freeman! We didn't see him! He came out of nowhere! I'm sorry!" She burst into a flood of tears. I had no clue what was going on. Tasha slapped my arm and pointed to the T.V. screen situated on the wall across from her desk. I read the title of the news headline: "Representative's Wife in Car Crash."
My heart stopped. I started to put two and two together.
"Erin, where are you?" I shouted into the phone. She sobbed louder and tried to form the words.
"I'm in an ambulance. Mrs. Freeman…she's already on her way."
"On her way where Erin?"
"To St. John's Hospital. We didn't see him coming; he ran the stop sign!" My heart started pounding again. Tasha came back from my office and handed me my brief case; I hadn't even noticed that she had left. She ushered me towards the door and picked up her phone to dial some number. My body moved through my office to the parking garage in slow motion.
"Is she hurt Erin?"
"I'm not sure. He hit us broadside on Jazmine's side. I insisted that I drive to lunch so she wouldn't be so uncomfortable. There was blood; the medic said there was a lot of blood." Erin couldn't form any more words. I told her to stay calm, but I didn't feel calm. I tossed my phone into the passenger's seat and raced out of the parking garage towards the hospital. Jazmine was in an accident. She took the brunt of the impact, and I was 30 minutes away from her. Panic surged through my brain, kick starting my adrenaline. I don't know how I made it to the freeway without hitting anyone; I don't even remember stopping for lights. As I sped down the highway, Riley called me.
"Hey, I heard. Cindy, Aunt Cookie, and I are on our way to St. John's."
"You'll get there before I will."
"How far are you away?"
"30 minutes; I was in Annapolis."
"Oh shit, great. I'll call you if the hospital will tell us anything. Don't kill yourself trying to get here." Riley hung up and I continued speeding. After what felt like hours, I finally reached St. John's. I parked in the emergency pregnancy parking spot and raced through the Emergency doors. A nurse looked up and immediately recognized me. She gestured me to come up to the counter.
"How is she?" I asked, my legs were shaking and my hands went numb.
"She's in critical condition, but we don't know the extent of her injuries yet."
"You don't know? How the hell do you not know?!" I shouted, almost surprising myself with how loud and shredded my voice came out.
"Huey!" Riley called to me and walked up to the counter. He squeezed my shoulder in a sign of comfort.
"As I told your brother, Mr. Freeman, there was a lot of bleeding, and paramedics needed to stabilize her before we could use an X-ray, ultrasound, or take her into surgery."
"Surgery? For what?" I felt cold dread take over my body.
"Mrs. Freeman took the most force. There was some trauma to the head causing a lot of bleeding, which is normal for head injuries. However, there is some bruising to her spine."
"Why?" I asked a little sharper than I meant to.
"When paramedics found her, she was curled into the fetal position, protecting her abdomen. Mrs. Freeman took a lot of force to her spine, and we aren't sure how much damage her spine and spinal cord sustained. Also, there is the possibility that…" The nurse looked nervous and bit her lip.
"What?"
"Her body could be…aborting the pregnancy or going into labor."
"What do you mean aborting the pregnancy or labor? She's only at 33 weeks."
"There was vaginal bleeding, Mr. Freeman, and contractions have begun. We are monitoring to see if these are involuntary muscle spasms from her abdomen, or if it's her uterus which is contracting. Her body will decide if it can continue to heal itself while carrying the fetus, if not, her body will abort the pregnancy to save her life." I couldn't speak. I couldn't move. I just went numb. It was really starting to sink in; I could lose Jazmine and the baby.
"Can the baby survive at 33 weeks?" Riley asked for me.
"In what we would call somewhat normal situations, yes; however, since the baby took just as much force as Mrs. Freeman, we aren't even sure if the baby is still alive. There was a lot of blood, preventing the doctors from getting a good reading of fetal activity. There is also the possibility that, if the fetus is still alive, organs and brain functions could be so damaged, that the baby won't be able to survive on its own. Even if the accident hasn't caused severe damage, the fact that the baby's systems have not had a chance to fully develop and begin functioning at the capacity needed could be a death sentence."
I dropped my head from dizziness. I felt like I was going to vomit. My mind was racing at the speed of a jet, but my thoughts were all white noise.
"There is one more thing, Mr. Freeman. If the pregnancy becomes an endangering factor to the mother's life, the doctors will terminate the pregnancy." I glared at her and Riley looked appalled. The nurse nodded her head as if she was used to such responses. "The responsibility of the doctors is to save your wife's life, Mr. Freeman, especially since there is no guarantee that the baby will survive outside of the womb. Your wife has the better chance of surviving, but if the doctors can save the baby without endangering the mother, then they will do everything in their power to save both mother and baby."
The nurse asked us to have a seat until she had more information for us. Cindy and Aunt Cookie stood and gave me hugs, trying hard not to let me see the tears running down their face, but I felt them on my shirt. I didn't know what to do. I didn't know if Jazmine would want me to insist that they save the baby. I didn't know if Jazmine would hate me if I didn't insist that our daughter at least be given a fighting chance at life. I didn't know how I was supposed to tell X if Jazmine didn't make it, or if the baby didn't make it, or if they both didn't make it. How was I supposed to raise my son by myself? I shot a prayer up to God and Granddad, begging them to let Jazmine and Ellie Rose live. I stood up, wandering aimlessly until I found a place away from everyone. I sat down, looking in the gift shop window at a big bright pink bear with a white sash saying "It's a girl," and cried.