THE FRIENDSHIP BRACELET
"How did it go at the doctor's, honey? Everything okay?"
Chrissy glared at her husband. "Everything's not okay! The doctor said there was something wrong with my pregnancy."
"Oh no! I knew I oughta come with you! What exactly did she say?"
"If you knew you oughta, then why didn't you? You are totally useless, Jack!"
"Chrissy, calm down," cut in Terri. "What did the doctor say was wrong with your pregnancy?"
Terri's presence in her living-room finally registered with Chrissy. "Oh, hi Terri. She said it was ge... geri..." She burst into sobs.
"Geriatric?"
"Yes, that's the word! Geriatric pregnancy! This is what she said. I didn't understand it at first, but then I remembered. It means something to do with very old people, right? Why would she say that to me? Does she think I am ninety or something?"
"Come here, honey." Terri put her arm around Chrissy. "She doesn't think anything of the kind. Geriatric pregnancy is just a medical term for when the pregnant woman is thirty-five or older. Sounds a bit insensitive, if you ask me, but that's all it means."
"And I turn thirty-five next month," said Chrissy bleakly.
"You see? The doctor didn't mean that anything was wrong. She was just saying you have to be extra careful, take it easy, try not to overexert yourself – "
"That's right, honey," chimed in Jack. "Listen to Terri, she knows what she's talking about. Didn't I tell you not to do so much around the house?"
"Oh really, Jack? I wouldn't have to do so much if you did a little more!"
"But honey, I do as much as I can when I am not at the restaurant!"
"You are always at your stupid restaurant! I am alone here all the time and have to do everything myself! How do you expect me to take it easy?"
"But honey – " began Jack again. Chrissy rose heavily, stuck her tongue out at him and trudged out of the room.
Jack and Terri exchanged perplexed looks.
"Pregnancy hormones," said Terri. "Don't take it to heart."
Jack sighed. "I know. She's been like this pretty much all the time for the past few weeks. I'll go talk to her."
"No, you stay here. I'll go."
...
Chrissy lay face down on the bed, her shoulders shaking with suppressed sobs.
Terri approached the bed quietly and sat down next to her.
"Go away, Jack!" yelled Chrissy without looking up.
"It's me, honey." Terri touched her shoulder gently. "Please don't be upset. Everything's fine."
"Terri, how would you know whether everything's fine around here or not?"
"Well, what can possibly be wrong? The baby's doing fine, you are young, healthy and strong, you have a husband who adores you – "
"Yeah, right," mumbled Chrissy into the pillow.
"Hey, what's going on? Are you guys fighting? Couples can do that sometimes and still be crazy about each other."
"Except he isn't," breathed out Chrissy.
"Now, what kind of nonsense is this? Why would you say that?"
"Because he likes my best friend better than me!"
"Chrissy!" said Terri, deeply shocked. "Where did you get such an absurd idea? I swear, there's nothing between Jack and – " Terri stopped short. "But you are not talking about me, are you? You are talking about – "
Chrissy turned over, sat up and nodded dejectedly. "I know it's stupid. But recently, I haven't been able to get it out of my head. They used to be so much in love back then! It was supposed to be a big secret, of course, but they weren't fooling me none. Not when they both had it written right across their faces. So now, every time some little thing goes wrong, I can't help thinking that they might've been a better couple. That they might've been meant for each other, and Philip and I just got in the way."
"But that's not true, Chrissy! They did have amazing chemistry, I'll give you that. But a good match they were not."
"How do you know? Did he tell you that? When did he tell you?"
"He didn't. She did. Aren't you forgetting she was my friend, too?"
"Yeah, I know. But she and I had always talked about whatever was on our minds long before either of us met you, and she never said anything like that to me."
"I know you guys were much closer and had known each other longer. Any other time, she would've gone to you. But you were away visiting your folks, and she needed advice ASAP."
"When was that?"
"Right after Philip proposed. And before she gave him her answer."
"That's right, I was away for a couple of weeks around that time. So, what did you say to her?"
"Not a word. I never even got a chance to open my mouth. She did all the talking."
"How do you mean? Didn't you just say she had asked for your advice?"
"I did. But sometimes, when you are trying to solve a problem, all you need is to tell somebody about it, and then the solution just clicks into place."
"So, basically, she talked herself into marrying Philip?"
"Pretty much. She talked and talked, and when she was finished, she hugged me and said, "Thank you so much, Terri! You are a great friend! This is just what I needed to hear. I knew you'd help me see the light".
"So, what did she say about her and Jack?"
"Honey," Terri sighed and put her hand on Chrissy's shoulder, "I don't want you to get upset over nothing. You have to remember it was all ages ago and not let it mess with your head – "
Chrissy straightened up against the pillows. "Don't powder-nose me, Terri!"
Terri stared at her, baffled. "Honey, I have no idea what you just said. Powder-nose? Wait a minute! Powder-nose... powder-nose... Do you by any chance mean "patronize"?"
"Maybe. Just tell me what she said."
"Okay. She said that things between her and Jack were way too intense to end well for either of them. He couldn't see it but she could."
"Of course she did."
"Honey, listen. She said literally this: "The way we feel about each other, we are gonna drive each other insane before long. Better part ways now while we both can still find other people and have normal lives." I still remember it after all these years. See what I mean, Chrissy?"
"Yes. No. Whaddya mean?"
"I mean that, as she herself said, she was driving him insane. And you – you've been keeping him sane all these years. Got it?"
Chrissy sniffled back tears and nodded several times, looking down.
"Good. Now, go kiss your husband and tell him you love him and he is the best."
Chrissy mulled it over. "Nah. He is stuck up enough as it is."
...
"There, honey. You are all settled in. Just try to relax and have a good night's sleep, and I'll see you in the morning. The doctor says you aren't gonna go into labor for quite a while yet, but they want you to stay overnight just in case. Now, you get comfortable and – "
"Ja-a-ack, are you trying to get on my nerves? In that case, you are doing a great job! Comfortable! How can I possibly get comfortable in this stupid hospital bed?"
"Do you think you would be more comfortable at home in your own bed, sweetie?"
"No, I think nothing of the kind! I can't get comfortable anywhere! How can I, with this huge weight pressing down on me? I can't lie on my stomach the way I'm used to, I can barely breathe, I feel as if there's something sitting on my chest smothering me, I am sweating all the time – "
"Hang on, honey." Jack glanced at the nurse standing on the other side of the bed and nodded towards the exit. "I'll be right back."
"Can there really be something wrong?" he asked the nurse when they stepped out into the hall. "She's been so anxious and agitated all the time that I am very concerned. At some point, she got it into her head that she's too old to produce a normal healthy baby, and that's all she can think about."
"Please don't worry, Mr. Tripper." The nurse patted his arm comfortingly. "Your wife is strong and fit. While she may be a bit older than typical for a first pregnancy, there's not a thing wrong with her or the baby physically. But she's so tense and stressed out that it can't be good for either of them. You did the right thing in bringing her in when you did. The doctor wants to keep her overnight for observation."
"Can you give her something to help her relax? She hasn't had a good night's rest in weeks."
"We don't want to medicate her too heavily as it wouldn't be good for the baby. But I'm sure a mild sedative won't cause any problems. I'll give her an injection later on."
"Wouldn't it be better if I stayed here overnight? I could sit in an armchair next to her bed."
"Believe me, sir, once the baby comes, you are gonna have all the sleepless nights you may want and then some. No, go home and don't forget to take your own advice about relaxing and having a good night's rest. While you still can."
"Are you positive nothing's gonna happen overnight?"
"We can never be 100% positive, but it doesn't look that way. Rest assured that we'll call you the moment anything starts happening. Now, go home."
...
Next morning, Jack stepped into Chrissy's hospital room – and stood rooted to the floor. The sight that met his eye was quite unlike anything he had seen in a long time.
Chrissy was sitting up in bed, her golden hair fanned out on the pillows around her head like a halo, her face glowing, eyes shining, and a big beatific smile on her face.
"Oh Jack!" she exclaimed happily. "Come here, darling! Give me a big hug and a kiss!"
"Now you are talking!" Jack grinned from ear to ear and wrapped his wife in his arms. "I knew that if you just slept through the night for once, it would make all the difference in the world!"
"Slept through the night?" Chrissy flapped her eyelashes at him. "No, honey, I didn't sleep a wink! How could I sleep if she came to visit me, and we talked all night long?"
"She who? Who came to visit you?" Jack stared at her in confusion. "Who did you talk to all night long?"
"Oh Jack!" Chrissy seemed not to have heard him. "I was so happy to see her! I hadn't even realized how much I missed her! She sat right here next to me and held my hand through the night, and we talked and talked about those fun times when we were young – "
"Hang on a sec." Jack rushed out into the hall.
The night nurse was just about to leave when Jack caught up with her.
"Did anyone visit my wife during the night? A woman?"
The nurse looked mildly offended. "Sir, we don't admit any visitors after 10 PM. There certainly wasn't anyone in your wife's room, woman or man. Why?"
"She says an old friend came to visit her and sat and talked with her all night long."
"Oh, I see." The nurse smiled knowingly. "It must've been that injection I gave her. Some people have the strangest dreams after it, but mostly pleasant ones. As it happens, I looked in on her a few times, and she was fast asleep. She was smiling in her sleep, looking very peaceful and hardly ever stirred."
"Thank you, Nurse, thank you so much." Jack hurried back to Chrissy's room.
"Okay, honey, I am glad you finally had a good sleep and saw such sweet dreams – " he began.
Chrissy was smiling blissfully. "It was no dream, Jack. She sat with me and held my hand and told me everything was gonna be just fine and I was gonna have a beautiful baby and – and suddenly, I was no longer scared or nervous! Now I know everything's gonna be all right! It was so silly of me to worry!"
"Sweetie, I am very happy to hear that but it couldn't have been – "
"Look, Jack!" Chrissy got her right arm from under the covers and held it up. "See?"
"See what? Your bracelet?" Jack smiled and pointed to the colorful band encircling Chrissy's wrist. "Where did it come from? I don't remember you wearing it on the way here."
"That's because I didn't have it on the way here."
"Sorry, honey, I don't get it. What's the big deal about this bracelet?"
"Yeah, I can tell you don't get it. Take a good look."
Jack leaned over to study the bracelet. It was the kind young girls normally made and swapped as a token of friendship, woven from strands of multicolored yarns with the large letter "C" beaded into its center.
"See the letter? What do you think it stands for?"
"That's a no-brainer," laughed Jack. "It's a "C" for Chrissy! Did I guess right?" Chrissy nodded. "So, you dug up your old friendship bracelet someone made for you when you were a kid. Right?"
"Wrong," said Chrissy quietly. "Don't you see, Jack? It's not my bracelet. It's hers."
"Okay, honey, I give up. I don't know what you mean. Hers whose? And if it's not yours, why does it have your initial on it?"
"Listen to me. Once, back when we were living in Santa Monica," Jack tensed up, "but before you showed up in our bathtub, there was a fair on the pier. We went because we both happened to have a free evening, but once we got there, we actually started having fun. We felt kinda silly and giddy, like preschoolers. There was that booth where little girls could make friendship bracelets for each other for a buck or so, and she said, "Hey, let's pretend like we are kids and make us a pair of those." I made one with my own initial on it, and she made one with hers. And then we swapped them, to always remember each other by."
She glanced at her husband, who looked like he was trying to hide inside his jacket, and continued: "I still have the one she gave me, with the beaded letter "J", in a drawer somewhere. And this one – I swear, the last time I saw it was when she packed it up with her other stuff before moving away to New York with Philip. She had her jewelry box open and would take it all out, piece by piece, and make up her mind whether she wanted to keep it or give it away – to me, or Terri, or her other friends. She ended up giving away most of it and kept only those pieces which were extra special to her. And then she held up this silly childish thing with my initial on it and said: "This one is coming with me wherever I go," and put it with the stuff she was packing up, and I never saw it again. Until last night, when she fastened it around my wrist. What do you say now, Jack? Still think it was all a dream?"
Jack sat staring at his wife, uncertain what to think, feel or say, when she suddenly placed a hand on her stomach and said calmly, still smiling: "Anyway, I think you better go tell the nurse to get the doctor. It's starting."
...
A couple of hours later, both of them were staring rapturously at the tiny creature in Chrissy's arms.
"Amazing!" gushed the nurse. "That had to be the fastest, easiest birth I've seen in all of my twenty years' experience! This young lady sure was in a hurry to meet her parents and the world. What a little cutie! Such lovely golden hair, just like Mommy's, and – and – hmm, this is strange. Both parents have blue eyes, and hers are dark! Well, it's not that uncommon. Must've gotten them from a grandparent or something. Okay, Mommy and Daddy, now you have to come up with a beautiful name for such a beautiful girl. Oh, this one's gonna be a real heartbreaker! Aren't you, sweetie?"
The baby looked up with her sparkling dark eyes and giggled happily.
May 28, 2023