Against the Odds Read Free Page A

into the door frame of Jamie’s room. I wipe my tears and
say, “I’m trying to hold it together, I really am.” 
    He smiles sadly and walks slowly to me. “I
know you are.” Robert holds me tightly and I melt into
him.  
    “ I feel like I’m losing
it. I feel like I just want to lie down and…” 
    “ Leah, no! Don’t say it.
God, please don’t say it.”  
    I don’t. Robert doesn’t need to hear my dark
thoughts. He removes the towel from my head and kisses my head.
“God, I love you. I love you so much. Leah, I can’t live without
you. I never want to live without you.” He holds me close and I can
feel his own fears.  
    I wrap my arms around him and let him hold
me. I fight the black cloud that hovers and I fight to be strong
for Robert.  
    I force myself to do my hair and my makeup. I
want to go back to bed and sleep. Sleep until this nightmare
passes, but I don’t. Robert keeps his phone close by just in case,
our attorney, Bruce calls. How long will it take for the hospital
to contact him? The baby moves a lot today and I wonder if he’s not
upset. I try to calm myself and think positive
thoughts.  
    “ Do you want to go for a
car ride?” Robert asks. When I was a child, my parents and I always
went on car rides. It’s when you get in the car and drive to no set
destination. You just ride until you’re done. Once, as an adult, we
drove to the Amish country, went to an auction and then went out of
state to a casino. It is one of my fondest
memories.  
    “ We can stop by and get
some lunch at Yoder’s fresh market, stop at some unknown place and
have lunch,” Robert says. 
    I smile. “You don’t like car
rides.” 
    “ I don’t, but you do.
Maybe we can carve our initials into a tree.” 
    I’m not sure if he’s serious or if he’s
making fun of me.  
    “ Really?” 
    “ Yep,” he smiles. “Get
your Vans on and get a blanket for us to sit on, and I’ll get a
small cooler of snack and drinks.” 
    I do as he says and put on my comfortable
Vans brand tennis shoes and get a blanket from the closet. I change
into a pair of white capris and a light pink sweater. When I get to
the kitchen, Robert is putting ice into a biggie to chill our
drinks.  
    “ You’re serious about
his?” I ask because I know Robert doesn’t like car
rides. 
    “ I am. This will be
relaxing,” he says, putting the last of the drinks into the cooler
and closing it. “Are you ready, Sweets?” 
    “ I am. After you,
Ace.” 
    Of course, Robert doesn’t go first. He holds
the door open for me and walks behind me. We stop by the Fresh
Market and get some soup, salads, deli sandwiches, and even some
chocolate-covered strawberries for dessert.  
    “ We won’t eat all that.
You know that, right?” 
    “ Maybe not, but I want to
make sure we have enough food,” he says as we walk around the
store. He stops and picks up some pink roses and places them
carefully in the cart, too. 
    “ Flowers for Jamie? We
just took her flowers,” I remind him. 
    “ We did, that’s why these
are for my wife.”  
    I can only smile at Robert. I can’t remember
the last time I got flowers from him.  
    “ They
are?”  
    Robert says, “I don’t do enough for you. I
realized that this week.” He hugs me and says, “Leah, you’re my
rock and I don’t know what I would do without you. I vow to show
you more often how much I love you.” 
    I cry because I can’t do anything else. He
shows me every day how much he loves me. There isn’t a day that
goes by that I don’t think he loves me, or Jamie, or our unborn
baby.  
    “ I love you,” I
say.  
    Robert leans down and kisses me. 
    We drive out to the country and have lunch
under a big mossy tree. It’s a hot day with a breeze blowing
through the tree.  
    “ Have you been thinking
about the news we received today?” 
    I admit, “I can’t think of anything else.” I
pick at a blade of glass and look at Robert. “I really