The Color of Joy Read Free

bent forward and kissed the back of her hand. “Keep resting,” I whispered. “I promise I won’t leave your side, not even for a second. When you wake up, we’ll see our baby girl together and we’ll give her a name.”
    It was a promise I would later regret.

Chapter Four

    “Thank God she’s all right,” my mother-in-law said when she walked into the ICU a short while later.
    I had called her during the night, not long after I was escorted out of the OR. She’d wanted to come to the hospital immediately but I begged her to remain at home with our children. She broke down into a fit of relief and tears a few hours later when I called to report that Lois had survived the surgery.
    I rose from my chair to greet Carol, but as soon as our eyes met, I couldn’t form words. Neither could she. We stepped into each other’s arms and held tightly for a long time.
    “The doctor was just here,” I said as we moved apart and collected ourselves. “She said Lois is doing fine.”
    “But she hasn’t regained consciousness at all?” Carol asked with concern as she removed her coat and draped it over the chair.
    I shook my head. “She lost a lot of blood. Besides that, she was in labor for almost twenty-four hours. Neither of us slept a wink, so she has to be exhausted.”
    “You must be exhausted too,” Carol said, running a hand over my shoulder.
    “I’ve been out cold in that chair for hours,” I told her. “How are the kids?”
    “Fine. I dropped Danny off at school just now and your neighbor, Joan, is babysitting Trudy. I didn’t tell the children anything about what happened. I didn’t want to scare them. I promised they could come and visit later.”
    “It’s just as well,” I replied. “I don’t think they need to know how close they came to losing their mother.”
    “How’s the baby?” Carol asked.
    “Fine. Eight pounds, seven ounces.” I held up my wrist to show Carol the bracelet that identified me as a new father. “One of the nurses came in during the night and gave me a full report. They asked if it was okay to feed her from a bottle because she was hungry. I said yes. I hope that’s okay. Lois won’t be happy about that. She wanted to breast feed.”
    “It’ll be fine,” Carol said. “She still can, when she’s able. She wouldn’t want us to let the poor darling starve. Have you gone to see her yet?”
    “No, I’m waiting for Lois to wake up. I want us to see her together, and we still have to decide on a name.”
    Carol leaned over the bed and kissed Lois on the forehead. “Thank goodness everything’s all right. I don’t know what I would have done…”
    My heart rose up in my throat. “Me neither. She’s my whole world, Carol. My life was a disaster until the day I met her.”
    I had been living in L.A. and had just been released from my second stay in prison—a one-year sentence for a DUI that had been reduced to six months for good behavior. Determined not to end up back in jail a third time, I’d finally separated myself from the stoners I’d considered friends and joined a support group for addicts in the basement of my neighborhood church.
    Lois worked in the coffee shop across the street and for some reason I’ll never quite be able to comprehend, she saw something in me. “Something magical,” she always said.
    Lois was different from any of the friends I’d had in the past. She was a college girl—smart, kind-hearted, close to her parents. Most importantly, she believed in forgiveness and second chances.
    “She changed my life,” I said to Carol.
    Just then, a young nurse walked into the room and looked around with concern.
    “Is something wrong?” Carol asked.
    The nurse’s cheeks flushed red. “Did someone bring your baby down to you?”
    “No,” I replied. “I told them to wait until my wife was awake.”
    She immediately turned and ran out. I felt a rush of alarm and ran after her. “Wait! What’s going on?”
    The nurse didn’t stop.