Serendipity Strikes

54

Emmaline

I watched as Shawn stormed away from me and didn't even try to stop him. I knew that the best thing for us was a little distance and that maybe a drive would give him a chance to cool off. He was upset, and I was confused by what he'd sprung on me, which could only lead to a much bigger fight than the one we'd started. When he was in a normal frame of mind, my husband would return and we'd try talking again. Or, we might decide to shelve then conversation for another time.

Regardless of when we resumed the conversation, I needed to tell him that I considered him Jax's father and that adoption was a question we'd figure out together. I was in a tough position since legally it was my decision, but emotionally and in terms of our family, it was one that we shared. It hurt me to think that he believed I felt otherwise and that he'd put those words in my mouth, but I understood why he did, given my reaction to the possibility of a birth certificate change. The whole thing was extremely complicated, but all that mattered right now was that we'd crawl into bed tonight without any hard feelings if we both had a chance to breathe and cool off.

Jax had been inside alone for awhile, so I decided I should go in and watch his Pixar movie with him. I swung my legs off the loveseat and started to stand up, but stopped when I felt a painful pulling sensation at the top of my bump.

"Shit," I muttered under my breath as I grabbed onto the arm of the seat.

I slowly raised myself into an upright position and walked inside the house through the patio doors.

"Mama! Mater so funny!" Jax said to me as I entered the family room.

"He's pretty hilarious. How's your knee feel?" I asked as I rubbed the spot on my belly which still hurt.

"The titches are pokey, but dat's okay."

"Don't touch them too much," I warned, though I knew the temptation was pretty strong now that the bandage was off.

I made my way to the powder room since I had to pee. As I lifted my dress and pulled down my panties, I saw blood. It wasn't more than a few drops, but it was bright red and more prominent than the pinkish spotting I'd had after sex a few times. My heart fell into my stomach as I stared at the spots.

"It's okay," I told myself with as much conviction as I could muster. "You're almost 22 weeks pregnant. Everything is just fine."

I peed and wiped, and was confronted with more blood on the toilet paper. When I stood up, I saw even more in the toilet bowl. I tried not to let my mind jump to the horrible conclusion that I was losing the baby, but it was difficult to not think of the dark fear that had haunted me early in my pregnancy.

"Shawn," I whispered, wishing he was here to reassure me that this wasn't a big deal.

I flushed and washed my shaking hands before walking into the kitchen to retrieve my phone so I could call him. That's when the pain hit me again, followed by a feeling similar to when you get your period. I didn't need to check to know I was bleeding heavier.

I quickly called my husband, but it went straight to voicemail. As I tried to calculate how far he could have gotten, I texted him. It hadn't even been 10 minutes, so at most he was a couple miles away, most likely at a local coffee shop. I needed to stay calm until he got home, then we could call Dr. Tran together.