Another Love Story

Chapter 22

I hear them talking. My mom and Eva and... Lizzie? Oh, yes. I do remember getting the call from my mom that she was awake. That was right before Ava turned into someone else. Unfortunately, the only voice I want to hear has not uttered a sound.

"Gwen? Baby, can you hear me?"

"Are you sure she's awake?"

"She is... Gwen? There's a beautiful little girl here waiting to meet her mama."

What? They found Alyssa? That was fast. Maybe that's why Daniel isn't around —because he's with the baby. He has been waiting so long for her to get here. Even with my reservations about my ability to parent, I have to admit I have also been giddy about her arrival. Now, I just open my eyes to meet her.

Breathe Gwen. Calm and slow. In and out. Imagine holding the little ladybug in your arms. You can rectify your stupid decisions by keeping her safe from all harm. And I hope that the lights over her crib aren't as bright as mine.

"Gwen!" my mother gasps, wiping her face. "Oh, thank God!"

She and Eva suffocate me with hugs before Eva rushes out, mumbling something about a nurse. I enjoy the warmth of my mother's embrace and allow it to help clear some fuzziness in my head. Looking around over her head, I search for my sister, but we are alone in the room. Then I can hear her voice again.

"Mom, I want to see her," Lizzie says.

Mom pulls away to affix the phone in her hand so I can see Lizzie on the Facetime video call. Seeing her smile at me lifts a heavy weight off my chest. I am so happy she really is okay, and I try forcing my lips into a smile for her.

"Lizzie," I whisper. "You're okay."

"Yes, I am, and so are you. We're both auntie's now."

Mom sighs, sitting in her seat again, but holds onto my hand. "Now I have both my girls with me. I know you will both be alright."

"What about my baby? Is she okay?"

"Oh, Gwen, she's perfect. She's beautiful. They'll bring her in a moment after they have finished testing her lungs because she had trouble breathing during the operation."

"Operation? What did Alyssa do to her?"

"This has nothing to do with her. The doctor had to perform an emergency cesarean."

"Cesarean?"

I don't remember much, but I distinctly remember pushing and Alyssa taking off with my baby bug. Or... did that really happen?

"Okay, right. Let me back up a moment here because I am sure your next question will be about Daniel."

"What about Daniel? Is he hurt, too?"

The beeping from the monitor above my head picks up, thumping in time with my heart. What the hell is going on? Have I lost Daniel and my ladybug?

"No, baby, don't panic. He's fine. The baby girl here is doing great. But in the case of Alyssa, he's been searching for her and that baby nonstop."

What is she talking about? This baby and that? She says the baby is here and doing fine but then says they're still searching for Alyssa with the baby. It is not possible for anyone to know how the baby is doing if she hasn't been found. This isn't making any sense, not even a little bit. Do they have my baby or not?

The door opens, and a line of people trail inside one after the other and smile at me—Doctor Mann, then Marely in scrubs. I've never seen that before, and it reminds me she is an actual Doctor. She holds the door for the nurse, who pushes in a crib on wheels with a swaddle of blankets in the middle. Eva follows the baby. Daniel is last and silently takes a place in the corner of the room, away from the crowd, with his hands resting in his pants pockets.