Chapter 43 Nightmare

Gabriel leaned back against the pillows and place the laptop in front of him, he had a lot of work he needed to get done but he found himself searching for information on cesarean instead, he knew there was a lot of risks involved but he needed to know more, half an hour later he realized just how many things could go wrong in that room the next day. He sighs heavily, puts the laptop to the side, runs his hand over his face then rests his head back against the pillows, he had a lot to think about.

Karen sighs and runs her fingers over the image on her phone and pressed play for the sixth time in one hour. How many times had she watched this video, she lost count but for some reason, she just couldn't stop watching him dancing with his friends. She settles in her bed and hugs one of her big pillows. The man was too beautiful for words, his silky brown hair that was once blonde, his intense blue eyes, broad shoulders, stomach flat as a surfboard, abs to die for; oh how she loves that man.

What was she doing wrong? Why wasn't he into her like all the other men that she had seduced? Why was he so cold to her the other night at his gate? Maybe it was because the little brat was in the vehicle and he must have been worried that she would run and tell her mom everything but even if she did; so what, it's not like she was going to leave him, walk away from a rich man like that, yeah right; but damn she really wanted to get inside that beautiful mansion of his. Talk about a spectacular sight but how was she going to accomplish that? Maybe she could apologize to Diane and pretend to be her friend again.

Nah; that ship has sailed, not to mention that that little nobody had the nerve to put her filthy hand in my face; my beautiful face. She thought running her fingers over her smooth cheek. Why was Gabriel married to her anyway? she wasn't even that pretty.

Okay enough of this; her mission was to get him to see her differently so maybe she should change her approach and she had an idea on just how to do that.

Gabriel smiled to himself as he walks towards the delivery room, he was finally going to see his babies, finally going to hold them, check their ten fingers and toes; he could hardly contain his excitement, the delivery room was full of people, why were there so many people here; were they all allowed to be here, it was odd that the doctors would allow so many of her family members in to see the babies being born but oh well so be it but as he got closer he realized that something wasn't right they were all crying, why were they crying? Tears of joy maybe, but then some of them came towards him, hugging him telling him how sorry they were, sorry? What were they so sorry about? He twists out of their hands and ran towards Diane and saw the doctor covering up her head.

One of the doctors turn to him and told him that his wife and children didn't make it, turning he saw the bodies of his babies wrapped in two blankets on a table, he grabbed the sheet off of Diane and began shaking her while screaming, "No…no…no. no, Diane please, please don't leave me please baby girl, come back to me please I love you, I love you baby please don't leave me!" This can't be happening again; not again God noooo….please God no… not again; not Diane, not his babies….No….no no…. Someone was calling his name while trying to pull him away from her but he held her and just keeps on screaming. "Prince for God's sake man, wake up before you hurt yourself!" Marlon shouts punching him on his shoulder.

He bolts upright in bed, his shirt was soaking wet and he felt as if someone had a bag over his head. "I…can't breathe, I can't... breathe, where am I? ... Where am I?" He gasps. "Take it, easy man, you're at home," Mike told him. "Diane….Diane….my babies….they're dead….they're dead…oh God…I can't breathe." He sobs as Mike gave him a brown paper bag and told him to breathe in it. "Where's Jasmine?..... Where's my daughter?" He asks in panic as he gasps for breath and Marlon points to the child who was now sleeping on Diane's side of the bed.

"Hey….hey… Prince, look at me, look at me! Diane isn't dead and your babies are fine, you were dreaming, it was only a dream." Gabriel looks from Marlon to Mike while trying his best to steady his heartbeats. He got off the bed and entering the bathroom he wet his hands and ran them over his face and hair then walk back into the bedroom. "I was dreaming, it was all a dream, oh thank God, but it was so real, so clear." "It's okay man, your wife and babies are fine," Marlon said reassuringly. "

"They may be okay for now but a lot could still go wrong in that delivery room tomorrow, that's the way it always is for me, everything is fine one minute and then….. Maybe this is God's way of preparing me for the worst; I just don't think I'll be able to deal with losing my family again."

"Alright….alright enough a dat, just get dem thoughts out your head right now, you know what you're doing? You're allowing the devil to mess wid your head, but let me ask you a few things. Do you have faith in God?" Gabriel sat on the edge of the bed and ran his fingers through his damp hair, then taking a deep breath he looked at his two friends standing before him but before he could answer Justin came in with a sealed cool bottle of water in his hands and gave it to him.

"Hey Justin, I didn't know you were here." He said pulling the bottle and turning it up to his head. "I'm here, I'm here, you alright man?" He asks taking a seat next to him on the bed. "Him a freak out about everything, answer mi question my youth." Marlon urge. "Yes…yes, I do." Gabriel answers. "Alright, is God the one that brought your wife through this pregnancy up to this point?" Marlon asks again. "Yes, he is." "Do you trust God enough to put the lives of your wife and unborn children in his hands?" "Without a doubt yes." "Jesus never fails my friend, and if there was ever a time to increase your faith in him that time would be now; you see wey mi a try sey."

Gabriel was about to answer when his phone rang it was Diane. "It's Diane." "Alright we a go give you some privacy, we soon come back seen." "Yeah thanks, guys, and Marlon I get it, thank you." "No problem man, hold the faith my youth." He said and they left and he dials back her number because his phone had stop ringing. "Hi beautiful." "Hi baby boy, did I wake you?"

"No, are you okay?" "I'm fine, so what are you doing?" "The guys are here and they are trying to help me recover from a horrible nightmare." "What was your nightmare about?" She asks. "I would rather not say right now." "Gabriel, tell me." She pleads. "I…oh man…. Hmm…I dreamed that you and our babies were dead." He said in a soft tone. "That's what the devil wants you to believe is going to happen but by the help of God I won't be going anywhere for a very very long time." "I hope so baby girl, I love you." "I love you more baby boy, oh hold on the doctor is here to check up on me again, give me a few minutes okay and I'll call you right back." "Okay, I'll be waiting, love you." He said and ends the call.

While downstairs his friends decided to stay with him so they call their wives to let them know they wouldn't be coming home. Gabriel went downstairs to get something to eat and his friends follow him into the kitchen. "Um…hey Prince, I know you used to have nightmares before but I thought they were gone," Justin said sipping his juice.

"They were but I guess it's just my anxiety getting the best of me." He said putting a plate with four slices of Pizza in the Microwave. "Diane is driving herself crazy thinking that I'm going to cheat on her and I'm here worrying about how long I have them for, how long will I have to be happy before it's all taking away from me, it's so damn funny when you think about it." He snorts. "The mind is a strange place, my friend," Mike said biting into a muffin.

"I mean consciously I know that everything is in God's hands but there's also this gut-wrenching fear deep down inside of me that I don't seem to be able to shake." He said taking a deep breath and taking the plate from the oven he put it on the counter and went to the fridge and pour some juice in a glass then he came back and took a seat next to his friends.

"I for one didn't think Diane could get any more jealous or insecure than she was before but ever since Karen came on the scene by her insistence of course she has change, damn she trust me even less now." He snorts as he eats his pizza. "For some reason, she thinks that I still have sexual thoughts about Karen, I mean please, sometimes I just wish I could shake some sense in her damn thick skull, I mean what in the world is she thinking."

'That you were a whore once and maybe you still are." Mike laughs. "True dat but come on, I haven't been that person for a long time now and she of all people should know that." "Have you ever thought that she would cheat on you, Prince?" Justin asks lifting a spoon of cereal to his lips. "To be honest it hasn't even crossed my mind, I mean come on the woman is a child of God, that's not in her nature, she's clean pure, honest, Holy, and such…" "And she doesn't think that you are those things?" Mike asks. "Sometimes I honestly don't know what my wife thinks about me, I mean she said that she loves me and trusts me but then two minutes later she is accusing me of cheating on her so I just don't know man…."

Twenty minutes later they were heading back upstairs when the lift's door slides open and Jasmine steps out and seeing her dad on the stairs run to him and hand him his phone. "Mommy is calling you daddy." She said and yarn. 'Okay come on pumpkin." He said softly and lifts the child in his arms as they all went back to Gabriel's room. Marlon got comfortable on the big sofa and Mike got comfortable on his love seat while Justin laid across the foot of his bed and he put Jasmine back beside him and pulls the cover-up to her shoulders. Gabriel then spends the next three hours talking to Diane on her webcam then seeing that she looks tired he prayed with her for fifteen minutes then said good night or more like good morning since it was after two.

Pastor along with a few ministers and missionaries came to pray for Diane and for a safe delivery, her delivery time was twelve-thirty and it was now fifteen to twelve, Gabriel came in while they were praying and the pastor prayed for him also, a few minutes later they left and one of the doctors that would be attending to her came to take her to the delivery room.

He was given a blue overall suit, a cap, and a mask, and white gloves to put on and was told to sit on a chair while they get Diane ready for her C-section. As he sat waiting for them to call him, he could feel the panic and the fear creeping upon him, his hands and forehead were sweating and his heart was beating so fast he felt dizzy but he knew he had to get it together, he needed to be strong for Diane's sake because he knew that she too was afraid of what might go wrong, and he also took comfort in knowing that God was right there with them.

God had brought them this far and he will indeed see them through this. Her sisters and a few of her other family members were all in the waiting room. A few minutes later they called him in and told him to sit beside his wife and seeing her on the table with so many doctors and nurses around her increases his anxiety. Sitting next to her he held her hand and smile down at her.

"You're shaking baby boy; you know that everything is going to be alright, don't you?" she asks softly. "In my ….in my heart I know that….but…in my mind, not so much." He said between deep breaths. "Just know that I love you, "He whispers. "I love you too baby boy, the injection made me numb." She chuckle which brought back his smile?

A few minutes later the doctor delivered their baby boy first and Gabriel almost burst with happiness when he heard him cry, then came the girl and her cries made tears ran down their cheeks, they were now parents to a healthy pair of twins. Gabriella weights 5 lbs-6ounces and Gavin weights 6 lbs-2 ounces. She got to look at them and Gabriel got to hold them before they were taken to the nursery an after kissing her softly on her lips he went and gave her family the good news and they all went to the nursery to look at the babies while the doctors tend to his wife.

She stayed in the hospital for one week after she had the babies and he hardly left her side. He hardly did any work for that week except from his computer when his wife and babies were sleeping, at one point his friends practically had to drag him out of the room for him to go home and take a bath. Dana and Diana took turns staying at his house with Jasmine and sometimes they would take her home with them and then they would bring her to the hospital after school and as soon as Diane was released from the hospital his aunt promised to come and spend two weeks with him.

It was now Friday afternoon and Gabriel was sitting next to Diane. She was breastfeeding Gabriella and he was feeding Gavin from a bottle. He just couldn't get enough of them and once again he was overcome with joy. Gavin had his eyes, dark blue and brown hair while Gabriella had her mom's eyes, dark brown and she too had brown hair, and their skin was pink in color but he knew that their skin color would change as they grow older. "Happy Birthday baby boy." She said smiling at him. "Thank you beautiful; they're the best Birthday present I've ever gotten." "You're welcome." "So what time are we getting out of here anyway?" He asks kissing his son's cheek.

"Within the next hour or so, the doctor just needs to examine me one more time before I leave." "Okay because I can't wait to get you and these babies home." "I can't wait to go home, but you know something, they look just the way I thought they would, Gavin is the spitting image of you, well except for his hair and Gabriella may be a lot clearer than I am but she has my eyes." She said playing with Gabriella's hair.

"I still can't believe he was born with blue eyes." He chuckled. "Of course he did, he's your first heir, and can you believe how beautiful they are?" Gavin grip Gabriel's finger and he smiled down at his son, as beautiful as their mother and big sister are; how could they not be." He smiles again. "Not to mention their gorgeous father," She said smiling at him. "But um… baby boy, I know I said I wanted to name him Gavin but I was thinking that Gabe might be a better name, what do you think?" She asks. His eyes fill with tears at the mention of his brother's name. "We could but seeing as though we already put Gavin on his Birth certificate, maybe we could nickname him Gabe." He said as they switch babies. "Gavin a k a Gabe, cool, that could definitely work. Hey Gabe, how's it going?" She asks her son and kisses his little fingers.

'So do we have a nickname for Gabriella?" She asks. "Okay well since I am Prince, I could nickname her Princess." He said kissing his daughter's cheek. "Prince and Princess, wow how original." She laughs.

They didn't arrive home until three that afternoon, Gabriel was really looking forward to a nice quiet evening with his wife and kids but to his surprise, his house was full with his friends and Diane's family. They all turned out to welcome Diane home and to wish him a happy birthday, they bought him, Diane and the babies' lots of presents but what caught his eyes was the massive birthday cake they had bought for him with Happy Birthday Prince written on it and thirty-three golden candles. They didn't stay long because they knew that he needed to get the babies settled and he and Diane needed to rest but Dana spend the night, and she was a big help because that night the babies were very fussy.

Food for thought

When others give us compliments,

They are so easy to believe;

But it is hard to take rebukes,

Though they are helpful to receive.

Thank you all for reading.