Chapter 8

I walk across the street to an In-Out burger and order a burger, fries, and vanilla milkshake. I sit down at the table and start filling my tummy with food.

I received a text from Max asking if I was coming back. I replied that I would return shortly and decided to walk to In-Out to eat.

He then texted that it was not what it seemed, and I said we just needed to be professional. We can talk about the other things after the surgery.

I tell him I need to be in the right head space for surgery, and I don't want to be all up in my emotions. He replied that we communicate the way I need to at this time. 

After I ate, I looked for a hotel near the hospital. I found one and booked it. I then texted Jeremy to see when he was coming to the hospital and asked him to bring my bag. 

He told me he would arrive in less than five minutes and had the bag. I told him I would meet him at the front and asked if he could bring the bag to the front of the hospital. 

When I got to the front of the hospital, I checked to see how long it would take for my Uber to arrive. It said 7 minutes. I stood there and watched for Jeremy, who appeared a few moments later.

I let him know that surgery was set for tomorrow at 8 AM, and I had booked a hotel near the hospital to stay in. 

He just looked at me and said nothing. I looked at him and said his girlfriend was in the room and could stay with him. I'll be back tomorrow morning for the surgery. 

He asked, "Are you okay?" I replied, "I'm just fine. I need to get a good night's sleep to prepare for tomorrow. Please let your parents know I will be here in the morning." 

My Uber pulls up; I head to the car. Jeremy placed my suitcase in the back, and I said, "Goodbye, let me know if anything happens to cause the surgery to be postponed."

The drive to the hotel takes just a minute, and when I get inside to check in, the front desk attendant tells me it's too early.

I ask, "Can I pay an extra fee to check in?" and I go on to say to her that I traveled to LA late last night and stayed at the hospital all night with a patient, and I need to sleep now because I have to perform surgery tomorrow and on top of that I'm six months pregnant and need a break. 

She looked at me and said, "I will check you in, and there will not be an additional fee." 

That little bit of compassion broke the self-restraint I had left, and tears started to flow. The young lady looked soared, but I handed her my card and said, "I'll be okay after a shower and a long sleep." 

I got my room key and headed to my room. Once I get into the room, I close the door, lock it, and lie on the bed to finish feeling sorry for myself. 

After a few minutes of silence, my phone rang, and I saw Max calling. Part of me wanted to ignore his call, but I answered and said, "Hello." 

He asked, "Why did you leave the hospital?" I replied, "I needed a shower and rest to prepare for tomorrow's surgery, and my presence was not needed anymore since your girlfriend showed up." 

Max replied, "I had not got a chance to tell you about her, but I would have." 

I retorted, "You would have thought that she could have been brought up during our conversation about what has been going on in our lives or maybe even when you told me that you still loved me." 

I interrupted him before he could reply and said, "Look, I'm here to perform the surgery on you tomorrow, which is my priority. After it's completed, we can figure out how to co-parent our daughter, so I'm going to say bye, and I will see you tomorrow." with that, I ended the call. 

My body felt weighted down, and I felt exhausted. I texted my family that I was in a hotel and was going to take a long nap since I had been at the hospital all night. I crawled under the covers, laid my head on the bed, and fell asleep. I slept soundly and woke around 2 p.m.; I had a good, almost five-hour nap. 

I took my phone out, looked at Uber Eats, and ordered food to be delivered, saying it would take 45 minutes. I then took a quick shower to clean myself from the previous day of travel and hospital stay. Once showered and dressed in clean pajamas, I sat at the desk in the room to review my notes for tomorrow's surgery. 

After about 20 minutes of studying my notes, I was notified that my food was at the door. I ordered a sandwich and half a salad from Panera Bread, and the food hit the right spot. I opened the in-room refrigerator and got a bottle of water out; I didn't care that it was an $8 bottle. 

After eating, I cleaned everything and sat on the bed to scroll through the TV. I finally found a Hallmark movie and settled in to watch it. After about an hour and a half, I got an incoming text and looked to see who it was. 

Ashley and I read the text asking if she could come and speak with you. I told her what hotel and room I was in, and she told me she would be there in an hour. I finished watching the movie and went to the bathroom to brush my hair and teeth. 

Around 6:15, there is a knock, and I open the door. Ashley walks in, looking unsure if she should be there. I look at her and say we can sit on the sofa to talk. We sit, and I can tell she is trying to find the words to speak, so I decide to talk first.

I looked at her and said, "Please feel free to say what you need to. " She said, "Yes, I 'm sorry." I looked at her and said, "What are you sorry for?" 

She said, "I was not standing up to Jeremy and protecting you." I paused and said, "You have no reason to be sorry. What happened was between Jeremy and me, and I don't blame you for anything." 

Ashley then says she was scared that he would have canceled the wedding if she had spoken up at that moment. She says the wedding was a tense day for those who knew what had happened, and she wishes she had put her foot down and stepped in. 

Ashley tells me that she knows I left to protect their wedding, and she is so sorry that I had to put my happiness aside for two not-so-good friends that day. 

I look at my friend and tell her I don't have any hard feelings against her and that I want to move forward for my daughter. I tell her I'm incredibly blessed to have her as my daughter's aunt, and I hope we can rekindle our friendship. 

I let her know I had forgiven Jeremy, but it would take time to regain what we had. I want him to be in his niece's life.

She grabs me tightly and says, "I have missed you so much." We sit there talking about what has been going on in each other's lives, and she tells me that she is four weeks pregnant, but they haven't told a single person yet about pregnancy.

I asked, "Why are you telling me first?"

Ashley looks at me and says, "You were the first person we wanted to tell, but we were too scared to reach out."

I look at her and say, "I'm so happy you told me first, and I will not say a word to anyone."

We sit for a few more minutes, discussing being moms and our worries. Then I look at the clock: It's almost 10 p.m., and it's time to sleep. 

Ashley must have noticed the time, too, and said, "I need to get home and let you get some rest before tomorrow's surgery."

I hop up, walk her to the door, and hug her. "I'm so happy you came over and we talked."

Ashley replies, "Me too, and I'll see you tomorrow morning at the hospital."

Once she leaves, I lock the door and head to the bathroom to prepare for bed. I crawl under the covers after washing my face, teeth, and hair. 

I don't know what made me pick up my phone and text Max, but I did. I texted him to let him know I would be at the hospital at 6:30 a.m. and that I would come by to see him before he headed up for surgery.

Max texted, "I can't wait to see you," and then he texted, "Did I eat?" I told him I did and spent the last few hours talking with Ashley.

He replied, "I'm so glad you both talked because I know she missed you."

I sat there, watching the text bubble move, but no words followed. After a minute, I texted "Goodnight," and he did the same. 

I set my alarm on my phone and called downstairs for a wake-up call in case I didn't hear my alarm.

I lay there thinking about today and how I felt and handled everything. I promised myself I would be strong tomorrow and help someone who meant a lot to me, no matter if the girlfriend showed up tomorrow.

Sleep comes fast for me. The next thing I know, it's 5:30 a.m., and it's time to get up and start moving. 

Once dressed for the day, I grabbed my bag and headed downstairs. Breakfast had just started, so I grabbed a quick bite while waiting for my Uber to arrive. 

Once the Uber arrived 15 minutes later, I set out for the hospital. I thanked the driver for the lift and headed upstairs to speak with Max first.

I get to his room and take a deep breath, realizing that I will not be walking in on the girlfriend being there with him. I open the door and see that he is sitting up and awake.

I say, "You are up early; you must be ready for this surgery to be over."

He replies, "I didn't sleep very well last night, so I finally just gave up," I reply, "That happens a lot. People can't stop worrying about what will happen during the surgery."

I continue, "I will do my very best to ensure that this surgery is a success and you will be able to have a normal life afterward."

Max says, "I know you will be brilliant, and I was not just thinking about the surgery." He continues, "I was thinking about you and the baby and what I want out of life."

I looked straight at him and said, "I can't have a conversation about anything related to us at this moment; I have got to focus on the surgery."

He says, "I understand, but we will speak about ourselves, and you can not run away before we do. Promise me you won't do that."

I softly reply, "We will talk before I head home, and you have my promise of this."

The door opens Just about then, and his whole family enters. I look at everyone and say, "Good morning to you all. I hope everyone is ready for today."

I look around to see if I can see the girlfriend, and Max says, "She won't be here today or any other day."

I turned and looked at him with that statement, saying nothing. Then, I told everyone about the surgery plan and the timeline for everything.

Once I'm done explaining, I excuse myself to find Dr. Thomas and prepare for the surgery.

I find the doctor at the nurse's station, and he greets me.

He has me sign the papers for hospital privileges and shows me where I can get changed for surgery.

Once I've changed into scrubs, my hair is pulled up into a bun, and I leave to return to the room. I knock on the door and enter. I tell everyone we are going to take Max back to preop now, and I will come out once I'm done to give an update.

The nurse comes in and sends everyone to the waiting room. Max's family says their goodbyes and heads out. I look at him and say, "Ready?" he says, "Yes, I'm ready to fix these injuries."

As the team pushes Max to the Pre-Op room, he looks at me and says, "Nice outfit, Doc," I reply, "I work at a children's hospital, so cartoons on my scrubs are a normal daily outfit."

Max, in a low, sexy voice, says, "I think you look sexy in anything or nothing."

His comments make my face turn red. The team pushing him laughs. His vitals are checked once in the preop area, and everything looks good.

I told him they were taking him into the OR and would start the anesthesia in a moment, and I let him know I was going to scrub up and would be right in.

I introduce myself to my head nurse, and we scrub up and get ready to enter the OR. Once I'm in my surgical outfit, I head inside. 

I say, "Hello to everyone and introduce myself." Once all the intros are done, I tell the anesthesiologist to start the procedure. 

I poke my head around the barrier, shielding Max's face from the team, and say, "You will do great, and I will see you once you are awake."

He says, "Ok, and I like your hat," and you can hear the medication is taking effect. I watch as his eyes close, the anesthesiologist checks that he is asleep, and we start the surgery.