“Come here.” Rowdy patted the space beside him in the bed. I crawled in alongside him. He hugged me to his side and kissed the top of my head. We lied there quiet for the longest time. Being together.
“After all this is over, I want to try for a baby,” he said, catching me by surprise. “Is that okay with you?”
I looked up at him and smiled. “I would love to. As many babies as you want.” I laughed around my tears. He reached out his hand and wiped away the wetness beneath myeyes.
“Everything is going to be okay. I promise. I’ve been wanting to talk to you about something but keep putting it off. What would you think about me retiring from the band? I’ve been singing for ten years. I think it’s time to pass the microphone to someone else. We have enough money to last a lifetime. What do you think, baby?”
“I love that idea.” My lips crashed down on his, tongues and teeth, nibbles here and there. When we broke apart, we were both out of breath. This time we were both smiling and it felt better.
Marcie was true to her word. She brought my dinner for me and didn’t hang around. She said they would be back to sit with me tomorrow during his surgery. I was glad. I wasn’t looking forward to sitting through this by myself.
“I hate to eat in front of you but I’m starving. I can take it to the cafeteria if you’d like.”
“No, baby, just because I can’t have anything doesn’t mean you can’t eat in front of me. Tomorrow after surgery the guys can buy me a steak.” He laughed as he moved and set the alarm off on his IV. It wasn’t but just a couple of minutes before a nurse came in and reset the monitor, took his vitals, and then she was gone.
“I’ve been thinking about someone that could take your place in the band,” I said, looking up at him as I dipped a fry in ranch dressing.
“I’ve thought of someone, too,” he offered. “Who were you thinking?” he asked.
“Marcie!” we said in unison and laughed. “She has a great voice and knows all the songs.” I said.
“We’ll talk to her once I’m home and we can have a meeting.”
DAY OF SURGERY
Rowdy was first on the list for surgery. Boy am I glad because he’s grumpy as fuck when he’s hungry. Just as the band promised, they all showed up right before they took him back for surgery.
“How are you holding up?” Marcie asked as she pulled a chair over beside me.
“I’m worried and anxious for them to get it over with and say that he’s okay. You know?” All the guys went down to the cafeteria a little bit ago with the promise that Marcie would text Russ whenever we heard anything. So far all we’d heard was that the surgery had started.
“Hun? Are you okay? I mean healthwise. You look a little pale. Are you feeling, okay?”
“I’m fine. Just a little nausea. Probably from not eating much.”
“You sure you don’t need to see a doctor while you’re here?”
“No, I’m okay. I promise,” I told her.
“I think I’ll shower while he’s in surgery. I should be finished by the time he’s out. If the phone rings, will you grab it?”
“Sure, of course,” Marcie agreed.
“I’ll make it quick.” I stood in the shower in his room and let the hot water slice over me, my tears mixing in with the water. I placed my hand on my stomach and said, “Daddy is going to be okay. He’s going to be so excited when I tell him about you.” I smiled and patted my stomach. I planned to tell Rowdy earlier but he felt ill, and I thought then wasn’t a good time. I’d wait until he felt better and now here we were a month later. I had a tornado of emotions spinning around inside my head. I hoped Rowdy would be happy. What would my father say? My father could be so cruel when he wanted to be. I’d heard him on the phone with clients before. I just hoped he’d be happy for us.
The one that worried me the most was Rowdy. I know we’d talked about marriage, kids, a house, the whole package but did he want it now? I know he said he did but when it was staring you in the face, was it really what he wanted? I stepped out of the shower and rushed to the toilet to heave up my coffee. I brushed my teeth and dressed before making my way back to the room where Marcie was waiting.
She picked up her phone and said, “I’m going to call a doctor for you.”
“No! Trust me on this. I’ve seen the doctor and that’s all I’m saying and I’m hoping being the good friend that you are you won’t push me for details.”
Marcie looked at me with concern but then her eyes widened, and she smiled. She didn’t say another word.
The phone rang with a message that Rowdy was out of surgery and doing well. He should be brought to the room within the next hour. Marcie pulled out her phone andtexted Russ to give him the news. Within thirty minutes they were back in the room with bags of greasy smelling food. It made my stomach churn, but I hadn’t eaten since yesterday and now I had a little one to think about.
“We come with a food offering. Greasy cheeseburgers and fries.” Russ held out the bags and Marcie took them.
She turned to me with worry on her face. “Are you hungry?” I shook my head, but she said, “You should at least eat a couple of bites. It’ll make you feel better.”
