Category : Stories

Sub Category : Drama

Thirteen- The Past Has A Way... (Part 1)

Ava took the day off from work to help Jay practice different breathing techniques and do some exercises. So, Jay suggested going to the park nearby. The weather was cool that morning and there was a light breeze blowing through the neighborhood. Red and yellow leaves rustled softly with the breezes. Some broke away from their branches and took off across the park, eventually ending up on the grass with the rest of the dried ones. The couple held hands as they walked around the park. Ava glanced towards the kid's playground, seeing the children having fun as their parents watched. There was a young mother watching her husband and six-year old son swinging together on the swing set. Ava noticed that the woman was at least five months pregnant with her next child. She could feel herself becoming sad, wishing for what Jay was already experiencing. 

Jay followed Ava's gaze and saw what she was looking at. He wraps his arm around her. "Are you alright?" he whispers.
Ava quickly wipes her wet eyes with her gloves and smiles. "Yes, I'm okay."
"What's on your mind?"
"Jay, I am happy you are going through this pregnancy for your brother. I appreciate that. It is just...sometimes I wish I was the one carrying a baby. Its what I've always wanted."
Jay kisses her forehead. "Ava, I promise you that you will get your wish. All this will be over soon before you know it. And then you will get to have the next kid. How about it?"
Ava's spirits lifted, feeling hopeful again. "I would love that."
"What do you want: a boy or girl?"
Ava leans her head against Jay's chest. "A little girl."
Jay nods. "Aright. Deal." He chuckles and kisses her again.
"How does your jacket feel? Is it warm enough?" Ava asks.
"The warmest. And yours?"
"The same." 

They made one lap around the park and then Jay's cell-phone buzzed. The caller ID said it was Izzy. He swipes the screen with his thumb to answer.
"Hi, Izzy. How are you?" He asks cheerily. "Wait...what?!" Jay says with alarm, causing Ava to jump.
"What happened?" Ava asks him.
Jay briefly turned to Ava and repeated what Izzy said. "Evan's in the hospital!" 
He turns on the phone's speaker so that Ava could hear it. 
"Jay, Jay...calm down. Evan is fine. Evan went into labor a while ago, now we're at the hospital. He's being prepped right now as we speak."
"But, Evan is only eight months along. Isn't that labor premature?" Jay asks.
"The doctor says that multiples are usually born earlier. The babies are arriving on time."
"We're at the park, but we will be there as quick as we can. Thanks for telling us." Ava says.
They both made a dash for the car after hanging up the phone.

Soon, Ava and Jay arrived at the hospital. One of the nurses saw them briskly jogging up to the front desk. By the time Jay got to the front, he was huffing and puffing, trying to calm down. Ava caught up with him.

"Jay, I told you, you can't run in your condition. It's not good for the baby." Ava scolded him. 
The nurse smiled and nicely greeted them. "Hello. Can I help you?"
"Yes, actually, were here because our friend is having triplets..."
Jay takes a deep breath. "Evan Connor." Jay said after exhaling.
The nurse turned to her desktop computer and searched under that name. "Ah, yes! Mr. Connor came in about an hour ago and right now he is being prepped to go in for a c-section. You can sit in the waiting area." 
She points behind her. Jay and Ava see Izzy and Caelan waiting together among other families. They thanked the nurse and joined Izzy. 

"Hi!" Izzy says when she sees them. She gets up and hugs Ava.
"Hi, Izzy." Ava says.
Jay sees Caelan excitedly coming to hug him as usual. She was carrying a small backpack behind her with a few toys and her favorite teddy bear. 
"Hello, Caelan!" Jay says to her. "Be gentle with me, okay?"
"Okay." Caelan carefully opened up her arms and softly hugged Jay's belly. And as an added measure, she quickly kissed the baby. "Hi, baby." She whispers quietly.
"Caelan, are you excited about getting sisters and a brother?" Jay asks her as he sits in one of the seats.
"Yeah..." Caelan didn't seem entirely happy about the idea. She scrunches up her face and looks at her mother. "Mom says I have to share my toys with them."
"Really?" Jay also looks at Izzy. He tried to keep a straight face on for Caelan but he laughed anyway.
Izzy laughed. "Yes, I did tell her that. But, she doesn't have to share her teddy bear."
"How about that?" Jay asks Caelan. 
Caelan's eyes widen with happiness again then she nods.
"So, the nurse told us that Evan is getting a caesarean." Ava says to Izzy.
"Yeah. The doctor said it would be safer for him and the babies, instead of delievering them naturally. They said the whole procedure will take about forty-five minutes to an hour. I think the surgeons are about to come through with Evan in a minute." She rythmically tapped her foot. Izzy was obviously happy, nervous and worried about Evan all at the same time. 
Everyone seemed to be a bit on edge, worrying about Evan. Delivering multiples can be risky for both the father and babies. "I called your parents and your sister to let them know Evan was having the triplets today. The said they were coming." Izzy says to Ava.
"Okay." Ava responds.

Some short time later, Evan was being wheeled on a bed by two doctors. Izzy saw him about to pass by. She got up from her seat and took Caelan along with her to see Evan before he goes into the operating room. The doctors stopped momentarily for them to say goodbye. Jay and Ava also came to do the same. Evan was wearing a large hospital gown which somehow covered his very pregnant belly. He was sweating, groaning and wincing in pain with each contraction. Izzy picked up Caelan with one arm, and held Evan's hand with the other.
"How are you doing, babe?" Izzy asks him.
Evan deeply inhaled and exhaled a few times before answering. He laughed weakly. "Oh...just fantastic." Evan looks up at his daughter in his wife's arm. "I love you, Caelan. I will see you later, okay?" He says to her with a reassurring smile.
"Love you, Daddy."
Evan sees Jay and Ava behind Izzy. "Hey...you guys came!" Evan clenched the metal bed handles to ride out a contraction. 
"Wouldn't miss this." Jay says as he approached the bed. "You're my best friend."
"Make sure this one behaves himself while I'm gone." Evan jokingly said of Jay to Ava.
"I will." Ava promises.
"We'll be here when you get out, Evan." Jay pats his friend on the shoulder.
"Alright everyone, its time to go." One of the doctors said.
"Okay." Izzy says. "I will see you in a little while. Make sure you remember your breathing. I love you." Izzy leans over the railing and both kiss each other goodbye.
"I love you, my Isabelle." Evan said to her as the bed began to move again.
Izzy watched the bed go down a long hallway until it turned a corner. That was it. All there was to do, was wait.

Ava's parents and sister arrived about fifteen minutes after Evan had gone in to the OR. While everyone waited, Diana showed pictures of Ava and Grace when they were little. There was one picture of them where they got ahold of Diana's lipstick and wrote all over the walls with it. Another showed Ava in a one piece swimsuit, sitting in a kiddie pool, happy as can be. Ava blushed when her mother gushed about the baby fat she had then. 
"So, embarrassing..." Ava laughs.
"Awe, you're so cute." Jay says.
"Grace, I have the picture of the day you decided to be an octopus for costume-day. You were in first grade then." Diana says.
"You still have that? Oh, my goodness! Ha, ha! That costume did not turn out well. The octopus had six legs, and the head part was too small." Grace says, as she demonstrated how the costume looked.
"I was running out of material. I figured that no one wouldn't notice." Henry laughs.
"What did you go as, Ava?" Izzy asked.
"A bumble-bee."
"Ah, I have that picture as well!" Diana showed it to everyone. 
"Awe!" Izzy gushed. 
Grace laughed heartily and playfully nudged her sister. 
"Ha, ha! Shut up." Ava laughs.

Diana swiped over to the next picture. This one was a picture of two-year old Grace sitting on a hospital bed with her mother, who held newborn Ava in her arms. 
"Seven pounds and four ounces." Diana says to Ava. "It was tough getting you out of me though, because it seemed like you didn't want to come out."
Ava giggled. "In this picture, it's amazing how you don't look tired after giving birth to me."
"I put on make-up for that picture. I really didn't want to look tired and pale."
Something was off-putting about the photo, but Jay couldn't put his finger on it.

It was about twenty minutes till ten. One of the doctors came into the waiting room and addressed Izzy. The whole family was practically on the edge of their seats, waiting for the good news.
"Isabelle Connor?" 
"Yes?" Izzy stands up.
"I am Dr. Reid. You will be happy to know that you now have three beautiful triplets. One boy and two girls." The doctor announced.
Izzy's face brightly lit up with utter excitement. "Thank you!" She hugs Dr. Reid. 
Everyone else was very excited about the new babies. They clapped and whistled.
"You are welcome, ma'am. As for your husband, he is doing fine but he is exhausted. Right now, he is being patched back together again. In another half an hour, we will be ready to move him to his room and then you can go see him." 
"Caelan! You're a big sister now!" Izzy exclaims to her daughter.