HICB Ch. 10 wc 1437

HICB Ch.10 wc1437

The nurse visited with Jayda about resources she could use for after her discharge from the hospital. Jayda listened attentively, knowing she would need all the resources she could get. She looked over the pamphlets the nurse had given her, and asked questions about things that she didn’t understand.

After the nurse left, Jayda sighed and worried about what she had gotten herself into. She folded her hands and closed her eyes in prayer:

Lord, help me to understand and put all of this in perspective, so  that I may care for my son the way he deserves. Please let me care for Mark Lee without interruption and further abuse from his birth father. Help me to protect him. I love him so much, despite his father’s abandonment. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

Jayda checked the bathroom and the furniture around her room, gathering up any personal belongings, and bagging them for moving back home. Then she peeked into Mark Lee’s bassinet. He was lying quietly, looking up at her. She picked him up and cuddled with him in the chair beside the bed. She murmured soft love words to him, while she waited for Mark to arrive. He promised he would be there to pick her up by 11 a.m. It was now 10:45 a.m.

She heard his boots striding down the hall and smiled. He was early, and she thanked God that she was ready. All she had to do was talk to the business office and beg for them to allow her some time to pay her bill. A frown on her face indicated her level of anxiety over that darned bill. Oh well, too late to worry about it anymore. He was almost to her room.

A scent of aftershave right outside her door, as he talked briefly to a nurse about the logistics of getting her into his pickup made her smile. He always thought of everything. He was so good to her.

Thank you, Lord, for sending your angel Mark to save me the other night, and even now, he is saving me and protecting me. May he never regret it, and always be my friend. I’d love for it to be more, but that will take more time. Thank you Jesus. Amen.

Finally, he appeared in the open doorway, and Jayda smiled when she saw his happy grin.

“Hi, pretty lady, are you ready to leave this joint?” He took his hat off and entered the room. Looking around, he saw several bags with her personal belongings, the flowers, and a few gifts on her bedside table. He came closer and with a long finger, pulled the blanket back so he could see little Mark Lee.  The baby peered up at him and blinked.

“Hey little man, are you ready to go home?” Mark touched the baby’s cheek and smiled. “He’s so adorable. Someday, I’ve got to get one of these for myself.”

Jayda, startled, looked up at him. He wants a baby? Really? I wonder---

“Are you ready to leave? Is there anything else  you need to do before we go? I’ve got plenty of time, so don’t feel rushed.”

“Hi, Mark. I certainly am ready to leave. I can’t wait to get home where I can be comfortable with Mark Lee. I do need to stop by the  business office before I leave, though. I’ve got to ask for an extension on my bill. I just don’t have the money to pay it right now. I think I might have twenty dollars in my purse, and maybe a hundred dollars in my bank account. Do you think they’ll understand?”

“Jayda, I something to tell you. I stopped by the office the last time I was here, and I paid your bill in full. You don’t owe them, or me, anything at all. So anything else you need to do?” Mark grinned.

Jayda struggled to get out of her chair with the baby in her arms. Her face had turned white with shock. Mark helped her to stand, and when she reached out to hug him, tears flowing freely from her eyes, he wiped them away with his thumbs. She was speechless, but the expression on her face told him all he needed to know. He put his arms around her and the baby and held her gently.

It was the first time since he had rescued her from the ditch and left her at the hospital that he had held her like that, and he enjoyed every second of it. It just felt so right, holding them in his arms. It felt natural, like he should be there with them, and not just for the moment, but forever.

Jayda struggled to speak. She was so shocked and overcome with emotions. She was feeling anger, because, once again, he had broken their agreement to be just friends, and had taken on her debts, and yet, it seemed so natural that she would be in his arms. She wished it was a permanent situation---that they could be together always.

Follow your heart.

The inner voice she had heard the night before echoed in her brain. She had almost forgotten that. But how did that translate to what was happening now? He hadn’t asked her for a permanent relationship. Had he?

“Come on, Babe. Let’s get you home,” Mark said quietly. He turned to the bedside table and grabbed several of her bags, and walked to the door. Just outside the door was a wheelchair. He brought it in and wheeled it to stop just in front of her. He turned it to a ninety degree angle to her and with a wave and a bow, he declared, “Your chariot, my Queen!” He reached out and took little Mark Lee from her arms and held him while the nurse, who had suddenly appeared in the room, helped Jayda to sit in the wheelchair, then turned it to face the door.

“Oh I don’t need this thing. I can walk to the pickup!” Jayda argued.

“Oh, no you can’t. I’m parked a ways away. It was a struggle in this heat for me to walk the distance,” he winked at the nurse, who winked back at him.

“Actually, dear, it’s hospital rules. No one leaves through that front door without a chariot. Liability issues, you know. You can hold your son while Mark carries your bags, and I’ll push your chariot to the door. Once we get there, you’ll sit there and wait with me for Mark to bring the pickup to the front door. Then we’ll get you all loaded up, and you can go home. Once you get there, be very careful walking, you might feel a little weak for a few days. You already have the doctor’s orders in your paperwork, be sure to make those appointments, and keep them! A home health care nurse will visit you in a few days to see how you are doing, and make assessments of you and the baby. Do you understand all of this?”

“Yes,” Jayda sighed. “I’ll behave myself. And I’ll take good care of Mark Lee.”

“I’ll be around and check on her very frequently, too,” Mark chimed in. I’ve made it my mission to take care of her.”

“You’re doing a great job of it, too, Mr. Reeves,” the nurse added.

The little procession moved to the elevators, which was located right across from the nurses’ station. Nurses who had helped take care of the mom and baby dropped what they were doing to come and give Jayda hugs and congratulations wishes. Many had tears in their eyes.

The elevator opened, and Mark entered and held the door open for the nurse and the wheelchair. He grinned and said a loud ‘thank you” to all the nurses. They all waved and grinned back at him.

When the elevator doors closed, one of the nurses said to another, “you know, she calls that hunk her ‘hero in cowboy boots’?” She grinned and wiped a stray tear from her eye. The other nurse nodded and replied, “I’ve heard her say that, and I think it’s true. He did rescue her from a situation that could have been very dangerous. He’s so gorgeous: tall, dark hair, blue eyes, and so romantic!”

“Yes, he is! If I was about twenty years younger and not married, I’d be wanting to spend some time with him!” she sighed “She is one lucky woman!”

“That’s for sure!” They both signed in unison and then turned back to their work.

 

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