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Chapter 31

Chapter 31

 

            “Caryss, are you still there?”

 

            “Yeah Laney, I’m just thinking.”  Thinking about what I did wrong that God would punish a poor innocent baby.  Thinking about how pregnancy is supposed to be one of the happiest times in a woman’s life and I can’t feel that way because there is something wrong with my baby.  Thinking about what this is going to do to Nick when the press and the public get wind that his baby has Down syndrome.

           

            “Listen, I’ll be there as soon as I can and I know it’s easier said than done, but just relax and take it easy.  You have to keep your blood pressure down and you don’t want them to put you on bed rest, trust me.”

 

            “There are a lot of things I don’t want Laney, bed rest is the least of my worries.”

 

            “You are a strong person, Car, and you’ll get through this.”  Again, there was nothing but silence on the other end of the phone.  I need to get to her, she needs me.  I wonder if she will get through this.  “Sis?”

 

            “It wasn’t supposed to be like this,” Caryss said quietly as she began to cry.  She wanted Laney there with her now, to be able to hold her and comfort her; she needed her.  “I always knew I wanted to fall in love, to get married, to have kids, not necessarily in that order, but I knew it would happen one day, I always pictured it when I was younger.”

 

            Caryss paused for a minute and Laney could hear her blowing her nose softly on the other end of the phone. 

 

            “In all those times I envisioned how my life would go, never once did any of the scenarios include a baby with Down syndrome.”  Caryss started crying harder, and tears were falling steadily from Laney’s eyes as well.  It almost didn’t seem fair to her that she was happily married with two beautiful, healthy, seemingly normal children, while her older sister had not found any of that yet. 

 

            “Honey, listen to me,” began Laney after a few sniffles.  “The minute you hold that baby in your arms, nothing is going to matter.  You are going to love that child so much and Down syndrome is never going to change that.  That baby will be perfect, because he or she is yours.  Your ability to love unconditionally is going to carry over to that baby, and I believe with all my heart that that is the reason God is blessing you with a special child.” 

 

            “Oh Laney,” Caryss cried as she pulled the phone away from her mouth in an attempt to muffle her sobs.  “I have to go now Laney, I’ll see you when you get here.”  Caryss hung up the phone quickly and sobbed quietly as she sat on the back patio at AJ’s house; the doctor’s words resonating in her mind for what was probably the hundredth time in three days. 

 

            “Caryss, Nick, I have the amnio results, but it’s not what you were hoping for.  There is a 95% chance that the baby will be born with Down syndrome.  Here’s some information I’ve collected for you to read about it, and if you have any questions, any at all, please don’t hesitate to call me or speak with another doctor about it.”

            He held out the stack of information towards Nick, but set it down on the bed when Nick did not reach back for it. 

            “Guys, I’m sorry.  I know this isn’t what you wanted to hear, but we are hopeful that everything will still go smoothly.”

            Nick and Caryss barely nodded their heads in acknowledgment of what the doctor had just told them. 

            “Caryss, you are free to leave whenever you’re ready.  I’ll see you next week for your check-up.” 

 

            Caryss had been so deep in thought she did not notice that Nick had come onto the patio until she felt his strong, warm hands on her shoulders. 

 

            “Hey baby,” he said softly as he bent down and kissed the top of Caryss’s head.  “What time does your sister’s plane land?” 

 

            “7:43,” she responded flatly.  She gazed at the vast lawn that was AJ’s back yard; the lush, green grass, the tastefully planted shrubs and trees, the eloquently placed flowers and lawn ornaments.  She pictured the yard scattered with toys and a large swing set, a sandbox and a kiddy pool, she could almost see children running around the yard, their cheeks flushed and their breath slightly heavier than normal from the vigorous activities they were partaking in; the normal, childhood playing that kids take for granted. 

 

            Her heart ached as she imagined her child in that yard, not being able to keep up with the other children, activities that other kids could do with ease that her child would struggle with daily, and the worst of all, other children not wanting to play with her child because he or she looks different than everyone else. 

 

            “How are we going to explain to our child why he or she is different?  How are we going to protect that innocent child from the torment and hurt he or she will surely experience?  My poor baby,” Caryss sobbed as she rocked back and forth in her chair. 

 

            Nick pulled her to her feet and held her tightly in his arms as she cried, several tears falling from his eyes as well.  “We’ll find a way baby, we will find a way.  We will do everything we can to protect our child; I will do whatever it takes.  We will do it together; as long as we are together everything will be okay.” 

 

            He wasn’t lying when he said he would do whatever it took; he owed everything he had in his arms right now to that precious baby.  That baby, the one that everyone will tease and stare at, the one that will have a harder time than most throughout it’s life, is the reason he was able to hold Caryss in his arms at that very moment; that baby brought them back together and that was something he would never forget.