Wetting a paper towel, he wiped Ashton’s mouth, dusted off the crumbs, and set him down. “Time for a bath, big guy,” Jack said, taking him by the hand.
“I’ll do that, hon,” Annie said when she got wind of what he was up to.
“No, you stay put. I’ll have him in and out in a jiffy.”
Annie warmed up some baby food and fed Carolina. “This teamwork stuff works well,” she said to herself. By the time she finished feeding Carolina, Ashton was done with his bath and dressed in his pajamas.
“The kitchen is sparkling. Thank you,” she said, posing for a kiss.
He obliged her, kissing her softly. “You’re welcome.”
“Kids are fed, bathed, and soon off to bed. How grateful I am to have such a loving and thoughtful husband.”
“Well, I have to admit, I’d like to spend some alone time with my beautiful wife.” He winked.
“Oh, I see,” she said, teasing him with her flirty look.
“You put Carolina to bed, and I’ll put Ashton in bed.” He grabbed his son’s hand and practically pulled him down the hall.
Annie’s heart melted. This man. She loved him so much.
Ashton looked back with a stunned look. Annie snickered. “I’ll be right there to kiss you good night.”
They met in the hallway, passing by Ashton’s bedroom and waltzing into Carolina’s. She watched as he leaned over the crib, caressing his baby girl’s head. She stepped into Ashton’s room, decorated with dinosaurs, and found him cuddled under the blanket. “Daddy didn’t read me a story tonight.”
She knew he wanted his alone time with her, but reading a bedtime story was like the best thing you could do for a kid. She picked a book from the shelf and began to read it.
“Mommy. Slow down. You missed a part.”
Nothing could get by this kid. Not even speed reading. She started over.
Clicking off the light, she said good night and then gently closed the door, leaving a crack open. Moving down the hall, she came to an abrupt halt. What was that noise? She crept closer to the living room. There, spread out on the sofa was Jack, his bottom lip shaking, his eyes fluttering, and an awful sound coming out of his mouth. Putting her hands on her hips, she smiled down at the man she loved. “A for effort, Jack Powell. A for effort,” she whispered.
“Sorry about last night, babe.” Jack poured coffee into his travel mug.
“No problem. I know you were tired. You must be with all the orders you’ve been getting.”
“We need to continue our conversation tonight.” He pulled her in and kissed her.
“Conversation? Was that what we were going to do last night?”
He smiled back at her. “I mean about Sweet Indulgence. The rest of it, well, it can come after.” He grabbed his lunch box out of the fridge.
“Have a good day,” she called to him.
“I love you,” he yelled as he went out the door.
“I love you too,” she said, albeit a bit late after the door closed.
Annie’s day began and ended the same each day. Feed the children, straighten up the house, toss a load of clothes into the washing machine, chase Ashton around, and then repeat. Her only rest came when they both went down for a nap. She vowed to take that time to do something just for her. But, alas, it never came to be. Instead, she’d sit on the sofa, feet propped up on the coffee table, sipping a cup of warmed tea, occasionally closing her eyes and listening for any noise, but mostly just enjoying having her arms free, and the silence of the house to soothe her. That and the cup of tea.
She’d set her phone on vibrate. Any noise could change the dynamics, throwing out the quietness she enjoyed, and she wasn’t risking it for anything. She didn’t recognize the number flashing on her screen.
“Hello?”
“Annie. This is Robert.”
“Robert. I didn’t recognize the number. Is everything all right?”
“Can you get someone to watch the children? You’re needed at the hospital.”
His voice was eerily calm, and instead of it reassuring her, the opposite occurred.
“What’s happened to Jack?” Her tone elevated in pitch with each word.
“I’ll call you and let you know what’s happened. I don’t have any details,” Annie said, rushing around the house.
“It’s going to be fine, dear. Slow down. Take a deep breath,” Auntie Patty said.
“Annie, we’ll take good care of the children. You go be with Jack. Call us right away,” Grandmother Lilly said.
“I didn’t even have time to shower today. I was just sitting on the couch, enjoying the quietness of the house,” she said as she tried to contain her emotion.
“You look fine,” Auntie said, wiping a smudge of something off her cheek. “Put on a coat. It’s chilly out.”
“I wish Vicky was here to help. They flew to Korea,” Annie said, tears welling up and trailing down her cheek.
“We’ll be fine. We’ve taken care of children before. Go. Drive safely,” Lilly said.
Annie bolted out the door and jumped into her car. She didn’t even remember the drive to MUSC, but when she stepped into the emergency room, the reality of where she was hit her like a ton of bricks. She began to make her way to the desk when she spotted Robert and Milly, Jack’s parents huddled in a corner. She hurried over to them.
“Where’s Jack. What’s happened?”
“There’s been an accident,” Robert said.
“What sort of accident?” Annie asked.
“Machinery,” he replied.
“Machinery? Oh my. How bad is it?”
“We’re waiting for more word. The ambulance brought him here. There was so much blood, I’m not sure how bad it is, Annie.”
Robert spoke softly, but the words he used told Annie that it was anything but a little scratch. This was serious business. She placed her hand over her heart to compress the pain she felt. The tears, now coming down hard, made seeing impossible. She wiped them away with the back of her hand. Milly offered her a Kleenex.
Sliding her arm around Annie’s shoulders, she squeezed her. “Jack is tough. He’ll pull through. We just have to be here for him.”
Annie couldn’t catch her breath. She sobbed uncontrollably. The unknown was the worst.
With her eyes blurry and her mind a million miles away, Annie didn’t even notice the man with the stethoscope around his neck approaching them.
“Are you Jack Powell’s family?”
The three of them stood. “I’m his wife. What’s happened. Can I see him?”
The doctor placed his hand on her shoulder and guided her to sit. When Robert and Milly followed suit, he sat too.
“He’s sedated right now. We’re getting him ready for surgery.”
Gasps came from all of them.
Annie cried into her hands. Milly rubbed her back as she repeated over and over, oh dear, oh dear.
“Doctor, what can you tell us to help ease our concerns?” Robert said.
“I can tell you his vitals are good. He’s a strong young man, healthy, and we feel he will make a full recovery.”
“A full recovery from what?” Annie said, her brows furrowed.
“We won’t know until the surgeon gets in there, but there’s a possibility Jack will lose his hand.”
“His hand!” Annie wailed.
“I’m sorry. That’s all I can say right now. Why don’t you go to the third-floor waiting room? They’ll come out and discuss everything with you after his surgery.”
“Annie,” Mary yelled as she came dashing toward her.
“What happened to Jack?” Danny said, out of breath.
“He’s going in for surgery. He may lose his hand.” Annie rested her head on Mary’s shoulder and cried.
Rearing her head up quickly and pushing away from Mary, she wiped her tears. “The kids. They’re with Grandmother and Auntie. Vicky is out of the country. Can you please go and relieve them?”
“Of course. Whatever you need,” Mary said, her gaze darting from Danny to Annie.
“Yes. We’ll go hold down the fort, but you must keep us posted,” Danny said.
“We’ll stay with Annie,” Milly said.
“How’d the accident occur?” Danny said.
“He was using some fancy new piece of equipment he got. I guess it cut him. The doctors are going to try and save his hand, but we just don’t know. There was so much blood,” Robert said, shaking his head, clearly traumatized by the events.
Danny and Mary took off to Magnolia to care for the children. Robert and Milly took Annie to the third floor, where they served her coffee and snacks from the vending machines.
“You must eat something to keep up your strength. Jack is going to need you,” Milly said, handing her a bag of beef jerky.
“He’s been so busy with orders. Then he comes home to two rambunctious children and a wife who isn’t the most cheerful. No wonder he had an accident.”
“Now, Annie, don’t blame yourself. Jack loves you all so much.” Milly patted Annie’s hand.
“Jack worships you and the children, Annie. He loves his job, working with his hands, seeing the final product, and when the customers rave about it, it just makes it that much better. He’s told me on more than one occasion that it was you that was instrumental in him getting his company off the ground. He wants you to be happy too. He’s told me as much,” Robert said, his bottom lip quivering just a bit, the emotion seeping out, even in him.
Annie hung her head.
Taking his finger, he gently lifted her chin. “Annie. Seriously. Don’t beat yourself up about this accident. We’ll cope with it the way any family handles tragedy. Head on. We will see it through, and no matter what, Jack will survive whatever he is dealt. I know that much.”
“He’s the love of my life. I can’t let anything happen to him. The kids and I need him.”
“He’s not going anywhere, Annie,” Robert said, pulling her close.
The next couple of hours were pure torture for them as they sat around waiting for word from the doctor. It was a pretty somber place to be. Low cries, red eyes, people holding hands and offering support filled the area. The halls echoed with shoes as hospital staff made their rounds. Soft voices and an occasional laugh could be heard as people passed through. Annie found nothing funny about being there. But to be fair, life went on for those who worked there, and she couldn’t hold them responsible for enjoying a joke or two. A small chuckle escaped her mouth when she recalled Ashton’s latest challenge—trying to get a box of animal crackers off the kitchen counter. He opened the cabinet, stepped inside on the shelf, and then gripping the counter, pulled himself up so he could see the box. But he couldn’t figure out how to get them and stay hold of the counter. Frustrated, he dropped down only to miss the shelf and came tumbling onto the floor. Not hurt, only his ego bruised, he sighed and then asked for help.
Hugging her arms, she smiled. There was always something to be thankful for, something to smile about. Her children and her husband always made her happy.
“Mrs. Powell?”
“Yes. I’m Annie Powell.”
A warm hand shook hers. “I’m Doctor Hernandez. I did the surgery on Jack’s hand.”
“How is he? Can I see him?”
“Yes, he’s waking up in the recovery room. I’m sorry, but we weren’t able to save his hand.”
The words bounced around in her brain, but she couldn’t catch any of them long enough to make out what they meant.
“He’s very lucky. It could have been his entire arm. He has some physical therapy to do to get things going again with the use of his arm. His shoulder was dislocated as well. But he’s a strong young man, and I expect not having a hand will not slow him down in the least.”
Closing her eyes, a rush of warm sensation came over her, bringing with it a slight ringing in her ears. Her body began to sway, followed by numbness of her limbs, and then down on the floor she went.