Life-Changing Love, page 30
“Come on, Zoe. Your ride’s here.”
Peter’s aunt Lotti, who Caitlyn has always called Aunt Lotti, even though they weren’t related, bumbled out of the passenger side. She followed Mr. Brandt to the front porch where they all now stood, Zoe and Caitlyn holding hands and looking panicky, them smiling.
“I’m so glad you’re here.” Caitlyn glanced from one to the other. Then she mouthed to Aunt Lotti, “It’s time.”
“Well, you’d better get this girl to the hospital,” Aunt Lotti said.
Mr. Brandt took Zoe by the arm. Caitlyn had to peel Zoe’s fingers from her hand, but then Zoe allowed Mr. Brandt to escort her to the truck.
“I’m so glad you came, Aunt Lotti. I hate to think of her being alone. Take good care of her.” Caitlyn’s heart ached to go with her, but she had responsibilities. Their voices traveled through the screen door, Andy bawling and Stacey talking. Caitlyn imagined Priscilla still stood crying with her skirt stuck in the fence, and David . . .
“No, my dear.” Aunt Lotti patted Caitlyn’s arm. “You need to go with her. That’s why I’m here. I’ll watch your brothers and sisters.”
So thankful she could’ve burst, Caitlyn gave Aunt Lotti a quick sketch of her siblings’ various predicaments and dashed for the truck.
Mr. Brandt—being a forest ranger—happened to have a flashing yellow light, which he put atop his truck. Then he barreled down the road, getting them to the hospital in no time. He dropped Zoe and Caitlyn at the main doors and went to park. Caitlyn walked Zoe through the glass doors, took the elevator, and relinquished Zoe to a nurse who led her down a hallway.
Caitlyn paced in the second-floor waiting room, anxious to be allowed back. Mr. Brandt soon joined her, taking a seat in a corner to make phone calls with his cell.
Sometime later, the elevator opened and three of Caitlyn’s favorite people stepped out. She couldn’t have been happier to see them. As they drew near, she realized what each of them meant to her.
She and Peter had grown up together, and she’d always thought of him as an older brother. She enjoyed his company and felt comfortable sharing most anything with him. Sure, his jokes and babbling could get on her nerves, but she never doubted he would be there if she needed him.
Though Keefe and Caitlyn hadn’t spoken much in the past two months, they had developed a friendship that changed Caitlyn forever. His faith and courage in facing challenges impressed her deeply, making her want to imitate those virtues, though she hadn’t figured out how yet.
And Roland . . . Seeing him gave her goose bumps and stirred something deep inside. He had lost nothing of his mystery and appeal. She loved that he’d come up here to help and support them. She thought of the many ways they had worked together in the past nine months. Mom’s words came to mind: Now is the time for friendships.
Caitlyn approached the three of them. “How did you guys get here?” She looked at Keefe for the answer since he was the oldest and the only one with a driver’s license.
“I called a cab.”
“Oh.” Caitlyn felt stupid. “Why didn’t I think of that? We could’ve called a cab.”
Keefe squeezed her hand, anxiety in his eyes. “Jarret’s not answering his phone. Did he show?”
“No. But we have to find him.”
“What should we do?” Roland looked from Keefe to Caitlyn.
Peter went to the corner of the waiting room, to where his dad sat.
“We could call his friends,” Caitlyn said, hopeful. “Do you know who his friends are . . . and their phone numbers?”
“I do,” Keefe said, he and Roland drawing their cell phones simultaneously. “I’ll give you some numbers, Roland.” The two of them took seats in the corner opposite Peter and Mr. Brandt.
Remembering what Zoe had mentioned about Jarret taking drives and her checking the miles, Caitlyn said, “Are any of his friends ten miles away?” Keefe and Roland looked at her as if it were a strange question, but she decided not to explain.
While they sat with phones to their ears, and Peter and Mr. Brandt discussed trivial things, a nursing assistant finally came to get Caitlyn and led her to Zoe’s room.
Zoe, looking clean, comfortable, and poised, wore a pink hospital gown and sat in an adjustable bed surrounded by monitors. “Please tell me Jarret’s on his way.” She smoothed the sheet around her belly and arranged her hair.
“Keefe, Roland, and Peter are here. They’ll find him. Don’t worry.” Caitlyn dragged a chair to the bedside. “Is your doctor here?”
In the corner of the room, a nurse set up equipment and made notes on a clipboard. Wires stuck out from under Zoe’s sheet, running up to monitors.
“The doctor’s on his way. I have a while yet, but my contractions are getting . . . a little uncomfortable.” She leaned back and breathed out her mouth. “Mom’s coming up.” She continued exhaling.
“You called her?”
She nodded. “I’m sure Dad will come, too. He’d better not try to stop Jarret from being here. I told Mom Jarret was going to be here and if they didn’t like that, they shouldn’t come.”
Zoe reached for her pillows, so Caitlyn helped adjust them.
Her discomfort showed and Caitlyn really wanted to help. “Can I get you anything?”
She nodded. “Get me Jarret.”
When Caitlyn returned to the waiting room to check the progress, Roland and Keefe stood up. Peter approached them just as Caitlyn did.
Caitlyn hoped they had good news. Seeing Zoe alone in that bright room of wires and machines, of things beeping and making strange noises, gave her a sense of desperation. They needed to find Jarret.
“Did you find him?” she said.
Keefe said, “No.”
But at the same time, Roland said, “I know where he is.”
And judging by the look on his face, Caitlyn believed him.
Chapter Fifty-two
Roland
Roland gazed out the window, listening to the rumble of Mr. Brandt’s truck and watching houses and trees pass by. He considered how sometimes life goes in a full circle. Nine months ago, he and Peter had been following Jarret, trying to find him and wondering where he’d been going. Here they were, with even more urgency, searching for him again.
“I wonder if they make a tracking device the size of a pill.” Peter, who sat in the middle, bumped Roland’s leg with his own whenever he spoke.
Roland didn’t bother looking at him or responding.
“Of course, it would probably come out when he, uh . . .” He glanced at his father and must’ve decided not to complete his sentence. “Hey, Dad, have you ever seen Jarret’s car at the campground, you know, since last September?”
“No, I haven’t.” Mr. Brandt stared at the road. “But I don’t spend a lot of time in parking lots. When I’m not at the office or giving talks or whatnot, I’m usually deep in the woods, working.”
“We should’ve put something in his car,” Peter said to Roland. “You know, when he first got it and was showing it off to anyone who came near. I could’ve easily dropped a tracking device in there. Except, he keeps it so clean, he might’ve found it. Oh wait, I know, they have those kinds you can stick underneath.”
Roland shook his head. Peter was nuts.
“Really, man, I’m serious. That brother of yours needs a permanent tracking device. He might not keep his car forever, so maybe that’s not a good idea. How about his cell phone? Does he upgrade his phone a lot? No, no, I got it. Jewelry.” He waved his brows. “Something expensive, maybe a watch. He’d never take it off. He’d probably wonder why you and me would give him something. We’d have to make Zoe give it to him.”
“Peter.” Roland, not one to raise his voice, felt his temper spike and snapped, “Get with the real world, will you?”
Peter chuckled. “What do you know of that, oh man in black?”
He stopped talking awhile, but as they neared the park entrance, he started up again. “So, why not a friend’s house? Or just driving? What makes you think he’ll be here?”
Roland shrugged. He hoped he was right. It’d be a shame, them getting all the way out here and not finding him. Mr. Brandt had been nice enough to offer to drive when Keefe was about to call a cab, but he probably had his own things to do today. Roland would hate to be wasting Mr. Brandt’s time, all the while getting no closer to finding Jarret. Keefe elected to stay at the hospital and make phone calls, saying he’d call if he got any leads.
“Come on,” Peter whined. “You’ve gotta have a reason. You think he’s with someone at the campground? A girl?”
“No.” He hated talking about people, especially his brothers, but it wasn’t anything bad that led him to his conclusion. “Jarret’s sentimental.”
Peter quirked a grin. “Sentimental, huh?”
“Yeah. This is where it all began.”
They turned down the long winding road that led to the campsites. Mr. Brandt shut off the air-conditioner and lowered the windows. Warm campfire-scented air blew into the truck.
“This is where Jarret met Zoe and, um . . .”
“Got her pregnant,” Peter said.
“Right. And Jarret was here when he learned about Keefe’s haircut, which you probably can’t understand, but that hit him hard because . . . well, Jarret’s sentimental. And it was here that people started seeing him differently, thought of him as a hero for, um . . .”
“Yeah.” Peter’s grin faded and he gazed at the dash. “. . . for saving Toby.”
“Right. So, people didn’t just think of him as a bad boy.” They exchanged a glance that let Roland know Peter finally understood. “Plus, it’s about ten miles away. Isn’t that what Caitlyn said? Who do we know that’s ten miles away? He’s here. I’m sure of it.”
Mr. Brandt parked the truck near their old site. “Let’s go find him, boys. I’ll look for him up on Bonfire Hill.”
“I’ll go with you.” Peter jogged with his father toward a trail.
Roland headed for their old campsite.
The campground hadn’t changed much. As he passed from site to site, he remembered it all clearly: the layout of the sites, the way they had arranged several tables in one site, and even the things they had done. He let his mind linger a moment on the memory of sneaking around the woods with Caitlyn and her sisters. He missed her friendship.
“What’re you doing here?”
Roland exhaled at the sound of Jarret’s voice. Thank you, Lord.
Jarret leaned against a tree, a cigarette in his hand. He blew out smoke, making it swirl above him, looking like he hadn’t a care in the world.
“You have to come with us. Zoe’s having the baby.”
Jarret’s eyes flashed. He dropped the cigarette. “Okay.” He set off at once, taking long strides. “Now? She’s having it now? Where is she? Why didn’t she call?”
“She’s at the hospital. Check your phone. We’ve all been trying to call you.”
Jarret jogged down a different path than the one Roland had taken, coming out on the dirt road where his Chrysler sat. To leave the campground, they had to pass through the parking lot where Mr. Brandt had parked. As they did, Peter dashed out of the woods.
Jarret slowed and unlocked the doors.
“Thanks, man,” Peter said as he slid into the backseat. He waved at his father before slamming his door. “Dad’s gotta get back to the bed-and-breakfast. I guess Mom’s out with Toby, and he left the place unattended. Let’s get to the hospital.”
Jarret sped down the road at a speed that again had Roland praying a cop didn’t come by. Roland sighed, thinking how Jarret had better change his ways or he’d always find himself racing from one emergency to another.
God answered Roland’s prayers. They hadn’t met with a single hitch until the elevator doors opened to the maternity ward.
Five people sat in the waiting room, three strangers, Keefe . . . and Mr. McGowan. They hadn’t taken four steps when Mr. McGowan lumbered over, his beady eyes locked on Jarret. “What do you think you’re doing here?”
Jarret shrunk back.
Chapter Fifty-three
Caitlyn
Zoe’s contractions came harder and with less time between them. Her parents had come up, but only her mother had ventured into the room. After her last contraction, Zoe sent Caitlyn to check the waiting room, as if she sensed that Jarret had arrived.
And there he was! He stood near the elevator, Roland and Peter on either side, Mr. McGowan in front of him.
It sounded like Mr. McGowan said, “I warned you that I’d kill you if you came near my daughter.” But Zoe had told her parents that Jarret was going to be here, so Mr. McGowan shouldn’t have had a problem.
Jarret’s eyelids fluttered and his face turned a shade paler. He turned away from Mr. McGowan and toward the elevator as if he were just going to leave. Then Roland grabbed his shoulder and turned him back.
Keefe approached Jarret, smiling. “Hey, you’re here.”
Caitlyn sprinted to him. “Zoe’s been asking for you.” Trying not to let her anxiety show, she smiled and reached out to welcome him.
Mr. McGowan jerked his face to her and gave her a hard stare. “Jarret will not be going to her room.”
“What?” Caitlyn’s hope deflated. “But Mr. McGowan, sir, your daughter, she—”
“He is not her husband,” Mr. McGowan boomed. “He has no right—”
“Arthur.” Mrs. McGowan came up behind Caitlyn using a stern voice that didn’t fit her petite stature. “Your daughter is in pain right now. If she wants to see this boy, she’s going to see him.” She pushed through the group and latched onto Jarret’s arm.
Jarret’s mouth fell open. He glanced up at Mr. McGowan.
Mr. McGowan growled and stepped aside.
Mrs. McGowan yanked Jarret forward. “You’ll say hello, tell her everything will be okay, and return to the waiting room.”
Jarret dragged his feet at first but soon kept step with Zoe’s mom. Caitlyn trailed behind.
The instant they reached the doorway, Jarret stopped dead.
Zoe spun to face him. The contraction monitor went wild and Zoe looked at him with fire in her eyes. “Where have you been, you pig? I hate you!”
A nurse said something about getting the doctor and ran for the door.
Jarret backed up. When he turned to make a break for it, he smacked into Caitlyn, panic in his eyes.
“It’s okay. It’s the contractions making Zoe talk that way. Really, she wants you here. She’s been asking for you.” Caitlyn grabbed his arms to keep him from escaping. But she hadn’t needed to.
His eyes rolled up, and his face went white. A nurse bolted for him as he fell to the floor like an abandoned marionette.
ZOE HAD ASKED CAITLYN to stay, so she’d watched the miracle through watery eyes and with a heart elevated to God the Creator. She would never take the gift of life for granted. The agony of the labor gave way to the birth of a healthy and beautiful little girl, all nineteen inches and seven pounds of her.
Hair disheveled, skin glistening with sweat, Zoe lay back on her pillow and laughed for joy.
Caitlyn pressed a damp washcloth to Zoe’s forehead, squeezed her hand, and laughed with her. “You did it.”
The message of love shined so clearly to Caitlyn. Love is about sacrifice, about laying your life down for another. In married love, a man and woman forsake all others and cling to one another. Then their love bears fruit which a woman brings forth through travail and sorrow. But which fills her heart with inexpressible joy.
Caitlyn couldn’t wait for the day she would know such love and bring children of her own into the world. Well, no . . . that wasn’t true. She could wait. First, she would have to find the man God had prepared for her, her future husband. But she wasn’t ready for that either. God would send him in due time.
A few minutes later, a peaceful joy filled the room. The baby had been cleaned, wrapped in a pink blanket, and placed in Zoe’s arms. Mr. and Mrs. McGowan hovered over their daughter and granddaughter, teary eyed and humbled. Jarret, who had recovered at the nurses’ station, had been allowed back in. He sat in a chair by the window, watching Zoe and the baby at a distance.
Caitlyn couldn’t stop smiling. She gazed out the window, hoping this moment would never fade from her memory.
When Mr. and Mrs. McGowan finally left the room, Jarret whispered to Caitlyn, “Hey.”
She looked at him, blinking away green afterimages from having stared outside for so long.
With a shy look in his eyes, he nodded in the direction of Zoe and the baby.
Caitlyn smiled. It struck her as funny how this vain, confident, even arrogant boy was, in this situation, as uncertain as a child. “Why don’t you go over there? Hold your little girl.”
With a deep breath, Jarret got up. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he took his daughter in his arms. “I don’t . . . want to give her away,” he said to Zoe between sniffles.
Zoe scooted over, making room for him on the bed. She smiled as she watched him, her tranquil and self-possessed demeanor having returned.
Caitlyn tiptoed from the room, leaving the couple some privacy on this, their first and last night with their little girl.
Chapter Fifty-four
Caitlyn
Zoe and Caitlyn sat on swings in the playground across the street from Caitlyn’s house. The sun peeked through the leaves of tall trees and cast long shadows, making houses and landscaping picturesque.
“I can’t believe you walked all the way to my house,” Caitlyn said.
Zoe laughed and leaned forward, her silky black hair sweeping over her face. “I always walk to your house. You don’t live that far.”
“Still. You just had a baby. Not that anyone could tell by looking at you.”
Zoe wore a sleeveless flowered top and white shorts, the same white shorts she’d worn last summer. She patted her flat stomach, smiling. “I was glad it went right back after a couple of days. Mom said it was like that for her, too.”
