15. Epilogue
15
Epilogue
My mind is waking up but everything is foggy. The bright light is blinding. I awake in a bed with a railing, I see a very drab familiar type of room. “Oh God, I’m in a hospital.” Flashes of a horrible memory come to me. “Oh God… Mike! Oh God, I can’t breathe.” I gasp desperately for air, gulping as much as I can, but it’s not enough. I need oxygen.
I’m scared to open my eyes, but I do, cautiously. Instead of Mike, I saw Theo, and recent happy memories flooded my mind. Thank God !
“Thank God, Jane. It’s about time you woke up. You scared the hell out of me.” Theo gave me a gentle smile as he squeezed my cold hand with his large warm one. He leaned over and kissed me on the forehead. He smelled of sweat, and I saw he was in the clothes from the halftime show still.
“What happened?” I asked, thoroughly confused.
* * *
Theo
“What’s the last thing you remember?” I sat back on my little chair, and it squawked at me as I moved it closer to Jane’s hospital bed. I softly brushed my hand over her forehead and moved some hair out of her beautiful green eyes.
Remembrance and a smile filled her soft face. “I mean, I remember the halftime show. You proposed.” I could tell things were clearer for her now, not so foggy. She beamed. “That was quite the over-the-top proposal, and the poster board was a cute gesture.”
“Cute gesture?” Now that I knew she was okay, I could afford to tease her a bit. “I proposed to you at the super bowl halftime show. ‘Cute gesture’ is a bit of an understatement.” I gave her my puppy dog eyes, pretending to be wounded deeply by her understatement of the year. She giggled, giving me exactly the reaction I was looking for. I took a deep breath, thankful that she remembered and seemed to be just fine. “Phew.” I blew out my breath, relieved. “So you also remember saying yes?” I bit my lip, nervous that, for some reason, she might change her mind.
“Of course I do. Why wouldn’t I?” she questioned. “But I am curious…what happened? How did I get here?”
I squeezed her hand tighter. “After I proposed, you walked down back to the crowd. I saw you give hugs to Bella and Nikki, but then I finished the last song and looked for you before walking off stage. There was a commotion. Nikki and Bella said you passed out, and with the excitement of the crowd, you almost got trampled. In fact, your side and one of your arms is bruised. Luckily, security was close by, and between security and Nikki and Bella, they strong-armed to form a protective wall around you until the crowd dispersed. I got there as fast as I could. Between the commercial breaks and the time it took to clean up the stage and all the props, I don’t think too much attention was on you when they put you on the gurney and the little cart thing and drove you off the field.” I knew she would not be happy to be in that situation; thank god she was unconscious for that part, or it would have killed her, knowing how embarrassed she gets. “The crowd was notified that a fan had passed out, probably from heat exhaustion.”
“Oh my goodness, how embarrassing. I passed out from heat exhaustion? And they had to take me out on a cart?”
“Yeah, I can show you the video on YouTube if you want.” I gave her my best grin.
“Oh god no,” she moaned. “I still can’t believe I passed out. From heat exhaustion… That doesn’t sound like me.”
“Well, actually…there is more to the story.” I wondered how to tell her.
A nurse walked in, giving me more time. “Oh good, so glad to see you awake, dear. How do you feel?”
“Okay, I think.”
She placed her hand on Jane’s head, then on her wrist to check her pulse. “Great, I’ll just let the doctor know you are awake. I think he wants to talk to you. Just take it easy. You want a snack or a drink?”
“Now that you mention it, a snack would be divine.” Jane rubbed her stomach. “Apparently… I’m famished.” She looked up at me as her tummy growled. She was glowing.
“How about some chocolate pudding?” the nurse suggested.
“Oh yes, chocolate sounds amazing right now.” She licked her lips, and my heart beat a bit faster. As the nurse walked out, I touched the tan hospital blanket where it covered her flat stomach. “You were saying?” Jane’s eye’s gazed up at mine.
“So, you passed out. You woke up when they were putting you in the ambulance and sort of freaked out. I think you were having flashbacks from the accident. It was only for a moment before they decided to sedate you.” She looked down and shook her head in shame. “No, don’t worry about it. I didn’t think it was necessary, but they wanted to be extra cautious.”
“I’m okay, though, right? ’Cause you’re kind of acting like I’m not. I mean, I feel okay.”
“No, no. Yes, you are okay, don’t worry. You are great. Better then great, actually.” I assured her.
“Hmm.” Jane’s eyes tightened around the edges, suspicious that she didn’t have the whole story.
The joy I felt was overwhelming, but I didn’t know what she would think. How she would react. I could feel the heat on my face and just decided to spill the beans. “So they brought you to the hospital and they, umm…wanted to check you out. So they did an ultrasound to make sure…” My chest rose and fell deeply as I took another breath, trying to gather oxygen to my brain. “And surprise—you’re pregnant! We’re having a baby!”
Jane’s jaw dropped just like mine had when they first announced it. “You’re only about seven weeks along, but the baby is doing fine. You’re both doing great.” I smiled and squeezed her hand, hoping she could tell how excited I felt. “It was quite the surprise for everyone in the room.” I grinned, anxious for her response.
Her eyes widened, and her hand went to her belly. “Wow, really?” It looked like she was doing some math in her head. Then she looked at her stomach before lifting her eyes to mine. “And you’re happy about it?” She asked.
“I’m over the moon. You know how much I wanted to be a dad. And we still have the nursery.” I took a deep breath. “I’ve never been so happy in my life. This is a dream come true. Today is the best day of my life. The cherry on top is finding out we’re having a baby together.” I gushed, the grin on my face too big. But I didn’t care how goofy I looked. I kneeled next to the hospital bed, trying to get as close to her as possible. I slipped my hand under the covers to find her warm belly. A spark of happiness jolted through me as I touched her soft skin. “Jane, I love you so much. I need you more than I need oxygen.” I rubbed my thumb over her cheek, grateful for everything in my life.
Her sweet smile filled the room. “The band or the air?” she asked slyly.
“Both.” I kissed her belly, then found her soft sweet lips.
The End