Chapter 26
CHRIS
My morning had been productive. There was still a long list of things to accomplish, and I hadn’t lost my drive.
The motivation wasn’t even about Beth anymore.
Now it was about this community. The more I worked, the more I understood the struggles that my wife had seen for so long.
It was humbling to understand how blind I was to her real world, her dreams and aspirations.
“We need more electrical conduit,” a worker called to me across the site as I stepped away from the latest task at hand.
“Got it.” I grabbed my keys off the table and headed out.
The hardware store was on the opposite side of town, not too far away, but enough for me to clear my head as I drove.
I had taken this drive many times since I arrived in town.
The more familiar I became with the area, the more I understood why my wife would choose it, why her passion for a better life would have been sparked here.
And yet I had fought her. I hadn’t even tried to understand.
She hadn’t been able to express it, either.
That was a regret I was living with now.
Pulling my truck up to the supply yard, I climbed out, ready to grab my materials and return.
It was an easy errand, something to keep the day moving forward.
But I wasn’t prepared for the sight I saw next.
There was a sleek, silver sports car parked outside the hardware store.
It stood out so distinctly that it couldn’t have belonged to a resident of the town.
No one here could afford such luxury, and I was certain they wouldn’t flaunt it like this, not in a way that seemed out of place.
I felt a cold knot in the pit of my stomach as I moved closer.
Something told me exactly whose car this was, but I hoped I was wrong.
Still, I stepped inside, looking around for any sign of Jessica.
The place was quiet. Just a couple of regulars standing around talking with the store owner.
They all gave me a curious glance, but my eyes scanned the store for the person I was hoping not to see.
I headed toward the back where I knew the electrical conduit would be.
Each aisle I passed, I looked for Jessica.
But there she stood in the next aisle. It wasn’t a hard mistake to make, but one that left my stomach in a hard knot.
Why was she here? My mind raced. Had she come looking for me?
There was no other explanation that made any sense.
I had severed her from my company, buying out her shares and banning her from the premises.
I didn’t have the legal authority to ban her from a town she had no association with, but I was fairly certain I had the emotional grounds to.
“Jessica,” I called out, making my voice firm as I approached. She didn’t seem surprised, but her cool demeanor never wavered. “What are you doing here?” It felt stupid to ask, but there was nothing else I could say, even as I had already put the pieces together.
“Oh, Chris, I wondered if I might find you here.” She smirked as if the whole thing was a game. “I’ve been driving all over trying to track you down. You left Seattle without so much as a goodbye to anyone, not even your business partners.”
“Because we’re not business partners any longer,” I answered. “And you had no right to come here looking for me. I’ve been clear with what I expected from you. I know you got your payout. This isn’t about money. So why are you really here?”
“Don’t you know, Chris? I can’t let you get away like this.”
“I have no intention of running,” I replied with a shake of my head.
“This has nothing to do with you. My reasons are my own.” I tried to walk past her, but she grabbed my arm, her grip tight like she was afraid of losing this interaction, afraid I would just walk away, which I fully intended to do.
I didn’t have to explain myself to her anymore.
“You ran away from your company. I’d say that’s the act of a coward.” The way she spat the words at me hurt in a way that felt familiar. But it wasn’t because I knew her words were true.
I stopped, turning to face her again, my patience thinning rapidly.
“This isn’t cowardice, Jessica. This is something that needs to be done, and it has nothing to do with you.
” I yanked my arm out of her grip. “Now, I suggest you get in your car and drive back to the city, or wherever you want to go next. I have work to finish.”
“You think you can just come here and build a new life like none of it matters? That’s not how things work. You have responsibilities. And you can’t just abandon them because you feel like it. You built a life in Seattle, and now you’re hiding from it. That’s pathetic.”
Her words were sharp, but I could tell she didn’t have the same conviction behind them as she once did.
The insult bounced off me, though it stung more than I let show.
Jessica was lashing out because she knew she had lost. The business was out of her control.
But this place, the life I was building here, was the last thing she had any right to criticize.
I felt that more strongly now than I ever had before.
“Why do you care? I would think you’d want to wash your hands of everything to do with me.
I bought you out after you forced my hand.
But now you’re here. As far as I’m concerned, our relationship came to an end weeks ago.
So what do you want, Jessica. Really.” I watched her closely, my tone cold but curious.
There was a part of me that didn’t want to know her reasons, but I needed to be done with this woman, so I had to hear her out one more time, just so I had reason to banish her.
“I was just trying to talk some sense into you,” she answered. “It was a wasted trip.” There was bitterness in her words, but not the confidence she was trying to exude.
“Sense doesn’t involve driving halfway across the state to find someone who clearly doesn’t want you here. Don’t come back.” It was an order I didn’t want to have to say, but she needed to hear it. There was no other way of communicating it.
Her face tightened in frustration. She stepped back, her hand still clutching her bag like she might find more words.
But nothing else came out. She simply turned on her heel and walked out.
I stood there, watching as she climbed into her expensive car and drove off, my chest tight with emotions I didn’t have the time or energy to process.
With Jessica gone, I turned my attention back to the reason I had come into the store.
I loaded the conduit into my arms and made for the checkout, but before I could even reach the register, the sound of a siren cut through the air.
I frowned, looking toward the door just as an ambulance screamed past the building.
A moment later, another siren echoed through the street.
“Someone is having a bad day,” I commented to the clerk as I paid for the electrical conduit.
Minutes later, I followed in the same direction of the sirens.
But as I neared the job site, I caught up to the flashing lights.
The ambulance and another emergency response vehicle were parked haphazardly in the diner parking lot.
And all I could think about was Beth. What if she was hurt?
I pulled my truck off the road, leaving the conduit in the bed of the truck.
My heart hammered in my chest as I approached the diner.
The front door stood open, a couple of locals lingering outside with looks of confusion and concern.
I didn’t waste any time, rushing past them into the dim light of the diner.
Inside, I found Beth on the floor, unconscious, with EMTs crowding around her.
Lisa was next to her, her hands shaking as she watched the scene unfold.
“Beth!” I called out, but she didn’t move. The sight of her lying there, so still, sent a wave of panic through me. The paramedics moved efficiently, placing her on a stretcher. I was right next to her, my hand hovering above her, afraid to touch her and afraid not to. “Is she okay?”
“Step back,” one of them said. “We need to get her to the hospital. We don’t know what happened yet.”
“I’m her husband,” I said, though it sounded like a lie the second I said it. It didn’t feel like I had that right anymore. Still, I followed as they carried her out, not caring about anything else but getting to her side as soon as possible.
“She collapsed,” Lisa said as she chased after the EMTs with me. “It was so sudden. One minute she was standing, and then she just went down. I don’t know what happened.”
I clenched my jaw, guilt already starting to gnaw at me. This wasn’t supposed to be happening. It couldn’t be happening, not here. Not when she was the one person I had sworn to protect. “I need to be with her.”
“If you’re the husband, you can join us in the ambulance,” the paramedic said, half looking at Lisa for confirmation of who I was. In this town, community was so much more important than money. I had come to learn that in the weeks I had been here. Lisa’s word was trusted far more than mine.
“Thank you,” I said, both to the EMT and to Lisa who had given a simple nod to confirm my identity.
As the ambulance pulled away, I sat beside Beth, my eyes fixed on her pale face.
I felt powerless. How did we get here? I thought I was doing the right thing, staying away, letting her come to terms with things.
I didn’t know she was sick, struggling to hold everything together while I stayed on the other side of the street.
The weight of it crashed down on me, the realization that she wasn’t okay and I hadn’t known.
I hadn’t seen the signs. I wasn’t there.
The ride to the hospital felt like it took hours, each second stretching painfully long.
By the time they rushed her inside, I was standing outside the room, unable to do anything but wait.
Lisa soon joined me, having shut down the diner before getting in her car for the drive to the hospital.
But she didn’t have to say anything for me to know what we were both thinking.
Something had to be done. Waiting was no longer an option. Beth’s collapse had changed everything.
It felt like I had waited an eternity in the harsh light of the hospital, watching the nurses come in and out, unable to tell me anything about Beth.
Every minute was agony, not knowing what was happening behind the closed doors.
The doctors were doing their jobs, but I needed more.
I needed answers. I had to see her, had to know she was okay.
When a doctor finally appeared, her expression serious but not panicked, I braced myself for whatever news she might bring. Lisa stood next to me, just as tense as I was.
“She’s stable,” the doctor began, and I felt the knot in my stomach loosen slightly.
“It looks like she was dehydrated and suffering from exhaustion. We’re keeping her overnight to monitor her vitals and ensure there’s no further complications for her and the baby.
Although, I’d prefer to keep her two nights just to be safe. ”
My heart nearly stopped at those last words. Baby? The word hit me like a hammer. I hadn’t allowed myself to think that was a possibility, hadn’t dared to imagine what it could mean. “What did you just say? She’s pregnant?”
“Yes,” the doctor confirmed, her eyes studying my face carefully. “You didn’t know? Beth is in her second trimester. It’s important that she takes care of herself, gets more rest. The strain she’s been under recently hasn’t been good for her.”
I couldn’t process it. Pregnant. Beth was carrying my child, and I hadn’t known.
I dropped into a chair, placing my head in my hands.
All of this time, I had been focused on the project, on trying to prove something to her, and all along, she had been going through this alone.
My chest tightened painfully. I didn’t even know what to say, but one thing became clear, I couldn’t stay away any longer.
I needed to fix this, to be here for her, for them both.
“Can I see her?” I asked, my voice thick.
“Not right now,” the doctor answered gently. “She needs rest. We’ll keep an eye on her through the night, but you’ll be able to see her tomorrow after she’s had some time to recover.”
I nodded, not trusting myself to say more.
Lisa’s hand rested on my shoulder, a silent gesture of support.
But inside, I felt like the ground had been pulled out from beneath me.
A child. Beth was pregnant, and I was just now finding out, after everything had spiraled so far out of control.
And just like that, the focus of my entire world, once zeroed in on the community food hub, now rested entirely on the woman inside that room and the baby growing in her belly.
“I’m staying here.” I pushed myself up. “Until I can see her.”
“Chris—“ Lisa started, but I held up a hand, shaking my head.
“No, Lisa. I’m staying.” My voice left no room for argument, and after a beat, Lisa nodded.
The hospital lights flickered above, casting shadows on my worn-out frame, as I paced the hall, the reality of everything settling in slowly, painfully.
I wasn’t going anywhere until I could look Beth in the eyes, until I could apologize, until I could promise I wouldn’t let any of this happen again.
Tomorrow would be different. I’d make sure of that.