I sat on the bed of the hotel room while Chance showered. We hadn’t really slept, getting updates on Hannah from Charlie. The doctor had ordered a fever reducer and an antibiotic and both had been administered. It seemed like her condition was going to settle.
Chance came out, and my breath caught. He wore dark jeans, a button-down shirt, and a sports jacket. It was a huge difference from the T-shirts, and I couldn’t help but admire the fit.
“I’m sorry all this is happening now,” Chance said. “Sometimes I don’t understand the laws of the universe.”
I stood up and brushed along the sleeves of his jacket, just to touch him. “I’m glad I could be here.”
“I hate deserting you,” he said. “You want me to take you somewhere? The aquarium is a nice place to visit.”
I shook my head. “I don’t think I could focus on something like that right now.”
He stepped forward and kissed the top of my head. We had already begun to feel like a couple somehow, maybe through the tough experiences we’d been flung into so quickly. This all made my old life of hooking up with college boys and going to parties seem ridiculously far away, like a whole different world.
“You can call on Redmond to pick you up if you need to go anywhere far. Otherwise, there’s a fair amount within walking distance.” He looked down at my belly and for a minute I thought he was going to put his hand there. “Take care of yourself,” he said. “I don’t think I’ll be more than a couple hours.”
“Good luck,” I told him. “I hope the lawyer can help.”
“He says he thinks he can,” he said. “Even though I’ll have to sell my truck to pay for him.”
“Trucks are overrated,” I said, trying to force a smile. “You can get a Smart Car in Cali, be environmentally friendly.”
“God, a clown car.” He almost smiled back. Then he bent down and brushed his lips against mine. “I’ll be back soon.”
I watched him leave the room and carefully close the door. I sank back onto the bed. Of all the things I expected to happen when we found each other, this hadn’t even entered the equation.
I took time to call my mom and tell her about Chance, and his mother, and the situation with Hannah.
“Oh, baby, I don’t wish that on any family. There’s really no hope?”
“I don’t think so.” I wished I could be sitting at the counter in her house instead of thousands of miles away. Funny, up until a few days ago, she hadn’t been anyone I would have confided in, and now she knew my most secret everythings.
We talked a while longer about what I should be eating and she said she’d make my first appointment for me with her ob-gyn. “He delivered you,” she said. “He’ll love delivering the next round.”
“Mom?” I asked. “If it’s a boy, do you think I should name him Bryan?”
She was quiet for a minute, then said, “I think that’s for you and Chance to work out.”
My phone beeped with a text, probably Corabelle or Tina wanting updates. “I gotta go, Mom. I think I’m still coming home Sunday, but I’ll let you know.”
“Okay, baby girl. Try to eat.”
“I will.”
I hung up and exchanged some easy texts with my friends about Chance. I told Corabelle she could tell Tina about the baby. I didn’t want to do it from a long distance, and I wasn’t sure if Tina would handle it as well as Corabelle. But they both had kids in their lives now, Corabelle with Gavin’s four-year-old son, Manuel, and Tina with Darion’s young sister.
After that, I must have fallen asleep, because my phone buzzing woke me. I glanced at the clock. It had been five hours since Chance left.
Panic sizzled through me. Had something gone wrong? I snatched up my phone to check the message. It was Redmond.
Coming to fetch you. Hannah’s taken a bad turn. Might be time.
I scrambled to put on the maxi dress I’d worn the first day, the only thing that seemed fitting for going back up to the home. I glanced in the mirror. My pink hair was so bright. I picked up the enormous hat, but that seemed disrespectful somehow. Mrs. McKenzie hadn’t seen me last night since I had to wait in the hall, but she was about to get an eyeful of my dreadlocks.
I guessed she’d have to get used to it.
Redmond was waiting out front when I managed to make it downstairs. His face was grim.
I shut the truck door. “What happened?”
“She already had pneumonia, apparently. Her lung collapsed.”
“Is she still at the home?”
“Nope, they moved her to the hospital.”
My heart thumped. This family had been through so much. But then, so had mine.
“Why is life so hard?” I asked.
“Beats the hell out of me,” Redmond said. “But the big guy upstairs ought to cut these people a little bit of slack.”
We sped through town, and I was glad, so relieved, that nothing had happened to the baby the other night. I couldn’t imagine piling that on top of all these other things the McKenzies were going through.
Chapter 50: Chance