“Lucille, with all due respect, I wouldn’t get too excited. Zoey isn’t keen on the idea, and my focus needs to be on my family.”
“I understand,” she tells me in a gentle tone. “We’re here to support your family, okay? After all, these beautiful babies are our grandbabies.”
I welcome the kind words and unconditional support and know that this decision will be heavily based on what Zoey wants. Though now is still not the right time to bring it up again, Dr. Watson, the chief of staff in Australia, needs an answer soon, but today isn’t the day. I need to be with my wife more than ever.
Zoey is a new person when we return two hours later. She got a solid hour of sleep, showered by herself, and is drinking tea while watching some godawful soap opera on the television.
When the night nurse and doctor complete their final rounds for the day they’re optimistic that Zoey can be discharged tomorrow. Her wounds are healing nicely with no signs of infection, her feeding is still touch-and-go, but Zoey has now surrendered to using the bottle in between feedings to help her cracked nipples. The pain is too much to bear, and it isn’t my body. Therefore, I don’t want to enforce anything.
On the morning of day five, I bring in the carriage and baby carriers and help Zoey pack her things.
“I’m so glad to get out of here. Bye, bye, uncomfortable bed.”
“I’m glad not to have to fall asleep on that plastic chair again.” My back’s taken a beating and is in desperate need of some gym time to help restore my posture. “Are you ready?”
“So ready to take our babies home.”
We say goodbye to all the nurses, thank them for their help, and with our babies safely secured in their carriers we walk slowly the corridor toward the elevator. The door pings open, and Chief Arnold is standing inside the elevator.
“Dr. Baldwin.” Chief Arnold extends his hand which I cordially shake, and he immediately diverts his eyes to the babies. “I guess congratulations are in order. You must be the lovely Mrs. Baldwin.”
“Actually, I’m just a stand-in,” Zoey teases with a bemused smile. “His wife is much prettier than me and doesn’t resemble a deflated hippopotamus with the worse fatigue possible.”
Chief Arnold laughs. “I remember it like it was yesterday. Wait until they’re teenagers, then you’re not sleeping for a whole dif
ferent reason.”
I’m grateful to have sons hearing how difficult girls can be in their teenage years.
“So, tell me, have you managed to think much about the proposal?”
Somehow, I knew the second he began speaking this would come up. Struggling to find the right words with a wavering smile, I’m about to tell him no when Zoey begins to speak, “We have…” she states confidently, “… and it would be a waste for our family to pass up this very generous opportunity. I’ll leave the discussion between yourself and my husband but count us in.”
Count us in?
My mouth falls open, followed by a heavy feeling in the pit of my stomach. Chief Arnold expresses his gratitude for accepting the offer and sadness for losing me at the same time, willing we meet tomorrow to discuss with Chief Watson the finer details.
Saying goodbye, he leaves us be in front of the elevators.
“Um… what was that? We h-haven’t even talked about it,” I stutter, confused. “The last time we discussed this, you were angry. Livid, actually.”
“Things change,” she says causally while pressing the button on the wall.
“Stop.” I hold her arm back. “Things don’t just change with you. Why… why the change of heart? Something must have happened.”
“I was angry at you, I’ll admit that,” she sighs, fixating on my facial reaction. “It felt like our lives would center around you, and everything I worked for would take a back seat.”
“But it wouldn’t—”
“Let me finish,” she interrupts. “I know that, now. You’ve always been my number one cheerleader well before we were a couple. No one witnessed how hard it was to get to where I am than you. And… I know you’ll never let me give up on my dreams. We simply need to alter them slightly, so we get the best of both worlds.”
“It’s true,” I tell her, bottling my breath in an attempt to calm the elation building inside me. “I’ll never ask you to give up on your dreams.”
“I’ve been looking for a sign, any sign, to show us that this is the right path for us, and then I found it…”
I wait in anticipation as her deep green eyes begin to dance, and her face brightens with a beaming smile.
“Pineapple. One big, giant pineapple.”