Rouge

13. Scarlet

Donovan

I pulled my son out of the water, and the doctor wrapped him up. They rushed him out into the room. They were yelling, and everyone was praying, and then Mel was passed out, and she wouldn't wake up. My son wasn't crying. "Why isn't he crying? Yo, what isn't he crying?! WHY ISN'T MY SON CRYING?!" Eric grabs me and tells me to relax. "We need to get Mel out of the tub!" He says, and we did. She was shivering so bad and had lost so much blood they had to rush them both to the ER. I cried for hours and still couldn't cry enough. The worst six hours of my life were in that hospital. The doctor finally came to us to give us something. "Can I see my son and my wife?! Are they okay?!" I ask her. "Sir, we are doing all we can for your wife, I promise you." The doctor says. "And Ayden? What about my son Ayden?" I ask, and she gives me the sadest look as tears well up in her eyes. "I'm so sorry, Don, but your son-" she says. "No. Nooo. Please don't-don't say that! Please don't do this to me!" I say, falling to my knees. Eric grabs me and tries to pull me to a chair. The doctor comes to comfort me with everyone. We pray and ask God to have Mel pull through. Nurses started rushing around, "Doctor Lynn, we need you!" Dr. Lynn runs as her life depended on it. A few moments later, I heard blood-curdling screams. I sprinted to the back, and there I saw Dr. Lynn crying over my wife. I was frozen in place as my family tried to pull me away. Her body lay limp as they pulled the sheet over her. My son. My wife. My knees grew weak, and I started to feel sick. I fainted in the hallway, and when I woke up, I was sitting in a room with Mel's brother and cousin. I guess Eric left. "Shit!" I say, rubbing my head. "Whoa, whoa! Don relax, okay? We're going to get a doctor in here." Masynn says calmly. She looks worn out and tired. She hugged me so tight, and that confirmed everything was happening. I went into the room Mel was in, and her dad was saying his goodbyes to her. I walk over to the bassinet and peek in it. There he was, my son, lying peacefully wrapped up in a beautiful blue blanket. I picked him up and hugged him so tight and gave him kisses. I laid him back inside the bassinet, lightly stroking his hair and looking at all of his features. "You have your mother's nose. I love you so much." I whisper. I wiped a few tears from my face and walked over to the bed where Mel was lying. She looked like she was asleep. So still and peaceful. I kiss her forehead, cheeks, nose, and lips. "I love you to the ends of the earth, the both of you. Baby girl, I'm so hurt right now, but I want you to know that I'm going to stay strong for you, I promise!" I said, stroking her hair and giving her small kisses on the face. "The doctor said she had hemorrhaged while she was pushing. Ayden being born was a sign from her body that he had passed on way before and needed to be out. They never caught anything in the ultrasounds because they couldn't see any abnormalities. I'm so sorry, son." Eddie says, hugging me. We sit for a moment, talking out what would be the best decisions after this point. I decided to have them both cremated to spread them out at our favorite lake. I went home that day from the hospital with a headache and a broken heart. I can't tell you how life went after that. Her dad and I arranged the funeral, and then the morning of he passed away from a heart attack. I went a solid year on autopilot, packing up rooms and baby clothes and selling everything. About eight months after Mel and Ayden passed, I moved from New York to California. I decided to start fresh, and for me to start fresh, I needed to get back into a groove. I started writing music and working at a record store, and then after a few months, I was writing for other small-town groups. I started feeling great about it all, and then two years later there was my groove. One day at work, this lady comes in looking for a record. "Welcome to Sammy's! What's your taste?" I ask, walking over to the customer. "I'm in the mood for some old-school r&b." She says, looking through some records. I watch her mindlessly flip through everything and laugh a little. "What's funny?" She asks with her hand on her hip. "Nah nothing at all. You don't look like the old school type, is all." I say with my hands up. She scoffs and walks to another rack. After shuffling through those, she turns my way. "What 'type' do you think I am?" She asks aggressively. "Chill with the hostility, love. I'm just observing." I say, laughing. I pull at my chin hair a bit as I think. "Hmmm. You're old school, yes, but R&B? I don't think that's where your heart is. You strike me as a jazz lover. Blues too but mostly jazz, and if nothing tickled your fancy in those realms, you turn to the Neo soul realm. A bit of Ms. Lauryn Hill and Erykah Badu or even a bit of Maxwell and Raphael Saadiq." I say, pulling out a few records of choice for her. She looked at me like I'd read her most private thoughts. "How did you know?" She asked. "Because you remind me of someone I loved dearly. Kind of look like her too." I say, now staring at this woman purchasing her records. "Megan." She says, handing me a piece of paper. She grabbed her bags and left, and my heart started fluttering. I went through my day texting Megan and closing up shop. When I got home, I checked my mail, and there were still letters coming in from everyone everywhere sending their condolences. I put the cards on the little table with the pictures of my loves and lit the candle. "So, I know this is going to be wild, but I met someone today. Now before you start getting spooky, listen, please. I'm not looking to replace you, either of you. I just want to know what you would like me to do. I love you with everything in me, so I'm not looking for anything, just a friend to pass the time. Is that cool, or should I shut it down?" I ask. I sit for a moment, and then my pen drops to the floor. "Okay. I feel you. Every step of the way, babe, you will know everything." I say. I pray, then snuff the candle out, and head to bed. It has been an exhausting day, and I'm glad I get to sleep. As I'm closing my eyes, I feel a warmth drape over me, and then I smell her perfume. A tear falls onto my pillow, and I play the last song we sang together. "So, this is love? Mmmm. So, this is love?" I sing as I cry myself to sleep, but this time I smile at the memories that gently creep into my mind as I drift off to sleep.