When the bough breaks

Three

By the time I've come too, I'm lying in the bed again, still wearing Zander's hoodie over my hospital gown. The sun is peeking out over the blinds on the windows, and I see a tray with my breakfast beside me.

I smile to myself, until I remember the events from last night. I frown. Michael came to visit me, with a bouquet of flowers. I look over and see the roses on the table. We had a small conversation, and then he ended up admitting that he was in love with me. I don't remember anything after that.

But he's still with Miranda, I think. I haven't talked to him nor her since the wedding. Last I heard, Miranda was in New York, visiting family because her grandfather had just died.

But that was months ago. Michael had been in New Mexico, because his job at the New York Publishing Company wanted pictures for a newspaper article.

There's a knock at the door, and before I can respond, it opens. Venus comes in, wearing bright pink scrubs and a big pearly-white smile on her face.

"Hello, Erica. You're up early," she says, but nonetheless brings in my wheelchair. I smile at her and dangle my legs on the side of the bed.

"What time is it?" I ask.

"Nine-forty seven. Chemo isn't until ten. Then after Chemo, we'll be doing the blood testing for the gender of the baby. After, there's a movie night in the hospital theatre that we'll be attending." Venus says, helping me into the wheelchair.

"Where are we going now?" I ask. Venus doesn't answer, instead she just smiles and wheels me out to the hallway and into the elevator.

We hear the ding of the elevator signaling that we've reached the designated floor. It's a long hallway, with all the lights turned out.

"Venus?" I ask for her, but the wheelchair keeps rolling.

After about five minutes of moving, we come to a stop. As my eyes are now adjusted to the dark, I see a door in front of us being opened.

"Hey, beautiful." I hear Zander whispering into my ear. The lights turn on and I see Zander standing there, wearing a tux and holding a dress.

"Venus? Will you do the honors?" he says, and hands Venus the dress. Venus rolls me to the nearest bathroom on the floor and helps me change into the red dress, the same dress I wore to the party a couple years back, when Zander and I first met.

After I'm changed, she rolls me back into the room, where I see a table in the middle of the room and plates of food on it.

Zander picks me up bridal style and sits me down in the chair opposite him.

Venus walks away and goes outside.

"What is all this?" I ask, and Zander gives me his signature smirk, the one I fell in love with.

"Just something I felt like you needed. I'm escorting you to Chemo and then down to the lab, where they'll take your blood." he says, giving me a small smile but stops smiling when he sees me crying.

The cries become stiffened, and they stain my face.

"This utterly and completely sucks. It's not fair." I murmur.

Zander pulls me close to him, kissing my temple, and forces me to eat by saying, "You need to eat. Don't starve yourself to death."

I let out a light chuckle and jokingly say, "It wouldn't help any. I'm dying already," but I see Zander's jaw clench and his eyes become dark.

Then he says, in a low voice, "Don't ever say that again. Now eat." I sigh and take a small bite of the chicken salad on the plate in front of me. It's good.

After we eat, Zander rolls me down to Chemo, holding my hand as the nurse inserts the sharp IV that delivers the drug into my body, killing the deadly cells one by one.

The smell becomes so strong that I vomit, barely making it in the pink cup I was given. After about an hour of this, the sharp needle is taken out and Zander helps me back into the wheelchair and into the elevator.

One minute later, we arrive at the lab. "You'll stay with me?" I ask Zander, who has turned green from the glass-canned blood in the lab window.

He nods his head as a nurse comes out, followed by Doctor Patel. "Hello, are you Erica Madison?" the nurse asks, her frizzy brown hair falling over her eyes.

"Yes." I answer, and Zander's grip on my hand tightens. The nurse escorts us back into a baby blue room and helps me into the chair.

I don't say anything as she pulls the blue band over my arm and jabs the needle into my arm. I wince and she murmurs an apology, taking the silver canister of blood over to the lab where it will be tested.

After fifteen minutes of silence, she comes back with a piece of paper.

"Okay, I have news," she says.

"What is it?" I hear Zander ask as I'm too scared to know.

"It's positive." she says, and I can hear the screams of protest roar from Zander as I sink into the chair, overwhelmed by sobs.

My son or daughter has Down syndrome.

A boy, according to Zander.

After the news was shared, Zander carried me down the stairs to his truck. He turned the engine over, violently turning out of the hospital parking lot, clearly angry.

He stops at The Blue to get food. He gets hungry when he's angry. I let him devour his three burgers and his vanilla milkshake before speaking.

"It's not your fault." I say, and wipe the mustard off his lip.

"You say that but you know good and well that my uncle had it, and he didn't live long," he says, raising his voice.

I put the burger wrappers and the empty cup in the bag. "We can get through this." I say.

"I don't want to get through it! I wanted our baby to be perfect," he says, lowering his voice and wiping the tears that are falling out of his eyes.

I hug him and reassure him that everything will be okay.

"The doctor gave me this. Said that it'll reveal the gender." He says, and hands me the white envelope.

I carefully start to open it and Zander stops me.

"Wait. Isn't it supposed to be a surprise?" He asks. 

"For our family and friends. We can know." I say and take out the slip of paper.

I tear up when I read what it says, and Zander whoops and hollers.

A baby boy.