The Problem with Dreams

Chapter 77 - Recovery

Greg pulled into his driveway at home just as the Abernathys were leaving. The two cars stopped as they passed one another, and Greg rolled down his window.

"Where are you going?" he wondered aloud.

"To the hospital," Mr. Abernathy told him. "Mildred can't wait to see the baby."

"Ask the nurse. They may let you see her through the window. Try not to disturb Susan though. She's exhausted and was just drifting off when I left. I'm hoping they'll let her sleep until noon, at least," Greg said.

Mr. Abernathy glanced at the clock in his car. "That's only two hours. That's not much time to sleep. Has she slept at all since she had the baby?"

"We both slept about four or five hours last night," Greg said. He didn't have the heart to tell his father-in-law that Susan had probably been unconscious some of that time.

"Mildred, maybe we should wait to go," Mr. Abernathy suggested as he turned to the passenger sitting beside him in the car. "You know Susan won't sleep if we're there."

"Non-sense, Dick. We can go see the baby without disturbing Susan at all. If she's still asleep by the time we get to her room, we'll go have lunch in the cafeteria," Mrs. Abernathy said firmly.

Mr. Abernathy shrugged. "You can see how it is."

"I understand," Greg assured him. "My ex-wife was like that when Aaron and Jake were born. I expect to be back around two, in time to help Susan with her next feeding."

"I'm sure we'll still be there," Mr. Abernathy said. "The changing of the guard, eh?"

Greg nodded, smiled and waved, rolling up his window once again. The other car proceeded on its way as he went to park in the garage.

As he expected, the house was absolutely silent when he went in. Greg stripped down, stepped gratefully into his own shower and let the steamy water run over him. He scrubbed down, doing his best to wash the cares from the past few days away as the water flowed down the drain. And as he stood there naked he prayed, thanking God for the gift of their daughter and the safety of his wife. No matter what happened on the next few days, Greg knew he had a lot to be thankful for on this day.

Eventually he shut the water off, toweled dry and fell into bed, determined to sleep for the next few hours at least.

c

It was approaching ten when Greg lay down. He hoped to sleep for several hours, but he was awakened by his stomach rumbling at half past noon. It wasn't until then he remembered he'd forgotten to eat. He'd fully intended to sometime after Susan had her breakfast, but somehow had never gotten around to it. Now, his stomach informed him, it was time.

Greg pulled himself from his bed with a sigh. It had been wonderful just to lie down at home. It always amazed him how much he could miss his own bed, and he reflected as he dressed that sometimes it was simple pleasures like this that kept him going.

Padding down to the kitchen, Greg rummaged in the refrigerator and found enough leftovers to make himself a chicken sandwich. It was gone before he knew it, followed by a tall glass of iced tea and a bag of Doritos. Normally he didn't like to eat alone, but he hardly noticed it on this day. His mind was too full of the events of the past twenty-four hours and Greg found himself reflecting on the experience of being present for his daughter's birth. It wasn't like he'd thought it would be. It had felt absolutely engaging and normal, as if that was how life was supposed to begin when he'd had a hand in bringing it into being. It was both sobering and uplifting to acknowledge that, causing him silently to praise the Lord for the way it turned out. Melody's birth was behind them. Susan was recovering. Soon she would be strong enough to once again face whatever the Lord had in store for them, together.