No Regrets

Chapter Ten - Dirty Looks

DOMINICK'S POV

   Mollie stopped crying a few minutes ago. I started calming down, but my smarty-pants little sister pointed out how that could be a sign of serious brain damage. Her exact words were, "Mollie could have blood filling her skull which could kill her." Dad confiscated my car keys weeks ago; which meant I had to call 911. While we waited for the ambulance, Katie made sure Mollie was staying active and kept breathing.

  The operator made me stay on the line and asked many questions. I was actually asked the same question more than once; because I kept on avoiding the question. "The baby simply fell off the bed, sir?" The operator repeatedly asked.

"When will the ambulance be here?" I would ask trying to change be focus.

  An annoyed sigh would come from the operator's end of the line. Around five minutes after called, I finally heard the ambulance arrive. I was allowed to hang up on the operator and I talked to the paramedics. They gently carried Mollie to the back of the ambulance. Katie agreed to stay home and catch a ride with Mom or Dad to the hospital, if necessary.

   I climbed in the back of the ambulance. One of the paramedics stayed in the back with me. He did a quick look over at Mollie's head. He got a flashlight and shined the light in Mollie's eyes. "Good response." He said to no in particular. He checked a few other things before he started writing things down on a chart.

  I am staying with Mollie, right by her side, holding on to her small hand. I checked my cellphone while holding Mollie's small hand. "I can't imagine this is much fun." I say to her. She doesn't respond. "Bad time to do a roll." I whisper to her.

  The ambulance pulls into the reserved area for ambulances. Mollie is quickly brought into the ER and taken into a room. Mollie is gently moved over from the gunnery to the bed in the room. The paramedic who checked on her in the ambulance pulls the railing on the up. Once everything is properly set up to a nurse's approval, the paramedics The nurse checks Mollie. The nurse looks to be in her thirties and is very calm, her face is neutral. She must have years of nursing experience under her belt. There's a tired look in her eyes. She takes Mollie's vitals and writes them down on the chart from the ambulance. She then looks over at me. "Tell me in your own words what happened, sir." She says professionally.

   I take a deep breath before explaining that I laid Mollie down on my bed. I leave out I was looking for a stuffed toy under the bed and instead claim I was going to change her diaper. "I turned around to grab a diaper and the wipes from the changing table, which was maybe a foot or two behind me. When I turned back she was rolling off the bed."

"Did she hit her head?" the nurse asks.

"I can't be sure." I admit.

  The nurse doesn't seem to like this answer. "What happened after she fell? Was there blood? Did she cry immediately?" the nurse asks.

"No blood... umm.. she did cry but it was a few seconds after the fall.." I say trying to recall all helpful details. "Is she going to be okay?" I ask. "She's not messed up for life, is she?"

   The nurse explains to me that there's no way of knowing until the doctor looks at Mollie and certain tests are run. After gathering all the information needed, the nurse leaves the room to see other patients. I pull out one of Mollie's baby toys so she can play with it.

"I told you I wouldn't be any good this." I say to her. I hold a stuffed duck on a little fabric-rope in front of her. She does a little coo and start moving her arms around.

  If I were to be graded on being a parent, I'd get the same grade I get in school. A big D-. Only reason I've escaped getting an F on parenting is because I haven't forgotten to feed her. My parents and Katie would never let me forget. They know Mollie's schedule better than I do, I'm not really around her too much.