Paradise

Prologue

        A young mother smiled slightly as she watched her two year old daughter play on the playground. Outings to the park were so relaxing for her, and the little girl seemed to love it as well. As the woman leaned back against the bench she was sitting on, she rubbed her stomach, feeling the baby kicking gently. She was seven and a half months pregnant with a boy. She began running through possible names in her head as she watched her first child play.

        Before long, the woman stood up and called out to her daughter. It was time to walk home so she could begin dinner. When they arrived home, the woman pulled out some toys for the little girl, watched her begin playing, and went into the kitchen. Just as she was finishing dinner, she heard the door open. The woman watched her daughter look up in the other room and run as fast as her little legs could carry her to the door, calling out, "Daddy! Daddy!"

        The man walking in the door scooped his young daughter up in his arms and squeezed her. The little girl giggled as the man walked into the kitchen. He kissed his young wife, then leaned over and kissed the baby. He put the little girl down in her seat at the table, then walked back over to his wife. "Hello, beautiful. How was your day?"

        "It was a nice day. We ended up going over to the park for a little while. Avery loved that. It was nice to get out of the house for a little while." She glanced over at her daughter, who was watching her parents and giggling.

        "What do you say we go out tonight? Company family night at Willy's," the man asked.

        The woman smiled and turned to look at her daughter. "Avery, do you want to go out for ice cream tonight?"

        Avery's eyes widened. "Yes Mommy! Ice cream!"

        The woman looked back at her husband. "I guess that settles it."

        A couple hours later, the man drove his car into the parking lot at Willy's Ice Cream Parlor. He jumped out, opened the door for his wife, then unbuckled his daughter from her car seat. He took his wife's hand, and they walked into the parlor. Another man immediately walked over. As the men shook hands, the young husband began to speak. "Celia, this is my business partner, Peter Jacobs. Pete, this is my wife Celia and our daughter Avery."

        "It's a pleasure," Peter greeted, shaking Celia's hand. He glanced down. "Ah yes, Dan here told me about this little one in the oven. A boy, right? Do you know the name yet?"

        Celia grinned. "Yes, it is. We're still deciding on the name." As they walked away to get the treat, Celia turned to Dan and said quietly, "He seems nice."

        Dan smiled. "He's a good business partner. He works very hard." They got the ice cream in silence. As they sat down, Dan continued speaking. "What do you think of the name Caleb?"

        "Caleb. I like it. Nice strong name. I was thinking too of the name Joseph, after your grandfather."

        "Caleb Joseph Parkinson. I like it." He turned to Avery, whose face was covered in melted ice cream. "And what do you think, Avery? A name for your brother."

        Avery looked up. "Ice cream." Celia chuckled as she leaned over to clean her daughter's face.

        After an hour, they walked back to the car quietly. Dan held Avery in his arms, sleeping against his shoulder. He put her gently in her seat, buckled her in, then got into the car himself. He held his wife's hand as they drove home. Celia glanced back at her daughter, who was still sleeping, and smiled. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes, exhausted from the long yet happy day. She exhaled deeply, and her husband squeezed her hand. Celia was happy.

        A honk of a horn. A crunch of metal. A shattering of glass. Celia opened her eyes and found herself in a hospital bed, a bright light over her head. She looked around, but her family was not in the room with her. She was surrounded by doctors and nurses, monitors, lights, noise. She tried to sit up, and a nurse immediately hurried over and held her down. "You're not ready to sit up yet. Stay down, you'll be more comfortable."

        Celia turned to the nurse. "What happened? Where is my family?"

        A doctor came over and sat beside her. "You were in a terrible car accident. Your car was hit by a drunk driver. Your husband is in surgery right now. Your daughter is okay, but we are keeping her overnight just to keep an eye oh her. The whip lash isn't good for a two year old, and we want to make sure there is no damage. We had to do an emergency C section if we wanted any chance of saving the baby. He is in the neonatal intensive care unit. We are doing everything we can to save him." That was when Celia noticed that the baby bump was gone. The doctor continued, "I suggest you get some rest. It will do you good. We are doing the best we can." Celia nodded, assured that she was in good hands, and lowered her head down to drift off to sleep.

        The next morning, she was awakened by a small voice. "Mommy why are you sleeping?" Celia opened her eyes and saw Avery kneeling down in a chair next to her hospital bed. "Mommy are you awake now?"

        "Hi, sweetheart." Celia smiled at her daughter, but she was in intense pain and wasn't even strong enough to sit up. A nurse came into the room to check Celia's vitals, then without a word smiled, picked up Avery, and set her down on her mother's bed. "Did you sleep good baby?"

        "Mommy my neck hurts." Avery laid down next to her mother and snuggled into her.

        Celia's eyes filled with tears, knowing that this was the last time she would hold her daughter. She turned to the nurse. "Where's Daniel?"

        The nurse lowered her eyes and shook her head slowly. "I'm so sorry. He didn't make it through the surgery. We did everything we could." She paused. "If you want though, we could wheel you in to see your son. He's still holding on."

        Celia nodded. "That would be great. Can Avery ride in my lap?"

        The nurse smiled slightly. "Of course. Let me just go get a wheelchair." She left the room and returned quickly with a chair. She helped Celia and Avery into it and wheeled them to the NICU. Celia smiled once she saw her baby. He was hooked up to so many machines, but he was awake and looking around.

        Celia put one hand on the incubator, and Avery jumped up and pressed her face into it. "Mommy is that my baby?"

        Celia chuckled. "Yes, it is sweetheart. This is your brother, Caleb."

        Avery waved through the glass. "Hi baby Caleb. You are my baby."

        Celia wept as she watched her children stare at each other. She leaned back in her chair, just watching. She looked up at the ceiling, thanked the Lord for her children, and exhaled her last breath. The nurse had tears in her eyes watching. She took Avery in her arms and carried her back in her room, then went back to get Celia's lifeless body. As she entered the NICU, she heard monitors going off. She reached Celia and Caleb, and watched as another nurse turned off the monitors that Caleb was hooked up to, the lifeless baby still inside the incubator. Both nurses looked at each other, tears streaming down their faces. They nodded, going about their duties and trying not to feel so upset.

        An hour later, the nurse walked back into Avery's room to check on her. Avery looked up from her toys, recognized the nurse, and asked, "Can I go see my baby?"