A New Pair of Wings

Part 9

Nee-naaw! Nee-naaw!

The sound of the ambulance in the distance becomes louder and louder as it approaches the house. There, in the garden, stands a panicking Carson, a worried Belle, and Hailey, who isn't standing, but rather she is in a prone position on the floor.

Every thing seems to be happening really fast. The paramedics carry Hailey and place her on to the stretcher. Then they load her into the back of the ambulance.

"What's you relationship with her?" One of the paramedics ask Carson and Belle.

"Husband," Carson responds with a dead, monotone voice.

"Friend," Belle replies, with a little more expression.

"Come on in," the paramedic says, moving out of the way so that they can get into the ambulance. Carson drags his feet in, while Belle hurriedly walks inside.

As they both get into the ambulance, the paramedic closes the door, and they are whisked away. Carson bends over Hailey, his eyes almost dripping with tears. Belle looks at him with worry.

"No. Hailey, please don't." Carson mumbles, "You know I love you. Please don't give up on me."

  Belle exhales and wonders if she should tell Carson about Hailey's condition. He needs to know, Belle thinks, But at the same time, I think Hailey should tell him herself.

  Belle decides to resist the urge to tell him. She remains awfully quiet as she stares at Carson, grieving over his wife.

  After what seemed like forever to Belle, the ambulance pulls up at the hospital. They open the back of the ambulance and pull Hailey out. Then they rush her inside with Belle and Carson following behind.

Belle and Carson sit in the waiting room. Or rather, Belle is sitting in the waiting room. Carson, instead of sitting, is walking around, pacing back and forth with his hand running through his hair, his face scrunched up with panic. Belle looks at him with worry and wonders if she should talk to him.

Maybe he just needs a little time to himself, she thinks.

Carson keeps rolling up his sleeves and glancing at his watch. It's been two hours already, he thinks.

Suddenly, a nurse emerges into the room and says, "Mr. Baker."

  Carson looks up upon hearing his name. "Is she okay?" He asks the nurse.

  The nurse sighs. "She's gained conciousness...we have some bad news for you, though."

  "What is it?" Carson asks, his eyes widening.

  "She...doesn't have much left to live." The news dropped on him like a bombshell.

  "What?!" Carson says, grabbing the nurse, "Since when?"

  "Sir, I need you to calm down," the nurse says firmly while pulling away from his grip.

  "How can I stay calm when my wife is gonna leave me? Tell me!" He yells. Belle quickly stands up and places a firm yet reassuring hand on his shoulder.

  "Carson, please," Belle says in a reassuring tone, "How about this; we'll go talk to her about it and see if she has anything to say about it."

  Carson heaves out a sigh. "Fine," he mutter, "I'm sorry for how I behaved."

  The nurse then ushers them into the room that Hailey is in.

  "Hailey!" Carson exclaims, seeing his beautiful wife lying on the hospital bed. He quickly rushes to her side and grabs hold of her hands.

  "Oh, Carson," Hailey says, holding his hands, "I'm so sorry."

  "It's not your fault," he says, hugging her.

  "But it is," she says, looking into his eyes, "There's something...I wish I had explained to you earlier, but I didn't because of reasons."

  Carson raises an eyebrow. "What is it?" He asks.

  Hailey looks at Belle, who had been standing in the doorway. "Mind if you let us talk alone?" She asks Belle. Belle shakes her head, then walks out of the room and closes the door.

As Belle waits outside, Carson and Hailey begin a rather serious and emotional chat inside.

"Carson," Hailey begins, "I...have been having a disease for the past five years now." Carson gulps as he listens.

"I was in my junior year of university back then. I was enjoying a nice day out with my friends when I passed out. I was then sent to the local hospital to be taken care of. I was out for a day before I gained conciousness. My mother was there with me. The results came out, and..."

  Carson inhales and finishes her sentence for her. "You didn't have much left to live."

  Hailey slowly nods her head, then she inhales a breath and continues talking. "I was really sad to hear the news at first, but soon after that, I realised that I didn't have to let my illness hold me back for the short period I had left to live. I could make use of my time and explore the world. Look at me now. I've done so much that I don't regret a single thing."

  "What about our relationship?" Carson asks.

  "I guess I wasn't really thinking through when I first met you. I felt really excited about starting a relationship with you, so I went ahead with it. I only realised much later how my illness would affect you."

  Hailey looks at her lap. "So, I started trying to think of ways to tell you that I'm sick and might leave at any time. I tried to come up with ways that would hurt you the least. But no matter what I thought of, I couldn't think of anything." She looks at him sincerely. "I'm sorry."

  Carson sighs. "I get it," he says, "The truth hurts no matter what, doesn't it?"

  Hailey nods her head. "Yeah," she responds, "I hope you don't hate me after what I jus told you."

  Carson shakes his head. "No. I could never hate you for that. It's not your fault things turned out like this."

  "But if I hadn't been such a coward, I could've at least told you earlier so that you can prepare yourself."

  "Nah, it's fine. I just need to man up a little more," Carson says, looking at his shoes.

  "If you say so," Hailey says.

  "But now, what will I do without you?" Carson looks at Hailey, his eyes full of remorse.

  "Don't think too much about me," Hailey tells him, "Go find hapiness elsewhere."

  "But how?"

  "I know you love me with all your heart, Carson. And I certainly love you too. But you gotta realise that your life doesn't revolve around me, and I can't stay with you forever. Hapiness comes from within yourself. You just need to find it."

  "Where do I even start?" He asks.

  "Maybe as a start, try looking for another girl. You know, someone who might be interested in you." Hailey smiles upon saying this.

  "But who would like me?" Carson stares straight into her face.

  "Oh, you never know," Hailey says, winking at him.

  Carson chuckles at her. "You're probably thinking of someone right now."

  Hailey looks at him. "Maybe," she says.

  "Anyways, you should head out now. Belle's probably been waiting long enough, don't you think?"

  Carson nods his head. "Yeah, I should get going," he says. He gets up from his seat and turns to the door. But before he opens it, he turns around and says, "Bye."

  "Don't be too sad," Hailey says with a smile, "I'm not going too soon. You can come see me again."

  Carson smiles at her and nods his head. Then he walks out the door and into the waiting room.