Ethan- An Open Heart Story

Chapter 15- Turn

"Alma? Is everything alright?" I asked.

"Hmm..sort of. I know its terrible timing but this question was just...stuck in my head." She replied, her voice over a baby's wailing. Baby Ethan. I was inside the hospital lot but didn't enter into the atrium and instead took a detour from the back so that I would be able to talk with Alma before duties called. I shot a worried glance behind me even though I couldn't see Charlotte.

I hoped she was alright. She wasn't...but just for...now.

And then what? You will protect her too? Sure, you are greatly aware of how that goes round.

Shut up, "Sure. I told you, my line will always be open for you. After all Dolores...." I swallowed, "She was my best friend."

She sniffed, "I know. I was wondering...if her first pregnancy has anything to do with her..." she trailed off, unable to say the word 'death'. I knew how bad it was for her, watching her younger sister passing away before her eyes. The sister who was full of such life and happiness, always making sure those around her forever remained merry.

Alma's question made sense. There were an incident with Dolores, three years ago. Both of us tried to never talk about it but eventually...it was going to be asked about.

Three years ago, when I brought her into the new apartment, she was pregnant. For the first time. Her then boyfriend had left her. Alone. And just like that, the next one also did. It was hard for me to accept that both the times these two men managed to knock her up and then whisked themselves away from the responsibility. Cruel fate did danced in the tunes of misery.

Strong as Dolores was, her heart after her second break up remained stilled for herself and she vowed to me, looking outside her window that now she would care for her boy.

But...the first pregnancy resulted in a miscarriage when she was reaching the end of her first trimester. I remembered that time when she was brought in to the hospital. Not Edenbrook but another...and how late I was.

Three Years Ago

She was sleeping in the bed, her cheeks still full and radiant as if nothing happened. Her hands were crossed across her belly, still trying to protect the life which was no longer inside. She had no one except me. And I wasn't there for her when it happened. I knew I couldn't be there always around for her but still it dejected me still.

The doctors at Mass Kenmore informed me about the miscarriage and I took leave from Edenbrook to come here. I sped past the traffic and ignored the speeding ticket in my pocket. My eyes were keenly on Dolores who wasn't moving at all. In the sheen of her radiance...the deathly paleness was unmistaken.

She was found by her neighbour who by chance had come to check on her. Dolores was drenched in a pool of blood, of her own. The paramedics who brought her in confirmed that she had slipped in her house with reasons yet to be determined. And when her calls were checked, an unknown number was found. I had a sick suspicion of who was it.

For now...I comforted her with as much as I could provide. Early days it was really difficult for me to comprehend about a sorrowful case. Naveen did try to spoon feed me about weaving out through such cases without feeling like your heart was made malleable but it wasn't that damn easy! 

And then...it became simpler. As I hardened myself into this world, the trick used here was to steel away the emotions.

But Dolores? She was my best friend. My goddamn only friend here who called me every three days to check if I was on verge. She was the one I called when I needed to do something for Harper. And she was the one who once again brought me back here too after I had left Boston following completion of my residency.