#Chapter 2: Hello, Hanesburg

Tara’s POV

Thousands of questions flooded my mind, each one centered around Kade. I wanted to ask Bella more, but the doctor was walking back down the corridor.  

“Sorry to interrupt you Bella, but I’m actually at the hospital.” I could hear the exhaustion in my own voice. “I have to go; can we talk again later?”

“My word, Tara.” Muttered Bella. “Honey, do what you need to do and call me whenever.”

Bella could be a whirlwind of buzzing excitement, but she knew when to take a situation seriously. I quickly hung up the phone. The doctor gave me a meek smile.

“How is Abby?” I asked while nervously fiddling with my phone.

The doctor spoke calmly, “I want to assure you, Mrs. Winters, that Abby’s vitals are currently stable and she is resting. Now, there was a brief scare, she momentarily stopped breathing— “

I muttered, “Oh, lord.”

“—but her breathing quickly resumed after administered CPR. Her fever and heart palpitations have subsided to a stable level, and the nurses have done everything to make her comfortable. I know you have a lot weighing on your mind, but I want to remind you about taking Abby to Hanesburg. We are simply not equipped to provide the care your daughter needs.”

I rubbed my face and asked, “When can I take Abby?”

“The other physician might recommend staying a few more days for observation,” the man warned, “but I say, the sooner the better.”

I was finally allowed into Abby’s room. The small girl was dwarfed by the hospital bed. One of the nurses had brought in a pink blanket covered in gold stars.

I dragged a chair next to the bed and pushed back the hair covering her face. Abby was a mini clone of Kade, from the messy hair that fought against headbands and hair ties, to the way her face pinched in a familiar pout.

Bella had brought back a deeply buried memory. I could feel the hand rubbing warm circles onto my stomach and the brush of a stupidly, handsome face between my neck and shoulder.   

“I hope she has your eyes.” The man had whispered.

“How do you know our baby will be a she?” I giggled, his lips ticklish against my skin.

“Mm.” He hummed. “Intuition.”

Phantom laughter haunted the room. I pressed my hand against my burning eyes. After all that talk of a future, building a family, and spending the rest of our lives trusting one another, he had thrown it away.

The worst part was not knowing why. What had I done wrong? What had my baby done wrong? Kade was allowed to fall out of love with me, but my daughter deserved a father.

Holidays and school events were the worst. His absence was painfully obvious when Abby gazed greedily at the other children receiving gifts and praise from their fathers. My constant affection could not wash clean the lack of father in her life.

“Mommy…”

My thoughts broke and I whispered back, “Abby, how are you feeling, baby?”

“Much better.” Abby yawned. “Are we going home soon?”

“I’m not sure yet, sweetheart.”

Abby whined, “But hospitals smell funny.”

Laughter bubbled from my chest. I wiped my sleeve across my teary face.

Although my motherly instinct wanted to keep her here for further observation, one doctor insisted that the hospital could not help.

I believed him with the massive pile of hospital bills draining my savings. The various tests, multiple examinations, and lengthy bloods panels led to no answers.

Leaving the hospital was an excruciating process, and the doctors and nurses clearly disagreed with my decision, but my daughter had convinced them with her cheerful spirit.

She skipped through the hallway like she had never been sick in the first place, greeting everyone with a bright smile.

Returning to our small apartment was immensely comforting. Abby was right, hospitals did smell funny. We spent the night playing board games and drinking hot chocolate.

Abby obediently took her new medication, a prescription meant to control her rising fever. I snuggled into her bed and read my daughter a book about a mighty warrior searching for his lost love.

The buzzing of my phone demanded attention, but interrupting bedtime stories was a sin graver than murder. I let the phone ring but glanced at the screen. The incoming voicemail made the message clear.

I was fired. Although expected, it was still upsetting. I wanted to explain Abby’s declining health and my desperate need for that job, but my supervisor would not care. Ex-supervisor.   

“What is it?” Abby asked with hopeful eyes.

I pressed a kiss to her forehead and answered, “Nothing to worry about, baby, let’s finish your story.”

The warrior reached a crossroads around the time she fell asleep. I flipped the switch on her unicorn lamp and snuck out of the bed, pausing a moment to watch her from the doorway.

Her face was pressed against the furry side of her favorite stuffed animal with a bit of drool leaving her open mouth.

I looked away from the peaceful image and at my phone. My finger pressed the desired caller.

“I’m so glad you called me back honey,” Bella spoke. “I had just about made up my mind to drive down there and find you myself. Now, what was that about needing a favor?”

“Abby, my daughter, she, um.” I choked, fighting back another wave of tears. “Abby’s really sick Bella. She might have inherited some rare, genetic condition, and one of the doctors suggested a hospital in Hanesburg. I was wondering if me and Abby could come stay with you. Nothing permanent, just for a few days.”

“Tara, you are always welcome to stay with me.” Bella declared.

“Are you sure?” I asked. “I don’t want to be any trouble.”

She giggled, “Don’t sweat it. It’ll be just like old times, at least until you find a new, better place and leave poor old me behind.”

“Thank you, thank you so much.”

The rest of our conversation hashed out moving plans. I hung up the phone feeling more confident, but there was one nagging problem. Kade.

I shook my head. Hanesburg was a massive city, there was no way we would run into each other. Even if we did, Kade would not recognize me. People changed a lot over six years.

I focused on my growing hope. The school was already preparing the transfer documents, so Abby’s absence from class would not be a problem. There was no job keeping me here and the apartment lease was almost finished.

Maybe this was a blessing in disguise. Abby and I could leave behind the pain of our past. Hello Hanesburg, here we come.