• l o r r e l i • wrote:
marie ( f ) ----------------------------------------------- darin ( m )
| Sometimes love can be found in the most unexpected places... |
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I watched her from acorss the cool, sterile hallway. Her eyes were filled with sorrow, and her mouth was fixed in permenant grimace. Someone was standing next to her, softly stroking her long silver hair and whispering reassuring words. I inched closer, holding my clipboard to my chest as I began to walk towards her. I realized that the two were standing in front of the window that overlooked the nursery. I pretended to be looking at the small babies in bassinets as I eavesdropped on their conversation. "It's a beatiful baby." the woman on her right whispered softly. "She has her father's eyes." the woman said again. She refused to say anything to the woman, who I supposed was her mother. The woman sighed softly and patted her shoulder once more. "Dear, you should really be getting some rest." she said. She just shook her head and continued to gaze into the window. The woman simply shook her head and gazed worriedly at her daughter. "If you need me, I'll be in your room. You have some visitors." The woman began to inch away, her eyes on her daughter until she disapeared around the corner. She remained still and unmoving, her eyes on a small baby wrapped in a pink blanket. My head was swimming with questions. Who was she? Where was the father? What had happened to him?
-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
I watched my baby sleep soundly, her tiny chest rising and falling as she breathed. I heard my mother distantly speaking about her, but I wasn't paying attention. All my effort went into watching my baby. I could feel my mother stroking my hair and patting my shoulder, but I barely registered the reassuring gestures. My head was blank except for thoughts of her. My little hope. My mother left me alone then. I could tell she worried - I hadn't said much since the birth. But, she was right. My baby was beautiful, and she did have her father's eyes...those beautiful blue eyes..."Which one is yours?" I heard someone ask. I turned to see a man standing next to me. A man in scrubs and a clipboard. A doctor..."That's her." I said in a hoarse voice, pointing to her. She turned softly in her sleep. The man smiled softly at me. "She looks like you." he said. I averted my eyes quickly. Honestly, she looked much more like her father...the soft blue eyes. "What's her name?" he asked. "I haven't named her yet..." I admitted. He nodded lightly. "Do you have any ideas?" he asked, prompting me. Of course, I had many ideas. But...without Ryan here...which name to choose? He was supposed to help me name it, since I was so indesicive. And now..."Well, I liked a few names. Um...Elena, Sophie. Or maybe Hope. I also liked Kylie. Payton was a cute one too." I began. But...lately I've been thinking of the name Ryanne..." I said. Ryanne...just a slight variation of her father's name. The doctor smiled. "Ryanne. I think you should name her Ryanne." he said. I smiled back, the first smile I had smiled for months. "I think I will name her Ryanne." I said quietly, smiling at him, and then smiling down at my baby. I looked back up at the doctor, positvely beaming. He looked back with a reassuring grin. "She is a beautiful baby, Miss. But I think it's time you got some rest." he told me. I was taken aback, the smiled wiped from my face. I couldn't leave my Ryanne...I had only known her for three hours. I couldn't leave her. Not even to sleep. The doctor had seen my face, so he quickly said, "Don't worry, miss. Your baby will be fine." he said kindly. I still wasn't reassured. "But...what if she cries? What if she needs something?" I asked worriedly. The doctor looked around, probably searching for an answer. "I'll watch her tonight." He said. "All night?" I asked, wanting to be reassured. "Yes, all night. And I will come and get you if she needs anything." I was hesitant in agreeing, but my eyes felt heavy and my body ached from lack of sleep, so I finally nodded. Before retreating to my hospital room, I looked back at the doctor. He was opening the door to enter the nursery. "Wait!" I called. He turned to look at me with an eyebrow raised. "What is your name?" I asked. "I'm Darin. And you are?" he replied. "Marie." I said back. He nodded lightly with a smile before disapearing behind the nursery door. Before leaving the window, I glanced longingly at baby Ryanne one more time as her tiny mouth opened to yawn.
-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
As I closed the door to the nursery, I glanced over at tiny Ryanne. Her eyes were closed, and she was sleeping soundly. I pulled up a chair to her bassinette and sat, simply watching her. There were some things that were the same as her mother - like the coloring. I wondered curiously if the baby had the same rosy eyes as her mother did. I grinned softly as I thought of those eyes. Those eyes that looked like they had once twinkled. But now, they were dull, as if all the light had left them. As I sat there watching Ryanne, I puzzled and puzzled, trying to think of a reason why Marie's eyes no longer shined. What had happened to her? I guessed that something had possibly happened with her husband, or fiance, or maybe boyfriend. Maybe he found out she was having the baby, and took off. Maybe he had been cheating, and they divorced or broke up. Maybe he had died, been in the army or had cancer. Whatever the reason, I could guess that the father was out of the picture. But why, was my only question. If he had left willingly, then there must've been something wrong with him. I couldn't imagine why any man in his right mind would leave someone as beautiful as Marie. But, then again, maybe he had left unwillingly...just then, Ryanne gave a soft yawn and blinked her eyes open. I stared at her, and she stared back with cool, icy blue eyes. Not the rose petal eyes I imagined. A tiny smile appeared on her lips before the eyes closed again and she was back to snoozing. Who was the father of this child?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| end part one |
marie ( f ) ----------------------------------------------- darin ( m )
| Sometimes love can be found in the most unexpected places... |
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
He left me, two months before the baby was born. Now, I know what you must be thinking - trickery, disloyalty, dishonesty, adultry. Cheating. But, you're wrong. Did you ever think of death? Now, you must be thinking cancer. Army. Tragic plane crash. Heart failure. No, my fiance wasn't sick, or a soldier. He was ordinary and healthy. Ryan was the light of my life - we met when we were both young and foolish, and immediatly clicked. After three years, I was expecting. He proposed. Everything was set and ready. On the night of the rehearsal dinner, my mother offered to drive me. Ryan was going to be late, coming from work. And, on the way to our rehearsal dinner...Ryan got into a car accident. He died within minutes after the crash. They weren't even able to get him to the hospital. He was simply...gone. The funeral was a week after the wedding date. I sat in the very back of the church, away from any sympathy as people dressed in black wept profusely for the love of my life. I didn't have time to cry, though. I had another life to worry about - a child that I would bear that would grow up never knowing his or her father.
This is what I was thinking of as I lied away in my hosptial room that morning. I was thinking of what I was going to do. What I was going to say...when my child asked me about her father. Would I lie? Or would I tell her the truth? I sat up in the white sheets, looking around the empy, sterile room. My mother had left late last night, as had everyone else. I was left alone. Me and my baby. I slipped out of my bed and began to tip-toe through the silent corridors, on my way to the nursery. Finally, I reached the window. My eyes were immediatly glued to Ryanne, who was now awake. She was almost smiling. And then...in a chair next to her...was Darin. His eyes were closed, and his head was drooping onto his shoulder. My heart sank - I had deprived him of a whole night of sleep. I creaked open the door to the nursery and softly stepped inside. All was quiet, most babies were sleeping. I crept over to Ryanne's bassinette, where she was patiently awaiting me. "Hi baby." I cooed softly. Ryanne held up her tiny arms and made a delighted squealing noise. I jumped, looking frantically over at the snoozing doctor. "No...No Ryanne. Shhh." I whispered. But, Darin had already jerked awake. He looked around, dazed, until he saw me. A smile spread across his face. I frowned. "You really didn't have to stay all night." I scolded, picking up Ryanne out of the bassinette and cuddling her close. "The nurses come back on duty at four." But Darin simply shook his head. "The nurses are assigned to watch all babies. Now, I've assigned myself to watch your baby, Miss Marie." he said with a playful grin. "Why my baby?" I questioned with an eyebrow raised. At this, the doctor looked stumped. Tounge tied, at most. Finally, he managed to come up with a reason lie. "Your baby is just special." he muttered, a pink flush rushing to his cheeks. I wasn't convinced. i could see what was going on here. And I didn't like it. I was no where near ready for any sort of romance. No matter if he had stayed awake all night to watch my baby. I scoffed at him and then, holding Ryanne, I left him sitting dumbstruck in his chair.
The days passed on in the hospital quietly. I didn't have many visitors anymore - just my mother and sister most of the time. When I wasn't asleep, I was with Ryanne. I talked to her. I told her about her father. Since she was so young and didn't understand, it was easier to tell her now then when she was older. Mostly, my stay at the hospital was uneventful. Except for Darin. Obviously, Darin hadn't given up. Every morning when I went to collect Ryanne, he was there in his chair, looking worse for wear. Dark, gray circles had begun to develop under his eyes, and he was getting paler and paler from lack of sleep. But he always managed to shoot me a smile when I walked silently into the nursery. At first, I just ignored his charms and left with my baby. But soon...he began to grow on me. I started having conversations with him in the mornings. Those conversations turned into long talks when he visited my room on his break. I began to grow very fond of him...his eyes were the same shade of blue as Ryan's had been. Ryanne had obviously grown found of him as well. She loved him. He always brought her new toys to play with and made her giggle. It made me smile - I had found he was good at doing that, as well. But then, the time came when Ryanne and I were allowed to go home. After I had packed and dressed into my normal clothes on the morning of my departure, I made my last trip to the nursery to get Ryanne. And, standing there holding my baby was Darin. There was a soft sorrow in his tired eyes as he looked at me.
"Is this the last time I'll see you?" he asked quietly. I looked at him with soft sorrow in my eyes as I took my cooing baby from his arms. "I don't know." I answered just as softly. He sighed and looked down at the cold white floor. I stood and watched him, waiting for any answer. He finally looked up and asked, "Do you want to see me again?" I opened my mouth, but closed it quickly. To be honest, I wanted to say no. I didn't want to be with someone romantically ever again. I wanted Ryan to be the only one who ever held my heart. But...then mental images began to flash in my head. Ryanne laughing and cooing sweetly in Darin's arms. Our long talks on his breaks. Waking up on the first day to see that he had stayed with my baby all night when I couldn't. His bright blue eyes that reminded me so much of Ryan's..."Yes." I said confidently. A smile spread across his face when I said it, and he reached for my hand. I would've quickly withdrawn, but I let him brush his hand against mine. "I'll be over at seven on Friday night." He said enthusiastically, which made me grin. I nodded to him as I turned back around, leaving the nursery for the last time with Ryanne in my arms, grinning and making sweet baby sounds.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| end part two |
This is lovely, just like the first.
