Authors: Michelle Love
MERCY
In an empty hospital room down the hall from Jude, I’ve gotten a white wedding dress on and Rose took the kids to the room already. Everyone is waiting for my arrival so the ceremony can begin and I’m shaking as I take one last look in the mirror and have to admit that the hairdresser and the makeup artist have made me the best possible version of myself.
As I walk out of the room, I’m met with some ooh’s and aah’s as the nursing staff gazes my way. And, as if on cue, the handsome young security guard, Randy, is walking this way.
His eyes roam over me and he gives a wolf-whistle. “Hey there, sexy lady, you need a lift to your big date?” He comes to me and holds out his arm and I slip my hand into the crook of it.
“That would be greatly appreciated, Randy. And the uniform makes me feel like royalty.” I find a smile plastered on my lips as we walk down the hallway.
One of the nurses grabs her cell phone and attaches a speaker to it and begins playing the wedding march as she follows us down the hallway. I look over my shoulder at her. “Thank you. You all are so sweet.”
“Hold up!” A nurse shouts and we stop and watch two of them run around us. The taller of the two gives me a wink and a smile. “You have to have some bridesmaids. And we have these extra flowers from the ICU ward where they’re strictly prohibited.”
The other older woman, who is now my bridesmaid says, “So, at least, they won’t be wasted.”
“Thank you both,” I say as I beam at them. “You don’t know how much I appreciate all of this.”
Randy starts walking again. “So, here we go. Your official wedding procession.”
Just as we get near the door, the wedding march ends and the nurse behind me says, “Wait! Let me start it over and I’ll cut it off once you get to his side, Mercy.”
So we stop and wait for her to get it going again and then continue on our way to make me Mrs. Jude Hurst. One of my bridesmaid nurses opens the door to Jude’s room and they go in then Randy takes me in and I see Jude’s family and find Jude looking completely gorgeous in his black tux top and black blanket bottom.
He can only look at me and his jaw is unhinged. Then he mouths, “Mercy!”
I know I’m blushing as my face heats up. Randy walks me to the right side of the bed and Rose steps in on the other side of me and whispers, “I have the ring you’re going to give him.”
I give Randy a nod to gesture he might want to stand on the other side of her which he does with a huge smile on his handsome face. I also notice that Rose cuts her eyes sideways to check him out.
I might have just become cupid!
I hand my bouquet to Rose and take Jude’s outstretched hand. All I can see is him as the pastor starts the ceremony. I suppose he says the normal things. I have no idea, really as I look at the man who is about to be my husband.
All I can think about is how we’ve come to be here. In a hospital with our family around us and a few of the people who’ve taken such great care of him. I think about the baby who’s presently in my tummy and wonder what kind of kid we’ve created with our love.
He looks so deep into my eyes I wonder if he’s reading my mind. Then I see his lips move and the words, “I do.” Come out of them.
So I stop spacing out and start listening as it’s about to be my turn to say those words. The Pastor asks me if I promise to love this man and I agree to. He asks if I will honor this man and I agree to that too. He asks me all of the questions there are to answer when you want to join your lives together. I agree to them all and then he tells to put the rings on each other’s fingers and we do then he tells us that we can kiss.
Jude’s eyes as so sparkly as his hands go to either side of my face and he pulls me in for a sweet kiss, no tongue, but still pretty fantastic. Then all I can hear is cheering and a couple of little kids are hugging my legs.
Jude’s lips touch my ear and he whispers. “The next ceremony will be when you and I officially adopt the kids.”
I look at him with tear-filled eyes and throw my arms around his neck and whisper back, “You are the best man in the world, Jude Hurst!”
I don’t recall a time when my heart felt as full as it does now. And this is only the beginning. We have more and more that needs to fit into this heart of mine and I just know it will continue to grow so it can fill even more.
Champagne is popped and fizzy glasses are poured. Jude gets some sparkling white grape juice and I join him in drinking that bottle. No one knows our little secret yet and we’re not going to tell that bit of news until I’ve seen a doctor.
As I sit next to him on the bed and we gaze into each other’s eyes his mother comes up to congratulate us. “You two look great. So happy. The fever reducer worked on you just fine, Jude. You look like you’re feeling fine now.”
“Fever reducer?” I ask as I look at Loretta.
“Never mind,” Jude says a little too quickly. “That dress is amazing. I can’t believe you found something so beautiful that quickly and off the rack.”
“Well, it didn’t come off the rack. It was my sister’s and it cost our parents five thousand dollars so I went back to my house and got it out of what was once her closet. We’re the same size, so it all worked out.” I lean in close and whisper, “I knew it would fit. I’ve drank some wine from time to time after the kids went to bed and tried it on.”
He laughs and then I recall the mention of fever and place my hand on his forehead. “Don’t, Mercy.”
I pull it away but only because it’s cool. “You had a fever earlier?”
He nods. “Let’s not talk about that. They gave me pills, I’m better, end of story. So that hair is completely gorgeous. So many beautiful pins and curls, it’s amazing!”
“I got a picture off of Pinterest and showed it to the stylist and she was able to recreate it for me. It is pretty, isn’t it?” I tilt my head so he can see it all. “Don’t touch it, though. It’s stiff as a board. I’m a bit worried about washing it later. I bet I’ll have to let the shampoo sit for a while to break down all the stiff hairspray. And I don’t even want to think about all the makeup wipes I’ll have to use to get this goop off of my face.”
With a chuckle, he kisses my cheek. “You look like a movie star. Thank you, Mercy. Thank you for doing all of this for me. I mean it.”
And with his simple little words, he’s made all the trouble and effort I went through to get this all done worth it.
Appreciation goes a hell of a long way!
JUDE
With the deed done and the congratulations said, our wedding guests are taking off a couple at a time and I notice my sister talking to the security guard who walked Mercy to my side. “Who is that guy, Mercy?”
“Oh him?” she asks with a grin. “I met him last night. He walked me out to the car and I thought he was nice and might make Rose a better love interest than her usual suspects.”
“So I’ve married a matchmaker, have I?” I ask her with a laugh.
The festivities come to an end as Doctor Sweeny enters the room with her usual stoic slash intimidating expression and she’s got those steely eyes trained on the woman sitting on the bed next to me. “Mrs. Hurst?” she asks as she walks straight up to Mercy.
“Now I am, yes,” Mercy answers.
“I need a word with you,” she says and looks around the room at the last of the guests. “The rest of you need to leave. This man needs his rest.”
Mercy cuts her eyes at Rose. “Rose, can you take the kids out and wait for me?”
Rose nods and she and the security guard take the kids and leave the room. I wait for them to get out before I say, “Look, I’ll talk to her about it, doc.”
“Talk to me about what?” Mercy asks with a frown.
“About your make-out session last night and how it set him back several days in his recovery process and could’ve even been worse,” the doctor tells her.
“What happened?” Mercy asks and gives me a little shove. “You should’ve told me about this, Jude.”
“Mercy, come on! There was a room full of people. It wasn’t the right time to bring this up.”
“Well, I want to talk to her, anyway,” the good doctor says as her hands go to her hips. “Being that you two just got married, I feel compelled to educate you on your husband’s condition. That little erection he got last night ripped some of the stitches on the underside of his penis. It’s imperative for his recovery for you not to induce such things.”
Mercy looks at me and her lips form a straight line as she hisses at me, “Damn it, Jude. I told you so.”
“I know,” I say and look at the doctor. “That was really all my idea. She wasn’t the one starting anything. And now that I know what can happen, I’m not about to go trying to get excited again until I’m healed.”
The doctor focuses on Mercy once again as she says, “I need to hear it from her.”
Mercy laughs a little. “I won’t be trying to excite him either.”
“Okay, because I don’t know you but I know this man has a ton of money and you just married him right before he’s to go into a dangerous surgery and I have no idea of you love this man or want him to die so you can end up with his money,” the doctor says, making both, Mercy and my jaws drop.
Before I can say a word, Mercy gets off the bed and throws her arms around the young woman who seems to think I need her to guard me for some reason. “Oh my God! Thank you,” Mercy says then stops hugging the woman who looks as if she hasn’t been the recipient of very many of them as she’s as stiff as a board. “Thank you for really looking out for him. That means so much to me. And I love this guy with everything in me. We haven’t told anyone as I haven’t gone to the doctor yet, but I took a pregnancy test and it came back positive. I want this man alive and well. But thank you for caring enough to tell me what you did.”
I look at the doctor who is still wearing a stoic face. “She handled that a lot better than I thought she would,” I tell her. “So, we’re all good here.”
The doctor nods and spins around and now I can see she was nervous about the whole thing as she stumbles a little. “Okay, see you in the morning to examine you again, Mr. Hurst.”
“In the a.m. doc. Goodnight,” I say and take Mercy by the hand and pull her back to sit next to me. “So, that was weird.”
Mercy’s eyes are shimmering and she dabs underneath them with her fingers. “That was the sweetest thing I’ve ever seen.”
I pull her in for a hug and say, “I think those pregnancy hormones are already kicking in. I thought you’d be mad for her talking like that.”
“No, she cares and that’s a relief. I want all of the doctors and nurses to care that much,” she says with a little whimper. “And now I’m going to get the kids so they can tell you goodnight and we’ll go home and let you rest. It’s been a long day and you apparently weren’t feeling well.”
“I keep telling everyone that I haven’t felt well since I woke up here but no one seems to get that,” I say as she walks out and waves then comes right back in.
Carter and Mia come running into the room. “Tell, Uncle Jude, goodnight, kids.” Mercy picks up Mia so she can reach me and she gives me a kiss on the cheek.
“Goodnight, Mia.”
“Night, Unkie Jude.”
As I run my hand through her perfectly coiffed, blonde locks which are usually on the unruly side, I think about the day when we adopt her and make her our first Hurst daughter.
Mercy puts her down and Carter gives me a salute. “Goodnight, sir,” he says then laughs. “Me and my friends were pretending we’re in the army. That’s how we say hello and goodbye now.”
So I give him a salute back. “Goodnight to you too, sir.”
And that little man will be our first Hurst son. Our oldest child and my heart swells with love for my little family. Mercy kisses me on the forehead. “I’ll see you in the morning after I drop the kids off at daycare.”
“Mercy, about that. About help with the kids. How about we hire Becky as our full-time, live-in, nanny?” I ask.
The kids’ faces light up and they both jump up and down. “Yes!”
Mercy looks at them and then me. “I’ll ask Becky what she thinks about that.”
“Make sure you tell her a safe car comes along with that to cart the kids around when necessary. And tell her she’ll have every other weekend off. We won’t monopolize her time.”
“I’m sure she’ll like that.” Mercy kisses my lips only for a moment then they’re gone and I feel the absence of them already. The room is quiet and I feel lonely.
For the first time since I’ve been here, I feel lonely. I wish I was going home too and spending the night in bed with my wife. But that day will come soon.
Please let that day come soon!
MERCY
In the small waiting room, we all wait for news of how the surgery has gone. We had an update a little while ago and the nurse said Jude was doing well. The surgery was pushed back three days after he spent two of them with fever. But once the small infection cleared, he was fever free and eligible for the surgery once more.
Rose and I are sitting in a corner, looking at the pictures on her phone of our little wedding and laughing at some of the sillier ones. We look up as we hear a man’s voice say, “I wanted to be the first to tell you,” Randy walks in and says as he looks at Rose. “He’s in recovery. He looks great.”
Rose gets up and goes to hug him. The two have been inseparable since they met at our wedding and I have to say my matchmaking skills rival those of the best. I get up to hug Loretta as Doctor Padron comes into the room.
We all look at him as he smiles at us. “It went better than I even expected it to. I was worried about all that time in bed affecting his muscles and I have to say if it did, I sure as hell couldn’t tell. That man is in perfect shape. I don’t know how he did it, but he needs to patent his workout and diet.”
I laugh. “He pretty much is going to do that, doc! So he might walk again?”
He nods. “The odds are in his favor now with the repairs I made and the new bones I put in to replace the damaged ones. His recovery time is around three months, give or take. In my opinion, with his determined spirit, it will be less than that.”
I fall back into the chair and let out a sigh of relief. This is the first good news we’ve had since the accident. I needed this little pick me up. “When can I see him?”
He wiggles his finger at me. “Right now, Mrs. Hurst. You’re his wife, you can come see him in recovery. Your face can be the first one he sees when he wakes up.”
I jump up and go to the waiting doctor. “Well, what are we waiting for. Come on, doc!”
Going with him down the different hallways I find myself giddy with emotion. “You know, Jude told me that you went to the doctor yesterday and got the news that you two are having a baby.”
“He told you?” I ask as he takes another hallway to the left and I’m now completely lost. “He told me not to tell anyone until tomorrow.”
“Well, he told me right before we put him under. He said if he didn’t make it he wanted us to know he was having a baby and he felt he’d accomplished at least one good thing in his life.”
I get a little choked up as I think about my Jude, lying there on an operating table and thinking he might not make it through the surgery. “That man.”
Finally, we get to a door that says recovery on it and he opens the door. “This is Mrs. Hurst, Bonnie.”
The older woman gives me a nod as she runs a wet cloth over his forehead. “Good, maybe he’ll wake up for you.” She hands me the cloth. “Run it all over him and call for him to wake up.”
I look back the doctor. “Thank you for everything, doc.” Then I turn back to Jude and wipe the cool cloth over his cheeks.
He looks pale compared to his normal tanned skin. But he’s been inside for quite some time now and with more surgery and blood loss, I guess it’s pretty normal. “Jude, honey, it’s time to wake up.”
His hand moves to touch my arm and he holds it with a weak grip then his dark eyes flutter open and he’s looking at me. “How did it go?” he croaks with a scratchy voice.
“It went better than the doctor expected. He said your recovery time is around three months.”
His smile is weak but he looks a thousand percent happier than I’ve seen him since his accident. Even happier than on our wedding day.
“Good. I had a dream, Mercy. I had a dream that we had five kids, including Carter and Mia. I had a dream we lived in a beautiful home,” he whispers to me, then his eyes close again.
“He needs to stay awake,” the nurse tells me.
So I try to keep him talking. “And what kinds of kids were they? Boys, girls, a mixture of them all?”
I touch his cheek with the cloth and his eyes open again. “Uh, uh. You have to be surprised.”
“Come on,” I say with a smile. “Did we have any pets?”
“There was a bird,” he says and he looks past me like he can see something behind me. “Hey, is that her?”
“What?” I look back and see no one there. “Is who her and who is her?”
“I think that’s your sister, Mercy. She’s nodding her head. Her hair is blonde but her eyes aren’t blue like yours, they’re green like Carter’s.”
I look back again and feel no presence at all. Then I look back at him. “You’re right.”
“She’s mouthing, thank you, to me.” He blinks and smiles. “You’re welcome, Hope. I promise to always take excellent care of them all for you. I’ll never let them forget you guys.”
I look back again. “Me too, Hope. Even though I can’t see you. Which isn’t fair in the least, may I add.”
“It’s the drugs, baby,” Jude says, making me turn back to look at him. “She’s gone.”
I run my hand through his hair and kiss his forehead. “The drugs, huh?”
“Yeah, these are some good drugs. I don’t feel anything but in a good way this time. And when I get all the way better you had better watch out for me.” His hand moves slowly up my arm and then it’s resting on my breast. “Because I’m going to make up for lost time, over and over.”
“Shush, Jude!” I say as I blush. “There’s a nurse in here.”
The older woman laughs. “I think it’s sweet.”
I lean over and kiss his lips. “Okay, we can talk about that much later in your recovery.”
“I get it,” he mumbles. “You’re afraid of that little doctor Sweeny getting all over our asses again, huh? Don’t worry about her. I’ll protect you.”
I look at the nurse. “He sounds like he’s drunk.”
She nods. “You wouldn’t believe some of the things people say when they’re coming out from the effects of the anesthesia. It’s hilarious.”
“All I know is, I can’t wait to get this man home where he belongs.”
“And in our bed. Right, baby?” he asks as he pulls at a lock of my hair.
Oh Lord, how am I going to keep him calm with this attitude?