One Night Stand (New Yorker III) (15 page)

“Not
happier than I am.” He watched as Catalella retrieved a small velvet box from
under her pillow. Shock had him rooted to the spot and silenced. “I want to ask
you something. I want to know if you will share my bed and only my bed for the
rest of our lives, if you will be my pillar of strength, the warm arms I come
home to, the face I will wake up to every morning and the man who will love me
unconditionally. Will you be my life partner? I only ask because you already
got me knocked up and you’re making me fall in love with you.”

Rich
stared into Catalella’s misty eyes. His heart wanted to leap out of his chest
and dance around. She wanted him. But even though he was happy, he needed her
to say that she loved him. He stood in silence as he watched the emotions play
out on Catalella’s face. Her hair was free and wild, just as he liked it, her
hospital gown tight at her middle section and her face wasn’t as pale— in fact
she looked like she wore a little bit of mascara.

“I
would get down on one knee but I’m not sure if I’ll be able to stand up again.”
Catalella’s lips lifted in amusement.

“I
would love to be your partner, Catalella. But you already know that.”

“I do,
but I was wondering if we could get married today.” Her smile was slow, wide
and oddly seductive. She had a secret.

“What
aren’t you telling me, Miss Ross?”

“That
you are a free man, but only for the next five minutes. The judge granted your
annulment and I decided I wanted to marry you before someone else snatches you
up.” She giggled. “So you have five minutes to enjoy your bachelorhood before
AJ comes and gets you into your tux.”

“How
long have you been keeping this from me?” Rich stepped in between her legs and
pulled her toward him, her swollen belly pressing against his own.

“I’ve
been planning the wedding for the past week and DJ called me five minutes ago to
tell me your annulment is official.” A mischievous grin teased the corners of
her lips.

“I
should spank you.” His threat, as usual, was met by a giggle as desire lit up
her face from within. He made a mental note that after the babies were born he
should try and spank her.

“I
would rather you didn’t,” AJ said as he cleared his throat. “There are only so
many things a brother can see that can be unseen.”

“I
wouldn’t mind seeing it,” Lisette put in with a chortle.

“I’m
with AJ,” DJ put in as he waved the manila envelope in his hands. “I come
bearing gifts.
The marriage certificate and a pen.
Rich, if you’re looking for an out I’m sorry, but going through the window is
the only way AJ and I will let you leave.”

“I
wouldn’t dream of it. Besides I feel like I’ve been married to my little orchid
for years.” Rich’s lips came down on hers like a naked flame on gun powder. He
didn’t know how long they were joined like this, their lips engaging in an
erotic dance in front of an audience, but it took AJ grabbing him by the
shoulder to pull him back.

“How
about we get this thing signed, get you two married and you can continue this
in private,” DJ said.

“Why
are we signing this now?” Rich had been married before and he knew the
certificate was usually signed after the ceremony was conducted.

“I want
to do that part now, when it’s just us.” Catalella shrugged.

“Who
will officiate?”

“Her
best friend, of course.”
DJ grinned.

When
the judge arrived, Rich was surprised that Catalella didn’t hesitate to sign
the certificate and he found that he was the one who almost held back. But once
he did it he felt relieved and happier that he could call the woman carrying
his babies ‘Mrs. McCrery’. But before he could kiss his new bride, he was
dragged out of the room and into another where a tuxedo was waiting for him.

Chapter
Thirteen

Rich
stood at the altar of the hospital chapel. Everyone he and his father had
called family was there. Oddly enough he was anxious, even after signing the
paper that had made Catalella his wife instantly, and when the piano announcing
the wedding procession began to play, he became a bundle of nerves.

Catalella
had her game face on. She was determined not to let anything ruin Rich’s
special day, not even the contractions that were crashing into her weak body.
She bit into her cheeks and the warm, coppery taste of blood stung her tongue.
She was at the chapel doors. All that remained was to walk up to Rich and
promise him forever in front of their family and friends.

“Are
you all right?” Rosalinda’s face beamed with pride but the concern illuminated
her eyes.

“I’m
perfect, Mama. I’m happy.” She really was, and if she didn’t have these
contractions she would be happier.

“Are
you ready?” Adrian asked as her held onto his daughter’s hand.

“I am—could
we move a little faster? I don’t want to get tired before I get to Rich.”

“Sure,
sweetheart.”

Catalella
watched Rich as she made her way down the aisle and the intensity of passion
glittering in his eyes made her heart jump into her throat. But the force of
the next wave of contractions had her pausing. She shook her head at Rich as he
tried to come towards her.

“Are
you all right?” Adrian whispered in her ear.

“I’m
fine, Papa.” Catalella forced a smile onto her lips until she could almost hear
her jaw creaking with the effort it took. She could already feel her brow begin
to sweat, and it wouldn’t be long before the doctors in the room figured out
what was happening.

She
took Rich’s hand when they got to the altar and silenced the priest before he
began. “I know you want to marry me.” Rich nodded. “I know you do. Every single
day since we met you have been on my mind. You gave me the greatest gift I
could ever ask for.” Catalella doubled over when the next wave of contractions
took her breath away.

“Catalella?”
Katherine’s questioning tone
rang in the chapel.

Catalella
knew she had to ask now before Katherine took her away. “I need you to promise
me something.”

“Anything.
I will give you everything,”
Rich said as he gently cupped her jaw.

“Promise
me that the twins will always come first.” Catalella watched as his brows
joined together in a frown. But before Rich could say anything, Catalella felt
her body open and a warm liquid rush out of her. “Not yet, I need to do this.”
She groaned. “Rich, promise me.”

“What’s
going on here?” Rich took a step back from the water gathering at their feet.

“AJ,
get a gurney,” Katherine shouted as she rushed to Catalella’s side.

“Swear
to me, Rich, or I swear to God I’m not moving.” Catalella cursed. “I need you
to swear to me before God, our family and friends that you will put the twins
first. No matter what happens, the twins come first.”

“Ethan!”
Adrian called out, his voice rough with emotion.

“Hey,
don’t listen to them. Listen to me. You love me, right? So do this for me.
Swear to me, Ethan.” Catalella could see the emotions playing on his face. He
was having a difficult time with it, but she needed to be reassured before
anything could happen.

AJ had
arrived with a couple of nurses and a gurney. Catalella felt her knees give in
when the next contraction burrowed through her. Rich’s strong arms came around
her and held her against his chest.

“I
promise.” Rich’s voice echoed in her ear and Catalella could feel a calming
relief wash over her.

“Katherine,
I think the babies are coming.” With one swift lift, Rich had her on the gurney.
He held onto her hand as AJ and the nurses pushed them out of the chapel.
Katherine was on the gurney with her, checking how dilated she was.

“You’re
crowning, Lella. I need you to start pushing,” Katherine ordered.

“Okay,
okay,” Catalella moaned.

“Push,
sweetheart.”

“I love
you, I love you. You know that, right?”

“Of
course I do.” Rich gave her a quick kiss then squeezed her hand.

Catalella
didn’t need to push much because her son was born in the elevator on their way
to the labor and delivery wing. They weren’t allowed to touch him. A small
incubator met them at the hospital room and baby Ethan was rushed away.

“I am
going to give you something that will help you not go into labor with the other
baby,” Katherine said.

Catalella
felt like she was numb. Rich was by her side and she knew he felt exactly as
she did. Their baby was tiny, too small to be brought into this world. He
didn’t cry or move. He was so still that she didn’t think he was alive.

“Hey
guys, listen to me,” Katherine said, probably realizing what they were
thinking. “He’s breathing. He probably didn’t want to cry because he is just as
stubborn as the two of you. Once we get this other baby under control maybe you
could go see him, Catalella. But you could go now, Rich.”

“Are
you serious?” Life sparked back into Rich’s eyes.

“You
should go.” Catalella pushed him. “Tell me who he looks like.”

“But I
don’t want to leave you.”

“You
promised, remember? I love you.”

“I love
you too.”

Catalella
froze as Rich took a step out of the room. Her fingers fisted in her bed as her
nails dug through the thin fabric into her palms.
This isn’t supposed to happen,
she thought as fresh tears streamed
down her cheeks.

“Doctor
Henry,” she heard a nurse say.

Catalella
watched as the nurses, Katherine and Rich assumed their earlier positions. She
could see them talk to her as she watched their lips over on their panicked
faces, but she couldn’t hear them. Her subconscious was shouting something at
her.
You failed, you failed,
you
failed.

She jerked
out of her foggy haze when she heard Katherine shout out, “Rich, you need to
help her.”

She
felt his strong arms lift her off the bed and he settled behind her. “I’m going
to help as much as I can but you need to push.”

“I’m
tired, I’m so tired,” Catalella whimpered.

“Can’t
she just have a C-section?” Rich asked over her head.

“No,
it’s too late.”

“My
little orchid, please,” Rich whispered into her ear.

Catalella
nodded her head as she held onto to Rich’s hands.

* * *
*

Rich
could sense how weary Catalella was from the droop in her shoulders and how her
body went limp against his. He felt his heart break. All he could do was
hold
her and support her the only way he could. He felt all
the strength leave her body with the last push, and just then the most glorious
sound filled his ears. He laughed at how annoyed his little girl sounded, but
her tiny, frail body still concerned him.

“Look,
Catalella,
it’s
Camellia, our little flower,” Rich
said as he watched the little baby stretch her balled fists out as she kicked.
“She’s loud.”

“That’s
a good thing now, but when she’s a teenager you won’t like it very much,”
Katherine teased.

“Catalella,
look at her.” Rich gasped.

It was
the alarmed expression on Katherine’s face that had Rich look down at the woman
in his arms. Catalella’s brow was wet with sweat, her breathing labored and her
skin pasty white. There was something wrong.

Rich
felt strong arms push him off the bed. He sat shivering in a corner as he
watched AJ work on his wife as Katherine rushed out with his daughter. Rich
wanted to stay where he was. He wanted to wait until he knew his Catalella was all
right. But then he remembered his promise to her. Rich staggered as he forced
himself to his feet and followed Katherine as she wheeled his baby in an incubator
into the elevator. He leaned over the box holding his child and watched as her
movements slowly stopped.

“What’s
wrong with her?”

“She’s just
tired, Rich,” Katherine said.

* * *
*

Catalella
was woken from her dreamless sleep when the pain from her abdomen jolted to her
heart. Her heavy eyelids fluttered open, and the first face she saw was her
mother’s. A whimper of sadness and disappointment escaped her lips. She wanted
the first person she saw to be Rich. She slowly moved her aching body to a sitting
position and looked around. AJ was at the foot of the bed, filling out a chart.
Lisette was on the sofa cradled in Reno’s arms, while her father stood over her
mother, his eyes red and teary.

“Hey,
baby girl,” her father said as he took her hand.

“Where
is he? Did he leave? Did he leave me?” The desperation in Catalella’s faltering
voice arrested everyone’s attention. Her whole family stood around her bed with
startled expressions on their faces.

“Why
would you say that,
mija
?” her mother
asked.

“I failed
him. I promised I would look after his babies and I failed.” The hysteria was
settling into her voice. Catalella ignored the pain in her abdomen as she moved
lower into the bed and pulled the covers over her head. In her cocoon of
misery, Catalella let herself cry.

“Catalella?”

“Rich?”
Catalella pushed the covers off and chanced a glance at the door. She couldn’t
believe it at first. But when Rich moved toward her, calling her name once
again, she couldn’t contain the joy she felt. She launched herself into his
arms, tearing out her IV. Her cheek rubbed against the rough one day's worth of
growth on his cheeks. “I thought you left me.”

“Why
would I do something as crazy as that?” Rich’s voice sounded muffled in her
hair.

“I
failed, I know I failed. But I promise to be a better mother.” Catalella’s
insecurities were settling in. She hadn't felt this weak for years, not since
Michael Mathews. She felt the desperation come over her. She couldn’t lose
Rich, she couldn’t lose her babies. “I can’t lose you. I need you.”

“I need
you too.” Rich settled her on the bed and pulled her arms from the lock they
had formed at the back of his neck. “Listen to me…you didn’t fail. I know this
is a lot for you to take in, but you need to be strong for all four of us.”

“I don’t
think I’m strong enough.”

“But
you are.” Rich pushed her hair back and stared into her eyes. “You want to go
and see our babies?” Catalella nodded her answer. She couldn’t trust her voice.

“I’ll
get you a wheelchair,” AJ volunteered.

“No,
I’ll walk. I’m strong enough to walk.”

“Of
course you are.” Rich winked at her and helped her off the bed.

But once
Catalella’s feet touched the ground she didn’t think she could move. The pain
in the center of her body made her double over. She was just about to ask for
the wheelchair when Rich picked her up and cradled her in his arms. She studied
his face and his strong jaw as he walked down the hallways. She knew that he
wanted her to be strong for all of them, but at that moment she knew it was all
right to be weak without feeling desperate, without thinking that he would
leave her because of it.

When
they walked into the NICU she could feel his arms trembling. She didn’t
understand whether it was from the emotion or if he was exhausted.

“Put me
down,” she said. Rich gave her a skeptical look that told her he wasn’t sure if
she could handle it. “Put me down.”

He
settled her on her feet in front of the nursery window. Catalella looked around
the little room and could see rows of little babies with tubes bigger than their
bodies sticking out of them. She stood there for a while, her mind racing and
her heart begging God that her babies were not one of them. They walked with
the nurse into the room after sterilizing their hands and shrugging into gowns.
She walked through the maze of incubators and her heart broke for each one of
them. The nurse stopped in front of two tiny babies and Catalella could feel
her whole body give in to the weakness. They were tiny, but Camellia seemed
smaller than Ethan. They both had tubes sticking out of them.

“All
those tubes…what are they for?”

“Just
to help them.”

“I mean
,
tell me what each one is for.” Her voice, the merest
whisper, conveyed annoyance.

Pointing
them out, the nurse explained, “This is a feeding tube…breathing tube…these are
connected to the heart monitors and the IV is for the medication.”

Catalella
nodded as she listened. She needed to be informed. Somehow knowing what was
going on helped her feel a little better.