Until My Heart Stops Beating (29 page)

      Makeba turned to him and reminded him to call Rasheeda and Marcella. If they waited until after the babies were born she’d never hear the end of it. He assured her he would as soon as they got to the hospital.

GONE

     
While Makeba was being prepped, Declan was out at the nurses’ station filling out her chart. His phone vibrated. Looking at the screen, he saw that it was his mother calling. Deciding to ignore it, he sent the call to voicemail. Not long after his phone vibrated again. Annoyed, he glanced down at his phone. This time it was Sam. He answered and in no time wished he hadn’t. It wasn’t good news at all. He gripped the clipboard to his chest closing his eyes. How could this be happening right now at this moment? His babies were coming. He’s supposed to be celebrating while anxiously awaiting their arrival. Yet here he was receiving the worst news ever. Granny Whitaker had a heart attack and was on her way to the same hospital his wife was about to deliver their babies in. He informed Sam that Makeba was in labor and he was already at the hospital. Sam assured
him he would let him know the minute they arrived at the hospital. He ended the call and placed the phone in his pocket as he handed the clipboard to the nurse.

              A few minutes later he entered the room where his wife was hooked to an iv and a fetal monitor. The expression on her face let him know that she was in great pain. Declan hated being in the position he was in. The fear of losing his grandmother and the fact that his wife was in so much pain and he couldn’t do anything about either of those situations made him feel like crap. He ushered over to her bedside grabbing her hands in his. She was in a lot of pain but no
t
so much that she couldn’t see that something was terribly wrong. Whether he realized it or not, his eyes were filled with water on the verge of dripping from his eyes and his complexion was damn near candy apple red. She opened her mouth to inquire about what was bothering him but was intercepted by a strong contraction causing her to bang on the side of the bed. The doctors warned her that if she didn’t stop they would confine her by putting on restraints to keep her from hurting herself. She wasn’t trying to bring harm to herself, she was just trying to cope with
the pain.

             
Declan turned towards the door at the sight of Sam and Shyanne. Shyanne walked into the room changing places with him so that he could go out into the corridor to get an update on granny Whitaker. Makeba raised the head off the bed. She observed Declan lower his head, shaking it from one side to the other.

              “What’s wrong, Shyanne?”

              “Nothing.” As difficult as it was Shyanne kept her composure. “He’s just worried about you, that’s all.”

              Something told her it was a lie but she didn’t have enough energy to question Shyanne’s story. Five hours in and she was still in labor. For the third time she declined an epidural. Declan tried to get her to reconsider but to no avail. Over the next couple of hours, Sam and Shyanne kept him informed about granny Whitaker. The whole process of rotating their time from Makeba to granny was tiring.

       Finally, Mrs. Jones arrived. Makeba was so happy to see her mom being escorted inside the room by Declan. Wishing she was a little girl again when she would crawl up in her mother’s lap and watch her kiss her booboos away but she couldn’t. She wasn’t a little girl and this wasn’t some scrape on the knee she had gotten from falling off of her tricycle. No, this was grown woman stuff that only God and time could make better.

              The doctor came in to examine her and determine how many centimeters she was. After asking everyone to leave, Dr. Mason performed the examination and determined she was only six centimeters. He removed his gloves tossing them in the trash.

              “Almost there,” he said as he checked her vitals.

              “Thank you Dr. Mason.”

              She smiled. “I’ll be back shortly,” she replied then left.

              Mrs. Jones and Declan stood on both sides of the bed taking turns comforting her. After a while the nurse walked in to check her vitals once more. This time there was concern etched in the creases of the nurse’s face. Immediately she rushed and returned with Dr. Mason. Worried, Mrs. Jones inquired about what was happening. Dr. Mason informed her and Declan that Makeba’s blood pressure was too high and it was causing stress on the babies. She also informed them that it was imperative that they do an emergency cesarean. Declan agreed and signed the consent forms. Immediately, the nurse began shaving her vaginal area readying her for her surgery. Once they were finished they raised the arms of her bed for protection then wheeled her out heading to the operating room. Once inside they told her to count backwards from one hundred as they administered the anesthesia. Only reaching eighty nine, she was out like a light.

              In the meantime, Mrs. Jones convinced Declan to go check on his grandmother. At first he declined thinking that if he had gone he would be abandoning his wife. She assured him that it was where he needed to be since Makeba was in surgery. Taking her up on her offer, he hurried to the other part of the hospital with the rest of his family in hopes that there was some news about granny Whitaker, good news. Unfortunately, there was none. She was still in the OR.  Disappointed and afraid he sauntered over to one of the empty seats but not before being stopped by his mother as she hugged him and expressed her love for him.

              Sam patted him on the shoulders taking a seat next to him as Shyanne stood in a corner with tear-filled, red, puffy eyes. With his head in his hands Declan prayed that his grandmother would make it through. He knew she was old but he at least wanted her to see the twins before she departed this world.

              As he sat there with his head in his hands, he recalled the other night when Makeba expressed how concerned she was about granny Whitaker’s behavior. He thought she was worrying for nothing until he noticed the expression on her face. To appease her, he went to the family house to see for himself that she was ok. Even earlier tonight when he spoke to her about Makeba being in labor she sounded fine, like her old self. That’s
why this was so hard to believe, how she could be so upbeat and then gravely ill so fast. He stood as he pondered how that was possible. Walking over to the window, he looked over the dark starry sky hoping that he wouldn't have to deliver any devastating news to his wife anytime soon. He was fully aware of how close she and granny had become, hell everybody knew and he
wasn’t sure how she’d handle it if something went wrong.

      Everyone stood as the sliding doors leading down the hall to the operating room opened. A tall, young Caucasian doctor with blue eyes and short silky black hair removed the mask from his face and took off his cap. His eyes had already revealed what they had dreaded. Granny was gone. Tears had already started to fall before the doctor could even open his mouth.

              “We did all we could do. I’m sorry,”
he said. She died at approximately 11:42 pm.

       Declan stormed off. On his way back to labor and delivery his phone
rang. It was Mrs. Jones. His heart began to beat rapidly. Praying this wasn’t more bad news he answered the phone.

      “Hello.”

      “Your babies are here. Hurry.”

      Declan never bothered to hang up. He dashed through the hospital as tears rolled down his face. He was consumed with mixed emotions, joyous because he was about to meet his children and hurt because he had lost one the most important people in his life. How in the world was he going to tell his wife that granny was gone? Not wanting to take on too much at once he pushed the thoughts out of his head and tried to concentrate on how Makeba was doing and seeing the faces of his beautiful babies.

      Reaching his destination, he approached Mrs. Jones. She saw the expression on his face as well as the tears flowing from his eyes. Immediately her motherly instinct kicked in as she hurried
towards him cradling him in her arms. Without a word being exchanged, she knew Declan had just received devastating news and he knew that she was available for him to lean on. Feeling the comfort of a mother’s love although not his mother, he broke down like a seven year old child who had lost his best friend. Rocking him back and forth, Mrs. Jones kissed the top of his head whispering words of comfort in his ear. After a few moments she released him from her embrace, dug in her purse for wet cloths, handing one to him. He wiped his face and pulled himself together.

              “Go and see your babies’ son. Hold them, inhale their essence, bond with your children. It will help to comfort you in these trying times.”

              He hugged her once more. “Mom, how is she?”

              “She’s fine. She’s in recovery. Once she wakes up they will take her to a room. Go on now. Go!”

              Placing his hands together in a prayer position and bowing slightly, he thanked her and hurried to the nursery.

              Declan arrived at the window of the nursery. Knocking lightly on the window, he got the attention of the nurse. She walked over to the Whitaker babies pulling their cribs closer to the window
for him to get a better view of them. Consumed with so many emotions, he lowered his
head closing his eyes tight fighting
back more
tears.
He had cried a lifetime of tears, all in one day. A
few moments later he opened his eyes, the birth cards caught his attention. It wasn’t the weight or length that confused him but the names and the times on the cards. One of his twins were born at the exact time granny died. Feeling flushed and lightheaded, he fell back against the wall struggling to hold himself up. The nurse observing his actions ran out of the nursery to his aid.

              “Are you all right Mr. Whitaker,” she asked holding on to his arm.

              “Yes.” He closed his eyes as he tried to steady himself.

              “Son, what’s wrong?”

              He was glad Mrs. Jones was there. She was right on time.

              “He looked like he was about to faint,” the nurse replied.

              “No, I’m fine. The time of birth of one of the babies threw me for a loop. The one on the right was born the exact time Granny died tonight.”

      “Oh, I’m sorry for your loss.” The nurse’s words were so sincere.

      “Oh son, I’m so sorry,” added Mrs. Jones as she took over caring for Declan allowing the nurse to return to her job.

      “Did you get to hold them?”

      “No ma’am. I want to hold them with Makeba.”

~*~

              Makeba groggily looked towards the door. Standing under the threshold was granny smiling that million dollar smile. She had always thought that was her greatest asset. She had the smile of a spiritual being. She turned on her side to get a better visual of granny. She smiled as granny sauntered closer to her. Leaning down she kissed Makeba on the forehead.

              “You did an amazing job. Jillian and Jacob are two of the most beautiful babies I have ever seen.”

              “Oh, thank you so much granny.” Makeba was still trying to focus. For some reason there was an awfully bright white light surrounding her. She raised the head off the bed. Elated that granny was walking perfectly, her skin was glowing and young looking, she looked healthy and strong. “Granny, you look absolutely amazing.”

              “Thank you child. I have to go now. I just wanted to come see those babies and say goodbye.”

              “Goodbye?”

              She watched as granny began walking effortlessly backwards toward the door, almost as if she was floating on air. Holding out her hand, she said, “Please granny don’t go. Sam or Declan will take you home if it gets too late. Stay with me.”

              “I wish I could but I can’t child. I must go. Remember, you became a very important part of my life. In my last days you were such a wonderful blessing. You and Declan take care of one another and always remember love will pull you through anything.”

      “I will granny.”

      “Promise.’

      “I promise.”

      Granny disappeared as Makeba continued to plead with her to stay.

~*~

              Makeba’s eyelids fluttered until she was able to keep them open, finally coming down off of the anesthesia. The nurse walked into her room with a big smile spread across her lips.

      “Hello Mrs. Whitaker. I’m glad you’re finally awake. Your husband and your mom will be back shortly. They went to get coffee. My name is Tracie Younger, I’ll be taking care of you tonight.”

              “Hello Tracie.”

              “It’s really late now but I know you haven’t seen your babies as of yet. I’ll have the babies' nurse bring them in for a little while.”

              A smile spread across her lips. “Thank you,” she whispered.

      Looking towards the door, she smiled upon seeing Declan and her mother enter.

              “Well, look who’s awake.”

              “Hey mom.”

              “Hi sweetheart,” she replied rushing over to her side and kissing her on the forehead.