Chapter 69
Voices drifted to her and at first, she thought she was dreaming but then she felt the warmth of a touch. Someone was brushing her hair back and then placed a kiss on her forehead. That scent…she recognized it. A door opened and she heard the cry of a baby. That was Dwaine. He must be hungry.
“Dad, why don’t you hold them?”
That was Becca’s voice. Where was Nick? More importantly, where was Howie?
As the baby’s cry grew more insistent, she heard, “Hey, none of that fuss. You’re gonna wake your Mami.”
Howie.
How could she have doubted he wasn’t there?
“They
remind me so much of Sarah when she was born….so tiny but full of life.”
“Do either one of them favor Sarah?”
“They both favor her….Caroline with the way she doesn’t fuss and Dwaine has her looks.”
Slowly, she opened her eyes and focused on her father holding Caroline and Howie with Dwaine. “That’s the most beautiful sight to wake up to,” she mumbled, her voice still heavy with sleep.
“Mrs. Van Winkle has finally decided to wake up,” teased Becca.
“Hey, ‘Angel’,” greeted Howie as he moved to give her a kiss.
“What are the twins doing in here, ‘D’? Isn’t it too dangerous to have them around others?”
“They’re doing better and Dr. Rowe gave the clearance for them to be in here.”
“But, he was running tests to…”
“’Angel’, that was yesterday,” smiled Howie.
“Yesterday?”
“You’ve been asleep for about thirty-six hours, sis. Sheena gave you the pain killers yesterday and you’ve been out of it ever since,” explained Becca.
Sarah looked at Howie who nodded agreement. “WOW! I must have been tired. So what about the babies?”
“Dr. Rowe hasn’t said what the problem was yet but they responded quickly to the antibiotics and he’s gonna release them in the morning if everything checks out.”
“Who’s been feeding them?”
“Sheena has been expressing your milk for you and the nurses in the nursery have been giving it to them. I fed them today but you know, they really missed their mother. Think you’re up to feeding them now?”
“I guess. Bec, could you help me?”
While Becca gave Sarah a hand sitting up and getting situated to nurse, Howie changed the babies’ diapers. Everyone ready, Howie helped Sarah get the tiny bundles started nursing and then sat beside her watching.
“I’m glad you’re here, Daddy,” smiled Sarah as her father stood watching with adoration. “Where’s Stephanie?”
“We weren’t sure you’d be awake so she went shopping. She’ll be by later to visit.”
“They came yesterday after you fell asleep,” explained Howie as he took Caroline’s tiny hand in his.
“You are absolutely radiant, ‘Sugarpie’, and the babies are perfect,” praised Mr. Taylor as he gave her a kiss.
“How are you doing?”
“For now, I’m fine but you don’t need to worry about me. You have two beautiful babies there to focus on, a little girl who is anxious for you to come home, and a husband who adores you.”
“You’re my dad. Why can’t I worry about you?”
“Because it’s not your job to worry about me. I’m the parent and you’re the child.”
“But with Mama….”
“Sarah, stop it,” said Howie gently but firmly. “It’s not your mother but he has a wife.”
Sarah blushed, “I’m sorry, Daddy.”
“Sarah, I know it’s difficult for you not having your mother here and I appreciate your concern but you know, it’s time for you to go on with your life. You’ve made more than enough sacrifices for your brothers and me. Focus on your beautiful children and the man you dreamed of.” Mr. Taylor reached out to run a finger down his daughter’s cheek. “As time passes, I’ll be less and less the man you call ‘Daddy’ and the day will come when I won’t know who you are. I don’t want you to remember me like that, Sarah…or you, Becca.”
“Daddy, you sound like you’re saying good-bye,” whispered Sarah fighting the emotions of losing her father.
“I guess I am,” responded Mr. Taylor thoughtfully. “The days when I don’t know my family are becoming more and more frequent and while I’m clear, I want to let my children and grandchildren know just how much I love them.”
“Is there anything we can do to make it easier for you and Stephanie?” asked Howie.
“You’ve done enough, Howard. Thanks to you, my children, grandchildren, and Stephanie will be well-provided for. I’ve already picked out the home that Stephanie will put me in so I guess all that needs to be done is help her make the decision when the time comes….and help her with the baby.”
Howie saw that both Sarah and Becca were near tears so he quickly changed the subject seeing that the twins had stopped nursing. “How’d you like to burp one of your grandchildren?”
Mr. Taylor smiled, “Give me Dwaine. I expect that he’s just like his mother and difficult to burp.”
Howie and Becca both laughed as Howie said, “I guess he’s more like his mother than just his looks.”
Becca took Caroline to burp and Sarah leaned her head on Howie’s shoulder watching as her father and Becca took care of Caroline and Dwaine. It was a perfect picture…almost. There was one person missing and as she thought about her mother silent tears fell on Howie’s shoulder.
“You okay, ‘Angel’?” whispered Howie as he reached up to wipe her tears.
“I was just thinking about Mama.”
Becca’s heart was in her throat because she knew exactly how Sarah felt. She’d done it herself countless times after she’d learned she was pregnant with Garrett. She’d even watched Sarah and Jesse and tried to imagine her own mother with her.
Glancing at Mr. Taylor, Becca thought he hadn’t heard Sarah so she moved closer to the bed and spoke softly, “I’ve done it too…imagined my parents with Garrett and I’ve watched you with Jesse, wondering what it would have been like with my mother. I think its kinda normal when you’ve lost a parent.”
“It simply means you miss them which is normal,” assured Mr. Taylor as he adjusted Dwaine in his arms. “Rebecca, for most of your life, Garret was all you had and you never imagined him NOT being around to see your children. I know I didn’t know him very well but in the few times we did meet, I could tell he’d be very proud of you….just as Jeanie would have been proud of Sarah. Now, I want you three to listen to me. Stop dwelling on the things you can’t change and celebrate the beautiful things in your lives, namely your children.”
“You’re right, Daddy,” sighed Sarah resting her head on Howie’s shoulder.
“And for the record, it’s not just kids who miss their parents and try to imagine things,” grinned Mr. Taylor.
“Really?” questioned Becca.
Sitting at the foot of the bed with Dwaine in one arm, Mr. Taylor put his hand on Sarah’s leg as he said, “I watch Howard and Sarah and I can see Jeanie and myself when we were first married. Then there’s Stephanie…she’ll be doing something around the house, completely unaware that I’m even in the room and I’ll watch her and try to picture what the baby is going to look like.”
“Do you know what she’s having?” asked Howie.
“A girl,” beamed Mr. Taylor and the four continued to share their memories until the nurses brought Sarah her dinner.