“Annabelle, my water just broke,” Aimee shouted from the bathroom.
“Are you sure?” I asked.
“Well, it’s all bloody and I just peed for, like, ten minutes.” It was the day of my birthday, eleven a.m.
“Okay, okay, easy on the sarcasm. Have you started contracting yet?”
“No.”
“I’ll get everything ready then.”
“Hurry.” It had been two months and it was finally time for the baby to come. I was so happy. During those two months, I was able to find time to go on a couple dates with Joe, but Aimee took up most of my time. She would get fake contractions, which brought out her nerves about whether or not she was going into labor. During that time, I wished I had more time to spend with Joe, though. I missed him a lot, but still, he and I both knew that Aimee needed me. At least I hoped he knew.
I hurriedly packed everything, helped Aimee into my car, and drove to the hospital.
At the hospital, they wouldn’t let me into the room at first because I wasn’t her husband or official sibling. So during that time, I called everyone to come. Unfortunately, Joe said he couldn’t come because he was in Detroit and wouldn’t be able to leave at least three hours, if not more. The drive to Detroit from Ann Arbor took an hour alone.
My family came in record time, all of them ecstatic. By this time, Joy was seven months pregnant.
After an hour, the nurse let me go into Aimee’s room. Aimee was smiling and had an I.V. in her right arm. Despite the chaos around her, she was calm. I went over to her and held her hand in mine. She smiled up at me.
“I’m sorry I went into labor on your birthday, Belle,” she said. Belle was her lifelong nickname for me.
“Hey, don’t sweat it. It would just be crazy if she was born at the same time and was the same weight as I was when I was born. Besides, this is the best gift I could ever have. A goddaughter.”
“And if I don’t survive, your daughter.”
“You’ll survive, Mia.”
“But still. Ohh, ow, ow, ow,” she grabbed her stomach and squeezed my hand extra hard. She was strong, but I could handle the pain going through my arm.
We spent hours talking, the contractions slow. Members of my family came in and out. Finally at 9:30 p.m., Aimee went into labor. At 10:35 p.m., the 8lb. 7 oz. baby was born, which was when and how much I weighed when I was born.
“Congrats, Mia,” I said, “It’s a girl.”
“It hurts,” she shrieked.
“Of course it does.”
“No, it really hurts.”
“What do you mean?”
“Belle, I love you.” Her face went ashen.
“Mia?” No response. Billy was there, too.
“Oh no, she’s hemorrhaging,” Mary Rose Cantor said.
“Mia?” I screamed. I continued to as Billy dragged me out of the room.
Half an hour later, Mary Rose and Rob came into the waiting room, where I sat in fetal position on Billy’s lap on the floor.
“I’m sorry, Annabelle. We did all we could, but it wouldn’t stop. I’m so sorry, but she’s gone,” Rob said. The last thing I remember was the ceiling.
An hour later, as I was told, I woke up with my head on Billy’s lap and my feet on my mom’s. Billy looked worried.
“Hey, sweetie,” my mom said.
“What happened?” I asked.
“You fainted after they told you the news about Aimee.” It came rushing back, but I was able to stay conscious.
“Did anybody tell Joe?”
“I called him about half an hour ago,” Billy said. Worry was still in his eyes.
“Billy, are you alright?” I asked.
“Your best friend, who was like a sister to you, just died and you’re asking me if I’m alright? Your boyfriend, who supposedly loves you, isn’t even here to comfort you. You can be so selfless sometimes. I’ll get back at him later.”
“No, save your energy. You don’t want to worry Joy, either. Speaking of, where is she?”
“Dad drove her home. She was tired.”
“Ms. Hunnington?” A male voice said. I looked up to see Aimee’s family lawyer, Mr. Vanguard.
“Yes?”
“I’m Aimee’s lawyer.”
“I remember,” I said as I got out of Billy’s lap and walked over to him.
“I’m here to discuss her will.” We walked over to the nearest desk. “Now, if you remember, she left everything to you, including the baby. But if you want to put her up for adoption…”
“No, I wanna keep her.”
“Okay, so I’m gonna need you to sign this.” He pulled out her will and I signed wherever it was needed. “Pleasure meeting you again, Annabelle.”
“You, too.” We shook hands and he left. Mary Rose took his place.
“Do you want to see the baby?” She asked.
“Very much so.”
“Come on.” Mary Rose put her arm around my waist as we walked to the nursery. I reciprocated. In the nursery, I sat down in a rocking chair and Mary Rose handed me the adorable baby girl. Tears welled up. She had Aimee’s pale skin and a tuft of bronze hair atop her head.
“What are you going to name her?” Mary Rose whispered. Aimee had said in front of Joy and my family repeatedly she wanted to name her baby Ashley. She loved the name so much.
“Ashley. Ashley Elizabeth Mason.”
“That name is pretty. I know Aimee would like that.”
“Yeah. Enough that she picked it out herself.” I got teary-eyed.
“We miss her a lot. We’ll be there for you in anyway you need. Okay?”
“Okay. Thank you.” I stayed with Ashley for fifteen minutes longer before I had to put her back.
**************************************************************************
I stayed overnight at the hospital with Ashley. It was required that she stay there.
On May 18th, at two p.m., I was able to finally leave with Ashley in my arms. She had opened her eyes, but instead of Aimee’s emerald green eyes, they were a warm brown, like melted chocolate.
The first place I headed to was Joe’s apartment. He had a right to know about Aimee and Ashley because he knew how much I cared about her.
I carefully walked up the two flights of stairs to his apartment, cradling Ashley, a baby bag over my shoulder. When I knocked on Joe’s door, he answered almost immediately.
“Annie, I’m glad you’re back. I got Billy’s message. I’m so sorry that Aimee d…” He looked down at my arms to see Ashley. “What is that thing doing here? I thought babies in her situation got put up for adoption?”
“She is not a thing. And besides, Aimee left everything to me, even Ashley. I couldn’t just give up the only living thing I have left of my best friend.”
“You even named her?”
“Yes. What’s your problem, Joe?”
“Aimee and that baby have been my problem. They took you away from me for five months.”
“She was like a sister to me. I couldn’t just abandon her. Besides, if you missed me so much, then why didn’t you make the effort to come and visit me?”
“I don’t know and I feel horrible for it now.”
“Why can’t you just accept Ashley?”
“Because I’m not ready to be a dad.” He walked towards the door.
“If you leave now, it means we’re through.” He hesitated before answering.
“I’m sorry, Annie, but I need to take a walk.”
“Fine, then. We’re done. By the time you’re back, all my stuff will be gone.” Joe left and I looked down at Ashley. Tears were rolling down her cheeks, but she remained quiet. Aimee was never like that; she wailed. Oh God, I missed her so much.
I quickly drove over to my parents’ house to drop off Ashley.
“Thanks, Ma. I’ll explain later at Aimee’s house.”
“No problem, sweetie. I’ll see you later,” my mom said. I then called Billy as I left the house.
“Hey, sis. What’s up?” He asked picking up after the second ring.
“I broke up with Joe and I need help moving out of his apartment. Help me?”
“Sure. And I’m glad you’re done with him. It means I won’t have to beat him up.” I laughed.
“By the way, after we’re done, do you think you and Joy could meet me at Aimee’s house?”
“Sure.”
“Thanks so much, Billy. I’ll see you there.”
“See ya!” Billy met me at the apartment and we had all my stuff in both of our cars in under an hour.
“Thanks for helping me, Bill,” I said as we loaded the last of the boxes into the house.
“No problem.”
“Be here at six p.m. tonight, okay?”
“I will. I promise.” We hugged and he drove away. Soon after, I unpacked some of the stuff for Ashley and picked her up from my parents’ house.
When she saw me, she reached for me, hands groping the air.
“She’s been distracted most of the time you were gone,” my mom said, “I guess she sees you as a mom, in a way.” I was listening to her, but I also was looking at Ashley, who had one tiny hand wrapped around my pointer finger.
“Yeah. And thanks for watching her for me.”
“No problem. I’ll see you tonight. I love you.”
“See you tonight. Love you, too, Ma,” I said as I left. I drove home quickly, laid Ashley down on a baby blanket with a teddy bear and just watched.
Not even five minutes later, she started crying, this time screaming blended in. She was hungry.
I spent the next hour just doing a mix of caring for Ashley and unpacking my stuff.
When my family finally came, I was in the middle of singing to Ashley, which she seemed to enjoy a lot. She giggled and smiled. Aimee liked it when I sang to her, too, because she was a tad tone deaf.
We all sat down in the living room. Billy and Joy sat on the loveseat, my parents on the sofa, and I stood cradling Ashley.
“You guys remember the lawyer that stopped by the hospital, right? Mr. Vanguard?” I asked. They all nodded. “Well, he was Aimee’s family lawyer. He came to discuss her will.”
“She had a prediction dream, didn’t she?” Billy asked. I nodded in response.
“Hey, let her continue,” Joy said sternly.
“Sorry,” he said, although I wasn’t sure who he was apologizing to.
“Well, in her will she left everything to me, even Ashley. I was given the option to give her up, but I didn’t want to lose the only living thing I have left of my best friend.” I couldn’t contain it any longer. The tears escaped. Through blurred vision, I saw my mom cross the room and encase me in a hug.
“It’s okay, sweetie. I’m sure she’s happy you that you kept her baby,” she said. I nodded in agreement, still crying. “We’ll be there for you, no matter what.”
“Thanks, ma.” She handed me a tissue and I blotted away the tears. I looked down at Ashley, who smiled up at me. It cheered me up a bit. My family then wished me luck and started to leave.
“Billy?” I asked.
“Mhmm?” He said while turning around.
“Thanks for helping me move into Aimee’s house.”
“Don’t you mean your house?”
“What?”
“You said Aimee left everything to you.”
“You’re right. I’ll see you later.”
“Bye.” He closed the door and I felt alone.
Ashley yawned, so I went upstairs and put her in her crib.
On my way out, I tripped on a thick envelope. Aimee’s handwriting was scrawled across the front. I ripped it open as I walked into my room. Inside were two letters, one addressed to me, and one to Ashley. I opened the one for me first.
Dear Annabelle,
You’ve been like a sister to me. I’m sorry I left you like this. But don’t worry about me; hopefully, I’ll be with God in heaven. Please don’t mourn me for too long. I know you miss me a lot, but I want you to live your life the way that I do, err did (okay, excluding the one night stands and stuff like that). I know that Ashley will love you like a mom. And don’t worry about Joe; I know you’ll get over him. I saw it. I also saw you with another guy who will love you for you. It was hazy, only coming in flashes, but he had black hair, brown eyes, and tan skin. You’ll know it’s him from the second you see him.
I love you so much. I only ask one other thing: please read the other letter to Ashley as often to her as possible.
Love,
Aimee
I picked up the other letter and opened it, reading its contents.
Dear Ashley,
I loved you before you were even born. I know you’ll Annabelle as much as I did.
I wish I could be there to watch you take your first steps, to speak your first words. I wish I could be there to help you with your first boyfriend, and to help with the heartbreak that comes with it. I wish I could be there for your wedding day. But I know Annabelle will be there for you like she was for me. She was like a sister to me. She was my shoulder to cry on. She was my rock.
Please love her with all your heart. I will be watching over you both.
Love,
Aimee, your mother up above
Tears streamed down my cheeks. She really knew she was going to die. I walked to Ashley’s room and even though she was asleep, I took her out of her crib gently and began to read the letter to her.
