He stood frozen for a moment, then felt Kate gently taking his hand.
“Come on,” she said quietly. “The aide told me where to wait for the OR.”
He wrapped his arms around her, suddenly aware of how much he wouldn’t want to be doing this alone. This? This was why God gave a kid two parents, and despite their differences, he couldn’t be more grateful for the rock that was Kate.
A few minutes later, they were situated in the waiting area outside the OR, where they sat with three other small groups of family members. After texting Jonah and calling Vivien and his mother, Eli sat in a beige leather chair, elbows on his knees, head bowed.
Kate paced, sat, paced, checked her phone, then sat again, leaning close to Eli.
“I take it there’s no relationship with the father,” she said softly.
“He is…was…a mistake. A liar. A distraction for a girl who works too hard. I swear I’m going to put her on paid leave this summer.”
She smiled and nodded, taking his hand with one that was surprisingly shaky. She’d scrolled the internet too much, he decided, and knew things about this procedure and situation that he didn’t want to know.
All he’d seen was something about “the leading cause of maternal death in the first trimester” and he’d shut that search engine down before he took his next breath.
“She’s strong,” Eli said finally, voice low. “And in good hands.”
Kate nodded. “Definitely. That doctor knew exactly what she was doing.”
“Yeah, but I didn’t mean Dr. Sabine.” He slid her a wry smile. “I meant God’s hands.”
Kate didn’t answer.
He sat back, rubbing his palms over his face while a long silence stretched between them, filled only by the distant sounds of movement behind swinging doors. Then Eli turned, grasping her hand.
“I want you to know something,” he said gently. “I don’t believe because it’s easy. It’s not. Or because it always makes sense. It doesn’t. I believe because time and time again, the Lord has proven His existence to me and made me know—I mean Iknow—that He loves me, He protects me, and He has saved me. That knowledge isn’t some nebulous feeling. It’s concrete and tangible, and the only thing that’s held me together when the world didn’t.”
Kate looked away. “You think that’s what’s happening now? God is holding you together?”
“God…and you.”
“Me?” A smile pulled. “I thought…well, I didn’t think I mattered much in this scenario.”
He drew back, blinking. “Kate. You’re steady and strong and smart and…I love you.”
“Oh.” The words took all the fight out of her and brought some tears to her eyes. “Eli. I love you, too.”
He put his arm around her and kissed her hair, tucking her closer. “And now I’m going to pray.”
“Out loud?”
“Not if you don’t want me to.”
She was quiet, then slowly nodded. “Yes. I want to hear you. I want to…pray with you.”
He closed his eyes and dropped his head, and felt her head bow, too.
“Father God, I don’t know your plan, but I know that you work for good. I know you love Meredith even more than I do, that you loved her from when you knit her in her mother’s womb. I ask that you heal her, protect her body for future babies. Whatever happens?—”
Kate gasped and nudged him to look toward the door. Eli turned to see Dr. Sabine coming toward them, scrub cap still on, her expression relaxed.
“It went very well,” she said as they stood to greet her.
Eli heard a grunt of relief escape his lips.
“The fallopian tube hadn’t ruptured completely,” she added. “We were able to resolve the ectopic pregnancy and stop the bleeding with minimal intervention.”
