Chapter 21
Avidya
Five weeks.
Five weeks seemed so pass extremely slow.
Five weeks my baby was in the NICU.
Five weeks to the day, I was finally able to bring him home.
Five weeks.
I never knew how horrible five weeks would have been, or how wonderful it was at the same time. So much had changed in such a short amount of time. So much so, I didn’t know how I lived as I had before becoming a mother.
All my thoughts had been on my son, worrying about things that probably didn’t even need to be worried about.
Julia was a constant presence in the house, helping me clean and buy clothes for the baby. He had more than enough clothes to last for many years, all ranging from different sizes.
In the bedroom I had taken over, there had been a few changes to fit the small portable crib that Taylor had bought me not all that long ago. It fit into the room perfectly, and would work until Joshua was about six months or so.
He had taken to feeding from a bottle like a pro, and was off the oxygen without any issues. Surprisingly, he was doing very well still being so early. It was still a week away from my official due date, but Joshua was cleared and ready to go home.
I had spent every day at his side, helping the nurses to care for him. The only reason I ever went home was to sleep and get some neededmetime before I had no more time to do that.
I was ready for my son to be home. I was ready to introduce him to the world. I was ready to be a full-time mother that came along with having my child at home with me.
Yes, Julia would still be around for another week, mostly because she wanted to hold and spoil the little man. That I couldn’t agree more on.
I knew that when Travis and Julia would return back home, it would only be a matter of time before Zachariah showed up. And I was okay with that.
I was ready for him to come find me. I was ready for him to know why I hid this secret from him for so long. I was ready to be a family of three.
I was ready to face him once and for all.
It didn’t take that long to get the car seat secured into the car that Travis was currently using, and the same car that would be left for me to use after he went back home. Julia had gone with us, having Travis drive us all to the hospital to get my baby and then back home.
Krissy had wanted to be home, but she had to work. She promised that she’d stop by later, though. Catrina also couldn’t wait to meet the baby, as she wasn’t allowed to be inside the hospital due to all the sickness going around.
Having Julia with me the past few weeks was nice, though. Having someone to talk to and knowing I wasn’t left alone was a blessing. She even went to church with me every Sunday.
“How long do you think it’ll take Zach to find me?” I asked after we got back home and settled in.
“I’ll give him maybe two weeks tops to get here,” Travis joked. “At the moment, he’s a bit busy. But once he gets the issue taken care of, he will be here as fast as possible.”
“And you won’t tell him the exact location,” Julia said, giving him a look that said not to try.
“Just the town,” Travis said with an eyeroll. “And nothing about the package.”
Travis had mentioned that my husband was busy with something, but didn’t tell me what. At least Zach seemed to be in a better mood after so many months. Maybe he finally started to act his age and get things done.
“He has taken time to cool down, so I’m sure he won’t do something stupid,” Travis said, not taking his eyes of my son sleeping in my arms.
I had no idea what to expect when he showed up, but I was ready. I was ready to hear his side, and hopefully explain my side as well as I could. I did expect him to be mad at me and not let me explain. I could understand his anger that would no doubt come along with his reappearance.
That I could handle.
I just didn’t think I could handle him wanting nothing to do with me anymore because I had a kid. Would he demand I give him up? Because I would never do such a thing.
