I try to grin at him, then at Olive. “Get me one too, while you’re at it.”
She lays her head beside mine and grins at me, touching my lips with her little fingers. “What color?”
“You pick.”
“Okay, Olive, we have to go,” Liam says.
“I love you, Abby,” she whispers.
Tears fill my eyes. “I love you, too.”
Liam runs his hand over my upper arm. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
Then he picks her up and carries her out of the room.
As soon as they leave, I’m overwhelmed by fear, but not of what we went through today. It’s about what I almost lost and what I still might lose. The thought sends tremors through me because I’ve allowed myself to need them. I can deny it all I want, but I need them. I’ve allowed myself to love. And it could all be taken away in a heartbeat. In any number of ways, I could lose them both. He might not love me back. He might decide he doesn’t want me in their lives anymore, or maybe I’ll be too cowardly to tell him the truth, and eventually, this will all fade away.
Chapter Thirty-One
Every moment of your life is a second chance
~Rick Price
Early the next morning, Dr. McVicar comes by to see me. “How’s my favorite cliff diver?”
I smile weakly and try to sit up, then stop myself when I realize sitting up isn’t in the cards today.
“Oh, you won’t want to do that. I’m afraid you’ll be hurting for a few more days.” She picks up the chart and flips through the pages.
“How long will I be in here?”
“Depends.” She scribbles something and without looking up, asks, “Do you have anyone at home who can care for you?”
“No. I’m alone.”
“In that case, your injuries suddenly look a lot more serious this morning, so we’ll need to keep an eye on you for a few more days.” She gives me a wink, then clicks her pen and replaces the chart to its holder.
“You know, you were very lucky, Abby. Most people would have drowned trying to do what you did. There’s an involuntary gasping reflex in very cold water that causes people to try to breathe air into their lungs. We’ve all been talking about how you’re a bit of a miracle.”
I shake my head. “I’m not a miracle.”
“To that little girl, you are.”
She leaves me with those words ringing in my brain and I find myself completely overwhelmed at the reality of how close Liam came to burying another child. I say a silent prayer, my first since Isaac’s death, thanking God for letting Olive live and for letting me live too.
The day floats by in a numb and lonely haze. I wait for Liam, but he does not come. Dusk falls as I stare out at the early evening sky over the ocean. Something about this time of day makes me melancholy, so I close my eyes and go back to sleep.
When I wake, it’s dark out. Liam is sitting in a chair near the foot of the bed. He gives me a tired smile.
“Hi, have you been here long?”
“About an hour.”
“You should have woke me up.” I lift my head a little off the pillow and try to face him.
“Nah, you needed to sleep, and I needed to think.” Liam stands and moves his chair so he’s sitting beside me now.
“How’s Olive?”
