Chapter 36

 

The next few weeks passed quickly, and before I knew it, it was the 24^th of January, and I was waiting for the gang to get to my house.  Josh and I had a big house, so we decided to have some of the group stay with us, while the others got hotel rooms. 

 

This time, the whole gang was coming.  Heidi, Sammy, Nick, and Megan, Brian, Leighanne, and Hope, and AJ and Amanda were all going to stay at our house.  Howie, Kevin, and Kristin were going to get hotel rooms, since there wasn’t enough room for them. 

 

Also, most of our families would be coming down later in the week, so they could go to Sammy and Nick’s engagement party, the following Saturday.  They would all be staying in hotels.  My family, Josh’s family, Nick’s family, Brian’s family, and Kevin’s family were coming.  Sammy’s family lived in California and couldn’t make it.  Heidi’s parents were going to be busy, as was AJ’s mother. 

 

It was around noon when the doorbell rang for the first time.  I got up as fast as I could (which was not very fast, being six months pregnant) and hurried to the door. 

 

I flung it open to see Heidi standing there.  “Hey!” I cried, throwing my arms around her.  She hugged me back.  I stepped back and let her inside.  “How are you doing?” I asked.

 

She smiled.  “I’m okay,” she said.  “Still a little depressed at times, but I’m coping.”

 

I smiled sadly, but said nothing.

 

“Well, look at you,” Heidi said suddenly, standing back to get a good look at me.

 

I blushed.  “I’m huge, huh?” I said, laughing. 

 

She grinned.  “What did you expect?” she laughed.

 

“I know, I know,” I said.  “And I still have three months to go.  I don’t even want to know what I’ll look like by the time I go into labor.”  I shuddered, and we both laughed some more.

 

Just then, Josh came into the room.  “I was wondering who was making all this noise,” he said, grinning when he saw Heidi.  He gave her a hug.  “How are you doing?” he asked, repeating my earlier question.

 

“I’m okay,” she replied.  “How about you?”

 

“I’m pretty good now,” Josh said.  “I started work again last week, and it’s pretty tiring, but it’s nice to get back to doing what I love.”

 

Heidi nodded, smiling. 

 

Soon, the doorbell rang again.  Josh answered the door this time to find Brian, Leighanne, and Hope at the door.  “Hey guys, come on in!” he said.  They came in, and we all exchanged the usual hugs and hellos.  Then we sat down to wait for everyone else to get there.

 

***

 

By that evening, everyone had gotten there.  Josh and I invited Kevin, Kristin, and Howie to come over and hang with the rest of us.  They came over around six. 

 

We had already ordered some pizzas, and they were due to arrive at any time.  When the pizza guy got there, Josh quickly paid him and brought the pizzas in.   We were all starving, so we quickly dug in. 

 

“I’m going to go to the bathroom,” Heidi said during dinner.  She got up and walked down the hall to the bathroom. 

 

Moments later, we heard a thud.  Brian was the first one up.  He hurried down the hall to see what had made the thud.  He came running back, his eyes wide.  “Heidi collapsed in the hall!” he exclaimed.

 

Josh jumped up next and followed Brian down the hall.   The rest of us followed.  I gasped when I saw Heidi sprawled on the ground, unconscious.

 

“Heidi?” Josh said, nudging her.  He looked up.  “Someone go get me a damp washcloth and a glass of water.”

 

Leighanne went to get the water and cloth and came back minutes later with them.  By then, Heidi was beginning to regain consciousness.  Josh lay the cold cloth across her forehead. 

 

Her eyes fluttered and then opened.  She looked around, confused.  “What…”

 

“You must have passed out, honey,” Brian said.  “Here, drink some water.”  He and Josh helped Heidi up into a sitting position and offered her the glass of water.  She sipped some.

 

“I’m okay now,” she said.  “I just got real dizzy in the hall all of a sudden.”

 

“Okay,” Josh said.  “Let’s take this slow though.”  He and Brian slowly helped Heidi to her feet.  She regained her balance and walked slowly along side of them back down the hall.  She was almost to the couch when she lost her balance again and nearly fell.  Brian and Josh caught her. 

 

“Sit down here, Heidi,” Brian coached, easing her down on the couch.

 

“My stomach hurts,” Heidi said softly.

 

“Your stomach?” Josh asked.

 

“Do you think she needs to go to the hospital, guys?” Kevin asked suddenly, his voice expressing his concern. 

 

Josh inspected Heidi again, who lay, pale and clammy, on the couch.  “Maybe we should take her down to the ER.  Just to make sure it’s nothing serious.”

 

I nodded.  “I’m going with,” I said.

 

“I want to go, too,” Sammy added. 

 

“Me too,” Nick said.

 

“I can drive y’all there,” Brian offered.

 

“Okay,” I said.  “We can take my car.  The rest of you guys, stay here.”  They all nodded.

 

I got my keys, while Brian and Nick helped Heidi out to the car.  I gave Brian the keys, and he climbed into the driver’s seat.  My car was pretty big, and there was a middle seatbelt in the front, so Sammy sat in the middle, and I sat on the passenger side.  That way, with only Nick in the back, Heidi could have some room to lay across the backseat.

 

“Here, Heidi, you just lay your head right here,” Nick said, bringing her head down to lay on his lap. 

 

I smiled at the sight of Heidi lying there, her head resting on Nick’s lap.  Nick gently smoothed Heidi’s dark hair off her sweaty forehead.  I smiled again.  He was such a sweetheart. 

 

Brian started the car and headed to St. Joseph’s.

 

***

 

Awhile later, we sat in the waiting room while the doctors examined Heidi.  

 

After awhile of waiting, her doctor came to tell us that he was going to run some tests and that we would need to wait some more until he got the results back. 

 

We waited for almost an hour, and finally, the doctor came back.  “You can go see Heidi now,” he said.

 

“What did the tests say?” I asked.  “Is there anything wrong?”

 

“Ask Heidi, and you’ll find out,” the doctor replied.  Perplexed, we followed him down the hall to the room that Heidi was in.  He let us in and left, leaving us alone with her.

 

When I walked into the room, I saw Heidi crying, and my heart sank.  Something was wrong. 

 

I perched on the edge of her bed and wrapped my arm gently around her shoulders.  “Heidi, what is it?” I asked, filled with concern.   “What’s wrong?”

 

She looked up.  “Nothing’s wrong,” she said, smiling.  

 

“What is it then?” I asked, extremely puzzled by then.  Why would she be smiling? 

 

“Guys,” Heidi started, “I’m pregnant.”

 

***

 

 

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