Chapter 37

 

“Oh, my God,” I gasped.  “You’re pregnant!?”  I broke into a grin.  “Heidi, that’s great!”

 

“I know,” Heidi said, smiling, her happy tears streaming down her face.

 

“How far along are you?” Sammy asked.

 

“About two and a half months,” Heidi said.  “I’ve been having what I guess was morning sickness for awhile now, but I’ve just ignored it.  I never thought I could possibly be pregnant.”

 

“What did you doctor tell you?  I mean, about your meds and stuff.  Did he tell you what caused you to become pregnant this time?  Cause your other doctor said you could never be pregnant,” I asked.

 

Heidi slowly shook her head.  “He didn’t know either,” she said.  “When he saw the meds I was on, he said that it was nearly impossible for someone taking them to become pregnant.”

 

I nodded.  “You’re a rare case then,” I said. 

 

“There’s something else though that I realized,” Heidi said.  “I didn’t tell my doctor this, but…”  Her sentence trailed off.

 

“But what?” Sammy asked.

 

“Well, think about it.  The doctor said I’m two and a half months pregnant, right?”  We nodded.  “Well, count back two and a half months.” 

 

I counted in my head.  It was the end of January, so two and a half months before would be the middle of November.  November?  “That means you would have gotten pregnant in November,” I said softly.  “But-“

 

“I know,” Heidi said.  “Sonny died in November.  And I would never have sex with anyone else.”

 

“And there’s no way you could have done it with him while he was in the hospital,” Nick said.  Brian just looked at him and stifled a laugh. 

 

“No, Nick, I bet not,” he said.  Sammy and I started giggling, and even Heidi cracked a smile.  Nick just rolled his eyes and smiled sheepishly.

 

“So, then how did you get pregnant?” Sammy asked.

 

“That’s what I’m wondering,” Heidi said.  “I mean, maybe the doctor’s tests are wrong, and I’m further along than that.  Or maybe… maybe it’s some kind of miracle.” 

 

We exchanged glances.  I knew that miracles happened.  As a doctor, I had seen them happen.  But even before I became a doctor, I knew they happened.  After all, standing in that very room with us were two living proofs.  I looked at Brian.  He had been through a miracle when he was only five years old.  And Nick.   It was a miracle that Nick was even walking again.  Of course miracles could happen, there was no doubt in my mind about that. 

 

“Guys, I know this may sound kinda farfetched, but… do you think Sonny could be responsible for this?” Heidi asked.

 

“What do you mean?” Nick asked.

 

“You know, maybe after he died, he could have made this possible,” Heidi said.  “After all, it happened right after he died.  Do you think that could happen?”

 

“Anything could happen,” I murmured. 

 

***

 

We brought Heidi home later that night.  As soon as we got home, we excitedly told everyone the good news. 

 

Not long after that, Kevin, Kristin, and Howie went back to their hotel, and we all got ready for bed. 

 

***

 

The next afternoon, Heidi, Brian, AJ, Nick, Josh, Hope, Megan, and I were the only ones around.  Leighanne, Amanda, and Sammy had all gone shopping.

 

They had all been gone for a couple hours when the phone rang.  “Hello?” I said, picking it up.

 

“Hi, Julie.  It’s Kristin,” Kristin said.

 

“Oh, hey, Kristin,” I said.  “What’s up?”

 

“I was just wondering if you and the girls wanted to come hang out for awhile,” Kristin replied.

 

“Sure,” I said.  “But actually, Heidi and I are the only girls here.  The rest of them went shopping.”

 

“Oh that’s okay.  Just come on over,” Kristin said.  “We talked about getting together last night while you were gone, so they’ll know to come on over when they get back.”

 

“Oh okay,” I replied.  “You want us to come now?”

 

“Yeah,” Kristin said.

 

“Okay, sounds good,” I replied.  “We’ll see you in a few.”

 

“Okay.  Bye,” she said.

 

“Bye,” I replied and hung up the phone.  “Hey, Heidi, Kristin wants you and I to come hang out in her hotel room.”

 

“Great,” Heidi said, smiling.  I smiled back.  She had been acting much happier since she had found out she was pregnant.  I hoped that this would help her get over Sonny’s death because I didn’t like seeing her so depressed.

 

We got our coats and piled into my car.  I drove us over to the hotel where Kevin, Kristin, and Howie were staying, the Bluegrass Inn.

 

We walked into the lobby of the hotel.  I looked around.  It was a nice hotel, very old-fashioned and elegant. 

 

I took notice of a woman standing behind the main desk on one side of the lobby.  My eyes narrowed as I studied her.  She had blonde hair, light green eyes, and pale skin, and there was something very familiar about her.  I felt as if I knew her, but I couldn’t figure out who she was. 

 

I then realized that Kristin hadn’t told me what room number they were in.  I decided to go ask the receptionist, hoping that if I talked to her,  I could figure out who she was.  I hurried over to her.  She looked even more familiar up close, but I still couldn’t place her.  Her name tag read Jaycee, but I didn’t recall ever knowing a person with that name.

 

“Excuse me, ma’am, but could you tell me what room number Kevin and Kristin Richardson are in?” I asked politely. 

 

She smiled slightly.  “I’ll show you,” she said.  “Come with me.”  She came around from the desk and motioned for us to follow her.  Puzzled, I glanced back at Heidi and Josh, then followed Jaycee down a short hallway to a set of closed double doors.  “Go on in there,” Jaycee said.

 

“But-“ I started, but was interrupted by Heidi.

 

“Just go on in, Julie.  It’s probably some kind of fancy suite that they’re staying in.”  

 

Shrugging, I slowly opened the doors, not seeing Heidi’s secretive smile.

 

I stepped into the room, which was dark.  I was immediately confused.  “Um… excuse me, but-“  I started to say to Jaycee, but when I turned around, she had disappeared.  “Where-“ I started to ask Heidi, but she stepped in behind me and flipped a light switch near the door.  Bright lights illuminated the room, and suddenly, a whole group of people leapt out from various spots in the room.

 

“Surprise!” they all shouted. 

 

I gasped, looking around in shock.  The spacious room was decorated all in light pink and baby blue, with balloons and streamers everywhere.  A big banner stretched across the wall directly across from me, which read Congratulations, Julie!   I then realized this was a surprise baby shower, for me.

 

I looked around at the people in the room.  My mouth dropped open as I recognized everyone.  Leighanne, Sammy, Amanda, and Kristin were all there.  Then I saw my sister, Breanna, and Josh’s sister, Kristine, as well as my three best friends since junior high, Jennie, Angel, and Chloe.  Then there were some of my friends and co-workers from the hospital. 

 

I was astounded.  “Oh, my gosh, guys!  I can’t believe this!” I cried, still shocked that they had done all this for me.  I turned to Heidi.  “You knew about this, didn’t you?”

 

She nodded, grinning.  “Sammy, Leighanne, and I have been planning the whole thing for months,” she said. 

 

“Wow, thanks, guys,” I said, hugging first Heidi, then Sammy, and then Leighanne.  I greeted everyone in the room, hugging those that I hadn’t seen in years. 

 

We all had a great time at the baby shower.  Everyone had gotten me a gift for the baby, and there was a huge cake as well.  I had more fun there than I had had in awhile, since the tragedy that had happened that past Halloween.   And I figured there would be more fun to come on Saturday, when we would have an even bigger party.   Little did I know that tragedy would soon strike again.

 

***

 

 

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