Chapter
10
That
evening, AJ drove home long enough to load the new car seat into his car and
come back to the hospital to pick up Tara and Madison. He went up to Tara’s room and found her
signing discharge papers. Once she had
finished, a nurse helped her into a wheelchair.
Then another nurse brought in Madison and gently placed her in Tara’s
arms. AJ tagged along as the nurse
wheeled Tara down the hall to the elevators.
They
went down to the first floor, and the nurse wheeled Tara out to AJ’s car, which
was parked in front. Tara handed Madison
to AJ while she climbed out of the wheelchair.
She took the car seat out of the backseat, where AJ had put it, and
turned it around so it facing backwards.
“That’s how you’re supposed to have it for newborns, right?” she asked, looking back at the nurse. The nurse smiled and nodded. AJ grinned sheepishly. Tara just winked at him. “Can you get her strapped in?” she
asked.
“Uh…
maybe you better do it,” AJ said. Tara
grinned and took Madison from his arms.
She carefully placed her in the car seat and fastened her in. It was awkward at first, but Tara figured she
would get used to doing it. Once Madison
was in, Tara climbed into the backseat, while AJ got into the driver’s
seat. “Thank you!” Tara called to the
nurse from the open window.
The
nurse smiled. “You’re welcome,” she
called back. “Have fun with
Madison!” Tara grinned and waved as AJ
pulled the car away.
AJ
drove slower than he ever had before all the way home. Normally, Tara would have told him to speed
up, but not with her precious new baby in the car.
They made it home in about twenty
minutes. AJ carefully inched the car
into the garage. He turned off the
ignition and looked at Madison. She was
sound asleep. Tara and AJ climbed out of
the car. Tara got Madison out while AJ
went and unlocked the door. He held it
open while Tara carried Madison inside.
The baby was still asleep. Tara
carried her upstairs to the nursery, and gently placed her in the crib.
Madison
stirred and opened her eyes. She began
to fuss. AJ just smiled and turned on
the mobile above her head. It had
clouds, rainbows, and stars, and it played “Twinkle, Twinkle”. Madison stared up at the mobile, watching the
shapes go around. Soon her eyelids began
to droop, and she fell asleep.
***
Two
days later, Tara sat nursing Madison in the living room, when the phone
rang. “AJ, could you get that?” Tara
called. AJ was in the kitchen making a
snack.
“Yeah,
I got it!” he called back, grabbing the phone in the kitchen. “Hello?” he said.
“Yes,
is this Mr. McLean?” asked a woman.
“Yeah,”
AJ replied.
“Hi,
Mr. McLean, this is Dr. Hall. Is Tara
around?” Dr. Hall asked.
“Uh,
she’s nursing Madison right now. Can I
take a message?” AJ replied.
“Well,
your Madison’s father, so I suppose I should tell you this,” Dr. Hall said.
Suddenly,
AJ felt a chill run down his spine.
Whatever the news was, it didn’t sound good. “Sure,” he said. “What is it?”
“Well,
it’s concerning Madison’s test results for the HIV test,” Dr. Hall said. AJ’s stomach lurched. With all the excitement of having a new baby
at home, he had completely forgotten about the HIV test. “It seems Madison has tested positive for
HIV,” Dr. Hall continued. “I’m very
sorry.”
AJ
choked back tears and tried to hide his emotions over the phone. “Thanks for calling,” he said, his voice
thick.
“I
just wish I could have given you better news,” she said.
“Well,
what do we do about this?” asked AJ.
“I’m
afraid I’m not specialized in treating HIV.
Take her to whoever your specialist is, and he’ll talk to you about it.”
“Ok,
thanks,” AJ said. “Bye.”
“Goodbye,”
said Dr. Hall, and they both hung up.
Once he had hung up the phone, AJ sunk down in one of the kitchen chairs
and buried his head in his hands.
“Who
was that, Aje?” Tara called from the other room. AJ sighed and stood up, preparing to give
Tara the awful news.
***
