Eyes Wide Open
Part 2
Tom entered the quiet room and closed the door. There was silence except for
the beeping heart monitor. He pulled the chair next to her bed and sat down. *She
looks like an angel,* he thought to himself. He looked around the room and noticed
the abundance of flowers. *An angel with a lot of friends.*
As he watched her sleep, scenes from the incident flashed through his mind.
Ashley Reed barging into the room and the gun going off and hitting Cassy...
Cassy bleeding on the floor...Tom screaming for help.
But help came, thanks to Officer Tina Jones, who had the foresight to call in back
up as soon as she left with the baby. Within seconds uniformed officers took the
Reeds into custody and within minutes, the EMT's arrived and got to work on
Cassy. He would never be able to thank Tina enough for her help. Without her the
day would have ended very differently.
He took Cassy's hand and kissed it. He could feel his throat tighten. He
swallowed a few times. He was not going to cry. He took a deep breath and
began.
"Nothings gonna change my love for you
You ought to know by now how much I love you
One thing you can be sure of
I never asked for more than your love
Nothing's gonna change my love
You ought to know by now how much I love you
The woman changed my whole life too
but nothings gonna change my love for you."
Tom stopped fighting and let the tears fall. He sang that song to her
on their wedding day. He prayed that she might hear it again.
"Tom?" Cassy mumbled, eyes still closed.
He wiped his eyes and grabbed her hand. "Yeah, it's me. Can you hear me?"
"Tom?"
He leaned in closer. He wondered if she could hear his rapid heart beat.
"I'm here."
"If I open my eyes, will you stop singing?"
Tom gasped, and then smiled. If she was insulting him then she must
be doing better. "Honey, if you'll open your eyes, I'll do anything you
want."
She opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was Tom. He was smiling at her.
She closed her eyes. "Hi," she whispered.
Joy flooded his body. He wanted to dance around the room; instead he
just sat there grinning. "You had us scared Cass. Don't do that again."
She opened her eyes. "Promise. Baby?"
He placed his hand on her stomach. He could feel a tiny bulge. He had no
idea she was beginning to show.
"The baby is fine and so are you."
"Happened?"
"Let's not talk about it right now. You need to rest."
"Happened?"
Tom sighed. Even half-conscious she was insistent. "Sweetie, you were
shot."
"Reed?"
"Actually Ashley Reed did it. But don't worry, they are in custody. And
thanks to Reed's confession, it looks like they are going down for murder."
"Good. Other baby?"
"The other baby?" Tom was confused. "Oh, you mean the baby at the
clinic? He's fine. Social Services has him."
"Great. Tired."
He kissed her forehead. "I'm going to get the doctor. You just rest and I'll be
back."
"Okay."
He hated to leave her but he wanted to tell Harry the good news. Besides,
his emotions were running so high that he needed a little distance to sort
them out.
He opened the door to his studio apartment and looked around. Everything was
exactly the same as it was when he left yesterday morning. The dishes were still in
the sink and the garbage was still waiting to be taken outside. There was no sign
in his apartment that his life had done a 180 degree turn in less than twenty-four
hours; that he had almost lost the woman he loved and their unborn child.
He fixed a drink and sat on the couch. Did he just say that? The woman he
loved? Who was he kidding? He knew he loved her. And after what happened
there was no denying that fact. It wasn't because of the baby. He'd been in love
with Cassy all along. The baby, along with the events of that day, forced him
to admit it to himself.
"I love her. That is a definite. The question is, does she still love me?"
He pulled the wedding picture/driver's license out of his pocket and
looked at it. "If she didn't love me, then why would she still have this, let alone
keep it in her wallet? I think she still loves me, even if she won't admit it."
He looked at the wedding picture and smiled. That was the best day of his
life, he thought to himself. A small wedding in Harry and Frannie's
backyard. His father as best man and Cassy's sister, Claudia, as her maid of
honor. She was breathtaking in her dress. And when they exchanged rings
and were pronounced husband and wife, life was perfect.
Life was going to be perfect again, Tom thought. Tomorrow I'm going to
open up to her and hope she feels the same way. He looked at the picture
again. I'm sure of it.
<<
By: Glenn Medeiros
To Part 3