Carmen woke to a crackling sound and sat up, trying to identify it. To her horror, she discovered it was Destiny breathing. Destiny coughed and sat up with a wale that sounded more like a broken growl. Carmen was at her side instantly.
“Mommy’s here, sweetie.”
Destiny coughed again and then retched.
“Mommy,” she croaked, lifting her hands to Carmen.
Carmen let the bed rail down and jerked the tent from under the mattress, allowing Destiny to crawl close. Taking special care not to crimp the IV cord, she cuddled Destiny close. She felt hot again.
Destiny stiffened with a fit of coughing and then drug a deep rattling breath. Again she coughed until she retched. Carmen grabbed a tissue from the table next to the bed and wiped Destiny’s nose. A feeling of panic grew in her as she reached for the button to summons a nurse.
A few minutes later the nurse came in.
“Oh my, you shouldn’t be inside the tent with her.”
“She’s coughing and gagging,” Carmen defended. “I can’t just sit here and do nothing while she’s suffering. Nothing is working. She just keeps getting worse!”
“Calm down,” the nurse said. “If you panic, she will be frightened.”
She was right, of course, but having mama stand there watching her suffer was just as upsetting for Destiny.
“She needs to be loved . . . touched.”
The nurse patted her on the shoulder. “I know. It’s difficult to watch a child suffer, but she needs to be under the tent, and the tent needs to be closed around her so that it maintains a consistent level of oxygen.”
Carmen disentangled herself from Destiny and urged her to lie down. Destiny cried harder, clinging to her hands and trying to get back into her arms.
“Mommy will be right here,” Carmen said as she gently pulled away. “You can sit up, but you have to stay in there.”
She backed out of the tent and tucked it under the mattress. Pulling the rail back up, she stood beside the tent, helplessly watching Destiny cry until she coughed herself into another retching fit. Tears were streaming down her cheeks.
“Daddy,” she cried.
Carmen swallowed a lump in her throat and blinked tears from her eyes. Right now she also wished Alex was here.
The nurse smiled tolerantly. “I’ll check and see if we can give her something.”
She probably thought Destiny was a spoiled child. The nurse would have no way of knowing how uncharacteristic this behavior was for Destiny.
Destiny suddenly stopped crying and stared at the door. “Papa,” she said.
Carmen followed her gaze and was surprised to find Señor Medena standing in the doorway. Felipa stood behind him, smiling. He lifted his hand and displayed a doll to Destiny. Destiny’s eyes lit up when she saw it. He handed the doll to Carmen.
“I think maybe she would like this, yes?”
Carmen handed Destiny the doll and she wrapped it in her arms. She lay down, hugging it. Minutes later when the nurse arrived with a syringe of medicine, Destiny was asleep again, still clutching the doll to her chest. Every breath rattled, and she coughed in her sleep. The nurse injected the medicine into the IV and left the room.
Carmen turned to Señor Medena. “How did you get here? Are the roads clear?”
He shrugged. “I do not know. I came in a charter helicopter. Good thinking, yes?”
Felipa leaned around him to look at Carmen. Her smile warmed the room.
“He would not let me come alone. He thinks I am still a child.”
Señor Medena glanced at Felipa and shrugged again. “She is not a child. Still, she needs my help, do you think?”
Carmen winked at Felipa. “Buying the doll, no doubt.”
Señor Medena colored and stepped over to the window, looking out. “I will not be under the feet.”
Felipa smiled. “He got a room at the hotel.”
For the first time, it crossed Carmen’s mind that he was kind of cute. Partly because of the way he worded things, but mostly because he tried to mask his emotions – like Alex. Felipa definitely needed his help with chartering the helicopter, but he could have done that from Houston.
Mom used to say that children and dogs weren’t fooled by people. He certainly had Destiny’s approval – and the admiration appeared to be mutual. Who would have thought he would become attached to a child that was neither his own blood nor male?
Carmen gazed down at Destiny inside the oxygen tent. Wet auburn curls were plastered around her pale face and the back of her neck. She looked small and vulnerable. The dream came to her mind.
“I wonder if God is punishing us,” she mused.
“For what?” Felipa asked in a surprised tone.
“For being greedy and making children without god’s consent,” Carmen said.
There was a long silence and then Señor Medena spoke.
“God does not use innocent children to punish the sins of parents. It is not a sin to want your child.”
He spoke so clearly and with such conviction that Carmen wondered if he was thinking about Alex. She met his steady gaze.
“It isn’t a sin to want our own children, but to make them with artificial means . . .”
He frowned. “Where it is written how we are to make a child?
Good point. Maybe he was defending surrogacy. Then again, maybe he was still defending his fight for Alex. More important, though, was the fact that he believed the child should not suffer for the sins of the parent. He must understand what Alex had been through.
“You should get some rest, Carmen,” Felipa said. “I will watch for a while.”
“I told her I would be here,” Carmen said. “I wouldn’t want her to wake up and find me gone.”
Señor Medena gracefully seated himself in the chair beside Destiny.
“I will watch,” he declared in a tone that left no room for argument. “You both will go eat.”
“Come on,” Felipa said, grabbing Carmen’s arm. “I am so hungry. Show me where we might eat.”
Carmen hesitated. Destiny probably wouldn’t wake before they returned, and even if she did, Señor Medena would keep her occupied. Besides, she was as hungry as she was exhausted. She shrugged.
“Thank you,” she said to Señor Medena.
He merely nodded.
Carmen led Felipa to the cafeteria and bought her lunch. As soon as they were settled at a table, Felipa lay out her plan.
“I will stay with you tonight so you can rest. Father will need to rest as well.”
“Why did he come?” Carmen asked, and then made a face. “That didn’t sound very nice. It’s just that . . .”
Felipa waved a hand in dismissal. “He says it is not safe for a woman to travel alone.”
Another way he was like Alex. There was a fine line between protecting and smothering, though. Katie would call it controlling. Maybe there was no difference. Alex liked being in control, but most of the time she wouldn’t describe him as being controlling. It did matter to him what she wanted or thought about things.
For a moment she envisioned him and felt a pang of loneliness. How long had it been since they had slept in the same bed? It seemed like forever. It was much easier to sleep with his protective arm around her waist.
After they finished their meal, she excused herself and walked to a secluded area to call him on her cell phone. She called the house phone. If he was on the road, he didn’t need to be distracted. It rang three times and then Jonathan answered.
“Jonathan?” Carmen asked. “Is Alex in the house?”
“Yes, but he’s asleep. Do you want me to get him?”
It was the middle of the day, and Alex never took a nap. “Is he alright?” she asked.
“He’s been sick all morning. He says he has a cold.”
In the background she heard Alex ask him who he was talking to.
“Mom,” Jonathan called to him. Alex said something and Jonathan conveyed it to Carmen.
“He says he wants to talk to you.”
A few seconds later Alex answered the phone. His voice sounded terrible.
“How is Destiny?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” she said. “A while ago she woke up coughing and crying, and her fever was up. When I left the room, she was sweating until even her hair was wet. When she breaths, she crackles. The nurse gave her something.”
“She was sweating? That sounds like her fever finally broke. Crackling is much better than that faint wheezing. The congestion must be breaking up.”
Carmen caught her breath. “Do you mean she’s getting better?”
“Well, I haven’t seen her, but . . . what does the doctor say?”
“I haven’t seen him yet. I came down with Felipa to get something to eat.”
There was a pause. “Felipa is there?” He asked, and then coughed.
“Yes, she came in with Señor Medena a little while ago. He’s watching Destiny right now. You should have seen her when he came in carrying a doll. She called him Papa.”
The line was silent for so long that she checked her phone to see if the call had been dropped.
“Alex?” she asked tentatively.
“I’m still here,” he said in a tone that sounded tired.
“Don’t be angry, honey,” she said.
“I’m not angry,” he said roughly. “I just wonder what his angle is.”
“I suppose he wanted to help. Felipa said he was concerned about her traveling alone.”
He snorted. “Yeah, but he doesn’t mind leaving her out in the cold after he dies.”
“You don’t know that for sure, Alex,” she said gently.
“Are you on his side already?” He asked sourly.
“I’m not on anyone’s side,” she said.
He groaned. “Well, it’s nice to know where I stand.”
“Please don’t be this way, Alex. I don’t want to be in the middle of your feud. I have enough on my plate already.”
He sighed. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. You must be exhausted.”
“You must be too. You sound terrible.”
“Well thanks,” he said, and went into a coughing fit.
“Alex,” she said quickly. “Are you alright?”
“I’m alright,” he said after he regained control of his voice. “I’d better not come up there, though. I’m sorry.”
“It’s alright. Just take care of yourself.” She shifted the phone. “Can I talk to Jonathan?”
“Sure,” Alex said.
After a few moments Jonathan answered.
“Mom?”
“Jonathan, you take care of your Dad, alright? Warm him some chicken soup and make sure he drinks plenty of water.”
“I will, Mom. I gave him some orange juice.”
“Good job,” Carmen said. “And take care of yourself, too.”
“I will.”
“I love you,” she said.
“Love you too, Mom. I’ll talk to you later.”
As proud as she was of Jonathan, it was Alex who stayed on her mind for a long time after the phone call. He was rarely sick, and even then it was hard to get him to go to bed. If he was in bed under the current circumstances, he must be sicker than he was letting on.
When she and Felipa returned to the room, the doctor was there. He said Destiny’s fever had broken and if she continued to improve, they would take the tent off her bed in a few days. It was great news and she should have felt relieved. Of course, to an extent, she did. Still, Alex might be getting worse. After he recovered from the stabbing, the Doctor said he had scar tissue and would be susceptible to pneumonia in the injured lung. She couldn’t be with Destiny and Alex at the same time.
Felipa put a hand on her arm. “You must not be sad,” she said. “Destiny is getting better.”
Carmen nodded. “I know, but now Alex is sick. He’s at home with Jonathan and he can’t come in because Destiny might catch what he has.”
Felipa frowned. “What does he have?”
Carmen sighed. “He says he thinks he has a cold, but the doctor told me he could get pneumonia real easy.”
Señor Medena shrugged into his coat. “I will take care of Alex.”
Carmen gasped. “He won’t . . . I mean, you don’t need to do that.”
His smile was sardonic. “He does not want my help. I know this. Many times he tells me.”
Without another word, he left the room.
Carmen turned to Felipa. “How will he get there?”
Felipa smiled. “He will find someone to take him.”
Carmen stared after him. Alex would be upset, but what could she do? On the other hand, Alex needed to be in a position where he was forced to actually talk to his father. Not that it was going to help. At best, Alex would be courteous to him. At worst . . . she didn’t want to think about that. Señor Medena would take care of him and see that he got to the hospital if he needed to go. That was what mattered right now.
Maybe Señor Medena was trying to ingratiate himself with Alex. Yet he seemed so sincere. He loved Alex, of that she was certain, and sometimes she got the distinct impression that Alex felt something for him – something besides dislike. Sometimes the way Alex looked at him when he was talking – times when he was actually listening to him – it seemed to her that he felt that close bond.
She shook her head and sighed as she sat down. Alex always said she had a good imagination. Maybe it was more than that. Maybe it was more a case of wishing it were so. Once again fear squeezed her stomach. If Alex forgave his father, would he want to return to that lifestyle? Was his life here yet another facet of his rebellion? Her heart said no, but then there was logic. Alex might have convinced himself that he wanted a simpler lifestyle. Worse, he might decide he didn’t want a wife or children. She had to stop thinking that way.