Incredible Beauty by Missy Johnson Page B

parents? And her grandmother? I will call Maria now,” I added.
    “Sure, don't worry I'll get onto it right now, then I will come down. Where is she?”
    I gave her the details and thanked her before hanging up. Having all that crap off my mind made the smallest bit easier. Now for Maria. Dialing her number, I almost wished she wouldn’t answer, so I could put off this conversation without feeling guilty.
    “Simon,” Maria said, sounding happy to hear from me.
    “Maria, its Em. She’s not well.” I didn’t want to draw the conversation out and pretend things were fine when they weren’t.
    “Oh god, Simon, what is it? Is it the baby? Is Em okay?”
    “She had a stroke. They need to deliver the baby today, so that they can stabilize her and operate to remove another blood clot,” I explained, wiping tears from my eyes.
    “No…I have to come over,” she whispered.
    “She’s stable now, I’ll update you when I hear more,” I promised.
    I sat in the cafeteria for a few more minutes, waiting for the tears to dry. It was silly, but I didn’t want the nurses, or anyone to notice that I’d been crying, I didn’t need or want anyone feeling sorry for me.

Chapter Fifteen
    Simon
    I decided not to call mom yet. After telling Cass and Maria, I didn’t think I could deal with another phone call, especially to my mother who I knew was going to be shattered by this news. I knew I couldn’t put it off forever, but I could at least delay calling her until I had a better idea of what was going on. There was nothing she could do right now and telling her would only make her worry. My brother was unreachable. Last time I’d heard from Andrew, he and his family were in Africa doing something for orphaned Gorillas and I was pretty sure they were still there.
    Back in her room, Lucy was beginning to prep for Em’s surgery. Standing in the corner of the room I felt as though I was in the way, but every few minutes, Lucy would look up and explain what she was doing and why she was doing it.
    “I’m done for the moment, if you want to sit with her,” she said, covering Em up with the sheets. “They won’t be taking her for another hour or so.”
    Nodding, I walked over to the chair and sat down. As I held her hand, I reached over and touched her hair, brushing it aside so I could see her face clearly.
    “We had to take off her jewelry,” the nurse began, handing me a small bag, “I thought you might want to keep a hold of this until she is well enough to wear it again.” Opening the bag, I pulled out Em’s engagement ring. The diamond sparkled under the harsh lights in the room. A pair of earrings and her necklace then fell out onto my palm. I slid the jewelry back into the bag and into my pocket. The nurse left the room which I felt was completely for my benefit, just in case…I didn’t even want to say it, much less think it. All I knew was how much I loved this woman.
    Opening the bag again, I pulled out the necklace and the ring. Threading the necklace through the ring, I placed it around my neck. It just fit, I was lucky Em liked her necklaces to hang low. I wanted that ring as close to my heart as possible.
    The machines continued to breathe for her. I tried to imagine they weren’t there and it was only Em and me in the room, that this was one of those times she’d pretend to be asleep until climbed into the bed beside her, wrapping my arms around her body. She wouldn’t crack though, not until I tickled her neck with my kisses. Only then would she start to smile, her laughter filling the room. In the pit of my stomach I felt sick, knowing that was not going to happen now.
    I’d been sitting with Em for close to an hour, our fingers interlocked and my head was resting on them. My phone began to vibrate in my pocket. Pulling it out, I saw that it was Cass.
    “I’ll be back soon,” I promised, kissing her hand. Armed with my cell, I headed to the waiting room just down from the nurses station. Once