While I had been thinking about all of this, Dr. Vermillion had started talking. I hadn’t been paying much attention to her until I’d heard, “your husband”. My head snapped up to stare at her as I’d started saying, “OO? Oo? Uswan? Oo?” There had been a moment of uneasy silence before the guy—Jason—stepped up.
He’d definitely been unsure, but when he’d reached for my hand, my mom had let it go willingly. The guy—Jason—had grasped my hand in a handshake. As he nervously shook my hand, Jason had said, “Hi, I’m Jason Woodruff, and I’ve had the honor of loving you and being your husband for almost fifteen years.”
Shock. Absolute and utter shock was the only way to describe that declaration. I’d been frozen in place. The room had kind of spun around me, and if it hadn’t been for my parents holding me up, I would have collapsed back on the bed.
The guy… I didn’t know why I had kept referring to him as ‘the guy’. I’d known his name, but he’d been ‘the guy’ for as long as I could remember. Granted that had been less than a day, but at that point it had been enough to be engrained.
Anyway, Jason had turned a little and looked back over his shoulder. He’d spoken quietly, so I couldn’t make out what he was saying, but Dr. Vermillion had nodded her head. As Jason had turned back to face me, he’d swallowed and gathered his composure before he’d started to speak again. “We’ve been together just over seventeen years, and,” he’d paused to swallow again, looking like he could be sick. Jason had drawn in a couple more steadying breaths and continued, “And we have four kids.”
WHAT THE FUCK! HOLD THE PHONE! STOP THE PRESSES! Whatever somebody says to stop the crazy train. Hadn’t it been just five minutes ago I had been preparing to mourn my inability to ever carry a child, and now I have four? FOUR? Four? FOUR? FOUR! I’d contemplated passing out just to keep from thinking about it. I mean, I couldn’t even keep an aloe plant alive, and I was responsible for not one but four human beings?
Everyone had taken my reaction in stride. My parents had murmured more encouraging words, and Jason had continued with his description of his—I mean, our—children. My reaction to the news had to break his heart. Who wants to see the person they call the love of their life in tears at the news of your marriage and children? I can only imagine myself in his place, and I can’t blame him for any of the emotions he’d felt. Honestly, I wouldn’t have blamed him if he’d turned around and walked out of the hospital room without a backwards glance. He hadn’t, though, Jason had kept on talking about his—our—four children.
“Damaris is thirteen, and she studies dance. She’s definitely a born leader. Rissa—umm, that’s what we call her—will take anybody and any creature, much to your dismay, under her wing.” He’d chuckled a bit at the ‘much to my dismay’ part.
“Sybany is eleven. I’m pretty sure that one day she will rule the world. She’s never met an obstacle she couldn’t conquer. Your love of gymnastics rubbed off on her; she’d live in the gym if she could. She’s the quietest and most reserved of the kids.
“Xavier is our oldest boy. He just turned nine a few weeks ago. He’s our resident rock and roller. He’s been playing the drums for two years and the guitar for four years. He wants to try out for a performing arts school. Music is in his blood, he says. Although, I’m not sure how, since neither of us has any musical ability what so ever.
“And last, but not least, is the baby of the family, Dawson. Dawson is… Well, Dawson marches to the beat of his own drum. He’s five and is convinced the world is here just for him. He has an enthusiasm for life that if we could bottle it, we’d be billionaires. While Sybany is taking over the world, Dawson will be leading the resistance. He’s a nonconformist.”
The entire time Jason had talked, a small smile graced his lips. More importantly, it had lit his eyes. You could tell how much he loved and adored his—our—kids. The pride had radiated off of him as he’d talked about them.
Jason
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