Moreno's (Moreno Brothers Series) - Elizabeth Reyes Page 0,65
related.
Truth was, despite this being a time in his life when he should be fawning over his pregnant wife and thoughts of becoming of father should be at the forefront of his mind, that was hardly the case. Carmela was showing now, and it excited her. It should excite him too.
It wasn’t that the idea of becoming a father wasn’t one he’d since embraced. He was just so consumed with other thoughts that it drowned out any other reflections and feelings. Even now, he didn’t feel nearly as worried about this as he knew he’d be if this was Isa. He felt like a dick even admitting it to himself. But he reasoned that his father hadn’t seemed too concerned either. He said pregnant women faint sometimes and that he shouldn’t worry too much.
“Nothing a little smelling salt won’t fix.”
He’d calmly assured Alej she’d be fine, and he should remain calmado. But yes, he absolutely needed to go be by her side. Even as he pressed down on the gas pedal a little harder, thoughts of what a mad man he’d be driving like if this were Isa, despite his father’s reassurance, plagued him. Of course, he’d get every fucking red light all the way to the freeway, and then traffic was a bitch when he finally did jump on.
He’d had way too much time to think as he’d sat in the bumper-to-bumper traffic. By the time he drove into the hospital’s parking lot, Alej chastised himself for being such a shitty husband. He’d been in such a foul mood since the festival, and he knew Carmela had noticed. He kept having to inwardly reprimand himself for not being able to just snap the fuck out of it.
Walking into the hospital, he was determined to cut the crap. She’d likely be awake by the time he saw her, and he’d be the concerned doting husband she deserved.
No surprise, her parents, Maria and Pepe, were already there when he arrived at the waiting room. Their record store was right around the corner from the hospital. What did surprise and alarm him were her mother’s tears.
“What happened? What’s wrong?”
“Ay, Alej,” Maria said, standing from where she’d sat, wiping her nose with a tissue. “El bebé.”
She shook her head, unable to go on, and Alej turned to Pepe, who looked just as shook up. “She lost the baby?”
“Are you Mrs. Moreno’s husband?” A woman in full scrubs and gown stood at the open door of the waiting room.
“Yes,” he said as his heart spiked. “Did she lose the baby?”
Alej didn’t even know you could lose a baby this far into the pregnancy. Carmela had been reading up on it, and according to what she’d read, they’d passed the most dangerous mark weeks ago.
“Come on back where we can talk more privately.”
Following her into the doorway she’d been holding open, Alej felt the dread creep up his spine, but he welcomed it. This was where his head and thoughts should’ve been all this time, damn it. This marriage and pregnancy may not have played out ideally the way he would’ve planned it, but he’d accepted it, and his heart had completely embraced the idea that he’d have a child soon.
They walked into an office where another woman in scrubs sat behind the desk, and the woman who called him in closed the door behind her. She introduced herself as Dr. Nelson and then introduced the other doctor already in the room.
“This is Dr. Hadichi the OBGYN’s ER technician who performed emergency surgery to remove the fetus from your wife’s womb.”
“So, the baby’s alive?” he asked, hopeful that Maria had gotten it wrong, but Dr. Hadichi shook her head solemnly.
“No, have a seat, Mr. Moreno.” She pointed to one of the chairs in front of the desk she sat behind as the reality of how bad this was, began to hit him. “The fetus was in fetal demise when she arrived. But your wife was running a high fever, so we immediately suspected an infection, which meant we had to move fast. I’ll explain more about the surgery and the fetal demise later. Right now, Dr. Nelson should explain what’s going on with your wife.”
“I’m the neurologist on call today.”
“Neurologist?” Alej asked, not sure what that meant, but it sounded scary.
“Brain specialist,” she said, making his heart spike again; then she nodded, acknowledging Alej’s wide-eyed stare. “It seems the fetus had been dead for some time in womb. Something that can be toxic to the