City Of Dreams Ch. 13

I didn’t say a word. I nodded my head. As we headed down the hallway he put his arm around my shoulder.

“Did they send you down here?”

He nodded his head.

“I planned on it anyways, but they thought it was a good idea too. Miah…you know that Bailey thought he was doing the right thing. He was keeping the promise he made to your mom…”

I interrupted him.

“I know, Austin, but it’s just one more thing I can’t deal with right now. I need to be there for my mom right now. I will deal with everything else later. Ok?”

He nodded his head and I felt his arm tighten around me. When we got to the nurses station the doctor was not there. A nurse approached me.

“Mr. Summers?”

I nodded my head.

“The doctor needed to go in to see your mom. She’s in the third room on your right. He said to send you right in.”

“Thank you.”

As we approached the door Austin gave me a hug.

“I’ll be right out here if you need anything. Ok, bro?”

“Thanks, Austin, I love you.”

“I love you too, buddy.”

I took a deep breath and walked into the room.

James was sitting next to my mom’s bed and he was holding her hand. At the sound of the door opening they both looked at me. My mom’s face broke out in a smile. She reached her hand out to me.

“Hey, baby.”

I rushed over and grabbed her hand. I sat down on the bed next to her. I leaned over and kissed her cheek.

“How are you feeling, mom?”

She smiled at me.

“I feel as good as can be expected, honey, they’ve given me some medication. I’m just really tired right now. Where’s Bailey?”

I didn’t answer her.

“Jeremiah, you cannot be upset with him. I made him promise me that he wouldn’t tell you. I didn’t want you to know right away. I did plan on talking to you about it though before something like this happened.”

“I know, mom, I’ll handle things with Bailey later.”

My mom looked at James and then looked back at me. They both looked a bit nervous. Something was up!

“Ok you two. What is going on? What else do I need to know about?”

They could hear my voice getting more upset. My mom squeezed my hand.

“There is something we need to talk to you about, but it’s not bad. I promise.”

I saw the doctor squeeze my mom’s hand and he rubbed his other hand on top of hers.

“I have to say you’ve got a great bedside manner, James, I wish all doctors were like you.”

James looked at my mom and then looked at me.

“Well, normally I don’t give patients such special care, but your mom is a special case. We’re old friends.”

I looked at my mom.

“James used to live by us, Jeremiah, he worked at the local hospital where I used to volunteer at. We worked together a few times and became good friends.”

I smiled at them both.

“I’m glad you were able to see each other again. That wasn’t too big a surprise mom. It was a good one though.”

My mom squeezed my hand.

“There’s more, Jeremiah.”

I opened my mouth to ask her what was going on, but she interrupted me.

“Let me tell you everything first. You can ask all the questions you want afterwards ok, honey?”

I nodded my head.

“You know how much of a bastard your dad was. Well, one night he had beaten me up really bad. I ended up having to go to the hospital. Luckily, James was on duty that night. He ended up helping me and we both had a really long talk. We became really good friends after that. One night I got into another huge fight with you father and I needed to get away. I went out to get something to eat, and I ran into James. He had just had a fight with his wife. They were starting to go through a divorce and things were getting bad. We sat for a few hours and talked. It was really nice.”

My mom paused for a second and looked at James. He nodded his head telling her to go on.

“One thing led to another and…well…James and I shared a very special evening together.”

My eyes widened a bit. I can’t say that I blamed her though. James was certainly a handsome man, and my father was a major fucking asshole.

“I understand, mom, I can’t say I blame you. Wilson was an asshole.”

She nodded her head. She took a deep breath.

“That night with James was definitely one of the few gifts I’ve had in my life, but I soon found out that I was getting an even greater gift from him.”

My mom’s eyes filled up with tears. I squeezed her hand. She looked up and her eyes met mine. Silence had filled the room. What is she talking about?

“What gift are you talking about, mom?”

“You. Nine months after that night I had you, baby.”

It took a second for what she said to register in my brain. My eyes widened in shock and I looked back and forth between the two of them.

“What? How? You mean…”

She nodded her head.

“I never got the chance to tell James about you. He was transferred out of state a few weeks into my pregnancy. I was trying to find a way to tell him, but it was too late. He was gone.”

I looked at my mom. She nodded again.

“Wilson wasn’t your father. James is your dad.”

I never saw James get up, but all of sudden he was standing next to me.

“If I would have known about this, Jeremiah, I would have come back for you and your mom. I know that you’re an adult now, but I would like to have the chance to get to know you. If that’s ok with you I mean.”

I looked at my mom. Tears were streaming down her face.

“Wilson knew he wasn’t the father. We hadn’t had sex in over a year. That’s why he pushed me away, honey, he made me leave and I’ll never forgive myself for not coming back for you. I wish…”

I leaned over and grabbed her into a hug.

“You did everything you could do. You have no reason to feel bad and there is nothing to forgive. Wilson was an evil man, and there was nothing you could have done. I love you and nothing can change that.”

I sat back up and I looked at James. My father. I can’t even believe it.

“Dad?”

He smiled and reached over and grabbed me.

“Even though this isn’t the best day in the world I have to say that I’ve never been happier.” My mom said.

We all smiled at each other. I looked back to James, I mean my dad.

“I’d really like it if we got to know each other. You obviously know what Wilson was like, and it would be great to have a father again. My real father.”

Tears rolled from his eyes, but he had a huge smile on his face. He looked at my mother again and they smiled.

“There is just one last thing we need to tell you, baby.”

I looked at my mother.

“Jeremiah…” James said. “I have another son. You have a brother.”

“WHAT?”

I may have yelled, but a huge smile was forming on my face. This was fucking unbelievable. The sound of my loud voice must have worried Austin because as soon as the word left my mouth the door opened. He stepped into the room.

“Is everything ok in here? I thought I heard you yell, Miah.”

I smiled at him. I really got lucky to have a friend like Austin. I was about to answer him, but he beat me to it.

“Dad, what are you doing here? I thought you were off today? Are you the doctor working on Miah’s mom? That is great! Miah, I can guarantee she will get the best care ever! My dad’s the best doctor in town!”

I could barely find my voice.

“Austin…James is your dad?”

He nodded and a smile broke out on his face.

“Yup! Mrs. Summers, you are going to get the best care in the…” His voice broke off. “Why are all of you staring at me like that? Is my fly open?”

He glanced down at his jeans, but looked right back up at us. His face was a mask of confusion.

James looked at me.

“Miah?”

I nodded.

“Austin, is this who you’ve been talking about the last few months?”

Austin nodded and grinned.

“I have to admit I wanted you to meet him under better circumstances though.”

Tears filled my eyes. Could this really be happening? I wanted to pinch myself. I looked back and forth between James and my mother.

“Please tell me this isn’t a joke because if it is…”

Austin interrupted me.

“What is going on? What joke are you talking about?”

James walked over to Austin and put a hand on his shoulder.

“Austin, do you remember when we talked about me and your mom?”

He nodded his head.

“Do you remember a few weeks ago when I told you about the woman I met back in our old town? How I wanted to try to find her?”

He nodded again, but looked even more confused.

“You tried to find me?” My mom asked.

James nodded his head. Austin looked back and forth.

“You mean Miah’s mom was the woman you were looking for?”

James nodded his head and smiled.

“What a small fucking world this is? What are the odds that Miah and I would end up friends?”

Austin smiled at me.

“There’s more, son.”

Austin looked back at his, I mean our dad.

“What?”

“I just found out today that Raquel, Miah’s mom, had a baby after we left. My baby.”

You could see on his face that Austin was shocked. He looked at our dad and then at me.

“So…that would mean…”

Austin looked back at James. He nodded.

“Miah is my son. He’s more than your friend, Austin, he’s your brother.”

Austin looked at me. Tears had filled both of our eyes. We’ve called each other brother for a few months now, but today we find out that it’s true. We started towards each other at the same time. My arms reached him first and I pulled him up against me. We were both crying, but it was definitely happy tears.

“Is this awesome or what?” Austin said in my ear.

“It’s pretty fucking awesome, bro.”

We looked at each and smiled. Dad came over and put his hand on Austin’s shoulder.

“Let’s step outside, son, and give your brother some time alone with his mom.”

Austin nodded. He went over and hugged my mom.

“Thank you. This means so much to me. I love you.”

“I love you too, honey, I’m glad everyone was able to find out.”

I gave my dad a hug. He whispered in my ear.

“There might not be much time, son, I’ll make sure you two are left alone. We’ll be right outside if you need us.”

“Thanks, dad.”

He ruffled my hair.

“I like the sound of that.”

I grinned at him.

“Me too.”

Dad went over and gave my mom a hug and a kiss. He whispered something in her ear. Austin came over and gave me another hug.

“I’ll be right outside with my dad, Miah, I’m sorry. Our dad.”

He grinned at me. I leaned over and gave him a light kiss on his lips.

“Thank you, Austin.”

He kissed me back.

“No reason to thank me, Miah, that’s what brothers are for buddy.”

Austin and his dad headed out the door. Both of them smiled at us. I turned around and my mom patted the bed next to her.

“Come sit with me, baby.”

I sat down next to her and she wrapped her arms around me. We talked about anything and everything for the next few hours. We laughed and we cried. It was like we were never apart. I could tell she was getting tired, and I couldn’t stop the tears that were in my eyes.

“I wish there was something we could do. I don’t want you to go.”

A sob escaped me. She ran her hand over the back of my head.

“I don’t want to go either, baby, but it’s my time. Just remember that I am always with you. You have a father and brother to help you through this. You have a wonderful husband as well. I couldn’t have wished for a better life for you, Miah.”

We held each other as we both cried. She pulled me closer and tucked my head under her chin. Her soft, sweet voice filled my ears.

The words she was singing echoed through my memory. I knew this song. She used to sing this to me as a lullaby. I don’t know how I remembered it, but I did. Her voice brought me comfort. My arms tightened around her. I felt her hug me closer, and I knew that she knew that I remembered.

She started to rock me gently back and forth. I felt safe. I knew that this moment couldn’t last forever, but that didn’t stop me from wishing that it would. Even with everything that was going on my mom still found a way to be strong for me. This moment I will cherish for the rest of me life.

The song had taken on a different meaning to me. As her voice trailed off I knew that what she was singing was true. A new world does wait for her. She was being called to better and brighter things. I had to be strong. I had to comfort her and let her know everything was going to be ok.

“Thank you, momma, that was so beautiful. I love you so much.”

I leaned up and kissed her cheek. She smiled and kissed me on the forehead.

“I love you too, baby, don’t ever forget that I will always be with you. I’m always here if you need me.”

I moved up on the bed. I wrapped my arms tighter around her and she laid her head on my shoulder.

“Just rest, mom, everything will be okay. We’re together and that’s all that is important. I love you.”

“I love you too, Jeremiah.”

We sat together like that for about fifteen minutes. She was very relaxed and calm. I felt her body take one long slow deep breath and she exhaled very slowly. In that moment I knew she was gone. I couldn’t help the tears that streamed down my face. I continued to hold her for a few more moments. One of the machines next to her bed started beeping obnoxiously. Austin and my father rushed into the room. They both looked at me with tears in their eyes.

My dad helped me off the bed and he gently laid my mom down. Austin crushed me in a giant hug.

“I’m so sorry, Miah, I’m so sorry.”

I hugged him tight against me.

“I know bro, it’s ok. She’s in a better place now.”

Our dad came over and pulled us both into his arms.

“Come on, boys, we need to go.”

I stopped on our way out the door. I turned around and went back over to my mom. I leaned down and kissed her gently on the forehead.

“I love you. I’ll miss you.”

I left the room with my new family and we headed back towards the waiting area. Bailey, Gina, and Sara were all on their feet as soon as they saw me. From the look on my face they knew what happened. Bailey started to walk towards me but stopped. Tears flowed down his cheeks. I couldn’t help myself. I practically ran right to him. As soon as I was close enough his arms opened and his body slammed up against mine. Any strength that I had was gone. I melted against my husband and sobbed.

“Baby, I’m so sorry. You were right. I should have…”

I cut him off by kissing him.

“You don’t have to be sorry, Bailey, I know why you did it. I’m sorry I got upset…”

He pulled me tighter against him and kissed the top of my head.

“Let’s not worry about who’s sorry baby. I love you so much, Miah.”

“I love you too, Bailey.”

After a few minutes we separated a bit and I could see everyone else looking at us.

“Everyone I would like you to meet Dr. James MacGregor, my father. You all already know his son, my brother Austin.”

You could have pushed them all over with a feather. It took a few moments to explain everything, but we managed to get through it. My dad and Austin did most of the talking.

“Let’s go home, guys, we have some things we need to take care of.”

I walked over to my dad and gave him a hug.

“Thank you so much. Get directions from Austin. I want you to come over when your shift is done.”

He nodded.

“I’d like that.”

We walked out of the hospital as a group. I had Bailey one side of me and Austin on the other. Gina was hanging onto Austin. Sara held onto Bailey. Today had been a roller coaster ride. My mom was gone, but in her place a father and brother emerged. I knew things were going to be very tough, but with my family and husband by my side I knew I would get through it. As we got into the car to go home I stopped and looked up into the sky. The warm sun shone down on my face. Suddenly I felt at peace. Somehow I knew my mom was watching and she was proud. It filled my heart with happiness.