Gifts Of Love. Crystal Stovall

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СКАЧАТЬ and allowed her own thoughts to roam. Inching down the bed, she rolled onto her side so she could study Isabel in the moonlight. She pressed the toddler’s tiny hand against her own, marveling at the beauty of her delicate fingers. As she listened to the child’s peaceful inhale and exhale, she decided she’d never heard anything so magical.

      Swallowing hard, Jessie prevented the old dream from surfacing. She would never give birth to a child of her own. She would never know a moment like this. So in the silent house, she decided to accept this special gift.

      When the telephone rang, she almost didn’t answer it. But then it occurred to her that her parents or David might need to contact her.

      “Hello,” David said. “I know it’s late—”

      Though the telephone had awakened Isabel, she didn’t cry. “I’m glad you called. Isabel and I are lying in bed,” she said. Then, thinking he might prefer his daughter to be in her own bed, she quickly added, “But if you would like, I’ll put her back in the crib.”

      “If she’s happy where she’s at, leave her. I hate to admit it but I’ve spoiled my girl. She loves napping in my bed.”

      Jessie felt the heat of her blush and was thankful David couldn’t see her. Lying in his bed while talking to him on the telephone suddenly seemed intimate. She shook the thoughts from her head and instead asked him how he was doing.

      He sighed. “I hope to come home tomorrow. I tried to tell the doctors there’s nothing wrong with me. I’m just a little sore.”

      Sensing he’d told her all he wanted to, Jessie didn’t press him for more specific answers. Having just met, he didn’t owe her a detailed diagnosis.

      Isabel reached for the telephone with both hands, and Jessie said, “I think your daughter would like to speak to you.”

      “Please, put her on.”

      His loving tone warmed Jessie. Placing the telephone against Isabel’s ear, she smiled, as Isabel jabbered and slobbered over the mouthpiece. Lowering her head, Jessie shared the telephone with Isabel, listening as David sang a familiar lullaby to his daughter.

      “She’s sound asleep,” Jessie whispered, as he started a new verse.

      “That’s a relief,” David said.

      Jessie silently agreed, unwilling to let David know she found temporary motherhood a little more taxing than she’d anticipated. Taking care of her eighteen-month-old nephew for a few hours at a time while he napped or played was a totally different experience from being in charge of a child’s needs around the clock. The magnitude of the responsibility she’d taken on had begun to sink in.

      “If you feel up to it, maybe you could tell me about Isabel’s morning routine,” Jessie suggested.

      “She generally wakes up around seven, and she’ll need to be fed and changed. And you’ll want to give her a bath and brush her teeth. You’ll find her play clothes in the third drawer of the dresser, diapers in the closet, and she likes hot cereal with bananas and milk for breakfast. But I should warn you, she wears as much oatmeal as she eats.”

      Feeling overwhelmed, yet determined to conquer the morning routine, Jessie switched on the bedside lamp, grabbed a pen and paper and began scribbling notes.

      “Just give her a sponge bath in the morning. There’s a small plastic tub and sponge on the bottom shelf of the changing table.”

      “I can give her a bath,” Jessie insisted, lest David think he’d made a mistake trusting his daughter’s care to her. Besides, how difficult could it be to give a toddler a bath?

      “Elaine will be there at nine, so as soon as she arrives—”

      “Elaine?”

      “Elaine Marshall. Isabel’s nanny. I’m sorry, in all the confusion I didn’t realize I never mentioned her. She’s been out of town visiting her sister. She lives in an apartment over the garage.”

      Of course, Isabel had a nanny. Jessie had seen the stairway in the attached garage earlier in the evening, but she hadn’t given it any thought. It also explained why David hadn’t been eager to ask either his sisters or his parents for help.

      “Well, that’s great. As soon as Elaine gets here, I’ll leave for the hospital.”

      David paused. “Listen, Jessie, I don’t want to sound ungrateful, but there’s no reason for you to come to the hospital. You’ve already gone beyond the call of duty. And believe me, you can’t know how much I appreciate your help. You give the words Good Samaritan a whole new meaning.”

      Though she thought the comparison was exaggerated, Jessie appreciated David’s sentiment. “I have to come to the hospital, anyway,” she said. Then she explained about the borrowed car seat and that her father had arranged to have both of their cars towed to a local garage.

      “I’m so amazed at how a disaster can bring out the best in people.”

      “Yeah,” Jessie echoed. “If a person didn’t believe God watched out for them, a night like tonight certainly would change their mind.”

      When David lapsed into silence, Jessie swallowed hard. For some reason, in those few seconds, she felt his pain and confusion. Instinctively, she knew losing his wife had challenged his faith in ways she’d never experienced. She wanted to say something meaningful, to assure him that even in the most difficult times, God would never desert him. And she should know.

      But before she could come up with an encouraging response, David said, “The nurse just came in. Do you have any more questions about tomorrow morning?”

      “No,” Jessie said. “Don’t worry about your daughter. Get a good night’s rest and concentrate on getting well.”

      “Thanks to you, I feel like I can do that.”

      “Good night,” Jessie said. As she held the receiver tightly, she realized she didn’t want the conversation to end. She wanted to know more about this man who’d risked his life to save his daughter’s.

      “Good night,” David said. Then, with a surge of energy, he added, “Jessie’s blue bunny was in the car…”

      “Don’t worry, I’m sure my father will collect your belongings from the car.”

      “And Jessie,” David added, “tonight was a miracle.” And he hung up.

      Reluctant to break the connection, Jessie listened to the silence until the telephone company’s automatic recording came on the line.

      She closed her eyes, but sleep eluded her. Now that she was certain David and Isabel were both settled, she could let herself think about the tornado. Over and over, she relived the minutes she’d spent huddled beneath the overpass with David’s arms anchoring her in the tremendous wind. She recalled the deafening chug, the sting of gravel on her skin and the way she’d gasped for breath in the damp, swirling air.

      And while time would eventually polish the rough edges off these memories, she knew one instant would always remain sharp and clear—the moment David had let go. She would never forget his piercing scream, nor the way she’d instinctively reached for Isabel. Her body trembled СКАЧАТЬ