Free Second Chance at Forever (Forever Book 2) by Mary Wasowski Page B

fixed myself a drink and clutched the back of my neck. I have to let this go, I just have to, but how do I do this? This is what happens to me every time I am in this fucking city. My private line was ringing, and I cringed on who would be calling me. As I expected, it was my mother. I had been dodging her calls for a week now. She must have phoned my office and was told where I was, unless Jackson told her. He loved his grandparents very much, despite how I felt about them. After losing Elizabeth, I was left alone to raise our son. I don’t know what I would have done if Jackson died along with his mother.
    His birth was touch and go for a while there. His cord was tangled around his neck and the doctors were unsure if he was deprived of oxygen. My wife was on the operating table. She was declared brain dead after suffering a massive stroke. Elizabeth was never going to recover, would never know our child. Life was incredibly unfair and cruel. I held her hand as I listened to her breaths being controlled by a machine. While the doctors worked on our son, I leaned into my wife’s ear.
    “I am so sorry this happened to you, and to us. I never thought I would be doing this without you. How can I do this? I will never be able to thank you for this incredible gift you have given me…our son. I promise you that I will be the best father I can be and always tell our son about you. You were my lifeline when I was drowning. Thank you for loving me, Elizabeth.”
    I said my goodbyes to my wife and friend. She deserved so much better than half of a man who loved someone else. I kissed her forehead and was startled by the sound of a newborn crying. Our son made it and was screaming at the top of his lungs. I never heard a more beautiful sound in all of my life. The nurse brought him over to me.
    My hands were shaking. I was afraid to touch him. The nurse led me out of the room so the doctors could now finish up with Elizabeth.
    I sat down in a rocking chair and was given my son. Jackson looked just like me when I was a baby. His hair was dark, and he had my nose. He stopped crying, and he wrapped his finger around mine. No turning back now; I was hooked. My son captured my heart with one touch. His eyes were so bright, they matched his mother’s. I would have to tell him one day about her. How would I explain why she’s not here to raise him? It was my job to be mother and father to him, but how?
    Jackson was examined by a team of doctors. I spared no expense when it came to my son. He was perfectly healthy and could go home in a couple of days. After our son was settled into the nursery, I was approached by a transplant team. Elizabeth’s organs needed to be harvested, and time was of the essence. I needed to make a decision on what to do. She never told me she was an organ donor, and although she suffered a stroke, her organs were still viable but would eventually shut down.
    I signed the transplant papers but wanted to bring Jackson to his mother first. I placed him in his mother’s arms. I knew she was gone, but the machines kept her heart still beating, and I wanted our son to feel her. With Elizabeth attached to machines, I couldn’t take a picture of them, so I just mentally stored the image in my memory. I would relive this moment with Jackson when he was ready to hear it. I held my son as I watched Elizabeth be taken away by the team of doctors. That day, she would be responsible for saving lives, while hers was lost.
    Walking over to my desk, I picked up my wedding photo. Elizabeth looked stunning. Her face was glowing. I questioned God every single day why my Elizabeth was taken from me and from our son. I would have given my life to switch places with her. Jackson needed his mother, but fate served us an incredible blow and took her from all who loved her. I only had a few pictures of her in this home, and of course, Jackson had many in his room. I truly had no time to grieve for my wife. I had a son to raise alone