Free Two Hearts for Christmast by Lisa Y. Watson

the table and dabbed furiously at your eyes.
    “ Mommy?  Mommy, no cry,” Robin said, running up to her.  He patted her on the arm and then crawled up into her lap.  
    “ I’m okay, sweetheart,” she said, quickly.  
    “ Mommy’s just fine, Robby.  She thought about something that made her sad, but I’m sure the longer she thinks about it, the happier she’ll be,” Adelaide said pointedly.
    “ Aunt Addie’s right, Robby.  Mommy is all better.”  She forced a smile.  “You go back and watch your show.  I’m going to go get dressed, and I’ll be back to play, okay?”
    “ K.”  Robin said, and then ran back in and jumped on the couch.
    “ I think a shower would do you a world of good,” her aunt agreed.  “You go ahead, I’ll watch Robin.  While you’re up there, think about what I said.”
    She nodded and then left.
    Once upstairs, Yvette turned on the shower and started to undress.  She tried to calm down, but it was hard.  A part of her knew that her aunt had been nothing but truthful.  Why she was building a mountain out of a mole hill was anyone’s guess.
    She bent to pick up her clothes, and was struck with a sharp pain in her abdomen.  It was enough to double her over.  The breath left her mouth in a loud hiss.  Holding on to the sink, Yvette tried to ride out the discomfort.  When it didn’t abate, she decided to go to the emergency room.  She grabbed the sweats off her bathroom counter and struggled to put them on.  The pain was now radiating around to her back.  The sweat began trickling down her face, and when the saliva left her mouth she bolted.  She barely reached the toilet in time before she dropped to her knees and retched into the bowl.
    There was no way that Adelaide would hear her call from the bathroom.  She’d have to make it to the hallway.  After she’d stood up, Yvette rinsed out her mouth with Listerine.  When the pain subsided, she staggered to the hallway.
    “ Aunt Addie,” she cried out, and then reached for the wall.  “Aunt Adelaide!”
    Unable to drive, Adelaide called for an ambulance.  Yvette protested that given time she could drive herself, but her aunt vetoed that idea.
    “ You could have a burst appendix or something, Yvette.  Don’t be silly.  They’ll be here in minutes.”
    She realized Adelaide was right.  She sat on the stairs, and leaned back against the wall.  Robin was upset and crying at seeing his mother in pain.
    “ I’m fine, Robby,” she assured him.  “Mommy has a stomach bug.  It’s okay.”
    When Adelaide heard the doorbell, she breathed a sigh of relief.  “Thank God.  Hang on, honey.  I’ll go get it.”
    The EMS crew came in and from there everything moved in rapid succession.   Yvette was stabilized and secured to a stretcher to be transported to the ambulance.  Against her aunt’s wishes, Yvette insisted that she and Robin stay home.
    “ I’ll be fine,” she assured her.  “I’ll call the moment I know anything.”
    “ I still think I should—”
    “ Aunt Addie, please,” Yvette said, weakly.  “Robin will be much less excited here.”
    “ Okay, honey.  You call me as soon as possible, do you hear me?  In the meantime I’ll call Chris and—”
    “ No,” Yvette protested.  “I’ll call him from the hospital after I see the doctor.  I don’t want him rushing frantically home if it’s indigestion or something minor.”
    Her aunt frowned.  “This doesn’t look minor, but we’ll do it your way, honey.”
    “ Thanks.”
    Adelaide waved, and stepped back when one of the men hopped into the back with Yvette, and shut the door.  She closed her eyes.  “Lord, please keep her safe.”
     

 
     
     
     
     
     
    11 CHAPTER ELEVEN
     
     
    The good thing about being in an ambulance with gut wrenching pain, if there was a good thing, was not having a long wait to be seen.  
    At least that’s what crossed Yvette’s mind thirty minutes ago.  She was lying in a hospital