Chapter 1: Innocent

Prolouge

It was midnight and the clock chimes could be heard in the silent dark hallway of the tiny toy shop. A light was blinking from somewhere in the room and the still eyes of various kinds of toys gave the room an eerie look. It was obvious that a sane person would never even imagine to be left in that room in such an hour. However the silence was broken now and then by the rhythmic heavy breathing from the corner of the room mixed with loud snores.

The door leading to a small office was open and that was where the sound was coming from. The energy saving light was almost burnt and in the flashing light a middle aged man could be seen sound asleep with his head on the oak desk. Across it was a leather couch where a pregnant woman slept.

Two minutes past twelve and the woman woke up with a start and clutched her huge stomach. Her eyes were wide as she struggled to get her voice out of her voice box. She stood up but had to bend a bit because of the pain. Two small steps were all she could take before she slowly sank down to the tiled floor. Finally he voice obeyed her and she screamed to the sleeping man.

“Dan? Danny!!”

The man jumped up with fright, looked around and saw the woman on the floor. He shook his sleep off and ran to her, taking his cell phone on his way, calling the ambulance.

“It’s okay Carla. Everything’s gonna be fine.” It was all he could do to hide his fear as he placed his wife’s sweaty head on his lap.

“Danny…It hurts.” Her face was all red as she fought to talk.

“I know honey. Don’t talk. Just breathe.” Dan said in a hushed voice.

It was the first time in his life that he had come to this situation and he didn’t know what to do. His head was spinning as he tried to sooth his wife till the ambulance came. He could hear the clock hands ticking slowly. Too slowly for his liking. It seemed as if it was crawling. It happens whenever he wants it to fly. Screw Einstein and his relativity theory.

Finally they were able to reach the hospital and into the labor room. Nurses hurried around while his wife screamed. He stood above her head, holding her hands and promising her that everything was going to be alright. He would look at the nurses and doctors now and then with hatred filling his eyes. Why weren’t they hurrying? Can’t they see the pain his wife was in?

Two hours later the sound of the little baby boy’s erased all the loathing that existed in his eyes. He glanced at his son lovingly, so did his wife. But her eyes still showed the pain and she started screaming again. Seven minutes later she had given birth to another son. His eyes filled with happiness. Two baby boys. They always wanted a boy. His wife in particular didn’t even want a girl, and once said that she would leave the baby if it was a girl. But he didn’t take her seriously. Now she would he at ease knowing that she had given birth to two lovely blond boys.

It was twenty minutes later, when everyone was doing the after work in their own peace when his wife began to look terrified. She clutched her stomach and looked at the nearest nurse as if asking when it was going to end. She pursed her lips tight as the doctor went back to work. But this time it seemed that there was a problem and that she was in real great pain. The doctor said something to his nurse and she hurried off somewhere.

He got scared. He didn’t understand anything the doctor said to the nurse. And it didn’t help when he was asked to go out of the room. Five minutes passed and it got worse when his wife was switched to the operating room. A nurse told him something, but his dazed mind hardly took anything.

He stood outside the operating room for another hour. The doors opened and his wife was rolled out on a bed, unconscious. He started to go after her when the doctor said. The baby was tangled a bit. Seems like she had a bit of hard time stuck between her brothers.”

“She?” was all he could ask.

“Yes. It was a baby girl. I’m sorry to tell you this Denial, but she might not live. We would need to keep her in the nursery for the time being.”

“Wow! Triplets!” his voice reflected his anxiety. Three children would he a handful to bring up.

“Congratulations Dan.”

He nodded and walked softly forward, not knowing what to do. For the first time he felt the fear that his wife might leave the baby girl. After all she has a scar because of her and that was not good. One thing his wife never tolerates was scars. But he dismissed that thought.

Two weeks later, his wife’s mother came to their home surprising him. She had never approved of him and his marrying to her only daughter. He asked about it to his wife and the reason shocked him. She was planning to leave her baby girl in a foster home and their neighbor found out and notified her mother. So that’s why the mother-in-law came. To take the sick granddaughter back with her. He was shocked for two reasons. He had got fond of his daughter in the last two weeks and couldn’t believe that his wife would do such a thing as sent her to a foster home. Second, his mother-in-law accepting his daughter when he had so clearly said that she wanted nothing to do with him and his children.

So his mother-in-law left with his girl the next day, not wanting to be in the same roof with him. Not much change there. He said good bye to his daughter not believing that he would meet her ever again. But time declared that they would.

To be conyinued...:D