Chapter 316 - How can they ask me to disconnect you - mdtres
Shirly
That "for now" sounded to me like he wasn't going to make it. I didn't collapse because Roland held me up. I heard Karen's heart-wrenching cries and saw Veronica hugging her.
"Shirly, he always bragged about how strong you are. Remember, you're carrying his child."
Roland's words didn't help. I started pounding his chest, and he took it all. Why can't anything last forever for me? I had found my family, I had a place in life, and now it's being taken away? I started screaming, and at some point, I lost my balance and everything went black.
I don't know how much time had passed when I opened my eyes. Veronica was sitting beside the bed in the room I used to share with my love when we stayed at El Renacer. I had an IV, and I could hear a heartbeat in the background. When I looked, I saw Alfredo asleep in a chair.
"I'm so glad you woke up." Tears streamed down my face. "Listen, that heartbeat is your child." A wave of warmth ran through my body, giving me goosebumps. "Shirly, Aníbal is still alive. They don't know the condition of his brain, but we'll get a medical update this afternoon."
If there was one thing I knew, it was that Roland must have brought in the best, and I knew my love was being well taken care of.
"I want to see him. He always said this could happen, but not like this, not so soon, not with our child on the way. Oh, Vero!" At that moment, the heartbeat I heard also sped up.
"Shirly." It was Alfredo's voice. "If you get upset, your child does too. He's very small, and strong emotions could harm him. Calm down! Breathe, listen to me, please." The doctor knelt beside me. "Close your eyes. You have to force yourself to disconnect for your child's sake. Minimize Aníbal's situation; right now, your baby's life comes first." Deep down, I knew I had to do it.
"You're talking like my love is going to die."
I opened my eyes, and seeing him, I knew it. I screamed, a howl came out of me, and Vero's arms held me tight.
"You know I understand you perfectly. Listen, you have a big difference between your case and mine. You have a piece of him inside you. He left you something to live for. Hold on to that, Shirly." I couldn't stop crying. Alfredo gave me a sedative through the IV.
"If you don't calm down, you won't be able to see him at five, which is the only time we have to visit him, for now."
I nodded. Vero's words, "you have a piece of him inside you, he left you something to live for." The memory of that morning, when he kissed my belly and told our baby to take care of me, felt like a goodbye.
They laid me down, and I caressed my belly. All the memories with him flooded back. His joy, his way of embarrassing me, his promises, always emphasizing that if he died, I should use a toy, but never another man, and I never told him there would never be another. His kisses, his caresses, his hugs, those talks, how do I erase those memories?
It was the third week visiting my love. All the medical tests showed the same results. Since we were the owners, we were allowed to stay with him. He was never alone, I couldn't deny that.
They took turns keeping him company and talked to him, updating him on his farm. Last week, they all gathered here for the quarterly meeting they always held. They included Armando, who manages the farms in Colombia, and he gave the report as if it were the results of my husband's work.
I found it so touching. They hadn't excluded him and stayed on top of everything. I came in the mornings and then in the afternoons until six. They didn't let me sleep at the clinic because of my condition. I had reached three months, and that's why I was here, again.
"Here I am again, my love." I took his hand and placed it on my belly. "They just did an ultrasound, and your child, yes, it's a boy, is growing very well. We didn't talk about names, so get ready to come back and tell me what you want to call him."
I caressed his face. At that moment, Dr. Jones walked in with Alfredo and the neurologist, whom only Alfredo understood because he was German. He also attended to Inés. He had some results in his hands, the ones we had been waiting for. My heart raced more when I saw Roland come in like a whirlwind.
"These aren't good news you're about to tell me, are they?"
Dr. Jones took my hand, led me out of the room, and Alfredo began translating what the doctor was saying.
"His brain is quite swollen, but if he responds, if he comes back, he won't be the same." The doctor spoke, and Alfredo fell silent, his lips trembling. He looked at the specialist and then at us. "He declares him brain dead." A deep scream came from my soul. Roland embraced me. "He recommends... that we let him go."
I punched Roland in the chest and as I moved away from him, all his friends were already in the hallway.
"Shirly, you're his wife," Dr. Jones began to speak. "Only you can authorize the day, the moment we disconnect him."
The words swelled in my mind, how can they ask me to kill my husband? I couldn't breathe, and Vero's words echoed again, "You have a little piece of him in your womb, he didn't leave you alone."
"Shirly." It was Roland. "There have been cases, I'll pay for everything, don't disconnect him. Please, don't do it."
"I want to go home, please take me home."
Miguel hugged and carried me, it wasn't necessary, but I appreciated it. He walked the entire way from the clinic to the parking lot.
"The girls will come later," he said once he parked in front of my house. I nodded.
"Thank you, Miguel." As I entered the house, Erminda greeted me.
"Karen?"
"She went to pick up the kids from school."
"Erminda." She was a woman in her forties, single, and very fond of my nieces and nephews. "Please, I don't want to be disturbed."
"Ma'am, I'm sorry I didn't give this to you earlier. Mr. Aníbal told me to give it to you when he left, but you disappeared, and then there was the accident, and seeing you so upset, I didn't dare. Now I see how strong you are. Here."
She handed me two letters, one for his brothers and the other labeled "Encanto." My hands trembled as I managed to open the envelope.
Hello, Encanto,
If you're reading this letter, it means we're on that mission to rescue two of my brothers. I'm not sleepy, and I don't know why I'm writing to you, but this time I want to capture how happy I am to be with you. Even if I don't show it, every morning I look in the mirror and see the reason why you're so in love with me.
I laughed through my tears.
Maybe I'll never know, but you have no idea how incredibly happy it makes me to have you by my side, and now that our son Aníano is on the way.
"No way I'm naming our son that," I said, and then laughed again.
I can imagine the scream you let out. So, tell Gregorio to behave these three days I'm away. I might be crude with my words, but the blush on your cheeks every time I open my big mouth is something I love. That's why you're my Encanto, because you're the purest and most precious thing these rough hands have ever touched. I love you, and I want to say that I don't regret accepting your marriage proposal because it was you who brought me to life!
Now I was laughing like crazy.
See you in three days, and if by chance it doesn't happen, as we depend on the Lord's plans, let my brothers take care of you, let them watch over Gregorio's education. And what I said about never being with another man is a lie. Once I'm dead, you're free, Encanto, to do whatever you want with your life. I just don't want to see you sad. But I swear, I won't go to any hell or heaven, because I'll stay to be your guardian ghost until you die.
A howl came from me, and it was Erminda's arms that comforted me this time.
I always carry you in my soul, Shirly, I've always told you, but today I woke up wanting to immortalize it. I love you.
P.S. I'm giving you this letter today, but it's for you to keep for many years and give to the Boss when I die.
P.S. 2: When you find another man, make sure his dick isn't bigger than mine, that's all I ask...
I love you, I love you, I love you, and give our son a thousand kisses until I return. See you in three days.
Aníbal Grueso.