Full Circle - Day 18

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Day 18

Viola was startled awake. Rolling onto her side, she watched as Ivan thrashed about in the bed. Sighing, she reached for the lamp and turned the light on. “Ivan,” she called out, shaking him gently. Nothing. Shaking him a little harder now, she continued to call out his name. This was the fifth time this month that he had had a nightmare. All he would ever tell her was that each dream was exactly the same every time.
“Ivan,” she said, giving him one final nudge. “wake up.”
Ivan tossed and turned for a moment before sitting straight up in the bed. “Oh thank God,” he whispered, sweat pouring from his face. He looked over at Viola and said nothing as he pulled her into his arms and held her tightly.
Viola held him quietly for a moment. This time he seemed to be really shaken up. She had never seen him react quite this way before. “Ivan,” she began, hesitantly. “I think maybe it would help if you talked about it. If not with me, then with someone… anyone.”
Ivan shook his head as he lovingly rubbed her tummy that was stretched to capacity with their twin daughters. Leaning over her, he kissed the babies that were to be born in just two weeks. “Hello, Victoria,” he whispered. “Hello, Camille. Daddy loves you both so very much.”
Viola felt her heart do a leap. This was new to her. In the entire thirty-six weeks she had carried the babies, he had never once showed an ounce of emotion, good or bad, toward the babies or the pregnancy. She had even been convinced that he viewed them as nothing more than a sizeable tax deduction. “Ivan, this is wonderful, but I have to ask… what’s gotten into you?”
Ivan laughed as he lovingly gave her tummy another kiss. “Viola, I don’t know if I could ever explain it all to you. Let’s just say, I’m awake… I’m alive… and I love my family- perfect or otherwise. I’m so sorry that I didn’t make this experience as special for you as it should have been. I can’t change that. But I promise that things are going to be different now. And it starts with this… I too, want our babies to be born in the hospital.”
Viola gasped. “Oh Ivan, are you sure?” She could hardly believe what she was hearing. From the moment they had shared with Ivan’s mother the fact that they were having twins, everything changed. She had somehow become in charge of all of their prenatal visits and had strictly advised them to tell no one that there were actually two babies instead of just one. Viola had asked repeatedly why Ivan had gone along with his mother and insisted that they do exactly as she instructed. But he never took the time to answer her. So now to see him make such a huge decision without first consulting his mother, was tremendous.
Ivan laughed at the shocked look on her face. “I am beyond sure. And I know it’s quite late in the game, but in the morning, I am going to make some calls and get the best obstetrician in this state to care for you and the babies. And after breakfast, we are going to take a tour of the best hospital and get you all registered in. I want everything to be perfect… for you,” he added softly.
Viola beamed. “Thank you so much, Ivan. I’m not sure why, but I feel like this is going to be really good… for all of us.”
“More than you know,” Ivan whispered into her neck as he held her in his arms. “More than you’ll ever know.”
THE END
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Our next selected story is ‘THE WISH’
If you have ever wished you could change one thing that has happened in your life, this story is for you.

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