Forever Country (18 page)

After the movie, I put Sawyer Jackson to bed.
He insists on sleepin’ with all six of his new figurines. After I
shower and get ready for bed, I read the note from Abel Lee again,
and then I play with the phone. I download a few free apps and read
more of the instruction booklet.

The phone buzzes and I get excited, thinkin’
it’s from Abel Lee.

Abel Lee: Don’t be mad, I needed a way to
contact you.

Savannah Mae: Why? Did something happen?

Abel Lee: No, I just missed you.

I get those butterflies in my belly
again.

Savannah Mae: I miss you, too. You said your
condo may have sold.

Abel Lee: I’ll know in a few days. I want to
return home as soon as I can.

Savannah Mae: Thank you for the phone and
for Sawyer Jackson’s gifts. He loves them.

Abel Lee: Good, I wasn’t sure what to give
him. Never shopped for a little boy before.

Savannah Mae: You did good, thank you.

Abel Lee: No problem. Do you work
tomorrow?

Savannah Mae: I work tomorrow night.

Abel Lee: Can I call you tomorrow? I miss
that country accent of yours.

I have to laugh out loud. I
don’t think I have a country accent.
Unless
that country is the USA. If anyone around here has an accent, it’s
Abel Lee. 

Savannah Mae: Abel Lee, I don’t have a
country accent.

Abel Lee: Okay, whatever you say. I’ll take
that as a yes. I’ll call you tomorrow after lunch.

Savannah Mae: Night, Abel Lee.

Abel Lee: Good night, Savannah Mae.

The next day, Sawyer Jackson and I run into
town to get a few things. The store is busier than usual.
Campbell’s is runnin’ a sale and I’m thankful I have the money to
stock up on a few much-needed items. Sawyer Jackson is too big to
sit in the cart so he walks behind me. When I look behind me and he
isn’t there, I begin to panic. I search the aisle and he’s nowhere
around. I head to the front of the store searchin’ the exits
frantically. Just as I begin to ask someone for help, I hear him
yell, “To infinity.”

I yell, “And beyond.”

I hear, “To infinity,” again and I walk in
the direction of Sawyer Jackson’s voice.

I smile and feel so much relief that my boy
is safe. “And beyond,” I yell one more time. When I finally reach
him, I find him in the toy aisle. There is a woman holdin’ his
hand, walkin’ him towards the front of the store.

“
I assume he belongs to
you,” she says, lettin’ go of his hand.

He runs up to me and hugs me tightly. I try
to replace the fear on my face with a smile, but my heart is still
poundin’. My mind races with thoughts of what could have
happened.

“
Thank you,” I say to her.
She smiles and continues shoppin’.

I kneel down and hug my son. “You scared
me.”

“
When I looked up, I
couldn’t find you.”

“
It’s okay, Buddy.” I lift
a too-big Sawyer Jackson and place him in the grocery
cart.

“
Mommy, I’m too big to be
in a cart.”

“
If you can get lost, then
you’re not too big for the cart.”

CHAPTER FOUR

Mia

Levi and I have an appointment with my OB/GYN
doctor today. We received the news of the testin’ that my blood
levels were abnormal and that I’m at risk that our baby may have
Down syndrome. Levi and I dismissed the option of terminatin’ the
pregnancy.

When we told his parents, they took the news
just as I thought they would. They were understandin’ and
compassionate. They understand that Levi and I will be wonderful
parents to a child with or without disabilities. Levi and I had
three miscarriages before this pregnancy and we really want a
child. Just because a child has disabilities doesn’t mean we’ll
love them any less.

My parents are both deceased and I have no
other family members who live nearby. I was an only child and my
parents died in an automobile accident shortly after Levi and I got
married. I have a few aunts and uncles who live in Texas, but we
aren’t close.

We wait in the small
waitin’ area of the doctor’s office for the nurse to call our name.
I reach into my bag and pull out two identical books. I hand one to
Levi and I keep the other one.
Everything
You Need to Know About Raising a Child with Down
Syndrome
. I doubt that the book has
everything we need to know, but I do think it’ll be
helpful.

Levi takes the book and looks over at the
book I’m holding. “I thought we could read it together.”

“
Good idea.”

The nurse calls me back.
She gets my weight and put us in another room where the doctor is
already sittin’ and waitin’ for us. This isn’t the normal protocol
for this doctor’s office. They usually put us in another room to
wait again. “Please have a seat,” he instructs and we do. Once
seated he says, “During your last visit, we didn’t have much time
to talk. I was hoping to remedy that. I know your decision was to
continue with the pregnancy and I just wanted to see if your
decision still remained.” I hold up the book
Everything You Need to Know About Raising a Child with Down
Syndrome
. “Very well. Do you have any
questions or something you want to know?” he asks.

We tell him our concerns and we also tell him
our mind is made up. We won’t be abortin’ this pregnancy. If God
wants to take this baby, it’s His will. We won’t willingly abort it
because there’s a chance something is wrong. He explains to us the
different severity levels of the syndrome and briefly explains what
we should expect. They’ll know from the appearance of the baby at
birth if it has the syndrome, but they’ll still do testin’ to
confirm it. He also tells us his daughter was born with Down
syndrome and that her case was severe. He sadly tells us she passed
away before her first birthday. Of course, that was years ago and
then he and his wife never suspected their child was at risk. He
smiles and says, “It wouldn’t have mattered, my wife and I would
have still had her.” He says, “It’s better to have loved her for
only a short time than not at all.” He also adds that it didn’t
stop them from having other children. He nods to the picture on the
wall of him, his wife, and their four sons. The sons all look fine
with no indication that any of them has Down syndrome. The doctor
does say that one problem is who will take care of the child after
the parents die, if the child outlives the parents.

Before we leave, Levi and I feel better about
this pregnancy than we have since we found out the news. The doctor
tells us that my body could still terminate the pregnancy, meaning
that I could still have a miscarriage. I know if that happens, it’s
God’s way of correcting something that isn’t right. We’ll just pray
that doesn’t happen.

Savannah Mae

I drop Sawyer Jackson off at my parents’
house and I head to work for the dinner shift. I work with Mia
tonight and I’m excited to see her. We both arrive at the same time
and we take our assigned tables and get to work. Dinner is busier
than breakfast and lunch, and the tips are considerably higher. We
get a rush, and then it dies down before we get another rush. It’s
cold and there’s talk that a storm’s comin’ in tonight. Mia and I
keep the coffee fresh and alert each other when we sell out of a
special.

We both keep up and work
well together. Her purse falls over from under the counter and when
I pick it up, a book falls from it
.
Everything You Need to Know About Raising a Child With Down
Syndrome.
I read the title and freeze. My
heart immediately hurts and I get a feelin’ of deep sadness for her
and for Levi.

“
You taking a break down
there?” Mia asks.

I stand up still holdin’ the book. “This fell
out of your purse,” I say as I hand her the book.

Her smile fades and she takes the book from
me. “I meant to leave that in the car.” She shoves the book deep
into her purse and zips it up before replacin’ it back under the
counter.

“
You need someone to talk
to?”

Mia and I have been friends for many years. I
understand if she has something personal to deal with, but I want
her to know I am here for her. When I found out Ethan was cheatin’
on me, the last thing I wanted to do was go tellin’ everybody my
business. Not that this is anything like a cheatin’ husband, but I
still want her to know I’m her friend.

“
Do you mind if we talk
after closin’ time? I don’t really want customers to overhear
us.”

“
I’m here whenever you need
me.” I try to give her my best smile.

“
Thank you, Savannah
Mae.”

When the last customer leaves and it’s
closin’ time, we lock up and do our sidework. We sit down at the
booth and begin to roll the silverware into the paper napkins. “You
know that test you do in your first trimester to see if you may be
at risk of havin’ a baby with Down syndrome?”

“
The blood
test?”

“
That’s the
one.”

“
I refused to take that
test when I was pregnant for Sawyer Jackson.”

“
I wish I had. My test came
back abnormal.” I can see the tears in her eyes.

“
Indicatin’ you’re at
risk?”

She nods. “It’s still difficult to talk
about.”

My mind drifts back to the church when Pearl
was there with her daughter and granddaughter. The granddaughter
was functional with her Down syndrome. I know there are different
degrees of Down syndrome. Mild to severe. Those who are mild do
well, and the most severe cases aren’t so lucky. “When do you get
further testin’ done?”

“
Soon, probably with my
next appointment. I think the doctor is waitin’ to see if my body
terminates this pregnancy. Whatever the other tests reveal won’t
change anything. Levi and I are excited about the baby and nothin’
will change that. This is our fourth pregnancy; we had three
miscarriages previously. I have to believe that everything will be
okay, and if it’s not, we’ll do the best we can.”

We continue to roll the silverware as we
remain in deep thought. “I’m glad you told me. Does Abel Lee
know?”

“
He knows. We told him,
Bud, and Nelly right after Christmas.”

That was a couple weeks ago. They’ve known
for a while and she never came to me. “I wish I knew what to say or
do. I know very little about that.”

“
I talked to Pearl’s
daughter.
She was a wealth of information,
and their daughter, Jewel, gives us hope for a brighter tomorrow.”
“Let’s go girls, the storm’s a comin’,” Bill the cook yells from
the kitchen as he shuts off the kitchen lights.

Mia and I gather the wrapped silverware and
place it in the tub. We turn off the lights and leave. We all say
our goodbyes and Bill waits for Mia and me to leave before he pulls
out behind us.

The snow is comin’ down pretty heavy, so I
decide to go to my parents’ house and stay there with Sawyer
Jackson. If we get the blizzard people say is comin’ and we lose
power, I want to be with them and Samantha Marie. Samantha Marie
still lives at home while she attends college.

I park on the street and use my key to let
myself into the house. Momma, Samantha Marie, and Daddy are in the
kitchen, watchin’ the snow fall from the window.

“
There she is,” Daddy says.
“Comin’ down pretty good; we were gettin’ worried about
you.”

“
Work was busy, then the
streets started gettin’ slick. How was Sawyer Jackson?”

“
Good, he’s in bed with his
new toys. He sure does like them.”

I smile and then I remember that I forgot my
cell phone at the house. It’s brand-new so I’m not used to carryin’
it and so I walked out of the house without it. If Abel Lee calls,
he’ll wonder where I am. If he sees the storm on the television,
he’ll probably worry.

“
Savannah Mae, you feelin’
okay?” Momma asks.

“
I’m all right. I just
remembered I left something at home. I was plannin’ on stayin’ here
durin’ the storm, but I wonder if I shouldn’t just go
home.”

“
There ain’t one thing
that’s that important for you to be drivin’ around in weather like
this. If you still need it tomorrow, I’ll go over and get it for
you if it’s safe to drive,” Daddy says and it’s the end of the
conversation.

“
You’re right.” And he is.
I look out the window and the snow is comin’ down in big
snowflakes. It’s beautiful to watch from inside the house, but I
pray for the safety of those who are drivin’ in it. I hope Mia and
the cook, Bill, got home all right. Mia lives close to work, but
Bill, he lives in Deavertown. That’s a windin’ road he’ll need to
travel on.
I’ll pray for him. “I’m headed
to bed, good night.”

“
Good night, Savannah Mae,”
they both say in unison.

Abel Lee

My condo sold and I have an auction company
coming in to sell off my furniture. I boxed up my personal items
and boxing mementos and had them shipped to Momma and Pops’ house.
I’m trying to finish up here so I can return to Rose Farm.

I’ve been attempting to
call Savannah Mae, but there’s no answer. Ohio and the East Coast
were hit by a terrible snowstorm and it’s being broadcast all over
the television. “The Storm of the
Decade,”
they’re calling it. It’s been over a week since I sent her the cell
phone. I called her the first night of the storm and again the next
day, but I haven’t been able to reach her or anyone else since
then.
I wish my family would have been tech
savvy. Momma and Pops don’t even have a microwave in their house.
It’s possible Mia, Levi, and Savannah Mae don’t even have an email
address. If they do, I don’t know about it.