Author's Chapter Notes:
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Salomi tried her best to not let visiting her “grandparents” upset her, but it did. She cried for hours about how stupid she was to even think that they would accept her, she cried for what her father and mother had to go through and just feeling ashamed from the looks on their faces. As always Gabriel held her and let her cry in his arms. Soon her sobs turned into sniffles,”Gabriel?”she asked
“Yes?”
“I'm sorry”
“You shouldn’t be apologizing to me-“
“No…I…when Abby left I thought that maybe I needed to come back here too. To come back to my roots. I was aching, yearning for some type of blood relative to love me. I was upset…but all along my family has been right here”she said as she poked him in the nose as she sat up slowly to face him.”I owe you a big apology. I sought after some two old strangers who never thought of having anything to do with me when all you wanted, all you have been doing-“
“You don’t have to apologize for that”Gabriel said to her and kissed her.”I have had those thoughts too. My parents are gone and now my grandmother with them. I have no kin left either. But I don’t mind because this..”he said as he put a hand on her stomach,”Is going to be blood. This will be the very thing to join us together”
“We have always been joined together. Ever since you stole my croissant on the Titanic”she said with a laugh,”The first time we met”
“No I think you are mistaken my dear”he said,”The first time we met was in London, at that nut vendor, I couldn’t afford them and there you were standing in your elegant dress, you saved me from starvation and tossed me a few pennies”
Salomi smiled,”Yes that was it. But then you thanked me by stealing from me!”
“But we never left each others side since”he said,”And I never will”
“I’ll never leave you either”she said and she kissed him passionately,”Can you make love to me?”she asked him after a very heated kissing session.
Gabriel sighed,he wanted her just as badly as she wanted him.”No we cant. Remember what Dr. Livingstone said, these next few months are going to be very crucial. We have to be very careful”he said to her. She sighed as he kissed her on her forehead,knowing he was right.”When do you want to go back to New York?”
“How about tomorrow?”she asked him,”There's nothing left for me here”she said,”But did you want to go to town? My father used to take me there. When we first started getting rich off the organized crime business, he always took me to the candy store and the café next to it. Can I take you out to dinner, Gabriel Brewster?”
Gabriel laughed,”I would be honored, Salomi Jane”he said. They then got ready and then took a cab into town. They ate dinner at the café and for old times sake, Gabriel bought her a bag of her favorite candy. Tears came to her eyes as she looked at it.
“They have the same old bags”she said, remembering how her father started to indulge her when he could. They walked around and explored and then turned themselves in for the night.
They woke up later the next morning than expected and they rushed to get ready and packed. She packed up her last bag and then stopped and stared out the window.
“You ready?”Gabriel asked her, then noticed her staring out the window with a blank expression on her face,”Salomi? Are you ok?”
She snapped out of her reverie and then looked at him,”Before we go to the station can we make a stop first?”
He nodded,”Where to?”
She smiled,”It’s a surprise. You’ll like it”she said. They packed up their bags, checked out and paid for their stay and called a cab. She whispered where she wanted to go and wouldn’t tell Gabriel anything on the way there. He was begging her for clues like a little kid. But soon he was quiet as he looked out the window, they pulled up and she asked the driver to give them a few minutes,she turned to Gabriel with a smile,”It was selfish for me to drag you all the way out here and not let you see the Pacific Ocean”she said as they walked onto the beach. A few people were enjoying the sunshine, some were in the water.
“My God,this is beautiful”he said as he held her hand and walked along the sand.
“My father used to take me to this very beach. We would make trips every other weekend during the summers”she said as she breathed in the scent of the fresh air mixed with saltwater.She closed her eyes and saw her holding hands with her father as he ran with her along the beach.She opened her eyes and saw Gabriel looking at her,”What?”
“You just look so beautiful out here in this California sunshine”he said to her with a smile
She smiled and nodded her head towards the water,”Why thank you but there's better things to look at. You can look at me all you want when we leave”
“You are all I want to look at”he said to her and then got on one knee. He heard her gasp and he said,”Now let me just say what I have to say”he said to her,”Remember yesterday when you said that we have always been joined together? All I want is to be joined together as a husband and wife could be joined. I'm not doing this for the baby. I'm doing this for us. I'm doing this because I love you. We both have lost people we have loved, we both have had bad times, times when we both thought that we couldn’t pull through, but we got through. If all I had were you and your love and nothing else, that would be enough for me to last for a whole other lifetime. I want to see myself having many children with you, then watching them have their children and their children…I want to grow old with you. So please Salomi Jane Squires, please do me the honor of someday becoming my wife. We can do it before the baby is born or after, it doesn’t matter, whenever its right for us. Salomi, will you marry me?”
Salomi stared at him with tears in her eyes. It touched her to know that if her love were all he had in this life, it would be enough until the end of time. She felt the exact same way. She nodded her head and then said,”Yes Gabriel. I will. I will, I will, I will, I will!”she said excitedly as she kissed him passionately. Then to her surprise, he pulled a box out of his pocket and opened it to reveal a diamond ring. “Oh my, Gabriel, when did you get that?”she asked him
“I bought it after you refused me the first time. I have been carrying it ever since, waiting for the perfect time and this is the most perfect time, don’t you think?”he asked her. She nodded as he put the ring on her finger. He then stood up and hugged her close and kissed her. “I love you Salomi”
“I love you too”she said as she cried tears of joy as she stared out at the water over his shoulder. It was a very emotionally draining two days here, but she knows with Gabriel, she will be alright. “I love you, I love you, I love you…”she repeated
*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
The train ride back was long, but the two young lovebirds didn’t care, they talked while holding each other or slept while holding each other. Soon the 4 day trip was over and they were back in New York City. Salomi couldn’t be happier as she saw the many buildings. She was home. She was so happy that she stood up while the train was still pulling into the station.
“Careful Lomi, don’t fall”Gabriel said as they both gathered the bags but she didn’t listen. She just wanted to get off this train. She was very tired but excited, she wanted to tell everyone she knew that she was soon to be Mrs. Gabriel Brewster and he was also going to be the father of her child. She couldn’t wait to see Tina and rub it in her face, the two never got along after she tried to put the moves on Gabriel when they were on the down and outs. She picked up her bag and walked toward the exit.
“No I'm fine, thank you”she said to the man standing at the door.
“Lomi, slow down”Gabriel called after her. What has gotten into her? He picked up another bag and left a tip for their breakfast. Then he heard a scream and he saw the man standing at the door jump off the train it seemed. He ran toward the exit to see what the commotion was. Then he gasped, there was Salomi, lying on the ground,”LOMI!”
*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
Gabriel waited impatiently in the waiting room of the hospital. He called everyone he knew, Ruth, Dorothy, Abby and even Dr. Livingstone. They were all either praying for Salomi or on their way. He rocked back and forth in his chair, praying to God that his fiancé was alright. That the baby was alright.
“Mr. Brewster?”someone asked and he looked up to see a doctor.
“Is she ok?”he asked him as he got up
“Sit down..please”he said to him and Gabriel sunk back into his chair. He sighed and put his head in his hands, it was bad news, he was sure of it. Why would he have to sit down for good news? “Your fiancé suffered quite a fall, she lost her footing and fell right onto her stomach. We calculated that she is almost 6 months along now, is that correct?”he asked him. Gabriel only nodded. “She is in a lot of pain but she will pull through. However, everything all depends on the baby. If the baby is fine, she will be fine but if the baby goes through complications, she will as well. We are going to keep her here for a few days just to watch their progress. If everything seems normal, she will be out of here on Monday”
“Can I see her?”he asked him
“Yes, but shes sleeping. Don’t disturb her, she needs all the rest that she can get”he said to him and led him to the room where Salomi was. He ran inside and sat by her side, she looked peaceful, but he could imagine how much pain she went through. All she could do was scream and then she passed out before they could get her to the hospital.
“Please be alright. Please be alright”Gabriel repeated over and over as he kissed her forehead and stroked her face, he then put his head to her stomach and listened. There was nothing. He sighed as he sat back, all he could do was pray and watch her sleep.
*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
Salomi stirred and she saw two men talking in a white room and she saw Gabriel’s back facing her as he looked out a window. Where was she? “Gabriel?”she said barely above a whisper. He turned to her and then ran to her side. “Where am I?”
“Your in the hospital. In New York. You fell off the train yesterday…right on your stomach”he said and then stopped, he shouldn’t tell her all of this now. It hurt him so much and she obviously couldn’t remember.
Salomi sighed and started to cry,”I just thought it was all a bad dream”
Gabriel pulled her close,”But your ok. That’s what matters, your ok”
“What about the baby?”she asked
Gabriel glanced at the doctors. They were standing outside of the room now, talking doctor language that he couldn’t understand. “That’s why you are here, they are going to run a few tests. Its up in the air now…either the baby wasn’t hurt or was and…”
“And….and what?”she asked
“If the baby is fine, they will let you go home in two days. If the baby has complications, it may complicate your health as well”he said. He didn’t want to tell her this because any complication was a scare to them both since many complications caused her mothers death and almost hers as well.
“I'm going to die. We are both going to die”Salomi said as she started to cry. Gabriel held her close to her.
“No your not, don’t think like that. No your not. Look, you are talking and everything is normal. How are you feeling?”he asked her
“I don’t know”Salomi said as the two doctors came back into the room.
“We have gotten the paperwork from Dr. Livingstone, which will be useful since he has been keeping an eye on the baby’s progress. We are going to run some tests and if everything is the same, then we will let you go after you have properly rested”
“What if its not the same?”Salomi asked
“To be honest, we aren't sure, it all depends on the severity of the situation. But lets not think about that, stress will not help. That’s the last thing either of you need right now”he said and then looked at Gabriel,”We are going to have to ask you to leave while we do these tests”
“That’s fine”Gabriel said. Salomi looked at him with pleading eyes, the ones he hated because he couldn’t ever not say no to them, he always gives in to them. “I have to. You’ll be fine. I’ll be right outside”he said as he gave her a kiss and then left the room. The doctors closed the door behind him and Gabriel sat down and waited. That’s all he could do, was wait…
*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
“It was horrible”Salomi said as she cried,”I don’t want to ever do tests like those again”she said as she cried in Gabriel’s arms. The tests were very complicated and some of them hurt.
“But its over now Lomi, alright? Those tests are going to help us know if our baby is alright”he said to her,”Now eat your soup. You still need to take care of yourself”
“I don’t want their soup. I want your soup. You make better soup than this place. I want to go home”Salomi whined. She was getting very irritable.
“I promise that when we get home, I will make you my famous tomato soup. But for now, you have to eat this”he said as he held the spoon to her mouth. He had to force her to take the syrupy medication that the doctors prescribed which Salomi said tasted like ‘cat urine’. Salomi gave in and opened her mouth and took a few spoonfuls and then laid back and digested it.
She sighed,”She did this”
“What?”Gabriel asked her
“She did this to me. She’s really that evil”
“Who? What are you talking about?”
“My….her….Mabel Lincoln, my supposed grandmother”
“What did she do?”
“She put some type of hex on me. Some sort of spell. Isn't it a coincidence that when we leave from visiting her that this happens to me? She was disgusted that I was having a child out of wedlock, let alone being the fact that I'm Abraham’s daughter. Its all her fault-“
“Salomi. Stop it. Do you know how crazy that sounds?”
“Well then why Gabriel? Why? Does God hate me or something? I just want to be a part of a family and I want to have a family of my own and start a new life with you. Is that so hard? I just want to be married to you and have your child. Whats so wrong with that?”
“There's nothing wrong with that-“
“Then explain this! Our baby could be dying and-“
“Don’t think like that Salomi, don’t give up on our child, not yet. The baby needs us to be strong now more than ever. Your grandmother didn’t leave a hex on you, we aren't going to be thinking about her anymore alright? Just calm down”he said to her and as he said that, the doctor came in. They both looked at him as Gabriel stood up,”Do you have the results Dr.?”
“Yes I do-“
“Please just tell me straight out. I don’t want to hear your doctor mumbo jumbo. Is my baby alright and can I go home on Monday?”Salomi asked him
The doctor sighed,”Well, yes, we don’t see any major changes so we will be sending you all home on Monday morning. But if there are any changes, don’t hesitate to bring her back. I don’t care if its just a cough or a stomachache, she needs to be on close surveillance. Permanent bed rest, do not move unless you need to use the washroom. Anything can happen and the next few days, weeks and months are crucial”
*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
Salomi and Gabriel followed the doctors orders. Gabriel returned to work at the club and he and Ruth took turns taking care of her and watching her progress. Dorothy called as much as she could and she was almost done filming and would be back as soon as she could. Abby called with remedies and Dr. Livingstone made weekly visits to check on the both of them.
Gabriel came back to the apartment late one night and Ruth met him at the door,”How is she?”
“She's doing fine. She's fast asleep. How was tonight?”she asked him
“There was a fight, it seems that new ballerina has been dating a lot of the same guys. The two met and punches followed”he said as he took off his jacket. Ruth just shook her head, he kissed her on her cheek,”Thanks, the driver is waiting for you outside. Call when you reach your place so I know you got home safe”he said to her
Ruth nodded and gave him a hug. Gabriel has grown up a lot in the past few months and he grew up into a very responsible and handsome man. Salomi was very lucky to have him. They said their good nights and she left. He walked into the bedroom slowly and laid down next to Salomi and held her close. He closed his eyes and soon was fast asleep. A few hours later, he was awoken by Salomi moaning. He sat up quickly,”Lomi? Whats wrong?”he asked her
She was dripping in sweat. She could barely speak,”I'm…hoping…its indigestion”she said. But Gabriel got up and picked up a bag that they had packed for emergencies like this.He helped her get up and she screamed in pain,then he gasped when he saw that the bed sheets were soaked in blood.
*________________________*