Déjà vu

"I'm back home," he said as he undid his shoes, when his children came running into his arms shouting,"Daddy's home!" He took them both in his arms, kissed their heads, and brought them to the kitchen, where he had them sit on the counter top before going straight to the love of his life and taking her in his arms.

He wrapped his arms around her and planted a soft kiss on her forehead. "And now, I am home,' she said, her eyes shining with joy. She looked just as beautiful as when he first saw her.

It was mid-morning, recess time. He was in the cafeteria, hanging out with his friends, who were loudly cracking jokes and talking about football. That is when he caught sight of her. She sat alone in a corner, stuffing her mouth with a subway sandwich. She was dressed in blue jeans and an oversized beige hand-knit jumper, with her hair in a messy bun, with two strands adorning each side of her face. Her hazel eyes, hidden beneath her round glasses, followed as she read the words of the book she was immersed in, when the revolving fan blew in her face, causing her hair to fall into her mouth and all over her face.

The way she battled to get the hair out of her mouth while trying to swallow the food she had already jammed in her mouth reminded him of his cat's attempt to eat solid food as a kitten. That was when their gazes met. He gestured to the smeared ketchup on her cheek, grinning. Her face flushed with embarrassment.

She grabbed a tissue and hastily wiped the ketchup off of her cheeks. In a hurry to leave, she stumbled over the edge of the table, and the books she was holding fell out of her grasp.

He rushed over and helped her pick her belongings from the floor.

"Hey! Don't worry! It's okay!" She said, "You don't have to do that!"

"I know, I need not," he said, gathering her things. "But I want to," he continued as he rose up and handed her the books.

"Thank you," she said, smiling.

"I'll see you around, then," he said, his lips longing for a taste of her.

"Sure thing!" With flushed cheeks, she said as she turned to leave.

That one incident led to the exchange of numbers, date nights, lovemaking, engagement, wedding, and twins, a boy and a girl.They dated for eight years and married for five.

"Happy anniversary, Honey," she whispered, resting her head on his chest.

"Happy anniversary! I am sorry I'm late. Today was a crazy day at work. I was hoping to get home early today, but I had to lead the meeting." He explained."I understand. It's alright. I'm so proud of you, babe!" she said, embracing him more tightly when he twins shouted " Up Daadaa!" in unison.

"Yes, my pumpkins..." He took both his babies in his arms. "Kisses for Dada?" They both kissed their Daddy on the cheeks, together at the same time.

"You go wash up, honey. I'll finish the cooking and set everything up," she said.

He showered, changed into his pyjamas, and told the twins a story before putting them to sleep. Ever since the twins began talking, this was his nightly routine. And his favourite part of the day, of course.

Being the eldest kid in a chaotic household with an emotionally unstable mother and an absent father, he had to mature sooner. He promised himself that, when he had a family of his own, he would be the husband that he wished his mother had and the father he had always desired.

"What story did you tell them today?" She asked as she placed the dinner she had prepared on the tray, turning around to reach for the cabinet."Just another made-up story," he whispered as he hugged her from behind, planting a deep kiss on her right shoulder and breathing in her fragrance . She chuckled and attempted to reach for the cabinet again, but he caught her by the waist, lifted her to up, turned her around and made her sit on the kitchen counter-top. He grabbed her waist and pushed her close to his hip. She wrapped her hands around his neck and her legs around his waist, pressing her soft bosoms into his muscular chest. Her forehead touched his. Their lips met as their eyes closed.

"I love the taste of your mouth." he whispered.

"Anha.. must be the tuna salad I had for lunch." she said giggling. They both burst into laughter.

She then grabbed his collar and drew him closer, brushing her head against his chin like a cat, she said, "I meow you, honey." "I meow you too," he replied, smiling..

"By the way.. I have a surprise for you.. um... it's more like a gift."

"What is it?" He inquired curiously.

"Silly, I told you it was a surprise! I'll give it to you after we have dinner," she said as she planted a kiss on his lips. 

Every year they would celebrate their anniversary by doing their favourite activity, which is to eat the same meal they had on their first date—a shared chicken sandwich with store-bought wine—and relax on the balcony while watching the stars, looking for shooting stars. Back in college, it was the only date they could afford.

They ate dinner and then sat in their swing on the balcony to watch the stars.

"So what's the surprise?" He inquired as he swung the swing back and forth. She then moved onto his lap and rested her head on his chest as he cradled her in his arms and asked "Well? What happened?" as he kissed her forehead.

She then held his hand and placed it near her right cheek and planted a soft kiss on his palm saying "I love you.."

"okayyy...I love you moree.." he whispered confused. She then grabbed his hand and placed it on her tummy, pressing it slightly and adding, "Here is your birthday gift." As he realized, his puzzled expression changed to one of pure joy. He held her tightly and buried his face on her shoulder, saying, "This is the best birthday gift I ever received. I'm so happy." "I'm happy too.."She said,embracing the hug.

When the twins learned that their mama was carrying a baby in her belly, they were overjoyed. They'd come every now and then to massage her growing tummy and kiss it, just like their dada did.

9 months of pregnancy went by so quickly. Morning sickness and pregnancy cravings persisted for the first three months. The next three months were spent feeling the baby move and making numerous trips to the bathroom, followed by the final three months of walking like a penguin. He did the majority of the chores while she cared for the twins.

It was a lovely Saturday evening in the middle of summer.He was with the kids, looking at a picture book, and she was in the kitchen, heavily pregnant, slicing up a watermelon when her water broke. They planned and prepared everything ahead of time, expecting her to go into labor soon. They packed up, left the twins with her mother, and proceeded to the hospital.

The labor was prolonged, she was in pain and was severely exhausted.

"I cannot take it anymore, honey." She cried out in anguish.

"Sir, The fetal heart rate is dropping.We'll take her up for an emergency C-section," the doctor informed him. By the time she was getting shifted to OT, her blood pressure spiked up, and she began convulsing.

"RAISE THE SIDE RAILS.CALL THE OT AND PREPARE FOR AN EMERGENCY C-SECTION; START THE PATIENT ON IV MGSO4, PAGE PAEDIATRICS AND KEEP THE CRASH CART READY..." the doctor in-charge ordered, holding and turning her to one side to keep her from falling off the bed and choking on her own secretions, till she stopped convulsing.

"...35, female, G2P1L2, 34 weeks of gestation, with eclamptic seizures, prepare OT for Emergency C-Section...Thank you.." He heard the nurse talk on the phone. The tension in the room was palpable, with everyone running around trying to stabilise her.

He stood there in shock. In the midst of all this mayhem, motionless, watching the love of his life, who was pregnant with his child, convulse. When he was told to wait in the room while they stabilised her, all he could hear were muffled voices.

" ...yes. A possible molar pregnancy. Yes,viable fetus.yes. That is correct. Yes. It's a rare one. The patient is stable as of now and is being shifted to OT." He overheard the junior doctor talk on phone. The voices became much more muffled when he felt a severe ache in his right temple before blacking out.

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"Please wake up. Can you hear my voice? Please open your eyes," the doctor asked, tapping on his chest. He could only hear mechanical noises and garbled voices.

"Yes! The patient is ready for extubation. Nurse, please deflate the tube," His chest and head were hurting. However, his pregnant wife and their twins were the only thing on his mind.

"Removing the tube.. ready to connect to 6 litres oxygen.." he heard as he began coughing violently as he felt his lungs being ripped out of his body. A mask was instantly placed on his face, and he felt the bed tilt upright.

The chaos settled, and he was left alone. He looked around and was astonished to see himself in an ICU setting—clean floors, bright lighting, and everything in blue, except for the bed covers. He looked at the probe in his finger and the bright light on the ceiling.

Why am I here? Why am I in bed when my wife is the one in OT? Oh my God, have I passed out? I wonder if the C-section went well. What a coward I am! She must be worrying about me. He closed his eyes, tears streaming down his face.

"Haa! You're finally awake. The surgery went well! How are you feeling now?" He opened his eyes., baffled. 

"I did not mean to startle you! How are you?" asked the man, who appeared to be in his late 30's , gently placing his hands on his shoulder.

"I am.. fine.." he stammered. "My wife..? Is she.. fine? My baby? " He asked in a hoarse voice.

The man's facial expressions shifted from a smile to a perplexed expression.

"My wife... my baby... She was in labor." he continued.

"okay.."

"She started convulsing.. some partial molar..."

"okay.."

"She was taken into surgery...My wife... I want to see her."

"What do you think your name is?" the doctor asked him, puzzled.

"My name? ... My name ...I... I don't remember... my head," he stuttered as he placed his hand on this temple. He felt a bandage across his head. "

"Miss, it's alright. You rest. We will talk in the evening."

"Miss? I'm sorry? Why are you calling me Miss?"

"Because you are a woman."

" What?!" He felt dumbfounded and confused.

"Nurse, please bring the mirror."

The doctor held the mirror right in front of his face. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. He recognised his wife in the mirror. Her head, partly shaved, with a tube sticking out of it, her gorgeous face,puffy, and her beautiful hazel-colored eyes teary. "She is my wife... my love," he continued, sobbing.

"This is you, Miss. You're a woman." 

"Me? "This is me?" She enquired, weeping.

"It's alright, it's because you are just out of the sedation."

"Where's my husband?" My twins? My new baby?"

"Sorry, mam, according to your basic details, you are 21 and unmarried with no prior history of marriage or kids."

She started sobbing uncontrollably. "You are all lying to me.. you are all liars..I want to see my babies..my husband.. " she screamed crying as she tried to get out of the bed.

"Nurse!! Restrain the patient. Give her a shot of haloperidol. She is delirious. Page psych team.."

She struggled to get them to let go, but in vain. Before long, she passed off and fell into a deep sleep.

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"Sir? Can you hear me? Are you alright?" He gasped as he regained consciousness.

"Congratulations! Your wife gave birth to a healthy baby girl. The surgery was successful. Your wife is being shifted to ICU now. We will be shifting her to ward by tomorrow. The nurses will assist her with the feeding. I will ask the nurse to let you in once she is settled. We are suspecting that the sudden spike in blood pressure was caused by molar changes in placenta, which is an extremely rare condition. In most of the cases, the pregnancy ends in a spontaneous miscarriage or the fetus would be born with anomalies and won't be able to survive outside the womb. It's a medical miracle. You both are blessed. The placenta will be sent for biopsy in order to look for malignancy. The paediatrician will be along shortly to show you your baby." The resident doctor explained.

He stood there in shock as if he was just awoken from a dream.

"Sir? Are there any doubts? " "Are you okay? Do you need any help?" The doctor continued.

"Is this all real?" was the only thing that escaped his mouth.

"Yes, Sir. Why are you asking?"

"Nothing," he said. "Maybe I'm just sleep deprived."

"Well then, Everything is settled now. Take care!" The doctor said with a warm smile on her face.

"Thank you, doctor! Thank you for taking care of my wife." He replied gratefully. The doctor nodded and walked away, smiling.

He sat back down, relaxed his back on the chair, closed his eyes, and exhaled a deep breath of relief when he felt a sharp, shooting pain in the right side of his temple. He tried lifting his hand to massage his temples, only to discover that his hands were tied down. He did not want to open his eyes since he was certain he was back in his nightmare, from which he badly wanted to escape. Anxious, he shut his eyes as tightly as he could and held his breath in, hoping to wake up from that nightmare. That nightmare, which might actually be HER reality.

-Dr.ASH

Thank you for taking the time to read this short story. You have my sincere gratitude. I hope you enjoy it. Please email me or leave a comment if you have any smart ideas or recommendations on how I could write better.