The Unforgettable

( Narrator's POV on Linda )

The holidays came and went as usual except for this year Linda was ecstatic about her pregnancy. She couldn't wait for her baby to be born in a few months time and she would never be lonely again.

A few days later after they had just entered the New Year, Linda's visit to her doctor was quickly coming up. She just couldn't wait until her baby was born.

Linda woke up to a cold and rainy Tuesday morning a bit under the weather, only yesterday morning she felt cramps around  her abdominal region but after a few minutes it had settled. She was told by few friends that this was normal during her pregnancy and this morning when she got up her cramps had returned but was quite faint.

She would need to remember to tell her Doctor about this. Diane called and told her things are fine at the shop and asked her "How are you feeling ? " to which Linda replied "Just a slight discomfort but everything else is fine " . It had rained very heavy last night which caused the mornings to be colder then usual but it was the weather that Linda loved.

Driving slowly in the bad weather she reached the clinic only a few minutes late. While the examination was being done Linda told the Doctor about her symptoms to which he replied "It is normal symptoms and nothing to be concerned about " but ten minutes into her check-up a concerned look appeared on the Doctor's face.

Not wanting to alarm his patient he quickly ordered more tests to be done to which Linda sensed something was wrong. Growing more anxious she wanted to know if everything was okay with her baby to which Dr Patel told her "To calm down and just breath normal and relax". The elderly Doctor left the room with his assistant only to return a few minutes later with news she had never expected to hear.

As if in a dream she went blank for some time and could hardly hear what was being said by the Doctor. Her mind kept telling her 'This is not real, it couldn't be real' . Coming back to reality Linda heard the Doctor say "... I am so sorry Linda , while running the test we could not find any heartbeat and we've ..." She sat on the bed dazed and not taking in what was being said. After a few seconds Linda asked in a broken voice "Huh ... are you sure ... maybe you missed something". Sadly the Doctor replied "That's the reason we had to run more test but there is no heartbeat" .

After the examination was over Linda was still in a daze and as the surgical procedure was being done the kind receptionist had contacted Diane since she was listed as the 'next of kin'. Alex drove the really worried Diane to the doctor's room while a D&C (Dilation and Curettage) was being done on Linda.

After a long while Diane was allowed to go and see Linda who was in a really bad shape. Diana was distraught about the news. Eventually when Diane walked in the room where Linda was in, the only thing Diane could do was just hug Linda as both women cried together.

Linda knew that Diane was there for her. Alex gave both the women some space and decided to be in the waiting room. When they were ready to leave, Diane drove Linda's car home and decided to stay the night at Linda's place while Alex drove his jeep home.

Linda was given some strong pain medication which made her really drowsy and a few minutes later Linda was in a deep sleep.

By the next afternoon, most of people who knew Linda found out about her loss and decided to pay her a visit. Later that evening Jessica decided to check-up on Linda as well , the sweet teenager brought with her a beautiful gift bag. In the light purple  coloured gift bag ( Linda's favorite color ) was a few scented candles and relaxing body wash and a few other accessories and with this was a CD of her favorite pop group , whose music was a kind of feel-good music that hopefully will make her feel better during this time of loss.

Linda was so touched at this young girl's attempt to make her feel better and it worked. She put it away for now and thanked them all just for showing up. 

Diane realized she had never seen Linda this way from the time they both met each other , which was many years ago.  Linda always appeared to have such a strong persona. Diane felt many times that there wasn't anything Linda could not attempt to do and not succeed.

In fact Jessica had seen these two women as her role models in life. Diane's heart went out to her friend not really  knowing how to help her and what to say in a situation like this, a situation  Diane herself  had never experienced. What does one say in a horrible situation like this ?

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