The Choice

Andre was in his office going over the list of baby names his wife, Maxine, and he had chosen. There were so many lines and x’s on the paper, one would think it was a crossword puzzle sheet. Andre loved the names Anna Grace Johnson or Rianne Marie Johnson for their little girl, but Maxine was stuck on one name and one name only. Aura Joy. Aura Joy Johnson. He could hear her voice now: “Aura Joy... like Our Joy. C’mon, Andre. It’s sweet!”

“Aura Joy...” he said to himself as he stared at the name on the paper.

Suddenly there were two hard knocks at the door!

Then his assistant came in anxiously, “Sir! It’s Maxine! It’s time! Your car is out front, waiting for you!”

Andre jumped up, tucked the list of names in his pocket, and ran towards the door. Andre ran out the building and the valet opened his door as he approached his car. He started to call Maxine as he was driving.

It rang twice before someone answered. “Andre!”

“Who is this?”

“It’s Angela. Andre, there are some complications...”

Maxine interrupts by screaming from one her contractions in background.

“Complications like what?!” Andre gets worried and doesn’t realize he’s speeding at this point. The doctor is in the background talking to Angela or Maxine, but Andre can’t make out the dialogue. All he can hear the doctor say is a choice would have to be made or something along those lines.

“Andre?” Angela was back on the phone now.

“Choice? What choice, Angela? Talk to me, damnnit!”

“Andre...” Angela begins to speak, but Maxine screams again and Angela is trying to calm her down. She gets back on the phone, “Just get here! Room 657...”

“Let me talk to him!” Maxine yells through the pain. Angela holds the phone to her ear.

“Baby...” Maxine says softly, trying to withhold a scream.

“I’m here, I’m here,” Andre says reassuringly.

“I love you,” Maxine says through deeps breaths and tears.

“I love you, I’m almost there. You hang in there, okay? I have a few more...”

The call fails.

________________________________________________

Andre finally arrives at the hospital. He runs to the floor Maxine should be on and he sees Angela in the waiting area pacing. He runs to her, “Angela!”

“Andre!” She hugs him and breaks down crying.

He pulls back from her a little, to see her face. He’s confused. “Hey, hey. What’s wrong? Where’s Maxine?”

“She had complications with the baby and the doctor said more than likely only one of them would...” Angela starts crying uncontrollably, unable to finish her sentence.

Andre gently shakes her, “Only one would what?” She can’t get the words out, so he shakes her a little harder. “One would what, Angela?!”

“Make it, Dre!” Angela blurts out. She tries to calm herself as Andre releases his grip on her arms. She continues, “She made the choice and she said you’d understand. She said you two could get through it together..”

“I have to be with her! She can’t do this alone.”

“Andre, you can’t... She doesn’t want us back there.”

Andre backs into the nearest wall and just sinks down at the thought of losing their baby girl. He says the names they chose over and over again to calm himself as tears fill his eyes, but he refuses to let them fall. All he can think about is how lonely Maxine must feel right now and how she needs him. He sits there for what feels like an eternity before the doctor comes out.

Andre’s head is buried between his knees, but he feels a hand on his shoulder and he looks up with red, tired eyes. “Mr. Johnson?”

Andre gets up fast, “Yes, yes, sir. That’s me. May I see my wife now? How is she doing?”

“There were compl...”

Andre interrupts him.

“Complications. I know, I know. I just need to see her, please. I need to see her now. She needs me.”

“Follow me, Mr. Johnson,” Dr. Hues says calmly as he puts his hand on Andre’s back, guiding him down the hallway. Andre looks back at Angela and she waves him on. They arrive at a display window and Andre is confused, but is too tired to ask. The doctor points and Andre follows his suggested direction with his eyes to a tag that reads “Johnson-657.” His eyes fills with tears all over again and for the first time that day, he lets them fall.

“On behalf of your wife,” Dr. Hues began to speak. “Please, meet your baby girl.”

Dr. Hues waited a few moments before continuing, “Maxine, didn’t give her a name..”

Andre reaches in his pocket and pulls out the crumbled up list of names they’d spent months on coming up with, but he didn’t look at it. Not once. He just squeezed it in his hand.

Andre looked at her in amazement through the display window and said to himself, “Aura Joy.”