(Play before reading.)
“When the world comes crashing down, I’ll find you if you hide.”
She waited, she had been waiting for quite some time, in the waiting room. So much happened in waiting rooms; fraction of a lifetime, an infinitesimal integration of unforgettable moments of infinitesimal lives happened there. Prayers being offered, celebrations happening, reunions, hope rekindling, lives starting afresh- waiting rooms witnessed them all.
Today, it was witnessing a renewing faith in God as she prayed and waited for her angel, her angel draped in a white coat, carrying news that would alter her life forever. Her wife was in the operation theatre, in labor, (hopefully) delivering their first child.
They both had got married just three months ago and had been together for a little over four years. It was the second serious relationship for both of them who were- then- very much over the prime of their lives. Both despondent with their personal lives, they contacted each other after a long time of negligible communication. Their first meeting in over fifteen years was awkward and both were certain that they would never see the other again.
There is certain power in promises, however, that they get themselves fulfilled. Destiny, or fate or merely the ‘pinky promise’ that they had made when they were nine, brought them together on their first date after a week of their meeting. They kissed on her doorstep and three dates later, they were engaged.
People called them crazy and there were times when theyselves wondered if it had all been done in a hurry, but they were happier than they’d ever been in a long time and three years later, they shared an apartment, two dogs and both had ravishing careers. The spark was still there but something was needed.
They started looking for ways for either of them to get impregnated. Artificial insemination appealed to them both. They doctors, however, were cynical. Their ages were a little troublesome and there might be complication in delivery, if impregnated. They agreed and both underwent the procedure. Only one of them was successful. Six months in, they got married, one with a bulging stomach and it was very hilarious watching her having to use the restroom every half hour.
The eighth and ninth months had been troublesome. There were a lot of false alarms and twice, she had to be rushed into emergency for something or the other. There were a lot of sleepless nights, hurling, shouting, and unavoidable negativity. Their love for the other, however, remained unchanged, if not stronger. Given the history, the doctor had her in the hospital, secured, a week before the due date. Which brought both of them to today.
Sitting in the waiting room, a leg stamping the floor, prayer on the mouth and a tissue in hand, she waited. She wondered how life would be if it happened and she wondered how life would be if it didn’t. She wondered if their relationship would ever stay the same if it did happen. Or would either of them ever recover from the lingering ‘could-have-beens’ that would scar their lives forever. Whatever the outcome, all she wished for was the love of her life, her wife to be fine. Suddenly, the door opened, and the doctor stepped out, facemask on, poker faced. She took off her mask, still straight faced, and proclaimed, “It’s a girl,” starting to grin ear to ear.
Later that night, when one mother and the baby were peacefully asleep, another mother sat in the room, and on the same tissue she had clutched that morning, wrote, “I’ll always love you both. I’ll always protect you both. Even when the world comes crashing down, I’ll find you if you hide.“
The World Past Me 