89.
“Doctor, the patient is ready for surgery, if we don’t start now, we’re going to lose him.”
I look up at the doctor's face. My best friend of 15 years and he's standing there in front of me looking helpless.
"Tina, you should really rest. This much stress isn't good for the baby" he ushers over a nurse to take me back to my room
"Jay, you have to save him. I can’t do this without him"
"Tina, I'll try my best, but this is a really complicated surgery…."
"Jay" I look at him tears pooling in my eyes, pleading "Please, just…please"
"Nurse, please take her back to her room" Jay answers as he reaches to brush away one of the tears that managed to escape. "I'll do my best, he's my friend too you know?"
Jay Sahota was the best neurosurgeon in the country, if he couldn't save him then there was no hope left. Just a few hours ago their life was perfect, enviable even. All it takes is one second, and everything you love, everything you value can just be taken away from you in the blink of an eye
* Earlier that evening *
"Arjun man, I'm fine just let me drive" the man drawled out, now leaning on my husband for support. Arjun took the keys from him.
"Listen bro, this is my sister's wedding and I'll be damned if I let you drive home drunk." he pulled his arm over his shoulder. "Tina will drive you in our car and I'll take your car behind you okay? That way you get home safe and your car is home, cool?"
"Dude, I'm fine. Besides didn't you drink?"
"Bro, my wife is pregnant, I'm not allowed to drink until she is!" Arjun laughs as he nods over to me.
"Don’t worry Paaji, you're on our way home. It's not a big deal at all. Better safe than sorry. Challo" I walk towards our car as my husband loads the obviously very intoxicated man into the car. His eyes shut as soon as he sits on our seats. "Idiot" I mutter to myself. We turn to drive down the road, his house was five minutes away from this hall but exhausted, sober and way too pregnant, I was ready to just go home.
"Okay Tina, see you in 5 minutes"
"Yeah, he still lives off of 10th line right?"
"Yeah, just follow my car"
"Alrighty" I turn on the ignition to my car and start to back out. My husband turn to me, pensive. Like he knows something is coming. I cock my face to the side, my way of asking him what's going on in his mind.
"I love you Teen, you know that right? I really really love you"
"Arjun, babe. I love you too, but right now our son is driving me nuts and I really just wanna go home, so let's go?" He gives it a moment of thought, and backs out his car. I follow behind him
"The Gods are being generous, not red lights. We’re going to be home in no time" I think to myself.
*BOOM, car horns blaring*
I open my eyes from a blink, a blink that might have lasted maybe 2.5 seconds too long. I slam my brakes and time, time seems to stop forever. I hear the car alarms of my husband car blaring off in the distance, my own car swerved and hit a light from the impact and braking. My drunk bade paaji has now woken up from his slumber, 100 times more sober as he evaluates the scene around him.
Three cars.
4 humans.
Our car is starting to smoke up, my bade paaji shakes me awake. "Tina, Tina, come on we have to get out of the car. TINA MOVE GODDAMNIT." he looks around "Oh god, ARJUN. OH GOD, WHAT IS HAPPENING" he is panicking, but I can't hear him. All I hear is the car alarm blaring on our 2016 Honda Civic, all I hear is the metal on metal sound of the two cars from the impact. All I see is darkness, there are no lights, no houses. Just the small street light barely visible through the fog forming around the car. I can't move. I can't feel anything. "TINA, GET UP" he comes around the door and drags me out of the car before he goes to inspect the damage to his own.
I sit there on the side walk, in my blue sari. It’s a unusually warm night even for summer, but my body is frigid, I'm shivering. I look onto the scene of the intersection. A small red Corvette is laying on the side of the road, barely recognizable under the damage caused by the Ford pick-up, both cars are minutes from bursting into flames. Then everything goes black.
I wake up under fluorescent white light, I start to resist and wake up. "WHERE AM I?!' WHERE IS MY HUSBAND?! WHERE IS HE"
"Ma'am please, relax." the nurse tries to sedate me but it's useless. My body seems to have finally caught up with my mind, I am unstoppable now. For a 29 year old pregnant woman, I am pretty strong. I manage to shake the nurses off me and make a break towards the door when a pair of strong arms stop me. The nurse is at my tail. "Dr. Sahota, we tried to hold her down"
I look up to see my best friend holding me. "Tina, please. You're pregnant, you were in an accident. We need to work you up"
"Jay, I need to see him. Please tell me he's okay. Jay" I am in hysterics. Where is he, why isn't he here in the ER?
"Tina, please calm down we need to make sure the baby is okay." I calm down a little, my hand drifts towards my belly unconsciously. I sit onto the gurney.
"Okay, I'll go. But is he okay?" Jay looks at me for one whole minute. The idea of lying crosses his mind. But then he decides against it, because he knows he can’t lie to me, not even to save his life.
"I don’t know" he motions to the nurses "Please take Dr. Gill up to Dr. Montgomery, she's waiting for her." I lay back on the gurney and pray with all my life that the man I love is still breathing.

















