Just in One Day

By CherrieBaby

July 10, 2001

Disclaimer: I do not know Charles Esten, or Colin A. Mochrie or any other cast member personally. I have never met any of them. This story is purely fictional. Emma is a character that I have created. Special thanks goes out to Emma from the Giraffe Board for letting me use her name. Thank You Very Much. The Fiction Starts Now…

One day I asked my husband, "Honey, promise me that you’ll never leave my side, that you’ll be here for our son and I."

My husband, Charles "Chip" Esten knew he couldn’t guarantee that, but to assure me, he said, "I promise sweetie, I will never leave you." He paused. "Or little Andrew." Little Andrew Esten was growing in my stomach. I was six months pregnant.

We had been sitting inside the nursery that we had designed ourselves. Chip and I were very proud of it. It had taken a long time, but in the end, it was all worth it. Chip looked into my hazel eyes and I knew that his words were sincere. He would be there for us.

He kissed my forehead and then he knelt down and started singing to my son. He had a beautiful voice that was often blocked out by Wayne Brady’s or Brad Sherwood’s booming voices at work. I don’t think he minded much though.

A few weeks later, I turned on our big screen television. It was five o’clock in the afternoon. Time for the news. "This just in!" The reporter yelled, "Several Countries in Europe have been feuding with each other for several days. In a bloody mess, country has turned upon its fellow country and Europe is at war…with itself."

"Chip dear," I said loudly, "Listen to this."

"What is it, Emma darling?" He called from the top of the staircase. I motioned for him to come down and join me on our black leather sofa.

"Can you believe this?" I exclaimed. "Practically the whole continent is at war. How could that have happened that suddenly?" Chip had the same look of disbelief on his face as I had on mine.

I tensed. The reporter had stated, "American soldiers are being sent to Europe to try to convey a message of peace and to put an end to this horrible war…" I zoned out. Some of my closest friends are in the military! What if they get sent to Europe and got killed?! Chip squeezed my hand tightly. "They’ll be fine." He already knew what thought had crossed my mind. "Don’t worry, Em, just stay healthy for the baby." I nodded. We sat on the couch for another five minutes and then we ate dinner.

A month after that, the war had gotten far worse than projected. Several American soldiers were dying every day. Little Andrew had started kicking inside my womb. Everyday, I found it harder to do my daily routine.

Chip strolled through the front door with the mail. Nonchalantly, he left the pile on the coffee table in front of me. I sorted through the mail. Fan mail, fan mail, a letter from the Dept. of Defense, fan mail, bills… As usual, nothing but bills for me. "Chip, sweetie. You’ve got a letter from the Government…" I wondered what it was for. "Come on, open it!" As he walked over to me he realized what the letter was for and stopped dead in his tracks.

Softly, he said, "Honey, I don’t know how to tell you this but.."

I interrupted him, "That’s your draft note." A tear rolled down my cheek. I wanted to scream or pinch myself to wake up from this horrible nightmare.

"You can’t leave now!" I protested. "Andy will be born soon, you have to be there, you have to be there." I kept chanting. Chip flashed the charming, goofy smile that I had first fallen in love with. "I will be there, don’t you worry."

Three days later, I kissed him goodbye. I didn’t want him to leave. He was my life, my love, my everything. I would feel so lost without him by my side. He sang to our son one last time, and hopped on the Government Bus that was waiting for him outside. He left me crying on the doorstep. He wasn’t going to be there at Andy’s birth. I just knew it.

As each day went by, the pain in my heart grew worse. Chip’s daily letters had stopped coming. He must have been in the heart of the battlefield and couldn’t write letters home. That was it. My paranoia and grief took over. I bet he doesn’t care about us. What a lying scumbag. All his promises were empty. Suddenly, I felt something inside me wiggle. Andy? Then my water broke.

I had gone into labor at midnight and my husband still wasn’t there with us. Push, Push. The doctors and the nurses kept saying over and over like broken records.

Finally, at 3:46 A.M., Christopher Andrew Esten was born. His middle name had been chosen by Chip to honor one of our closest friends, Colin Andrew Mochrie. When I got to hold little Christopher in my weak, tired, arms for the first time, a feeling of peace rushed over my body. Chris smiled the same sweet smile that his father had shown me many times, a long time ago.

The nurse saw how weak I was, and took my son from my arms. She placed him in the infant nursery. Soon after, I drifted into a deep sleep.

Hours later, I was awoken. "Mrs. Esten?" Some man wearing a black suit towered over me.

I stirred. "Yes, that’s me." I rubbed my eyes to get a better look at the man.

The mysterious man continued, "Your husband, Charles passed away at 3:46 A.M. our time, in Paris, France."

*Copyright 2001-04, CherrieBaby. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted without written permission from the author. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental.*