A Very Special Delivery

someone draped a tablecloth over her shoulders. She realized then that her body shook wildly. Water dripped from her hair into her eyes and mouth.
    But she didn’t care. All that mattered was the boy.
    She pushed through the ring of onlookers to where Ethan was performing CPR. She prayed. And begged.
    Other than whispered prayers, a hush hung over the circle. The time seemed an eternity.
    From somewhere nearby came a woman’s keening cry. Molly wished she would stop. Wailing meant they had given up. And they couldn’t give up. Not yet. Not ever.
    Another eternity passed while Ethan pressed the narrow chest and breathed into a nose and mouth so small that the rescuer’s lips easily eclipsed them.
    Shoulders tight as stretched leather, teeth chattering, Molly commanded, “Breathe, baby, breathe.”
    As if her words were what he waited for, the toddler coughed. Ethan quickly turned him on his side and a gush of water spewed forth.
    Then the most beautiful sound in the world filled the clearing. The little one began to cry. In seconds, he was calling for his mama.
    Molly went limp, weeping with relief into her chilled palms.
    “We got to him in time. He should be okay,” she heard Ethan say. “But you need to take him to the ER. Have him checked over to be sure.”
    It was then that Molly saw her sister standing white-faced and horrified. Tears streaming from her eyes, she stood riveted to the scene.
    “I only turned my back to get Tracy a drink,” Chloe said. “How did Corey get into the water so fast? How did…”
    The keening noise issued from her lips, and Molly realized it was Chloe she’d heard before.
    Her stricken gaze fell on Molly. “I nearly caused a child’s death. If you hadn’t seen him— If you hadn’t gone after him…”
    Hysterical sobs broke loose and racked her thin body.
    Regardless of what had gone on before, Molly couldn’t ignore her sister’s cries. No one understood the feeling of despair and remorse and horror any better than she did.
    Gently, she touched her sister’s quaking shoulder.
    “No, sis, don’t. Don’t blame yourself. Sometimes bad things just happen.”
    Miraculously, as she comforted her sister, Molly, too, was comforted. The truth of her words soaked into the deepest part of her mind and blossomed there. Sometimes bad things just happen.
    A shudder rippled through Chloe. She lifted her teary face. “How can you be nice to me after the way I’ve treated you?”
    “Easy.” Letting the tablecloth fall, Molly held out her arms. “I love you, sis.”
    Chloe stumbled forward and fell against the much-shorter Molly. Her words, punctuated with sobs, were the redemption Molly had long prayed for.
    “I’m sorry. So sorry for blaming you.” Molly realized she spoke of Zack. “It wasn’t your fault. I always knew that. Will you forgive me?”
    Though she was tired to the core, Molly couldn’t remember when she’d felt such joy or release. She rubbed Chloe’s bony shoulder in comforting circles.
    “There is nothing to forgive. All I want is to have my sister back again.”
    Chloe pulled away and managed a damp and tremulous smile. “I’ve missed you so much.”
    Most of the other people had wandered off, following the accident victim, murmuring in low, shocked tones. Chloe’s husband appeared at her side.
    His own complexion, usually ruddy, was pale. “You girls all right?”
    Her eyes were red, her face streaked with tears, but Chloe’s smile bloomed for real. “More than all right. Everything is going to work out now, James. I promise.”
    “Thank God.” He closed his eyes briefly. When he opened them, Molly recognized her own hurt, confusion, and finally relief in him. James had suffered, too. Everyone suffered from unresolved bitterness.
    “Yes,” Ethan said, moving up to stand beside Molly. “Thank God.”
    James’s smile was gentle and loving as he slipped an arm around his wife. “Come on, honey. We could all use some rest. But first we need to round up these little tots and get them home.”
    “I want to go to the hospital to make sure Corey’s all right.” Chloe’s tear-filled eyes followed a car streaking away with Corey inside.
    “Then let’s get going.”
    With a final hug and a promise to call tomorrow, Chloe and James started up the rise toward the dispersing crowd.
    Molly’s emotions were a jumble as she watched her sister walk away. Fear, relief, joy and, most of all, hope swirled around inside her. As awful as it had