***
That night, as Piper and Nick sat next to one another on the couch in their family room, Piper felt something in her belly. A jump or a tickle. Something. She put her hand on her belly and felt the movement once again. The baby was moving. She put Nick’s hand on her belly so he could feel the baby move too.
“That’s our boy,” he said. “He’s going to be a kicker. Maybe go pro one day!”
“Yup. That’s our boy.” Piper said with a smile as she grabbed a pair of earbuds from the table next to her. She connected the earbuds to her mobile phone and searched for a song on the internet. “I’m going to find some classical music for the baby. Classical music is good for building babies’ minds.” Once she found the song she wanted to play to Patrick, she held the ear buds against her belly.
“You think he can hear that?” Nick asked.
“Of course. I’ll play him some good Christian rock music too. Get him accustomed to the good stuff.”
Nick grinned as he flipped the channels on the television, looking for something for them to watch. “Not much on tonight. How about a funny movie, like Caddyshack?” He asked.
“That works for me.”
Midway through the movie, Piper reflected on her life with Nick. So blissful. So thankful. She knew that God had given her much, so she made sure that she thanked Him daily for her blessings in her thoughts and in her prayers. Gratitude was important to God, and she knew that.
What she didn’t know at that point was that the movement she had just felt in her belly would be the last movement she would feel from Patrick. He died two weeks later while inside of her, for reasons no one identified. Piper knew she would never be able to recover from the loss. Recovery wasn’t possible and she didn’t deserve the loss. She was a strong believer, yet God had decided that Patrick’s life needed to end. God was punishing her for something. But what?