Chapter 12

It was in the first week of January and Ilse was three months pregnant when we had our first sonogram of the baby made. Although it was too early to tell, we had the feeling that it would be a girl. We had agreed to keep the result of the sonogram to ourselves, until we knew for sure what the gender of the baby would be.

Ever since Ilse and our kids lived in my house, or rather, our house now, Ilse had been much more relaxed. It felt as if moving in with me had lifted a weight off her shoulders. I guess she had been insecure about how I truly felt about her and thought I might still change my mind. Having her move in with me, while taking care of Bram and Naomi’s rooms too, was a big reassurance to her.

We talked about when we wanted to marry and we had decided on the date that Ilse had forgiven me for my stupidity. Originally, we thought of getting married on the date we had first met at the supermarket. However, our love didn’t really blossom until we went through a difficult phase. This way, our wedding date would always be a reminder of what we had almost given up. It would make us treasure our relationship even more.

Despite the painful memories, I had even more good memories of that day, since I had conquered Ilse’s heart that evening. It had been when we both openly admitted our feelings for one another for the first time. We thought it was more romantic than the first moment we saw each other, when Ilse had been distraught and we didn’t really know one another yet. We felt that would be an awkward reminder every time we celebrated our wedding day.

The latter date would also work out better. Our baby was due two months before the wedding and it’d give Ilse time to recover from her pregnancy. We were planning to have a two-week honeymoon after getting married and we wanted to have a real break from everyday life. By the time we get back from our honeymoon, it would be time for school to start again for Bram and Naomi. We truly wanted to take our children with us on our honeymoon and have our first real vacation as a family. However, school attending was important too, and we didn’t want our children to cut corners.

As I had expected, things were getting tighter financially, but luckily our parents also helped. Later on during this year, I would have a serious talk with my manager about getting a raise. Financially, we had taken a big hit. Because Ilse had moved in with me, she was no longer entitled to welfare, which meant that I had to provide for all of us.

On the one hand, it sucked because we missed the extra money. However, we also saved a lot of money, since Ilse didn’t have to pay rent anymore. We also didn’t have the double costs of gas, water, and electricity anymore. While I had an economically built house, her apartment’s insulation was very poor and had cost a lot of money on utilities, especially during the winter.

Ever since we started living together, Ilse had taken care of all the cooking. She was a great cook and loved doing it. When I was still single, I regularly visited several restaurants every month, or ate take-out food. Now that Ilse took care of the cooking, I saved a lot of money, and as a bonus, I ate much healthier too.

The only thing that really hurt my ability to save up money, was the needs of our children. I didn’t mind that a single bit though. However, I had to keep in mind that I couldn’t just buy things recklessly anymore. I had to recognize that I’m living on a tighter budget now.

If my purchases went over a certain amount of money, I’d discuss it with Ilse first. We weren’t making a big issue out of small items, but when I wanted to buy something more expensive, we’d discuss it. Usually, Ilse would talk me out of buying it, when it involved something we didn’t really need. We really saved a lot of money that way while preventing the problems my parents used to have when I was growing up. Ultimately, it would take some adjusting, but eventually, I would learn not to buy the expensive items I wanted, but place the needs of my family first.

Another development was that we had hired a lawyer right after Christmas to find out how I could gain custody of Bram and Naomi. We wanted to take their biological father out of his parental authority and ensure that he could never put a legal claim on his children again.

Our lawyer told us it wouldn’t be easy since I still hadn’t married Ilse. However, I told him to do it anyway. I wanted them to be legally my kids before I married Ilse, later this year. He had stated that it would be nearly impossible to get it done in such a short-term, but he promised to do his best. Considering the rate he charged me, I expected nothing less.

A month later, he had the papers ready and sent them to Ilse’s ex-husband. Together, we had decided to determine if he would be reasonable and willing to settle things without taking him to court.

That turned out to be a huge mistake.

I received a call from a mobile phone number I didn’t recognize when I was at work in late January. Looking at the clock on my computer, I saw that it was 1:54 p.m.

I knew that Ilse had plans to meet with the supervisor of the living corporation that morning. She had given a notice of leaving the day after Boxing Day, but the tenancy agreement stated that you had to end a tenancy at least a month ahead. As it was, she still had to pay the rent for January.

It hadn’t really been a big deal since she still received welfare in January too. However, it meant she had to meet with the housing supervisor for a final inspection and hand him the keys. We had worked hard to make sure that the apartment was clean and suitable for the next tenants. That way they wouldn’t charge us any money for having to clean the property themselves.

Our kids were still at school and I normally never received a phone call on my mobile phone while I was at work. Receiving one now had to mean that it was important.

I was somewhat nervous when I accepted the call, and said, “Hello, Tom speaking.”

“Tom, it’s Anna.” I recognized the voice of Ilse’s mother instantly, she sounded urgent. “You have to go to the hospital in your city immediately. It’s Ilse. She’s in the emergency room.”

Nobody wanted to hear such words. My heart literally stopped for a good two seconds before it continued beating again.

My face turned white as a sheet and I struggled to say, “What happened?”

“Someone assaulted Ilse. I don’t have all the details as to what happened, but please go now!” Anna begged me.

I had already locked my computer and walked with a hurried step to my manager’s office, still holding the mobile phone to my ear.

“Yes, I’ll come right away. Let me tell my manager that I’ll be gone for the rest of the day.”

“Okay, I’ll wait here for you. She’s in on the first floor of the emergency ward, room 112.”

“Okay, see you soon. Bye.”

I quickly hung up my mobile phone and entered my manager’s office.

I explained to my manager about the family emergency and had to leave right away. I told him that someone had assaulted my fiancée and that she was in the hospital now. He could understand the situation all too well and told me to take the next day off too. He requested that I’d give him an update sometime tomorrow. We could also discuss when I would return to work then.

He knew Ilse had moved in with me last month. He had already told me how happy he was for me now that I had a family of my own. Having a wife and kids himself, he knew all too well, what priorities came first in life. Besides, I wouldn’t get any work done anyway while my mind focused on what was happening with Ilse.

I gave him a thankful nod at his understanding and his permission to skip work tomorrow. I left the office and ran to my car in the parking lot. My commute took usually twenty-eight minutes, but now I was at the hospital in a mere sixteen. I guess you can imagine that I broke the speed limit multiple times. However, getting a speeding ticket was the least of my worries right now.

It didn’t take me long to locate Ilse’s room. I found Anna sitting next to Ilse’s bed, holding her daughter’s hand.

The image of Ilse stopped me dead in my tracks. She had a cut lip, a black eye, and from what I could see, bruises all over her body, although blankets covered her body from the chest down. There were tubes in her arms and nostrils and she was unconscious. The heart monitor made a constant beeping noise. It pained my heart to see my love in such a dire state.