Chapter 9

Chapter 9
Actually she is standing right beside the bed so she isn’t far away from me, but I would just feel better if she was sitting next to me. I know that I am being a big baby, but what better time to be pampered and spoiled than when you’re in labor. Besides, my wife keeps me grounded and makes me feel secure. The nurse comes in with my doctor right behind her and they start asking questions that I have answered already but we answer them again as they get ready to examine me. My doctor, Dr. Lourde, is one of the best OB/GYN’s in the field and my loving wife wanted me to have the best. I would have been fine with my regular OB/GYN but she said she wanted an expert in case anything bad or just out of the ordinary were to happen. I gave in because I knew it was her way of having some sort of control over the situation, and besides it doesn’t hurt to have an expert taking care of you. The doctor and the nurse stood in a corner looking over my chart and talking about what they were about to do I guess when another contraction racked through my body. I screamed and Jay jumped off the bed. It had been at least ten minutes since I had one and I was hoping that meant that I was just having false contractions. Everybody starts talking at one time and I hear at least two people telling me to try to breathe through it, but that is difficult for me to do though I try anyway. Finally I get a handle of breathing through the contraction as the nurse is instructing me to do, when another one hits and it feels even stronger than the last one. “They are coming closer together now. When she first came in they were spaced further apart Dr. Lourde.” The nurse is talking to the doctor and then she comes closer to me. She tells me that they are going to start timing the contractions and if they are a minute apart or less then I am in full blown labor. All I can do is shake my head to let her know that I understand and just as my breathing gets under control another one hits. I vow to myself right then and there that there is no way in hell I am going through this again. We are definitely not having any more children. This pain is the most awful I have ever felt in my life and that includes my kidnapper beating and raping me. The nurse looks at her watch and times it as I try desperately to breathe through this contraction but eventually I just give up. There is no way that I can breathe through these things. They start coming more frequent, one right after the other, and the doctor decides that she is going to see if she can tell just by looking whether I’m fully dilated or not. If I am then she thinks I can start pushing if I get the urge, because she doesn’t want me to start pushing too soon. She lifts the gown and quickly calls the nurse over and they start talking in hushed tones. “Jay, what is going on?” I’m nervous and my wife can tell, so she rubs my arm to try and calm me down. “They are just checking to see if you’re ready to push.” I can tell by the look on her face that she is worried too, so I tell her to go find out what is going on. She walks to the foot of the bed and talks quietly to the doctor and then she comes back and stands next to me. Dr. Lourde gives the nurse some instructions that I can’t hear and then the nurse walks quickly out of the room. “Where is she going? Will someone please tell me what the hell is going on?” Another contraction hits and my wife starts to rub my arm again but I swat her hand away.
“Don’t touch me!” I manage to yell at her through the pain and labored breathing. “If you can’t tell me what’s going on then you can’t touch me.” I’m breathing heavy trying to talk through all the pain that I am feeling. She has a hurt look on her face, but at the moment I could care less. I hate secrets and I know that there is something she isn’t telling me. I look at my sister and can tell that she is in on the secret as well. “If one of you doesn’t tell me in the next five seconds what is going on I swear I will never talk to either of you again!” They both look at each other and then back at me. My sister sighs. “Jay just tell her so she can calm down. Stressing out right now won’t help her.” My wife looks at me and takes a deep breath before speaking. “Well, the baby’s head is already out and so it looks like you’ll be delivering in here instead of the delivery room, because they don’t have time to move you.” Oh is that all. Well, why did they all act like it was something really serious? The sooner I have this baby, the quicker this pain will go away. The more I look at them, I can tell that there is more to this story, but I decide not to push because it very well may not be something I would be able to handle right now. I close my eyes and try to calm myself until the doctor comes back.
Three painful hours later, Jay and I are the proud parents of a beautiful baby boy that we named Nicholas James Lexington. Maybe I should say handsome since he is a boy. I giggle a little at the thought of how she looked at me when I called our son beautiful. “He’s a boy babe. Boys are not beautiful, they are handsome.” We all just looked at her before busting up laughing. She looked so serious and that only made us laugh even more. I look around the room at my family laughing and talking while Jay is holding our son and smile because I know that I am truly blessed to have the family and friends that I have in my life. Even Alexa’s grandparents showed up to come and see our new edition, which technically they didn’t have to but that is just how much they have become a part of our family. The only sad part about this day is that my best friend can’t be here to share it with us. I miss her so much every day. It has gotten easier over time but the pain is still there and today is no different. My mother is now holding our son and I see Jay looking at me with a worried frown on her face. I mouth to her that we’ll talk later and she just nods and turns back towards the others. The last thing I need is for everyone trying to fix what they think is wrong with me. Everyone is laughing and talking and I begin to yawn while I’m talking to my sister. “Uh oh. Ok everyone, I think that is our que to leave. She’s tired and needs to get some rest. Believe me when I say that she has had a long day. Good night Renee and I love you. I’m happy for both of you, now get some rest.” She walks towards the door and holds it open waiting for everyone else to say their goodbyes and make their way out of my room. My mother comes over and kisses my cheek before telling me that she’ll be back tomorrow and for me to get some rest tonight. She and Jay hug and then my mother and sister disappear closing the door behind them. Jay sits down in the chair next to my bed and holds our son. “Jay I love him, but I don’t think I can do that again.” She busts out laughing and I join her. “Today has been a hell of a day, but I wouldn’t change it for the world. We have a beautiful…uh I mean handsome baby boy and wonderful family and friends supporting us. I couldn’t ask for anything more out of life, except maybe that we all are happy and healthy for the rest of our lives.” The nurse comes in at that moment to take our son, who is sleeping peacefully, back to the nursery. She tells us that she’ll be back when it is time for his next feeding before disappearing out into the hall heading for the nursery. I sink into my pillows trying to relax as much as I can and Jay turns the television on to the news channel. They are talking about adopting pets or something, I’m really not paying much attention but Jay is all engrossed in the program. I close my eyes preparing to attempt getting some sleep before my son’s next feeding. No sooner are my eyes closed when there is all of a sudden a bunch of noise indicating a special news report. They are talking about Terrence’s trial and that he will be spending the next 40 to 50 years in prison without the possibility of parole. We had our last court date at the beginning of this month. Our lawyer said it was going to be a pretty open and shut case especially since he didn’t deny anything. He pled guilty to all charges and cooperated wonderfully with the police during their investigation. I’m happy because I don’t think I could have taken a long drawn out trial and having to constantly see him and relive the hell he put me through. My family and I have suffered enough due to that man and I never want to lay eyes on him again as long as I live.