“Okay, easy now, his shoulders—”
“He’s coming!” Thea cried out and pushed one more time. I held my breath alongside of her. And the very next sound left me crying, as he cried out, screaming in her hands.
“Make sure nothing is in his nose or mouth, and don’t cut the umbilical cord. Thea, keep him on your bare chest, and Levi get here as quick as possible. And happy new year.”
I glanced back at the clock. 12:03 AM.
“Oh my God!” Thea cried as I helped bring her shirt down, tearing it a little bit. “Levi…”
“I know.” I wiped
my nose, and laughed as I got back in the driver’s seat. I pulled off on the exit and drove toward the backroad.
“Hi ... hi…” Thea stroked him as he cried on her chest, cleaning his face with the ripped part of her shirt.
“He’s here.” I laughed again. I couldn’t believe it. He was here. I wasn’t sure what do but just laugh and drive.
It took us another seven minutes to get to the hospital. Once he got their Dr. Cohen, he stood a head taller than everyone else, as if his red hair didn’t make him stick out enough. He was my sisters doctor and truthfully a workaholic, but it was a godsend since he always answered our calls.
Pulling to a stop in front, he and a bunch of nurses were ready. Wrapping Ulric in a blanket, double checking his mouth and nose, Dr. Cohen cut the cord, and the others carefully helped both Thea and Ulric out of the car, allowing me to breathe for the first time since … since the bloody new year.
“We’ll see you inside, Mr. Black!” Dr. Cohen called out to me, then focused on Thea as they wheeled her in on a stretcher.
Pressing the phone button once more, I made another call to the person I could count on to call everyone else.
“Levi, my boy. Happy New Year!”
“Dad … he’s here. And he’s perfect.”
BABY: DAY 45
THEA
I laughed, getting out of the hot tub as he reminded me of that day. “At least I don’t have to worry about him not listening to me.”
“How so?”
“I told him not to make me labor for hours. He listened.”
“Do you mind telling him to go to sleep between the hours of nine and six like everyone else?” He laughed, and I rolled my eyes, and yawned.
He pulled out two gifts.
“Levi—”
“It’s officially Valentine’s Day, because someone spent her whole birthday hovering over our son.”
“Someone sounds jealous…” I sang, skipping, yes skipping, over to him like I was a teenager and not a twenty-seven-year-old mother of one. Sitting next to him, I rested my chin on his shoulder.
“Happy Valentine’s Day.”
The first box … held my rings. He took out the pear-shaped diamond and slid it back to where it belongs on my ring finger.
“This kinda feels like a present for yourself,” I teased, seeing as how he complained to high heaven I wasn’t wearing my rings.
“So be it,” he muttered, kissing my hand.
“The second, what? A marriage license?”