Groggily, I sat up, realizing that I’d fallen asleep at some point. “They’re gone,” I rasped, throat scratchy as hell. My vocal chords were probably as swollen as my eyes felt, and I knew my face had to be blotchy too.
“Who’s gone? I came up here and thought you’d passed out! Scared the life outta me, child.”
“The men…one of them was the baby’s father.” My voice broke as I teared up again, but I pushed through it, recounting almost robotically the events from earlier. “I’ve been trying to get in touch with them for months. They were part of some specialized military unit, and their plane went down. The man that answered Gus’ phone said they’re MIA and presumed dead.”
Sympathy filled my aunt’s eyes as she sat next to me and pulled me in for a hug. I didn’t think she’d quite believed I had attempted to contact them; she’d asked twice if I wanted to request their membership information to get in touch. There had been no judgment that there were two of them, no, my aunt had been amused with that revelation, but she’d been urging me more and more to let them know before the baby arrived.
“I’m so sorry, Sevey. Are you sure it wasn’t someone playing a shitty joke? I know you’ve been hesitant to request the member records, but we could check, just in case?”
I didn’t think the man had been lying, but it wouldn’t hurt to ask, and maybe they had next-of-kin listed that might be interested in knowing the baby. A tiny bit of hope tried to grow as I agreed to give it a shot. Needing to pee, I scooted to the edge of the bed, but as I went to push myself up, my bladder gave up.
“Motherfucker, now I have to shower and change the bed.” My embarrassment was loud and clear, but my aunt was shaking her head before I made it two steps.
“Honey, urine doesn’t gush like that. I’m pretty sure your water just broke.”
The blood rushed from my face fast enough to leave me lightheaded. It was too early for the baby to come now.
“No, no. No passing out on me,” my aunt admonished, correctly interpreting my expression. “It’s only a few weeks, and the hospital isn’t too far. Let’s just think happy thoughts and get there.” She gave me a pep talk as she got up and bustled me off to the bathroom. “You take a quick shower, and I’ll get our bags and let Tee know he’s in charge until further notice. Hurry up, now. I’m not delivering a baby on the highway. Besides, you’ll want the drugs.” The last bit was muttered as she took off to handle packing the car and tell my VP that I was going to be out of commission for a few days.
My concern came back in full force despite Aunt Flo’s positivity. I didn’t want to lose them and her. My heart couldn’t take it.
* * *
Nearly eight hours later, Opal Luna Boudreaux was born. A bit on the small side but healthy nonetheless. I’d contemplated giving her my surname, Delaney, but when Aunt Flo got confirmation from the mother chapter, I’d figured I could at least give them, and her, that much. The day was bittersweet, but I vowed to be everything my daughter needed in life, no matter how hard it was.