“Huh.” He purses his lips. “You sure there wasn’t one in between?”
“Yeah. I’m quite certain I’d know. Honey, this is perfectly normal.”
He pokes at my belly, and puts his ear there. “Hey, baby. Could you get this show on the road? Your momma and I are anxious to meet you.”
“What did he say?” I tip his chin up.
“He wants to be born in the hospital and asked for us to go, now.”
“Did not.”
“Go ahead, listen.” He grins.
“My head won’t reach.”
“Then you’ll have to take my word for it.” He clicks on his cell phone and opens a map. “Twenty minutes without traffic. Let’s go. Stat.”
“Sweetie, I want to stay home as long as possible. This could go on for hours, even days.”
Rose pounds on the ceiling and texts me. “Hey, Is it time? Can I come up?”
“I swear she put a bug in our living room.” Sighing, Sud lowers the stairs.
We agreed the birth would be private but I warned him, keeping it secret was all on him.
Chapter 31
Suds
The hospital’s birthing room is pretty much like any other except for a lounge chair and a few shelves where I’m supposed to place familiar items to make my wife feel like home. Up until about a month ago, we lived in our detective space. That being said, I’m pretty sure letting her have her firearm isn’t a good idea.
So, I light a few of those LED candles, play her favorite music, and let her hold a small stuffed bear that’s for Mikey when he arrives.
A harried nurse walks in the door. “Are you Suds and Sam?”
“Yes ma’am.”
“There’s a mob of people in the waiting room. You need to tell some to wait in the main lobby, or outside… or perhaps the next state over.”
“I’ll see what I can do, ma’am.” I smile politely but no way in hell am I going out there, not until I can tell them the job is done.
I wipe the sweat from my wife’s brow and give her a sip of water from a straw. “You’re doing fine, sugar.”
“Can you tell your son to hurry the fuck up? I swear to God, he’s so slow, someday, he’ll beat your rambling record. Ooooowwww. Shit.”
In all the classes I took and all the books I read, no one mentioned how damn hard it is to see your wife in pain. So, when the midwife comes back in the room and tells us it’s time to push, I heave out a sigh and squeeze her hand.
“Almost there.”
She gives me a crooked grin. “How about you run the last ten yards.”
“I would if I could.”
The nurse maneuvers me between Sam’s legs, and puts her feet on my shoulders. “Dad, you stand here. I’ll catch your son.”
Holy shit. Would you look at that. There’s his wrinkly head.
Sam pushes, grunts, and cries for almost another hour until like magic, Michael slides into the world. Struck stupid, I grin and stare, then stare some more.
