“Yes,” Bryce said, taking a moment to drink in the people in the waiting room. It seemed like half the town had arrived, but really it was just his family—Otis, Georgia, and OJ—and they’d brought along Anaya as well. Harry and Belle had claimed a corner, along with Kassie, Reggie, Joey, and Adam. Of the other uncles, only Uncle Mav had arrived, and he’d brought along Lars and no one else.
He nodded to his father and then ducked back inside, his own nerves stampeding through him. He approached the room and paused outside it. He loved his wife with everything inside him, and he knew she loved him. He also knew a woman needed her mother, and that Codi sometimes confided things in Abby that only another woman would understand. Something told him to hold back and wait, so he did.
A couple of minutes later, the door opened, and it seemed like the entire hospital staff streamed out.
“What’s going on?” he asked, his pulse suddenly like a ping-pong ball ricocheting through his veins.
“Epidural is done,” the nurse chirped. “She’s doing great. You don’t have to wait out here.”
“Yeah, I know,” Bryce said. He waited until the last medical professional had cleared the area, and then he stepped inside.
“You got the epidural so fast,” he said as he smiled at Codi.
“I think he wanted to get it done before he went home for the day.” Codi smiled too, and she definitely seemed much more relaxed. “It feels great.”
Abby smoothed her hair back and held out a cup. “Have some more ice,” she said. “You’re going to progress really fast now, I just know it.”
He looked between them, not quite sure what to ask. The monitors wailed again, signaling another contraction. Codi groaned, but she didn’t cry out.
“Does it hurt?” he asked, because he’d been expecting itnotto hurt.
“It’s just a lot of pressure,” she said, exhaling in a burst.
“I’m going to go back out,” Abby said. “Okay? You’ll be all right, Codi. You know what you’re doing.” Codi looked to her and nodded a couple of short, terse times.
“Thank you, Abby.”
“Trust yourself,” she said as she lovingly pushed Codi’s hair off her face. She smiled at Bryce and then left the hospital room.
He knew that had probably taken every ounce of herwillpower, but both he and Codi had told everyone in the family that they wanted to be the only ones in the room when the baby was born.
Another contraction came, and it startled Bryce because it had been so close to the other one. Two more nurses entered the room, and when one checked Codi, she said, “Oh, you’re at a nine now. I’m so glad we ordered that epidural when we did. Let’s call your doctor.”
Codi nodded again, and then she locked eyes with Bryce. “We’re going to have a baby,” she said, and her voice had almost turned into that of a cartoon character.
He moved to her side and stroked her hair back. “Yes, and it’s going to be amazing.”
Only a few minutes later, two more contractions had come and gone, and the room filled with people, warmers, blankets, and equipment. Finally, their doctor walked in, and Bryce didn’t feel like the floor was going to vanish beneath his feet anymore.
“Let’s see what we got,” Dr. Azera said. She checked Codi quickly. “Oh, you’re ready. This baby is ready.” She smiled encouragingly. “We’re going to watch this monitor, and when it starts to tick up, we’re going to push.”
“I feel like I’m going to pass out,” Codi said.
“Your vitals are fine, honey,” a nurse said. “Pulse is strong, oxygen is good.”
“You’ve got this,” Bryce said. “One hundred percent, baby.”
The beeping grew closer together, and Dr. Azera said, “All right, Codi, now’s your time to shine.” She gripped therailings on the side of the bed and pushed. Bryce stood there helplessly, wondering how on earth women did this. He marveled at his wife’s strength and capability, and several minutes later, after one more final push, the room filled with the strong cry of his son.
“It’s a boy,” Dr. Azera yelled, and a nurse whisked away the infant. Tears streamed down Bryce’s face, and he squeezed Codi’s hand and said, “I’m gonna go with him.”
She lay back in the bed panting, and she nodded. He went over to where the nurses were cleaning the baby, noting how upset he was that he’d had to leave the warm embrace of Codi’s womb.
“Do you have a name for him, Mister Young?” one of the nurses asked.
He couldn’t look away from the perfectly pink skin and the shock of light, wispy hair. “Matthew,” he said. His tiny hands had all ten fingers and his crumpled feet all ten toes. “Matthew Tex Young.”
The nurse handled this tiny infant who had just been ripped away from his mother like a football, drying him and wrapping him quickly, and then she turned to him and plunked the baby in Bryce’s arms. “There you go, Daddy. Go show your wife.”
