“Sweetheart, do you realize the next time I see you, you’ll be a mom?” When he smiled that time, not only did it reach his eyes, but his eyes were lit with excitement.
“And you’ll be a dad to the third Victor Creed.”
The corner of her mouth twitched from the beginnings of a smile, but the contraction that ripped through her lower abdomen would allow nothing but a loud groan. Taylor was squeezing Victor’s hand so tight she was sure that she heard him groaning along with her.
When they reached the operating room, she could swear he seem relieved. Once the contraction subsided, she released his hand. With a guilty smile, she mouthed, “Sorry.”
“No worries, baby. I’ll be right here, waiting for you and my daughter,” he said with the sweetest, boyish grin.
The nurse rubbed a magnetic key card to the automatic lock and opened the double doors to the operating room.
“I love you, sweetheart,” Victor told her as they wheeled her inside.
“I love you.”
As soon as she entered the hall and the double doors separated her from her husband, Taylor’s anxiety returned.
“Don’t worry, Mrs. Creed. Dr. Crane is the best. She can perform a cesarean with her eyes closed,” one of the nurses assured.
“You just make sure she keeps her eyes open while she’s cutting on me,” Taylor quipped.
They made a turn which took them into the operating room. The large lights and medical tools and equipment were intimidating. More than anything, she wished Victor was there to hold her hand.
“You made it! Welcome,” Dr. Crane greeted.
She was wearing a surgical mask, but Taylor could tell she was smiling from the crinkle of her eyes. One, of a whole new set of nurses, used an alcohol pad to prepare the skin of her hand for an IV. After a tiny prick, the nurse inserted the tiny hose that would be pumping fluids into her intravenously.
“Hello, Mrs. Creed. I’m Dr. Takashi. I’m your anesthesiologist. Since we need to move quickly, I’m gonna put you to sleep right now.”
Taylor could feel her legs trembling as they transferred her to a bed directly under the lights. She didn’t know what was going to happen, but the idea of sleeping through it all took the notion of control away from her. Dr. Takashi inserted a syringe full of medicine into the injection port of the IV. Within seconds, she was feeling no pain. Her entire body seemed to melt into the bed.
“Mrs. Creed, when your girlish figure returns, what color will your first bikini be?” Dr. Takashi asked.
“Ohhh… yeahhhh, white,” she slurred.
“Any second now,” he said to someone. “Mrs. Creed, can you count backward from ten?”
“Yep.” Her own voice sounded like it was coming from an intercom. She was in a deep, deep haze. “Ten… nine… eiiiiiiiiiiiii…”
LINCOLN
There was very little chatter in the waiting area. Both the Montgomerys were visibly concerned. Everyone in the room appeared anxiously impatient as they waited for news of Taylor and the baby. In order to create some sort of distraction, Lincoln slid a cigar into Victor’s shirt pocket. “Hold on to this, brother.”
Victor smiled and pulled the cigar from his pocket and examined it. “Cuban, huh?”
“Since you’re gonna be the first dad among us, I feel like you’ve earned it.”
“Well, not exactly the first,” their dad chimed.
Lincoln passed his dad a cigar. “There’s always a Cohiba for you, Pop.”
“Thank you, Son.”
Lincoln noticed his dad watching his mom. She was on pacing nervously on the other side of the waiting room.
“Let me go see about your mom. She’s not accustomed to being on this side of waiting.”
When Victor Sr. walked away, Lincoln put his hand on Victor’s shoulder. It wasn’t hard to see that his brother was worried about his wife and child. Even though he was surrounded by family, without being able to lay hands on his wife, he must’ve felt powerless and alone.
