He nodded like an obedient soldier. “I will. You can trust me, Cipher.”
“I know I can, cutie.”
“Joshua, are you there?”
The sound of Marion’s voice coming from the two-way radio startled us both. I forgot sometimes that Kitten carried it with him whenever he was on call.
“I’m here,” he said.
“I hoped you enjoyed your time off yesterday because it’s time for us to get down to business. Salome’s gone into labor early. Meet me at the birthing center in twenty minutes.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Kitten replied. Wide-eyed, he turned to me and said with a panicked edge to his voice, “Holy crap.”
* * *
I’d only intendedto walk with Kitten to the birthing center and then return home, but when we arrived there, Marion asked if I could stay for a while and console the father-to-be, then gestured to the man holding his hat in his hands and rocking back and forth on a worn couch in the reception area. He seemed to be in the throes of a panic attack, his movements becoming more frenzied whenever his wife let out a long groan of pain. Judging from the source of the sound, she must be in one of the birthing rooms down the hall.
Kitten was already hustling to provide Marion with everything she’d need to make the delivery as smooth as possible and I wished him good luck in passing. As for the man in distress, in the absence of hard liquor, I went with my second-best coping strategy and offered him a cigarette.
“Yeah,” he said, his mouth drawn and his eyes red-rimmed from crying. “A cigarette would be great.”
“My name’s Cipher,” I said and offered my hand.
“Jason,” he responded and took it. He was tall and slender but with a whip-like strength that I felt in his grip when I helped him up. I clocked him in his mid-twenties, though he had the world-weary look of someone much older.
Once outside, puffing on our cancer sticks, I asked, “You doing all right, man?”
He took a long, deep drag and choked out, “Nope, not at all.”
I nodded, having figured as much. “Want to talk about it?”
“Just nerves is all. This is Salome’s second birth. The first one didn’t go well.”
“Oh yeah? What happened?” I braced myself for the story he was about to tell, sensing that it wouldn’t have a happy ending.
“We were next-door neighbors, grew up together, and married when we were still teenagers, in the eyes of God at least. It was just the two of us living off our land when she got pregnant. I’d only ever delivered animals before, and this was my wife, my best friend. I did what I could but the baby…” He shook his head and swiped at his eyes. “When he came out, he was blue and he wasn’t breathing. I tried to resuscitate him but it was too late. Could have been something I did or didn’t do. I’ll never know.” He took another drag from his cigarette and exhaled the smoke with a harsh gasp.
“Fuck, man,” I said, because I had nothing more eloquent to offer him.
“We moved here not long after.”
“Has it been better for you here?”
“Yeah, being around other people was a lifesaver. Salome made some friends, other women, who’ve helped her in ways that I couldn’t.”
“And what about you?” I asked.
“I just want to provide for her and be a good husband. When Salome wanted to try again, I agreed to it, but I’m scared as hell this one might be stillborn too, or something bad might happen to Salome. I can’t lose her. She’s my whole world, you know?”
I nodded while thinking I would never willingly put myself through that sort of pain and anguish if I could avoid it. But then, I’d do whatever it took to make Kitten happy, much as Jason was probably trying to do for his wife. I had no idea what was in store for them, but I tried to be optimistic for his sake. “This time is different, though, right? The baby is healthy as far as you know?”
“Yeah.” He nodded, blond lashes blinking rapidly. “Marion says the baby has a strong heart beat too.”
“That’s good. And she’s done this many times before. She’ll help Salome through labor and delivery. You’re not alone this time.”
He chewed on his lower lip and stared out at the town, merrily going about its Sunday afternoon unaware of the life or death situation currently unfolding in the building right behind us.
“She’s strong,” Jason whispered. “Stronger than me.”
