Tuesday December 4, 2001
Holding his back to balance his enormous belly, Jesse waddled toward the beach house. He pushed back strands of his blonde hair as the wind whipped it mercilessly into his blue eyes. The sky was slightly overcast, but it was still a beautiful day on the beach.
A sudden sharp pain in his lower abdomen doubled him over. Sinking to his knees in the sand, he breathed deeply, hoping against hope that it wasn’t labor. When the pain subsided after only a couple of minutes, he regained his feet and finished his journey to the house.
Steve and Mark were watching a game on television in the living room. In the kitchen, Jesse made tea and took them each a cup. “I’m going to fix us some lunch.” he said. “What about soup and sandwiches?”
“Sounds good.” Steve said, patting him on the rear. “Do we have any ham?”
“I think so. What kind of soup do you want?”
“Whatever we have.”
“How about veggie-rice?”
“Great.” Steve winked at him.
Jesse blew him a kiss as he went back to the kitchen. Being Steve’s lover made him extraordinarily happy, sometimes to the point of giddiness, and he could see nothing but blissful togetherness in their future. He was in love with the ideal person, had the most wonderful father-in-law in the world and would soon be the parent of the most beautiful baby ever born. No other life could be more perfect. It was better than a fairy tale.
He made five sandwiches on wheat bread, complete with swiss cheese, tomatoes, lettuce and sandwich spread, stacked them on a plate, then turned to stir the simmering soup on the stove top. Another unexpected pain forced a cry from his lips that brought Mark and Steve running.
Jesse stood bent over the stove, grimacing in pain.
His protectors gazed at him in wonder. “What happened?” Steve asked.
Shivering, Jesse straightened up and calmly turned off the heat beneath the soup. “I need to go to the hospital.” he said. “I’m in labor.”
*********************
Dr. Natalie Arveson lifted the sheet to peer under it. “How many pains have you had now?”
“Four. They’re about ten minutes apart.”
“It’s happening too quickly.” The doctor looked worried. Turning to her assistant, she instructed, “Get him prepped for an emergency C-section and restorative surgery.” As she examined, she spoke to Jesse. “You’ll probably feel the urge to push. Don’t. Just try to breathe and relax.”
Jesse gripped Steve’s hand as the fifth contraction struck. “I need drugs.” he groaned. “Lots and lots of drugs. God, this hurts! Don’t leave me, Steve.”
“I’m right here, baby.”
“Stay with me.”
“I will.” Steve promised. “Forever.”
“I love you.”
“Love you, too, Jess.” He leaned over and kissed him.
*******************
The baby was brought into the world bloody and strangled. She was immediately suctioned, wrapped in a soft towel and handed to Steve, who shed tears of rapture as he looked at his beautiful new daughter for the first time.
When she was taken away for cleaning, he turned his attention back to his lover, who was now undergoing more serious surgery. In cap, gown, gloves and mask, Steve tried not to watch. After half an hour of meticulous silence, he asked, “Is everything going okay?”
“Oh, yes. No problem.” Dr. Arveson assured him. “He’s going to be one hundred percent. Everything will function perfectly as soon as he heals. The only problem you’re going to have will be how to explain all this to the child when she’s old enough to ask questions.”
Steve breathed relief. “We’ll worry about that when the time comes.” he said. “Thank you, doctor.”
“Any time.” she answered with a twinkle.
**********************
Thursday, December 13, 2001
“Stephanie March Sloan, born at 2:25 PM on Dec. 4, 2001, weighed six pounds, two ounces and was eighteen inches long.” Mark read to the baby from his journal, then touched her tiny nose. “And her grandpa is going to give her everything her little heart desires.”
Sitting beside him on the couch, Steve smiled gave him a grin. “Yeah, only until you run out of money, dad. You need to blow out your candles, now.”
“Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you!” Jesse sang as he set the cake bearing seventy-seven blazing candles on the coffee table. “Make a wish!”
Mark laughed. “I want to still be around to see my granddaughter graduate from medical school.” he wished and blew out the candles. Incredibly, he extinguished them all with a single blast of air.
“That’s not too tough,” Steve said. “Considering she’s a genius. That could happen in a couple of years.”
“I seriously doubt it will be that quickly.” Mark said. “She’s already nine days old and she still can’t read and write.”
Jesse laughed. “She’s a normal, healthy, happy baby.” he said. “And I’m ready for us to move back to California and get on with our lives. I want to practice medicine again. And Steve’s getting a little restless, so I think he’ll be glad to get back to his job, too.”
“Well, I’m retiring.” Mark announced. “I plan to spend the next few years doing what I’ve always dreamed about.”
“What’s that?” asked Jesse.
“Spoiling my grandchild.”
~the end~
[Reviews - 0] [Kudos - 120]
Download story PDF format or ePUB format or MOBI format
Table of Contents
Download story PDF format or ePUB format or MOBI format
Table of Contents
Sarah will be missed by all of us