by J J Harper
Laughing and crying at the same time “We'll see, let's get the baby born first then we'll talk about it.”
“Sure thing babe, how about we head off home in a minute.”
I'm dragged out of his arms by Maddie and her hug is so tight I can feel my ribs groaning. I feel like a parcel in a child’s game as I'm passed from person to person, Mason has a tight hold on my hand again and after saying goodnight to my brother we head off home.
Even after such a romantic proposal I can hardly manage to keep my eyes open, I can feel Mason lift me into his arms and carry me to our bed.
"I'm sorry I'm so tired Mason, you arranged such a wonderful party and your proposal was beautiful, unexpected, but so beautiful. Thank you so much, can I show my appreciation properly tomorrow."
My eyelids are closing as he pulls my dress over my head and lies me down to take off my underwear and then my shoes.
"Babe, you said yes that's all the appreciation I need, come on get some sleep." He kisses my head and gets up ready to get undressed himself.
"Shit Mase, where's the dog?" I try and get up all panicked.
"It’s okay babe, my Mom has him tonight, get some sleep now."
I feel the bed depress as he climbs in and then he pulls my back against his front. "Happy Birthday Imogen Banks, my beautiful fiancée." He kisses the back of my head and we are both soon asleep.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Imogen
I wake up when a sharp pain erupts across my stomach and travels around my back. Crap, this is all I need an upset stomach, Mason will be suing the caterers by breakfast time. Struggling out of his grasp I hear him question me. "It's okay sweetie, I just need to pee." He grunts and rolls over instantly back to sleep.
After a few hours of the pains getting stronger and closer together I decide to call the hospital and tell them we'll be along soon. Within ten minutes Dr. Markson is calling and while I explain things I feel a wetness spreading down my legs. "Uh Oh, I think my waters have just broken, I seem to be stood in a puddle."
"Okay Imogen, that's good. It's time to wake Mason up, but get yourself ready first otherwise he'll just run around flapping like a headless chicken trying to organize you. Is your bag all packed and ready?"
"Yes, I only did it this week but it’s all set." I can feel the pains have picked up a notch now. "Oooooh! That one hurt." I'm panting down the phone now.
"Fine, keep breathing through them Imogen and get yourselves here soon. I'll be ready for you."
Fifteen minutes later I'm dressed and my bag is by the door, so I go to wake Mason up. "Mason, Mason can you wake up please sweetie, we need to go now." I smile at his crumpled and confused face.
"What? No, it's fine, everyone is coming here for breakfast, and my Mom has it under control." He rolls back over.
"Okay, that's fine, can you explain to her that I've gone to hospital to have the baby and that I'll catch up with her in the week."
"Yeah, sure. She won't mind."
I smile and start walking away counting the seconds in my head I got to five before his head shoots up from the pillow.
"What? No Ginny, you're not due for a few more weeks yet? It'll be heartburn or something. Get back in to bed."
"Sure, but my waters broke all over the kitchen floor about twenty minutes ago and Dr. Markson is going to be waiting for me, but I can get back in and wait for breakfast to be over tomorrow if it's more convenient for you."
I can feel myself getting pissed off now. "Or I can go and just call you when it's all over? What's best for you Mason?"
"Shit! You're serious aren't you?" He finally bothers to look at me virtually doubled up in the middle of a contraction. "Fuck! Shit! Babe I'm sorry, where's your bag and your notes?"
This is almost comedy sketch funny if I wasn't in so much pain. "Mason, Mason look at me, it's all done and ready, so put some clothes on so that we can go because this is really beginning to bloody hurt."
Within seconds one of the country's sharpest young attorneys has been turned into a bumbling fool, but I manage to get him dressed and ready to go.
"I'm so sorry Ginny, why didn't you wake me earlier? You shouldn't have had to go through it on your own. God! Look at me. How the hell am I going to be able to cope with a baby when I can't even look after you properly?" His face is pure anguish as he reaches across and holds my hand.
It doesn't take long to reach the hospital thankfully, I was ready to ditch Mason and carry on by myself. He pulls up into to drop off point and is ready to just leave the car here. "Mason, leave me here with the nurse and go and park, you can't leave the car here."
"I fucking can! Come on let's get in there." He looks at me absolutely terrified.
"No Mase, leave me here, go and park and then call your folks." I'm nodding as I speak slowly, realizing he is only capable of understand single syllable words at this point. He nods and finally does as he's told.
Twenty minutes later I'm strapped up to a monitor and letting Mason tell me when my next contraction is due by reading the graph, I haven't got the heart to tell him I know when they are coming because of how painful they are, this is because we will have to start the whole pain relief argument all over again. I don't want anything more than gas and air and he wants me to have an epidural.
"You wouldn't have heart surgery without anaesthetic, Imogen so why would you do this without any."
"Would you like to explain that to the women living in the African desert or the Tibetan Mountains, because I'd love to hear their answers?"
"But soon-to-be-wife of mine we are neither in Africa or Tibet so get over it." He sits back looking thoroughly pleased with himself.
"Is it going on in your body?" I lift one eyebrow at him. "No? Then shut the fuck up and just hold my hand like the big six and a half foot cry baby that you are. I'm fine and I promise you if it gets too much I will ask, okay?"
"Okay." He mumbles. "I just feel so helpless."
"I know babe, but I really am okay at the moment." I lift his hand up and kiss it just as Dr. Markson comes back in.
"Mason dear, your folks are here now, why don't you pop out for a minute and speak with them."
"It's alright, I'll see them in a little while." He doesn't want to leave me.
"Go on sweetie, I'm not going anywhere just yet."
"Fine, but I'm only going for two minutes." He stomps off.
"Thank you, he's driving me mad." Suddenly there is a big pain and I cry out. “Shit! I need to push!”
"Okay, Ginny. Let me have a look I think you may have moved on quicker than I expected. Yep, you're just about ten centimeters. Let's get your man back and you can start to push."
Seconds later Mason is stood beside me. I have refused to have my feet up in stirrups and have Maddie holding one leg up behind my knee and Mason on the other. When I was asked if there was anyone else I wanted here I knew I needed Maddie.
"Come on babe, just one more I can see the head, go on one more." Mason has actually been amazing now he actually has something to do.
"You've been saying that for twenty minutes Mason!" I'm barking at him now but luckily he's not paying any mind to it.
"It's true Ginn, I can see it, shit! It's got loads of black hair, well it sure as hell is yours Mason." Maddie has been keeping my spirits up for an hour now as I try and push this damn bowling ball out.
"Of course it's mine Madeleine."
"Oh stop bickering for fucks sake." Just then a massive contraction tears through me and I feel the baby make its entrance as its head appears.
"Okay, Imogen, look at me and listen to me. Just me. I want you to pant, just pant. That's it, good girl, now on the next one just push again and you'll have your baby." Dr. Markson brings me back into the moment.
I'm focusing so hard now that on the next tightening I push and feel the baby slither quickly out of me and is picked up and placed straight on my bare stomach with its head against my breast. "What have we got Mason, tell me what we got."
I look down at his beautiful face and kiss him. Mason and Maddie are both hugging and crying as the nurse lifts my little Cookie off me to clean him and check him over. I am overwhelmed with love for my little boy. Maddie hugs me hard. "I knew there was a reason I had to be here for your birthday, I'm so glad I was here for you. I love you Sis."
"I love you too, I couldn't have done this without you." I look over at Mason, my big tough, kiss-ass boyfriend as he wipes his eyes and stares in wonder at his child.
"Oh Ginny babe, he's just perfect." He walks back to me with our son wrapped in a blanket and hands him over to me. "God, I love you, thank you for my son."
I look down at the tiny bundle and his eyes open and seem to look straight at me. "Hey there baby boy, I'm your mummy and I love you so very very much." Leaning down I kiss his soft skin and inhale his unique baby smell. I look back at Mason. "We made him Mase, we made him."
"We sure did babe, and he looks pretty damn perfect to me." His eyes are full of wonder as he stares at our precious child.
Maddie has started taking masses of photographs and soon I'm all cleaned up and in a fresh T-shirt, and Mason is asking his family to come in and meet us. Nancy is the first to come through the door and sees her handsome son holding her grandson.
"We got ourselves a boy Mom, come see him." Mason hands him over to Nancy who has tears pouring down her cheeks.
"Oh Imogen, you clever, clever girl. Look what you made." Her eyes are full of wonder as she gazes at his tiny fingers and toes. "What are you going to name him and if you say Cookie I'm going to floor you Mason."
"We haven't decided yet Mom, give us a chance, he turned up a bit earlier than we expected." Mason turns to greet the rest of the family and watching his dad hug him hard and choke back his tears was a very special sight, and not one I knew I would have ever seen from my own parents. Lake and Lucas look shell-shocked but are smiling hard, and then I see my brother at the back of the room and I motion him forward.
"Hey Sis, I never thought I would ever see you again and now look at you, you've given me not only yourself back but a nephew and a whole new, rather larger than life family too. We sure are lucky to have come out the other side of a long and frightening journey. Well done Imogen Jane Banks, I am so very proud of you."
I love the way he acknowledged the whole of my new name. "I'm so glad we found each other again." Mason walks back to me with my son. "But I'm also so very glad as I look around this room full of good people who love each other unconditionally that I have more importantly found myself again, and if I can say it about myself I think I'm fucking awesome!"
I'm laughing as my baby is given back to me. "Too damn right you are babe." Mason kisses me.
EPILOGUE
One year later
"Imogen, will you please stop your son from using Phoenix as a walking frame." Tamsin is laughing at me as I watch Asher pull himself up by holding on to the patient dog's leg.
"He's fine, aren't you Cookie." I walk up and take his hands and lead him back to the table.
"I heard that Ginny! Stop calling him that!" Nancy walks in looking amazing in her perfect periwinkle blue dress. "Why aren't you ready yet?"
It's my wedding day and the house is full to capacity with friends and family. My hair is up in large rollers and my face is has yet to be made up. Trudy has done wonders and has pulled together so many of her friends to transform our garden into the perfect wedding setting, chairs are already set out ready for them to be filled with by over two hundred guests, How the hell did I know so many people.
I wanted a quiet family affair but Mason wanted the whole deal and after seducing me and giving me one hell of an orgasm, I gave in. I'm smiling as I see Amber and let her take Asher from me so I can go and get my dress on. Mason left yesterday with his brother and cousins so I'm very excited to see how handsome he is going to look in the suit I picked for him.
My dress is a real show stopper. I can't believe that one phone call about a bikini nearly two years ago has led to Trudy becoming one of my closest friends and has designed and made my dress. The ivory satin clings to my body and has hundreds of tiny midnight blue, white and silver beads and pearls stitched over the bodice, the back is equally as decorative and buttons up with fifty tiny pearl buttons.
From the hips down it flows loosely to the floor and has three tulle layers overlaying it each one sparkling with more beads. The sun should be starting to set as we make our vows and the beads should sparkle as the light reflects off them.
Half an hour later I'm all made up and just need to get my dress on and I’ll be ready to go but I still look through all the guests trying to find my best friend, maybe I was wrong and she won't be here after all.
I knew Maddie would leave quietly and return back to the UK. Lake took it hard but I know Maddie and she needs more time to clear her head and heal her heart. I saw her one more time after Asher was born and the hug she gave me felt very final.
I only hope that with time, she will be able to find herself. I did
As the garden fills with people all chatting and laughing, I stand watching from the kitchen window then there is a quiet knock on the door and I hear it being opened, so I know that I don’t need to worry about who it is, but the room has gone silent no-one speaks, I turn to see what could have stopped all the happy talk but nothing could prepare we for what I saw.
I can hardly find my voice. “Maddie….?”
The End
Playlist
I wouldn’t have been able to write this without the help of my iPod, music plays an important part in my life and this list is just a small part of Imogen and Mason’s journey.
Playlist
Part one
Change – Banks
Written in the Stars – Tinie Tempah
Lightning Bolt – Jake Bugg
Another Love – Tom Odell
Young Blood – Saint Raymond
Ironic – Alanis Morissette
Changed the Way You Kissed Me – Example
Afraid – The Neighbourhood
Leave Right Now – Will Young
Little Lion Man – Mumford and Sons
Devotion - Hurts
Goodbye to you – Michelle Branch
Part two
Broken – Jake Bugg
After the Storm – Mumford and Sons
L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N – Noah and the Whale
Kiss Me – Ed Sheeran
Breathe (2am) – Anna Nalick
Knocked Up – Kings of Leon
Coming of Age – Foster the People
Stay – Lewis Watson
Brand New Day – Kodaline
Grow Old with Me – Tom Odell
Bottled Up Tight – Luke Sital-Singh
Only You – Yazoo
Make the Moment Last – Tom Odell
Time of Your Life – Green Day
Acknowledgements
By choice this has been a very solitary experience, so my thanks at this stage are few but huge, Paul my wonderful husband who has encouraged and coerced and bullied and praised me through the whole process I love you. My children have been impressed, I even got ‘cool’ from one of them and that is more than I usually get from him ;). My sister for her support even though this isn’t her thing really, I love her anyway.
Jake Bugg, Tom Odell, Jamie T, Ed Sheeran and many more have kept me motivated and entertained constantly, so a huge thank you to them.
About the Author
After having to give up work due to illness I have spent my days reading and typing away. Living in a small Lincolnshire village there isn’t much else to do so this is my effort at keeping my mind occupied.
I hope you like Imogen and Mason’s story and will look out for Tamsin and Maddie and maybe even more as their lives take twists and turns in the journey of finding happiness, because after all, isn’t that what we are a
ll searching for?
Authors Note
Domestic violence is a horrific crime and statistically 2 women a week a murdered in the U.K each week by their partner or former partner.
Womensaid.org.uk or free phone on 0808 2000 247
http://www.rapecrisis.org.uk free phone 0808 802 9999
In the US
Joyfulheartfoundation.org
National domestic violence 1.800.799.7233
http://www.thehotline.org/
One More Thing Before You Go…
If you enjoyed reading this book, or found it useful, I’d be very grateful if you’d post a short review on Amazon.
Your support really does make a difference and I read all the reviews personally, so I can get your feedback and make this book even better.
If you’d like to leave a review, then all you need to do is click the review link on Amazon here:
http://amzn.to/1w66tMW
And if you live in the UK, you can leave it hear:
http://amzn.to/1M86n9L
If you would like to make contact with me, please visit my facebook page at:
.https://www.facebook.com/findingme.series
http://www.facebook.com/JJHarper
or my Twitter page at: https://twitter.com/@jessjhoney
My website http://jjharper-author.com
Thanks again for reading.