Seal of Honor

by Dahlia Rose

  “Let me get my shoes and my medical kit from my bug-out bag,” she said.

  “Why would you need a bug-out bag?” Zack knew exactly what she was talking about. It was an emergency kit that contained items that one would need in order to survive for days, maybe weeks.

  “In case of an apocalyptic event,” she replied as she finished tying her shoes and then pulled on a rain poncho. She went to the closet, opened a big red bag and took a smaller black case out before opening the door and stepping out onto her patio. “Damn, the rain has turned the grove into a muddy mess. My joints only allow me to move slowly in weather like this.”

  “No time for that.” Zack swooped her up in his arms and she gave a whoop of delight. “Hold on to your hair and that bag, Mrs. Pond. We’ll be there in no time.”

  “Damn, boy, buy a girl dinner first before you cart her off,” she yelled and laughed over the rain and the rolling thunder. In Zack’s opinion, she was having way too much fun.

  He was back across her field and in his driveway in less time than it would have taken for her to walk it.

  “That was exhilarating,” she gasped. “Get cleaned up, grab some fresh towels and cut open some garbage bags.”

  “Do I need to boil water?” Zack asked.

  She looked at him and rolled her eyes. “For what, boy? Making tea? Just get what I asked.”

  Mrs. Pond went inside and he kicked his dirty shoes off on the patio before running inside to the hallway bathroom. He showered the mud off quickly and grabbed some sweats and a T-shirt from the gym room before running to the kitchen. He cut three garbage bags in half and then grabbed fresh towels from the shelves over his washer and dryer. He then hightailed it back to the bedroom where he could hear Mrs. Pond soothing Jordyn and Dr. Patel asking question from the cell phone speaker.

  “Doctor, she is past ready to push. This little one’s head is completely crowned,” Mrs. Pond said and then turned to Zack. “Unless you want to buy a new mattress get those bags over here and then get up there and support her head.”

  Zack rushed into the room. “How are you doing, baby?”

  “This hurts like a mother fudger,” she wailed. “I want my epidural!”

  “Oh, honey, just breathe and keep going,” Zack consoled as he helped Mrs. Pond drape the bed with plastic and get it under Jordyn.

  “You breathe, damn it. I’ll tell you what you can do with your breathing…”

  She was ready to snarl at him and Zack kissed her. “I love you too, baby.”

  “Don’t get hurt feelings, Zack. It’s a very emotional time for women in labor,” Dr. Patel said from the phone.

  “Bullshit to that. It hurts like a mother fudger, boy, and don’t you forget it,” Mrs. Pond said. “Now, Jordyn, next contraction you’re going to push this little girl out.”

  Tears were streaming down her cheeks. “I don’t think I can. God, it hurts.”

  “Push through the pain and it will be okay,” Mrs. Pond promised.

  “Jordyn, look at me.” Zack waited until her tear-filled brown eyes met his and he wiped the tears from her cheek. His heart ached for her. He wished he could take away all her pain. But he knew she had to be the one to do this, she had to be the brave one. “You can do this. We’re waiting to meet Marianne, remember? She’s our little girl and we want her here with us. So you do it, baby. Push hard and let’s greet our baby girl.”

  “Oh, here comes one,” she muttered and Zack watched her belly tighten.

  “Bear down now, Jordyn. Do it!” Mrs. Pond said firmly.

  Zack supported her back as she brought her chin to her chest and pushed. He encouraged her every step of the way, wiped her face when she had to rest and she pushed again. At exactly one minute after midnight Marianne came into the world. Zack had watched Jordyn push until she cried out and the little body slipped from her womb into the world. Mrs. Pond worked quickly to clean out her mouth and tie her umbilical cord with surgical thread and then wrapped the baby in a towel. She tapped the little feet until the baby wailed and it was then that Zack felt as if he and Jordyn took a simultaneous breath. It came out as laughter and tears as the new life wailed her displeasure at leaving her protective home.

  Mrs. Pond did an examination. “She looks wonderful, Dr. Patel, healthy and pink and no breathing problems that I can hear.”

  “Great. I’ll get off the phone and get working to get emergency services to your home immediately. I will meet you all at the hospital,” Dr. Patel said. “Merry Christmas.”

  “Merry Christmas,” Jordyn said and Zack repeated the words.

  “Look at that. You two got the best Christmas present in the world. Each year you get to celebrate her birth and the holiday,” Mrs. Pond said gently and handed Jordyn the baby. “Look at this little one and tell me it wasn’t all worth it.”

  “I’d do it over again in a heartbeat,” Jordyn said and then kissed the baby’s head. “Hey, my precious little girl. I’m your mom and this is your daddy. Merry Christmas, sweet pea.” She looked up at Zack. “You take her, my love.”

  Zack took Marianne with exquisite care and looked down at the little scrunched up face under soft brown curls that were damp. He felt himself fall in love all over again and this time it was with the second woman in his life. He fell in love with the child that would call him daddy.

  “My little princess, welcome to the world,” he cooed and traced his finger along her tiny palm. Zack chuckled when those little fingers grabbed at his own.

  “Zack, you have that big boat of a vehicle out there. Those damn EMTs will take forever to get here. You continue to hold the baby and let me help Jordyn get cleaned up some. Then you’ll take her to the car and we’ll put down that backseat and we’ll get them there ourselves.”

  “You’re not driving my truck,” Zack murmured, still looking down at the baby.

  “Of course not, that’s for you,” Mrs. Pond scoffed.

  In the end, the ambulance arrived shortly after Mrs. Pond delivered the afterbirth and Jordyn was cleaned up. They had to make sure she’d expelled everything that helped sustain the baby’s life from her body. Mrs. Pond rode with Jordyn and the newborn while Zack drove his truck. At the hospital, Dr. Patel announced that both mother and daughter were perfectly healthy and Jordyn was settled into a room and by sunrise he was taking Mrs. Pond home. He dropped her off and was going to clean up the bedroom and grab a few hours of sleep.

  On impulse, he grabbed the older woman tight and kissed her on her cheek. “Thank you. I don’t know what we’d have done without you.”

  “You’d have been a Navy man like my Mr. Pond and delivered that baby yourself,” Mrs. Pond said gently. “He was at Pearl Harbor that day when it was attacked. He was fifteen years older than me when we met, but I didn’t care. I loved that man. He got hurt pretty badly and we were never able to have children. Oh, he tried to push me away and make me leave so I could have a family, but what kind of family would it have been without the man I love?” She smiled up at Zack and sniffed. “I got to see a miracle tonight, so I thank you for that.”

  “I never had the kind of mother I could share this with and Jordyn was alone all her life. We found each other and now we have a family. We want you to be part of that, Grandma.” Zack smiled when he saw the wise, strong old woman’s eye fill up with tears and her hands shake as she tried to hide the fact by fanning her face. “Marianne will be a blessed little girl with you in her corner. Just get rid of the gun, will ya?”

  “I’d be honored to be in all your lives, even though you call me the crazy old pineapple lady.” Mrs. Pond laughed while she reached up and patted his cheek. “Now get your ass home, clean up, and head back to your two girls. I’ll see them when you get home in a few days.”

  “Merry Christmas, crazy pineapple lady!” Zack called out as he jogged down her front steps.

  “I’d shoot you, but I like you too much,” she called back. “Merry Christmas!”

  Zack laughed as he went home. He had never
been filled with so much happiness as he felt now. It was Christmas day and he had the best gifts in the world. His two girls were waiting for him at Oahu hospital. He took the plastic and then the sheets off the bed and trashed some that were beyond repair and the rest he put in the washing machine. He cleaned up whatever mess the EMTs left and mopped the floors before stretching himself out across the couch and falling asleep.

  Four hours later, he was up, showered and back in his truck heading towards the hospital. In his hands he carried flowers and a gift and on his head he wore a red Santa hat. The nurses looked at him, amused, and as he passed he gave them each a flower before he went into Jordyn’s room.

  She was sitting up in bed and she laughed when she saw him. “Hey, Santa, you’re a bit late. We already got our gift. She’s in the nursery.”

  “But this is for Mom.” Zack leaned over and kissed her. “Christmas flowers for the most beautiful woman in the world and a special surprise I had made.”

  “At least you didn’t get scratched up for this surprise or did you?” she teased.

  “Ha ha, funny woman. Open your gift,” Zack said as he sat on the edge of the bed.

  Zack watched her face as she opened the box and her gasp of delight told him he’d made the right choice. It was a necklace, but that wasn’t what made it special. It was the pendant he had special made of two types of gold. The white gold formed a mother holding a child and the rose gold was the father holding them both. At the bottom of the pendant were three diamonds.

  He took it from her and spoke quietly. “I had this made that day we went shopping and I left you at the pedicure place. I picked it up when you had your doctor appointment.”

  “You said you had to go on base,” she said.

  “I lied, but the look just now on your face made it worthwhile.” He fastened the clasp and the pendant hung between her breasts. “There’s room at the bottom to add more diamonds, one for each child we have.”

  “This is perfect. Zack, it’s so beautiful. I left your gift under the tree,” Jordyn replied.

  “No, you didn’t. She’s in the nursery,” he reminded her.

  Just as he spoke the door to her room opened and a nurse wheeled in an incubator. “Hello, Mom and Dad Hennessey. Here’s little Ms. Marianne ready to be fed.”

  Zack couldn’t help but laugh when he looked into the incubator. His little girl was in a red stocking and wore a little elf bonnet on her head.

  “Oh, I have to get a picture of this to show the guys in the team.” Zack pulled his phone from his pocket.

  “She looks so cute,” Jordyn said.

  “We do it every year for all the Christmas babies. Plus, you get six months free diapers from the Big K-Mart,” the nurse explained.

  “We are good on diapers. Can you give the gift certificate to one of the less fortunate moms who had a baby in the last few days?” Jordyn asked.

  “I know the perfect young girl. She is only nineteen and she and her mother could use the help,” the nurse said. “Merry Christmas and thank you for your generosity. When you get tired and you want to rest just press the buzzer and we’ll come take her back to the nursery.”

  “I’ll be here for a while, so I’ll take care of her while Mom sleeps,” Zack said.

  The nurse nodded and smiled as she left quietly. He lifted Marianne out in her little stocking and cradled her in his arms.

  “Have I told you today how much I love you and how happy you have made me?” he asked.

  “That’s the first time today, but I’ll let it slide because you were tired,” she teased and Marianne started to fuss. “I love you too, but hand her over because little Miss is hungry.”

  Zack sat close and watched his daughter nurse at Jordyn’s breast and they talked. She was his daughter in every sense of the word. He couldn’t have been prouder of the baby or to be called her father. Later, after they had a hospital Christmas dinner and his wife napped, Zack held the baby and crooned to her gently. “You and your mom are my miracles and, yes, she’ll tell you I’m crazy when I chase boys away but it’s because I love you. And no man will ever be worthy of you in my eyes.” Zack kissed her tiny head and inhaled her baby scent. “Merry Christmas, sweet pea.”

  He stood by the window looking out towards the ocean as the sun set on another Christmas. This was the one that made the mark in his world, the one that set him on the path to love, the path he always dreamed of walking but never got to until now. The baby cooed in his arms and his heart melted all over again. Perfect.

  The End

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