Destiny's Detour

by Mari Brown

  Two days after my doctor's appointment, I head off with Amy to my morning classes. While sitting in the middle of psychology lecture, I am gripped with the worse stomach cramp I have ever felt. Amy gives me a strange look. I try smiling, but I’m pretty sure it comes out more a grimace. The pain subsides and I go back to listening to the lecture. Ten minutes later, another stomach cramp hits me, and it dawns on me that I might be going into labor. I calmly pack up my belongings, and then look over at Amy to let her know I am leaving. She is already packed and ready to go. As we quietly and quickly moved out of the classroom, our teacher briefly stops talking, takes one look at me, smiles, and mouths, "Good luck, Destiny," before returning back to his lecture. Thank God, I don’t have to explain that. I stop outside the door and send a group text to Troy and David.

  Destiny: Guys its time. The baby is coming. Amy and me are leaving psychology now. HURRY!!

  Amy and I are making our way out of the social sciences building when I see Troy running towards us from his class. I tell Amy she is in charge of keeping Troy calm while I am on the phone waiting to speak to my doctor. It doesn’t take long for another contraction to hit. They are coming regular at ten-minute intervals. As I grimace through the contraction, I notice a pained look cross Troy’s face. Dr. Smith comes on the line and tells me to head straight to the hospital. She will call ahead to let them know I am coming in through the emergency room so they can have someone from labor and delivery waiting for me. I am still staying calm, I am not sure how, but I am.

  “Dr. Smith says we need to go to the hospital.”

  Troy turns to Amy. “Text David and wait for him. Then go by our house and grab her hospital bag. It’s by our front door. Meet us at the hospital. Oh, and have David call our parents.”

  Troy walks me toward his car. I am impressed with how calm he is being.

  “Troy, are we too calm?” I ask.

  “I don’t know. Maybe it’s the calm before the storm or something.”

  “Ya, maybeeeeee,” I say as another contraction hit.

  He takes my hand and lets me take comfort in holding his. We quietly ride this way to the hospital. He pulls up to the ER entrance and runs around to help me out. He gets me to the triage desk, and with a quick kiss to my forehead, tells me he will be right back.

  As he parks the car, the triage nurse begins the admittance process, and before I know it, Troy is back by my side. Once I have a hospital bracelet slapped on my wrist, and my paperwork is ready, the nurse picks up a phone, says a few words, and tells us that a Labor and Delivery nurse will be right with us. We have been in the ER for thirty minutes and I have had four contractions, which means they are a little closer than they were at school. It looks like we might be having a baby today.

  Our new nurse comes up to us. “Hi, my name is Tina, and I will be with you throughout your labor and delivery. Now, I am going to take you upstairs and get you settled in your room.”

  I smile up at her from the wheelchair I am now sitting in. She seems so friendly and it helps relax me. Just as she starts wheeling us down a hallway, a commotion sounds from behind me.

  “Wait for us!” Amy yells out.

  I laugh, look at Tina, and say, “That will be my insane best friend and my older brother, so we better wait. You will never hear the end of it if they are not allowed to come.”

  She gives a short laugh, lets them catch up with us, and then heads toward my room. David talks to Troy as we walk down the hall.

  “I called both sets of parents, and they are headed this way. Our moms were insane on the phone, screaming that it was time to go. I could hear Dad telling her to stop screaming and just get in the damn car.”

  As I listen, I realize it will take them two hours to get to the hospital. I notice that David has my hospital bag slung over his shoulder and I am thankful.

  Tina asks everyone but Troy to wait outside the room, points Amy and David toward the waiting area, and tells them she will come get them as soon as I am settled in bed. It takes about half an hour to get me changed into the gown I had bought just for the delivery. I am 4 cm dilated and over 70% effaced, and my contractions are clocked at six minutes apart. Tina leaves the room to get Amy and David, and Troy leans over and kisses my lips.

  “Are you feeling okay right now?”

  “Yes, surprisingly, I am feeling pretty good. A little nervous and a little excited. It only hurts when a contraction hits me.”

  “I love you so much, Destiny. You don’t know how proud I am to call you my wife and the mother of my children.”

  “Children?” I smirk. “Let’s see how this works out before we talk anymore.”

  We share a laugh, and that is when Amy and David come into the room.

  Amy is bouncing all over the room in excitement and David comments, “I think we need a sedative for Amy.”

  Amy punches him lightly in the arm. I am so thankful to have them with me right now. Troy and I have opted to allow family to stay with us in the room until it’s time for me to begin pushing. Then we want it to be just the two of us with the doctor and nurses.

  Two hours pass and I progress a little further in labor but not much. Soon, Troy’s parents and mine bustle into the room. The two sets of grandparents are as giddy as teenagers. Both my dad and Troy’s dad have tons of presents for little Mason. All I’m able to see are sports balls of all kinds and a tiny football jersey. It is silly that they are going so overboard. My mom notices me looking at the bounty and shakes her head.

  “We tried telling them Mason wasn’t old enough for any of that stuff but they didn’t want to listen.”

  I think it was cute nonetheless and am glad Troy and I have the support of our parents.

  Amy makes a run to the cafeteria to get everyone drinks, and comes back with her hands full.

  As she comes through the door, she says, “Troy, um, you and David might be want to go visit waiting room.”

  The guys give her weird looks but head out, anyway.

  I give Amy a strange look of my own and she says, “Wait for him to come back. I think it’ll mean more.”

  Tina comes in and asks how I am doing. I ask her if I can take a walk, and she says that I am still at a point where I can get up and walk around.

  I look at Amy and say, “Walk me to the waiting room.”

  She gives me a knowing look. I am getting more curious about what I will find when we get there. We turn the corner from my room and head down the hall. The closer we get the noise level is getting higher.

  “Is someone having a party?”

  “Maybe,” Amy replies.

  I stop dead in my tracks as my eyes scan the area. Most of the football team and dance team are in there. Shocked, I just stand there looking at everyone. Tears pool in my eyes. I can’t believe this many people have come to the hospital for our son’s birth.

  The room slowly becomes silent as people notice me. Finally, Troy turns from where he is talking to the coach and smiles when he sees me standing there.

  “Are you trying to escape?” he asks. Chuckles erupt across the room.

  I smile devilishly. “Um, no, I just heard there was a room of hot football players, and thought I would come check it out.”

  Amy snorts. Mark quickly jumps in on my teasing Troy. “Destiny, I think you are literally one of the hottest baby mama's, and I will be more than happy to steal you away from this ugly mug you call a husband.”

  I laugh as Troy shoots him a ‘don’t make me kill you’ look. I walk over to Troy and grab hold of his arm just as a contraction hits.

  As I breathe through the contraction, I ask, “What are they all doing here?”

  Troy smiles and says, “They are here to welcome the newest team member.”

  “Who says Mason will play football? Maybe he will want to be a dancer like his mom.”

  Troy smiles at me, “Baby, football is in our blood. You know that.”

  I grin because I do know. I make my way to where the dance team sits, ta
lk to them for a few minutes, and then realize my contractions seem to be coming closer. Troy escorts me back to the room and we wait for Tina to come in and check me.

  Tina comes into the room right behind us, helps me get situated on the bed, and begins checking my cervix once again. She announces that I am now 6 cm dilated and 100% effaced.

  “Why hasn’t my water broke?”

  She explains that sometimes it doesn’t happens naturally, and if it has not broken by 7 cm dilation, then they will pop the sac of fluid with a special hook to help speed up labor. The timing of my contractions is now three minutes apart, and she says that she will be remaining in the room with us, checking me frequently because it looks like my labor is definitely speeding up.

  The dads decide they can’t stomach any more and head to the waiting room where they hang out with the football team.

  “So, you guys are really popular. Are you some type of celebrity's?” asks Tina.

  We explain to her that our dads are retired NFL players and that Troy’s dad is a scout for a major NFL team. Troy is the starting quarterback at NU and my brother is their starting wide receiver. We tell her that Amy and I are on the college dance team. After taking in everything we say, she looks at us with wide eyes and says, “Wow!”

  Thirty minutes pass, and when Tina checks me and declares I am at 7 cm, she says it’s time to break my water for me. She excuses herself from the room to go get a sterile hook. I look around the room and the moms and Amy are beyond excited. Troy looks a little less calm than earlier and that makes me smile.

  “Troy, are you getting nervous?”

  “Hell yes, I’m getting nervous. You’re getting ready to give birth to our son.”

  “Everything will be fine, Hunny."

  He groans. “This is not normal.”

  I laugh at his nervousness. Tina comes back, and when she pops the fluid sac, my contractions intensify quickly. She hooks up a monitor to measure my contractions and the baby’s heart rate to make sure everything is still going normally. Dr. Smith has been called to be at the hospital on standby. The time is getting closer and I am ready. I cannot wait to hold little Mason in my arms.

  Less than an hour later, Tina calls the doctor into the room and everyone else is ushered out. The time for pushing has arrived. Someone from the nursery sets up the sterile newborn table in the corner, getting it ready for when Mason comes. Beside me, Troy holds my hand, and tries to distract me from the pain. I have opted to go for natural childbirth, as I want to truly experience childbirth and not miss out on any part of it.

  After thirty minutes of pushing, cries fill the room as Mason Liam Daniels comes into this world.

  Dr. Smith asks Troy, “Dad, you want to cut the cord?”

  Troy nods his head yes and it is then that I notice Troy and I are both crying. The nurse is cleaning up little Mason, and once she finishes, she brings him over and places my son in my arms for the first time. I stare down at the most beautiful person I have ever seen in the world. As I look at Mason, my heart swells with love for him. Troy is sitting beside me on the bed and looks down at our son in awe and wonderment. He gives me a kiss on the forehead. My time is interrupted all too soon, as they have to take Mason to the nursery to finish cleaning him up and perform the standard newborn tests on him. The nurse promises she will bring him back as soon as he is done to have his first feeding.

  “I think I will go to the waiting room and let everyone know that my son is here and then maybe stop by the nursery.”

  I smile up at him and say, “That’s a good idea, Daddy.”

  He leans over and gives me a deep kiss on the lips and I am happy to match his kiss.

  The kiss starts getting deeper and I laugh. “Cool it, Daddy. We have 4-6 weeks before we can have fun again.”

  He groans as he heads out to our friends and family.

  Tina brings a clean gown and helps me get cleaned up from the birth. As soon as I fix my hair and put on some lip-gloss, I am ready to accept company. Time seems to crawl as I wait for Troy and Mason to return to the room. Finally, the door opens and joy fills me to see my baby being pushed in by the nurse. His official birth weight is 8 pounds and 4 ounces, and he is 21 inches long. Troy says that after Mason was clean, they put him on display in the nursery window so everyone could have a peek at him. I am glad they did it that way. I didn’t want to imagine everyone traipsing through my hospital room.

  Mason begins crying and the nurse brings him to me. I quickly take him from her, snuggle him close, and notice he is turning his head toward my chest.

  “I think someone is hungry, Mama.”

  The nurse helps me get situated for my first feeding and then leaves, saying she will let me take over, but if I need anything, just use the nurse’s call button. Before long, Mason latches on to my nipple and quickly his little mouth pulls the milk in. Troy sits on the bed beside me with an arm behind me and looks at Mason with such love.

  Then he looks at me. Our eyes meet over our son’s head, and as we hold each other’s gaze, Troy grins. “He knows what to do with those boobs already.” Way to fuck up a good moment.

  “Jesus Troy, did you have to make it dirty? We were having a family moment here!” I laugh out at my husband.

  Then his face gets serious. “I can’t believe how complete I feel right now with you and Mason. I didn’t even realize I was missing it until he was here.”

  I understand what he is talking about because it’s the same for me. A knock sounds at the just as Mason finishes feeding. Troy gives me a moment to cover back up before opening the door for our parents, my brother, and Amy.

  They all exclaim how handsome our son is. Troy beams with pride and I smile because I am so happy. Troy and I watch as each of our parents, my brother, and my best friend take turns holding our son.

  He leans down and whispers, “I love you, Princess.”

  “I love you, too,” I whisper back.

  We share what we think is a sneaked kiss until David pipes up, “None of that! That’s what got us here today.”

  The room to erupts in laughter.

  David is probably the funniest of the group when it comes to talking to Mason. He promises to be the best uncle he can be, and swears that he will teach Mason all his tricks for getting girls when the time comes. I laugh and tell my brother that I don’t think he will be teaching Mason anything about picking up girls. I am going to raise my son to not be like his daddy and uncle and to be respectful of all girls. I remember all too well my brother and husband being players in high school. They weren’t ever cruel to girls, but they didn’t ever have real girlfriends.

  Sleep wants to overtake my body and our family notices, so they start making their way out. David and Amy head back to their house, and we give our parents the keys to our home so they can stay there. When it is just Troy and me left with Mason, we lay in the bed together for a while just loving on each other. Troy eventually gets up and places Mason in the bassinet. When he returns, he curls up beside me on the bed and wraps his strong arms around me so we can drift off into a peaceful sleep.

  Mason and I are released two days after he is born. Troy and I are eager to take our little man home. I find that being a mother is a natural thing for me. I wonder why I had been so nervous before. It seems like I know exactly what to do for Mason. Troy has been a wonderful support during everything, and I am so grateful that I have a guy like him. I am so lucky that he is willing to be there, not only for me, but also for our son. It could have so easily gone in another direction.

  I sit in the back with Mason as Troy drives us home. I don’t want to be away from my son. I have this need to keep him close to me. Troy glances back in the rearview mirror, and when our eyes meet, he gives me a smile. I am so at peace in this moment. I never want to lose this contentment. Troy pulls into our driveway, parks the car, and immediately gets out to open my door. He helps me out of the car first and then moves to grab Mason and our bags. It’s strange for me to walk up to our hou
se empty handed, but Troy is being the man. Our parents are waiting in the living room as we come in. My mom takes Mason almost as soon as Troy sets him down. I plop down on the couch. I am so happy to be home. I watch as our moms fawn over Mason.

  Troy comes and sits down beside me on the couch. “Glad to be home?” he asks.

  I turn to face him and smile. “I am very glad to be home.”

  It will not be long before Mason will need to be fed, and I am waiting and watching for him to give out a cry. Our dads are watching an old football game. It’s always football, I think, with a grin.

  Mason soon begins crying and Troy takes him from our moms and heads to the nursery. He lays Mason down on the changing table and gives him a dry diaper as I settle into the rocking chair. Troy places Mason in my arms and I undo my shirt to get Mason started on his feeding. Troy stays in there with us, leaning up against the wall. I notice he can’t take his eyes of Mason and me.

  “What are you looking at us like that for?” I ask him quietly.

  “I love watching you nurse our son. It’s such an intimate bond. Honestly it just makes me feel happy.”

  I am surprised a little by his reply. I really expected my husband to be pervy about it.

  “Yes, I love bonding with him this way. I am so glad we agreed to breastfeed him. It may keep others from being able to feed him right now, but I think it’s the best thing we could do for him.” Breastfeeding has been easy for Mason and me. We both are naturals, and other than some slight tenderness, I am not having any major issues.

  We lapse into silence as Mason continues to nurse. Soon, he is ready to be burped, and that is when Troy takes him again. We have been developing this system since day one. I nurse and Troy burps. It works and allows both of us to be involved in the feeding. Once Mason has burped, Troy hands him back and I move him to the other breast to see if he wants more. When he turns his head away, I know his little belly is full. I close my shirt up, swaddle Mason back up to my chest, and hum to him while I rock. It is not long before Mason is asleep, so I gently get up and place him in his crib. Troy makes sure the video monitor is turned on and we make our way back to the living room.