by P D Miller
Exactly one week later an angry Missy took Ben with her to see Dr. Garcia for a lengthy discussion on what she was allowed during pregnancy. She was fed up with eight glasses of milk a day, perfectly balanced meals, no junk food, not being able to walk or do anything, especially no lovemaking. Ben wanted her to stay in bed flat on her back. What’s more, he piled her plates high enough for three people and tried to force her to eat it all. She was getting sick from his care.
A chagrinned Ben ordered pizza with pickles added to the topping for dinner while Missy swam in the pool. After their visit to the doctor, he settled a little for a few weeks until he saw her clothes were getting tighter. Then he nearly wore her to a frazzle taking her to every maternity shop in town. When they got home, she was too tired to argue when he insisted on measuring her. She had to drag Ben back to the doctor when it became evident he was worried she was too big and decided she needed daily measuring. In an effort to reassure Ben, Dr. Garcia gave him his private home phone number, so Ben could call anytime he had a question. It was a mistake the doctor lived to regret.
One night after lovemaking Missy wanted some chocolate chip mint ice cream, and Ben only groaned a little as he dressed to go get some. It was four in the morning when the police brought him home and asked if he belonged to her. Grinning sheepishly, Ben handed her a carton half-filled with melted ice cream. She’d long since forgotten her craving, but she ate some anyway while Ben told how he’d opened the mall and the ice cream shop. He carefully wrote a note to the shop’s manager and left money, but while he was scooping ice cream the burglar alarms in the police station went off. Before he knew it several police cars had descended upon the place and arrested him! HIM! In his own damn mall! He fumed furiously until she told him how wonderful the ice cream made her feel and snuggled into his arms. Promptly he forgot the incident.
When Missy went for her next checkup, Ben had a business meeting and couldn’t go. The doctor sighed audibly when he saw Ben wasn’t with her. Dr. Garcia hummed while he listened to the fetal heart, stopped abruptly with a grunt and charged from the room. Moments later he returned with his partner, and he listened to the heart too. Without saying a word, the doctors left and ordered a sonogram. A few minutes later Missy was helped to dress and ushered into Dr. Garcia’s office.
“Is something wrong?” She worried about the expression on the doctor’s face when he came in.
“No.” He groaned audibly. “Look Missy, I’m not positive—it could be an echo—but we hear more than one heart.”
“Oh no! Twins?” She shook all over. “You’ve got to promise not to tell Ben.”
“My thoughts exactly.” Dr. Garcia grinned. “To be perfectly honest, I don’t think I can take much more, if Ben’s worrying twice as much.” He shook his head. “When you told me he didn’t want children—”
“I was wrong Dr. Garcia.” Missy grinned.
“I’ll say.” The doctor smiled. “Of course if he knew, he might worry less about one baby being too big.”
“No, he’d get worse. His twin was born with problems and later died.”
When the baby moved the first time, Missy decided not to tell Ben because it was just a little flutter. She should have known better. He was so attuned to her condition he saw right off something was different. Later, after lovemaking, he rolled to his elbow and played with her hair.
“Okay, out with it, what’s wrong?” He demanded.
“Nothing Ben, I—I think the baby just moved, that’s all.”
“Nothing?” Ben jumped out of bed. Quickly he picked up the phone.
“Ben, please don’t call Dr. Garcia. Wait until morning.” She’d already quit asking him to call and now tried to get him to do it at a decent hour. “Just come here, and I’ll let you feel it. Then tomorrow you’ll be able to tell him more about it.”
Instantly Ben was by her side with his warm massive hand touching her abdomen. When he felt the flutter under his hand, he groaned, jumped up and called Dr. Garcia anyway. Once assured a flutter was normal, he spent the rest of the night alternately feeling her abdomen with his hand and cheek because the little flutters tickled and pleased him so. When Missy awakened at nine, Ben was on the phone and pacing. He’d awakened, didn’t feel the baby moving and called the doctor. Sheepishly he crawled back in bed, touched Missy’s abdomen and kissed her.
“Don’t worry, the doctor says the baby has to sleep too.”
Missy prayed for strength. Now came there ongoing argument. One more reason for him to want to hire a nurse. Every time something changed they went through the battle. Near noon, Missy won another round.
The doctor had to tell Ben about the multiple birth when she was five months. For one thing Ben became suspicious when the doctor stepped up Missy’s visits. Sure she was getting too big and must be having problems, Ben went to ask about Missy having surgery rather than suffer through labor. After hearing the news, Ben sat in stunned silence for nearly fifteen minutes. During this time the doctor lectured him how Missy was perfectly normal and doing just fine.
All through the ride home, Missy expected some kind of reaction from him—anything from anger to joy or laughter or screaming. She got silence. She expected Ben to launch into his “hire a nurse” argument, but he didn’t. When they got home, he dropped his jacket on the sofa and wandered into the library. When Missy passed several minutes later, she saw him on the phone and stopped dead in her tracks.
“Mom, please tell me again what the doctors said about Connie’s birth anomalies.”
Tears filled her eyes and she ran upstairs. Oh, how he was suffering! It was quite late when Ben finally came up, stripped slowly and crawled under the covers. He sat against the headboard with his arm over his eyes for a moment, then pulled her up into his arms and kissed her hair. Slowly his hand snaked down to her abdomen and touched it.
“Everything’s going to be all right, Ben.” She tried to raise her head to kiss him, but he held her pressed against him. After several moments of silence, he wiped his eyes, released her and kissed her forehead as she looked up.
“Yes, it is.” His tongue touched hers. After a hard and angry kiss, he pulled away from her. “I talked to Mom, and she told me again it wasn’t my fault about Connie—it was congenital.” He kissed her nose. “Mom says there’s even an advantage to twins—smaller babies and only one labor.”
Many things changed after that night, though. Ben finally won the battle about the nurse. It was either a nurse or he’d station one of her brothers constantly staying with her at the house. Her brothers were just about as bad as Ben now, since they learned twins were expected, so Missy consented to the nurse. But Missy saw everyone’s assurances hadn’t helped Ben. Neither one of them wanted to think about the fact a congenital problem might be carried to one of their babies.
As she became more uncomfortable, Ben cared for her without complaining. But sometimes she’d wake up in the middle of the night and see him standing and staring out their bedroom window. Missy learned from the doctor finally how Ben had called from the office one day worried Connie’s congenital anomaly might be hereditary—something Ben could pass on. Neither the doctor nor Missy could find a way to assure him this would never happen.
Chapter Sixteen
Exactly one week before Missy reached her seventh month, they went to her parent’s home for an anniversary celebration. Her parents had been married forty years, and they had planned a small family dinner since her father was still a little under the weather. After dinner Missy helped her mother in the kitchen while Ben joined the guys in the living room watching football.
Missy leaned with her hands on the counter when the first cramp hit her and her breath caught. She chose to ignore it. After all, Dr. Garcia had told her there would be some cramping here and there, especially since she was so big. She decided she might as well get used to it. Smiling, she followed her mother into the living room. The guys were arguing over the football game and oblivious to anything else. Over the next
hour Missy felt several harder cramps. A little worried, she wandered out to the kitchen for a glass of water. Slowly she sat at the table when another cramp hit her lower back. This one hurt. Reluctantly she rose and went to the living room. Ben was totally absorbed in the game, but she went and sat on his lap anyway. He put his arm around her in a hug, and she pulled his hand into hers.
With her hand, she told him she wanted to go. Ben wasn’t paying any attention. His hand slid down to her abdomen lovingly; he kissed her cheek and turned his attention back to the game. Missy sighed heavily, got up and went back to the kitchen. When the next cramp hit her, she doubled over and put her head on the table.
“Honey, what’s wrong?” Ben put his beer on the table and pulled her around in his arms.
“I—I think it’s time.” She fought tears.
“It can’t be; it’s too early!” Ben swept her up in his arms and raced through the living room.
Mrs. Sanchez jumped up. “Missy, is it—”
“Yes Mama, I think so.” Missy tried to smile. The door slammed and Ben pushed her into the car. When he screeched away from the house, her brothers looked up in shocked surprise. Then all hell broke loose.
Fifteen minutes later Ben rushed into the hospital screaming like a madman. The nurses called Dr. Garcia, who told them he’d already been called three times, and he was on his way.
The patrol car Ben flew past started his blue lights rolling and was bent in hot pursuit when four cars passed him. The officer called for reinforcements, turned on his siren and pulled all of them over. While the officers yanked speeding tickets from their pads, Dr. Garcia flew by. Gonzalo was nearly arrested for telling the officer off. Instead he yanked the ticket from the officer’s hand, jumped back in his car and took off like a bat out of hell. The other three cars followed him. Officers lunged for their cars and began pursuit again.
When Dr. Garcia arrived, the nurses were screaming at Ben, and he was yelling at them. Dr. Garcia took a deep breath and waved his way through.
“Everyone shut up!” He yelled. There was instant silence. He smiled at Missy. “How many cramps have you had?”
“A couple of dozen.” Missy’s dimples showed.
“Fine.” Dr. Garcia’s eyes flashed toward Ben. “Now if you think you can be quiet Mr. Spinelli, I will allow you to stay with Missy as long as possible.” His angry glare shot to the nurses. “Do you agree Mr. Spinelli?”
“I’ll be quiet.” Ben glared at the nurses.
“Fine.” Dr. Garcia motioned for the nurses to leave. “Missy, I’ll be back in a moment.”
Missy smiled but she saw Dr. Garcia’s frustrated look. While Ben tried to assure Missy of his love, all the pain and worry he was going through showed in his eyes and drawn face. Shaking his head, Dr. Garcia turned and went to deal with the angry nurses.
“All right ladies, we have a multiple birth coming up, and a very worried father, and I’ll need your cooperation.”
The doctor finally got the nurses to agree to be patient and went in to check Missy. During the doctor’s examination, Ben paced outside the room and followed the nurses’ every move with worried eyes. It became obvious he couldn’t stay for the delivery. Dr. Garcia talked to Missy about not having Ben stay in the delivery room and suggested her mother would be better. Missy agreed.
Suddenly the nurses were greeted with a crowd of ten men and one woman hurrying into the waiting room followed by four very angry policemen. Dr. Garcia came out of Missy’s room and smiled. Thank God, the troops had arrived. Now he could get on with this delivery. After the officers issued more tickets and left, an anxious quiet descended on the waiting room.
For four more hours Ben continued to be cooperative. The doctor had checked Missy several times and said she was progressing normally. In the meantime he made some phone calls. One was to have Missy’s most recent sonograms brought up by his assistant. Another was to have another sonogram done. And last, he called for a pediatrician. By now Missy was really hurting and couldn’t hide it. She groaned with a pain and shoved Ben’s hand away when he tried to rub her abdomen. He groaned like an injured animal.
“Damn, honey!” He bit his lip in anger.
“It’s all right.” Missy tried to talk some sense to him. “Dr. Garcia says there’s never more than twenty.”
“Twenty hell! He should put you to sleep.” Ben fumed.
“It will hurt the babies.”
“I’m worried about you.” He tried to hold her through another pain. “Where the hell is the bas—”
Dr. Garcia smiled in the doorway and went to the waiting room. “Mrs. Sanchez, Missy’s doing just fine and will deliver soon, but I need to get Ben out of there.” He glanced at her sons. “Do you think your boys could get him?”
“You mean carry him out?” Her eyes opened wide.
“I certainly do, and keep him out.”
Mrs. Sanchez turned a wary eye to her sons and shook her head. “Missy will have to tell him to leave. I don’t think my boys want to take him on again.”
Dr. Garcia’s mouth dropped open. “Again?”
“Gonzalo come here.” Mrs. Sanchez beckoned.
“Yeah, Mom.”
“Dr. Garcia needs to get Ben out of there. See if you can help me.” The doctor watched in stunned silence as Mrs. Sanchez and her son walked into the labor room
“It’s time for me to take Missy to the delivery room, Ben.” Dr. Garcia’s voice was shaky.
“Yes and you’ll have to wait with us.” Gonzalo spoke up.
Ben’s head whirled around to glare at Gonzalo. “No way!”
“Yes, Ben. “ Missy’s dimples shined for him.
“Honey?”
“Go with Gonzalo. I’m fine and Mom will be with me. Please go, Ben.” She could feel another pain coming and tried to hide her eyes.
“I’ll stay with her, Ben.” Mrs. Sanchez swept over to the bed and began soothing words to Missy.
“Missy? Honey?” Ben’s eyes grew frightened.
“Please Ben, go with Gonzalo and tell him why you’re so worried. I’ll be all right.”
“You want me to leave you?” Ben fought tears.
“Yes please, I’m fine.” She forced a smile before the urge to push hit her, and Gonzalo quickly grabbed Ben’s arm. Stunned Missy didn’t want him with her, Ben allowed himself to be led from the room. Nervously he fingered the bracelet he’d worn on his wrist since his trip to New York.
Gonzalo walked with Ben clear to the end of the hall and back several times before Ben finally talked about Connie. Up until then no one but Missy had known about her. Gonzalo listened in stunned silence and suddenly understood what Ben was going through—why assurances the babies would be normal wasn’t enough—why Ben feared losing Missy during labor. How Ben worried he’d passed on an anomaly to these babies. Behind Ben’s words he saw also some of the complexities which made up his friend Charger, the giant who could be so wild and violent one moment and so gentle with his sister. Gonzalo could think of nothing to say to make Ben feel better, so he silently listened and kept Ben walking and talking.
Off in a corner at least six other guys paced in a circle too. Beads of sweat formed on Gonzalo’s forehead every time he glanced at the clock. It was taking too damn long! Once he signaled for someone to bring some coffee. He tried to keep Ben’s eyes averted when a doctor rushed out of the elevator and into the delivery section, then charge to the nursery. If Ben noticed the doctor, any of the nurses running back and forth or the sudden rush of nursery equipment, he didn’t show it. He seemed determined not to see anything and kept his eyes locked on the floor, and Gonzalo was glad for it.
Exactly two and a half hours later, Ben stopped in front of the clock and refused to budge. Gonzalo felt total relief when Dr. Garcia came into the waiting room all smiles followed by Mrs. Sanchez who had tears rolling down her cheeks.
“Missy?” Ben’s eyes showed nothing but fear and pain. He fingered the bracelet.
“She’s fin
e. You’ll be able to see her in a few minutes.”
Gonzalo watched relief wave through Ben and tears flood his eyes. Everyone waited for Ben to ask the next question, but he couldn’t.
“And the babies?” Gonzalo asked for him.
They’re fine.” Mrs. Sanchez grinned. “Tiny as can be, but so far they’re fine.”
“Yes, the pediatrician says they’re doing amazingly well.” Dr. Garcia laughed.
“Pediatrician?” Ben’s head jerked up. “Was there some problem?”
“No Ben, since they’re premature, we wanted to be sure with them. And since they just weigh over two pounds each—”
“Only two pounds?” Ben’s eyes opened wider. Missy had been too big.
“Two beautiful boys—” Mrs. Sanchez smiled.
“Boys?” Ben’s heart raced.
“Yes, and two beautiful little girls.” She smiled through tears.
“Girls?”
Dr. Garcia looked at Ben with a wide grin. “Yes Ben. two sets—identical twins.” To everyone’s surprise, Ben’s huge body fell with a thud on the floor. “I’ll be damned!” Dr. Garcia laughed. “Who’d have thought he’d faint?”
Gonzalo grinned at the doctor. Then he signaled for his brothers to come and help put Ben in a chair before he awakened. Not one of the Sanchez family would ever dare say a word about this. No need to make an issue of such a little weakness. After all, how many men find out they have just become the father of four just like that?
Two hours later Ben sat on Missy’s bed gently caressing her by brushing hair away from her sleeping face. His eyes showed nothing but love. Slowly she opened her eyes, turned her head to kiss his hand and then turned back to smile at him.