Sublime Forgiveness (Sublime Series Book 3)
Page 22
Vince makes all the phone calls to Martina, Amanda, Heather and my Grandfather. Heather obviously can’t be here, but Martina and Amanda are on their way. The more the merrier. It’s not like a girl needs any privacy in this situation. Half the hospital has already seen everything under my gown.
“What can I get you, honey?”
“First off, don’t call me honey. You never call me that. And the answer is nothing. There’s nothing you can do right now except hold my hand and breathe with me.”
“Yes ma’am.”
“That’s better.” I manage to give my adoring husband a small smile before I’m hit again with pain. I opted for no drugs, which I’m regretting. Stupid, stupid natural birthing video. What the hell was I thinking?
A nurse walks in a few minutes later with Martina following closely behind her.
“There’s my beautiful son and daughter! I’m so glad I didn’t miss it. How’s she doing?”
“Hi mom. She’s about 8 centimeters dilated, the doctor said it shouldn’t be long now.”
“Maggie, what can I do for you? Do you want me to wait out in the hallway or is it okay if I stay I the room?” We discussed all of this beforehand, but it means so much that she’s asking now that we’re in the moment. Plans can change.
“I want you right here beside me. Holding my hand. If you don’t mind?”
“Of course not. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”
“You might want to rethink your decision, mom. She’s stronger than she looks. I’ve lost all feeling in this hand.” He holds up the hand I’ve had clenched for the past hour.
“I don’t mind. You squeeze as hard as you need to, Maggie. I can take it.”
“You say that now, just wait until she has another contraction.”
I’m glad they can joke when I’m in so much pain. The nurse comes back a few minutes later, checking to see if it’s time. I’m now fully dilated and ready to push. Another nurse comes in the room to start prepping everything for the doctor. They hike my legs up telling Martina and Vincent to hold them in place while I start to push.
The doctor comes in a few minutes later, encouraging me to keep pushing. I want to smack him in the face. What the hell does he think I’ve been doing for the past twenty minutes. It hurts so bad. I’m so tired. I just want this over with.
“Keep pushing, you’re almost done.” One of the nurses says, trying to encourage me.
“Come on, Maggie. You can do this. We’ve come this far, don’t give up now.” My wonderful husband gives me exactly what I need to get this baby out. I push again, feeling a tremendous burn as the baby’s head comes out. Another push, and it’s over. Thank God.
“Boy or girl? What is it? A boy or a girl?” I ask with anticipation.
“Magnolia, you’ve just given me a beautiful daughter.” He leans over and kisses me on the forehead as a tiny tear falls to my face.
Vincent
I have a daughter. A perfect, amazing, healthy baby girl. Her entry into this world was nothing short of a miracle. Watching another human being born is the most incredible experience. Something I will never forget. I stare down into the dark brown eyes of my daughter, wondering what remarkable things she will accomplish in her life.
“What do you think of this big, bright world Camellia? Someday, I’m going to tell you all about how your mother and I met. But right now let’s let her rest. She’s had a long day.”
I sit holding my daughter for what feels like seconds, only to find out it’s been just over two hours. Her perfect little finger has been wrapped around my thumb this entire time. I can’t help my fascination with this little creature who has already stolen my heart.
A nurse comes in the room to wake Maggie so she can feed Camellia. She seems perfectly content where she is, but the nurse assures me she needs to eat.
“She’s right, Vincent. I know you don’t want to give her up, but if she’s anything like me, she’s already starving.”
“Okay, okay. But can I have her back when she’s done?”
“Of course. Already Daddy’s little girl.”
Maggie bursts into tears, sobbing into her hands. I have no idea what just happened. The nurse pats me on the back, blaming it on the hormones.
“Maggie, what’s wrong?”
“It just made me think of my Dad. That’s all. Of all the times he was there for me and all the times he can’t be.”
“I’m sorry. I know it’s hard. But now you get to see those moments through our daughter’s eyes.”
“I know. I’m just overly emotional today. Very little sleep and a newborn baby will do that to you.”
“I understand, Maggie. If you feel like crying, then cry. If you want to talk about it, I’m here. Whatever you need.”
“Thanks. I’m okay now. Can you hand her to me?”
“Here you go. She’s all yours for the next, well, however long it takes her to eat.”
I’ve never seen a more beautiful site in all my life. My stunning wife holding our baby girl.
THE END
Acknowledgements
I always thank God first because he’s the reason I am where I am. I’m so grateful for the opportunity to write and for the freedom to express myself through the written word.
Thank you to my amazing husband and children. To my husband, who does so much for me, thank you. I appreciate all the support and technical assistance more than you know. Beyond the formatting, website designer, and engineer of the entire process of actually getting the book published, you have never doubted my ability for a second. That means more to me than anything else you do. To my children, thank you for patience when Mommy needs to write. I love you both and it thrills me that the two of you love books just as much as I do.
Thank you to my beta readers. Jessica Lowery, BreAnn Land, Melisa Marvin, Amberley Johnson and Kelley Wallis. You are invaluable to me. Your input, ideas, editing skills and all around willingness to read my words, it means everything to me. You all take time out of your busy schedules to continually help build my dream. To Jessica, my biggest cheerleader, your honesty pushes me to do better. BreAnn, my friend and editor, what did I ever do without you? Thank you for sticking by my side even after you moved away. Melisa, we’ve been friends forever. Never doubt that I’m here for you anytime, anyplace. Amberley, it’s been a hell of a year for both of us but we’re still standing. Thank you for your continued support and help with the street team and promoting my books. Kelley, what can I say? Your feedback gave me so much encouragement to continue down this path of writing. The way you dive into the details of the story and share the happy and sad moments with me, acting as though the characters are real people. Because to me, they are real. They will live in my heart forever. I love that all of you love Vincent and Maggie as much as I do.
To all my family and friends across the country, thank you for supporting me. To every reader who has taken a chance on a new author, thank you. To everyone that has written a review, thank you. To all the blogs out there who share my books and help promote them, thank you! To all the author friends I’ve made, I can’t thank you enough for your support, guidance and input. It’s a crazy indie world but I think I’m here to stay.
A special thanks goes out to my street team Sublime Society. Not only do you read my books, but you support me as a writer. Thank you for joining my events, promoting each book, and giving feedback when needed.
I want to give a huge shout out to my cover designer, Scott King. You have done everything I’ve ever asked and helped bring my vision to life with all three covers. Thank you for all the work you’ve done, including branding and bookmarks. Mostly, thank you for amazing artwork. Because people do judge a book by its cover.
About the Author
Charlene Zapata lives in Texas with her husband and two children. She attended Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio where she graduated with a degree in Social Work. Although she was mostly raised in Ohio she is a Texan at heart and glad to be back
home.
Sublime Forgiveness is the final book in the Sublime Series. Sublime Wreckage is her debut novel and book one of the series. Sublime Resistance is the second book in the series.
To read more about this author, visit her website:
charlenezapata.com
You can also follow her on Facebook and Twitter:
www.facebook.com/AuthorCharleneZapata
@charlenezap
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Table of Contents
Story
Acknowledgments
Author Bio