by Gail Haris
“I think everything is ready.” Melissa pauses what she’s doing and tilts her head at me. “Are you feeling alright?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.” I take a moment to let the pain fade. “I’ll begin setting everything on the table.”
Melissa smiles and hurries to tell everyone in the den to come eat, while I deliver the food to the dining room table. We all sit down and eat. Denise jumps right in with discussing her plans for her winter break. “Are we still having a Christmas party?”
Melissa smiles warmly at me. “I wasn’t sure if we should. We might be in the hospital, welcoming our newest member.”
“A member that has yet to be named,” Richard reminds us.
Denise grins. “Why not Denis? Denny?”
“We’ll be sure to add those to the list.” When Denise isn’t looking, I quickly shake my head at Trent to let him know I was only humoring her.
I stand up to clear some plates, but as I lean over to take the plate in front of Trent, I feel a shooting pain in my abdomen. I drop the plates onto the table to grab my side. Everyone jumps from their seats and rushes toward me, asking questions all at the same time.
“Let’s take her to the doctor.”
“I’m taking you to the doctor.”
“Where exactly does it hurt?”
“Are you okay? Is the baby okay?”
My only answer is another pain-filled cry. Trent, immediately, calls my doctor from back in Lexington. Letting her know that I’m going to the hospital to get checked out. Trent begins guiding me toward the front door, grabbing his keys off the counter, as we pass by. It’s still early in the day, so, instead of the hospital, he takes me to the doctor his mother uses and is a family friend. We enter the office, and the secretary stands, as soon as she sees us. She leaves her desk and walks around the partition and opens the door to lead us back. “Doctor Carter is expecting you. Mrs. Randall already called.”
They put us in a room with an ultrasound machine. A wave of nausea hits me with another sharp pain in my lower abdomen. The pain spreads to my lower back. The nurse asks us questions, but Trent has to answer most of them for me because I can’t speak. Two minutes later, the door opens again, revealing a middle-aged woman, wearing a white lab coat and a name tag that says Dr. Carter.
“Hello, I’m Doctor Carter. You were crying out in pain from your abdomen, and you’re in your last trimester of your first pregnancy. So far, you’ve had a healthy pregnancy with no issues, correct?” She eases me onto my back and raises my shirt. She gently feels along my stomach.
“Yes, that’s all correct.” My voice sounds out of breath, and I struggle to explain the pains from earlier.
“I’m going to check to see if your cervix is dilated, okay?” As she puts on her gloves, I nod and tense, when I feel a slight discomfort. “You’re about a two. Let’s listen to the baby.” She applies cold gel and then begins moving the wand around. I tense, while silently praying, that everything is okay.
Where’s the heartbeat? Why isn’t he moving? Please, God no. Don’t do this to me… Please.
As soon as I hear his heartbeat, I relax. Trent and I stare in awe at the screen of our precious little dragonfly moving around.
“Well, everything looks good. Even if the baby did decide to arrive now, I think you and he would be fine. Have you been stressed?”
Ugh. Where do I begin? I simplify the answer with a nod.
“Let’s slow down, huh? Not exactly bedrest, but you need to slow down. Are you planning to deliver here or somewhere else?”
I don’t like the sound of that, but I’m more scared of hurting the baby. This baby is, probably, coming sooner rather than later. I see Trent’s mouth open, but before he can answer, I do. “Here.” Trent looks at me in surprise, but I continue speaking, “I don’t have a doctor here yet. By any chance, are you taking on new patients?”
Doctor Carter smiles and nods. “I’m actually not, but Melissa’s a dear friend. She’d never speak to me again if I refused to deliver her first grandbaby. Try to stay off your feet and come back and see me in a week.”
Once Doctor Carter finishes checking me, Trent and I leave the room and make an appointment with the receptionist.
“Here, huh?”
“Yeah. I want our family to be around when he’s born. Plus, I’m not traveling anywhere. Take me home.”
“Home? Your -”
“Ours. I think we should take your parents offer on the guest house… for now.”
The smile that spreads across Trent’s face melts my heart. “For now.”
“Can we bring our tree from your apartment?”
He smiles and pats my knee, giving it a gentle squeeze. “We can. Or we can do it all over again and buy another tree?”
“But I love our tree. Then again, I’ve never had a real tree.”
“You’ve never had a real tree?” I shake my head no. He smiles and gives a single nod. “We’re going to take care of that right now.”
As we drive to the tree farm, we call everyone to let them know I have to take it easy from here on out and that we’re having the baby here. The SUV bounces onto the dirt road that leads to the tree farm, and Trent reaches over and places a hand on my belly. My eyebrows pull together, as I try to figure out if he is seriously trying to steady my tummy. He parks the SUV and jogs around the front to help me out. I quickly end the call and wipe away an escaped tear. When I look out the glass, Trent smiles, opens the door and then wraps his strong arms around me.
Helping me down, he takes my hand, and we enter the farm. As we walk deeper through the trees, Trent says, “You know, we could get lost in here.” He stops and pulls me up to him, but he struggles to get to my lips because my baby bump is in the way. He angles himself, so he can get closer. I watch, as his blue eyes seem to turn a deeper shade, when his lips descend on mine. The kiss is full of promise. He pulls away, and his voice is husky. “Think anyone will find us?”
Before his lips touch mine again, I moan. “God, I hope not.” Please, nobody find us. If he keeps kissing me like this, I’ll stay here forever. Lost. Lost in the trees and his embrace.
We finally grow breathless. I think my lips are chapped, but I don’t care. We hold hands and giggle like the lovesick fools we are as we scan the trees. Once I find the perfect tree, Trent has the man cut it down and load it.
After the tree is unloaded at the guest house, Trent takes me to the store. When he parks the SUV, he walks around the trunk and pulls out a folded wheelchair. “In you go,” he says, as he unfolds it.
“What?” I stare at the chair. “Where’d you get that?”
“It was still in my parents’ garage from when my dad got hurt in a construction accident.”
“When? How old is that thing?”
“I don’t know. Old? It was like, ten years ago, or something. You’re getting cold, now sit.” When I don’t move to sit, he groans. “The doctor said…”
I roll my eyes and plop down in the chair. A giggle escapes me when Trent swivels the chair and rushes through the parking lot. I release a gleeful shriek and hold on.
“You just wanted to play with this chair! And here I thought you were being thoughtful.”
His voice is light and full of laughter, as he admits, “Can’t it be both?” He slows down as we go through the automatic doors. “Okay, so what all do we need for our tree?”
My heart swells. Our tree. “Well, we need ornaments, garland, lights, and a tree skirt.” Trent spins us back toward the doors. “Hey!” He laughs and spins us back around.
“Only for you, Rach,” he mumbles. “Here we go. Round two.”
I’m filled with so much excitement when we walk back into the house. It’s hard to believe this is a guest house with how large it is. There’s a knock at the door, and Trent goes to answer it. I’m surprised when I see my grandmother walking through the house.
“Grammy! How are you?” My protruding belly prevents me from being able to fully wrap my arms around
her. She smiles and pats my shoulder when I step back. I notice the large bag in her hand, and she holds it out to me.
“A little bird told me that you have your own tree this year. I figured I’d bring you a couple of ornaments to help you get started with decorations.”
I cut my eyes to Trent, and he winks. I wonder what all that little bird told her. I pull the boxes from the bag and tears form. It’s all my favorite ornaments. I throw my arms around her frail frame and whisper thank you.
“Will you help me?”
“I’d love nothing more.” She pats my cheek.
She doesn’t stay long, and as soon as she exits the front door, I hop right back into decorating mode. Trent makes me take multiple breaks and refuses to let me reach near the top half of the tree. This time, when we finish, we step back with our arms wrapped around each other, admiring our handy work. It’s simply beautiful, just like the man standing next to me.
“Let’s name our baby, Gabriel.”
“Why?”
I stare at the angel ornament and gently touch the figure. “He told Mary she was pregnant with Jesus.”
“I like the name.”
I giggle and hold my belly. “I think he likes it, too.”
“Because it’s a great name. Gabriel Lance Randall.” He gently places his palm over my belly, and we smile at each other when we feel our little Gabriel kick. “Trees finished, so you wanna watch a movie?”
“Nope.”
He gives me a wicked grin. “How do you want to spend the rest of the night?”
“Let’s…” I place my hand on his chest and look up into his gorgeous blue eyes, “start on the nursery.”
“Not where my mind was going.”
“It’s not?”
We both laugh and begin moving Gabriel’s stuff to his room.
I feel a huge relief when we finish the nursery. It wasn’t easy to find a lot of dragonfly themed items, but between everyone, we managed. Alice painted a mural with dragonflies flying on the wall and a beautiful sky and cloud ceiling.
Alice, Denise and I spent a week decorating and putting away baby items. Trent wanted to help, but… I finally had to chase him away. Alice came to the rescue, sending Noah after him. Trent really hit it off with Noah’s friends, Keaton and Jeff, who are both enrolled in the community college. My goal was to have the nursery completed before Christmas and, preferably, before Gabriel arrived. Mission accomplished.
I walk into the Randall’s house and smile. Their house has always been a little over the top. This year is no exception, but it’s different. The loss of Landon has still left a void in all of us—one that we’ll never be able to fill. But, we won’t let that void consume us because we’ll always remember Landon and keep him in our hearts. I can still hear his laughter in the house. His photos are everywhere, and I can’t help the smile that spreads across my face when I see his smile. And those mischievous eyes. Landon’s absence can definitely be felt, but there’s also this excitement in the air about the Randall family growing. There are two new stockings hanging from the fireplace. Rachel. Gabriel.
“There you are.” I find Trent in the kitchen. I walk up to him and wrap my arms around him. “The nursery is finished.”
“Finally. I thought we’d have that knocked out in a day. I can’t believe it took a week.” He leans forward and gently kisses my lips. He quickly pulls away to place a kiss on my belly. He whispers against my stomach, “I love you. We’re ready for you.”
I place my hands on the side of my stomach. “Are we?”
Trent rises, places his hands over mine and stares into my eyes when he says, “We are. I’ll be right here by your side. We’ve got this.”
“Oh! You feel that? He’s excited, too.” I flinch. Trent immediately goes into concern mode. “It was just a hard kick. He’s getting bigger and stronger.” I speak to my belly in a softer voice. “Running out of room in there, big guy? I’m not that comfortable either.” I feel the baby turn, causing a sharp pain. He finally settles, and immediately, my body is at ease.
When Trent is finally convinced that I’m alright, we go back home. I snuggle next to him on the couch while he watches television. I must’ve drifted off to sleep because I’m jolted awake by a sharp pain. I feel as though my lower back is breaking. The pain stops, but only to start again. I roll off the couch, hoping to alleviate the pain by standing. I can’t sit still, but even moving hurts.
“Trent. Trent. Trent!” I pant and hold my back. “Something’s wrong.” I cry out in agony. What’s happening? What’s wrong with my baby? Is he moving? I can’t tell! I can’t tell his movements from the sharp pain that keeps consuming me.
Trent groans and slowly opens his eyes. He has five seconds to get his ass awake or I’m going to kill him in his sleep. “Wh-what? Rachel? Everything okay?” He blinks a couple of times and then rubs his eyes.
I growl. “Get. Up.”
He jumps up when he registers the fact that I’m standing in our living room, clutching my stomach, and clearly in distress. “Rachel! Is it time?”
“I don’t know! I’m hurting! I don’t know if the baby is okay!”
He moves my hair out of my face. “It’s okay, Baby. It’s okay. Let’s go to the hospital, okay? Come on.” Another pain shoots through me, and I about drop to the floor. Trent holds me through it. When it subsides, he helps me to the car, carrying the overnight bag I already packed.
On the way to the hospital, I keep shifting in my seat, trying to find a position that helps with the pain. Trent uses the hands-free device in his SUV to call everyone and let them know we’re on our way to the hospital. He parks by the Emergency Room and rushes to my side to help me out of the car.
Trent speaks to everyone because I can’t focus on anything other than the pain and worry for my baby. My precious dragonfly. This can’t be normal. Something is wrong! I vaguely register people around me. I can’t sit still, though. It hurts. It hurts to stay still. It hurts to move.
As they wheel me quickly down the bright, white hallway, I hiss through clenched teeth, “Please. Please. My baby.” I groan and pant. They take me into a room and help me sit on a bed.
I hear someone ask me to remove my clothing and put on a gown. Vaguely, I register the sound of machines beeping and feet shuffling around. Strong hands begin to help me undress. I don’t even care that people are seeing me naked. Just help my baby and make the pain stop! Trent slides the hospital gown on me. He keeps asking me questions, but I don’t want to talk. Everything is irritating me because I just need the pain to stop. I’m not capable of speaking right now. A door opens, and I hear the shuffle of feet. Someone eases me back on the bed and spreads my legs. I feel an intrusion, and then in a calm, soothing voice, I hear, “You’re at a six.”
I shake my head while panting. “Six? No, my pain level is a ten. Definitely a ten.” I stare at the woman who’s removing the latex glove from her hand. No…wait. Of course, I know about dilating! I’m already at a six!
She answers in a slow, even tone. “You’re having a baby. Congratulations.” With that, another sharp pain racks my body. Trent stands wide-eyed and keeps mumbling incoherent words.
“I need—I need something. I need something for the pa-ain.” A week ago, I would’ve said no medicines. Hell, five hours ago, I would’ve said no. But that was then and this is now. And now, I’m begging for it. When your body feels as though it’s being ripped apart, the risk of being paralyzed, from the waist down, doesn’t sound so bad. It doesn’t even register. At least I’d be alive, right? Right now, I’m questioning whether or not I’m going to survive. They hook an IV to me and tell me they’ll get the order put in for the epidural. Minutes tick by; nurses come in and out of the room for this or that. The pain is coming more frequently and fiercely. My body is shaking, and there’s no way this is normal. I raise up in bed, lean over, and vomit. “Ohmygosh. I’m so sorry,” I cry. Tears run down my face as I accept the towel Trent hands me.
“It’s
okay, Rachel. I just wish I could help you.”
“Tell the nurse I’ll clean that up. I feel horrible. I can’t believe I just did that but—” Before I can finish that sentence, another contraction hits.
Finally, a nurse enters and is accompanied by my savior who has the epidural. They help me sit up and instruct me to remain very still. I whimper that I’m not sure if I can, since every contraction causes my body to jerk. One of the nurses comes to stand directly in front of me. “It’s going to be okay. You can hold on to me to help with the contractions. Hold, squeeze, hug, scream, whatever you need to do, but remain still. Keep your back straight and still. Let’s wait for this contraction to pass, and we’ll try to inject you in between them. Now, hold on.”
She places my hands onto her forearms. I’m a little nervous, at first, but then the pain hits. I squeeze her arms and cry out. She doesn’t even flinch, just tells me it’s okay, and I’m doing wonderful. Once I relax, they tell me they’re going to place the needle in my back. I feel a light prick and then bandages being placed. They help position me back on the bed and tell me I did great.
“How are you feeling?”
I sigh and smile at Trent. “Heavenly. That’s the greatest thing ever invented. It’s like the storm has settled, the clouds have parted, and now angels are singing.”
The entire lower half of my body is numb, but I still have enough sensation to feel Gabriel. A few minutes later, the nurse returns and reads my monitor. “Whoa, you just had a big contraction. How are you feeling?”
I stare at her wide-eyed. “Really? I didn’t feel anything. Well, I felt a little nudging, but no pain. I’m so sorry about vomiting. Please thank whoever came in here and cleaned my mess.”
“We’ve had worse than that. Now, let me check you again.”
She tells me I’m dilated to a nine, so it shouldn’t be too much longer. She leaves to notify the doctor. No sooner than the nurse walks out the door, I begin to feel pressure, and it increases, rapidly. I begin to panic. Then I feel wetness. They’d put a catheter in me, so I know I didn’t pee myself.