by Brandy Ayers
My head spins as I come back to my senses. The blood slowly starts to make its way back to my brain after pooling in my groin. I feel drugged and can only bring myself to open my eyes half way. But it is enough to see my wife sweaty and panting beneath me, a big goofy grin on her face.
“Again.” I growl the word out as I pump in and out of her again. We’ve got a long night ahead of us, and I swear my baby will be taking root inside her before the sun comes up.
Epilogue Three
Twenty-Five Years Later
Sierra
“Okay, I need you to take three big breathes, and then push with everything you have.” I keep my voice firm, letting Dinara know that I mean business.
The slight panic in her eyes just about kills me. She thought giving birth would be a piece of cake since she’s helped me with so many births since becoming a registered midwife herself. But she’s learning right now that no matter how many times you see it happen, experiencing childbirth is an entirely different thing.
But my daughter is nothing if not stubborn. Just like her dad. I glance up to my husband, pacing by the doorway with an anxious look on his face. The poor man hated seeing me in pain when I brought every single one of our four girls into this world. Seeing his oldest baby go through that same pain has to be hell for him.
“Okay Di, here we go. Push!” I massage her cervix and perineum with coconut oil in the hope it will prevent any tearing and ease the way for her baby. “You are so close sweetie. You are doing just amazing.”
She lets out a guttural scream as it all overwhelms her. “I can’t do it, Mom. Oh God, it hurts so much.”
“I love you so much baby, I’m so sorry I did this to you.” Chase, Di’s devoted husband kisses her sweaty forehead and rubs her back. I know he is having a hard time seeing her in this much pain, too.
“Okay, time to push again, my baby. I think this is going to be it.” I count to three, and she bears down, squeezing her legs and pulling them back to help open herself up. The poor girl is exhausted. It has been almost twenty-four hours since she started having real contractions. She had wanted to do a water birth, but once she got it, she said she hated it, and we switched to the bed and pacing around the small clinic I’ve run for the past fifteen years.
“The head is out. Reach down and touch your baby’s head.”
Sobs wrack her body as one shaky hand appears between her thighs, and she rubs the bald little head. The emotions are welling up inside me, but I hold them back. I need to stay focused on getting my first grandbaby safely into the world.
“Okay, you just have the shoulders now. One more push and we’re going to find out if it is a girl or a boy.”
With another sob, Di collapses back into her husband’s arms and tears fall down her face. “You said the last one was going to be the last push.”
“I know, honey, but I swear it isn’t much longer now. You can do this. You are one of the strongest women I know.”
With a nod, she gets back into her position, pulling her legs back, and gives the strongest push yet. My grandson falls from his mama’s body, landing safely in my arms. I’ve delivered hundreds of babies, but never have I felt this overwhelming love during any delivery but my own.
“It’s a boy!” The whole room erupts in cheers and tears. Her sister hands me a towel, and I place the baby on Di’s belly, cleaning him off and rubbing his chest to help get the mucus out. He wails loud and clear, and we all laugh once more. Dinara gathers her baby into her arms, laying him across her chest, already her natural instincts are kicking in. She’s going to be a magnificent parent.
I nod to the midwife behind me, letting her take over with delivering the placenta and finish up the after care. That was the agreement I made with my eldest daughter. She only wanted me all up in her lady business long enough to bring her baby into the world, then I would pass off the rest of it to my partner at the clinic.
Simon comes over as I remove my surgical gown and gloves. His warm body presses up against my side, and I lean into that comfort he’s given me since day one.
“Good job, Grandma.” His eyes twinkle down at me, filled with even more love now than the day we said our vows.
“Thanks, Grandpa.” Turning to our glowing daughter and her new little family, I ask the question I’ve been dying to know the answer to for the past nine months. “So, what’s his name?”
Dinara glances at her husband, and they both nod in agreement, tears shining in their eyes. “Tyler Simon Russo. After grandad and dad.”
I look up, and for the first time since the girls were born, see tears track down my husband’s face. “Thank you, Di. I’m honored.”
“Suck up.” The girls laugh as they all gather around their sister and new nephew, taking in his sweet face as he roots around for his mother’s breast.
“God, we are lucky.” I let the emotions wash over me now that my job is done for the day. The room is filled with the people I love the most, in the building where I’ve built upon my MeMaw’s legacy, and in the arms of the man I love. There have been ups and downs over the years, without a doubt. But all the hard work has paid off in the most beautiful life I can imagine.
The End
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Acknowledgements
I want to thank coffee. Without you I would never get through the day, let alone take care of two small children and find time to write. Seriously, you are the wind beneath my wings. As always, thank you too all my family, friends, and fellow writers. I wish I could write a more eloquent acknowledgements but my baby just woke up and I need to get her back to sleep.
Also By Brandy Ayers
Stand Alones:
The Arrangement
Piece by Piece: A Modern Retelling of Jack and the Beanstalk
Wanted: No Strings
Wanting My Brother’s Sister – Coming Soon!
WQUZ News Series:
Standby
Breaking – Coming Spring of 2018!
Blue Line Series:
Reckless Conduct
Possession
Intoxication
Disturbing the Peace
Surprisingly Safe:
Only Us
For You – Thanks for Reading!
About Brandy
Brandy Ayers is a writer of erotic romance. Or romantic erotica, depending on how you look at it. She has been telling stories in one form or another since she was a child and decided her English / Irish heritage was boring. Instead, for a 4th grade class genealogy assignment, she weaved a tale of mystery and intrigue about her great, great grandpa chief of the Navajo tribe. No one bought it. Brandy lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, son, daughter, neurotic boxer, and Satan worshipping cat.
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