“I watched from the doorway, and I thought you both were amazing.”
“I didn’t do anything, it was all Samantha Marie.”
“I saw you holding Mia’s hand. I saw you talking calmly to her, telling her everything was going to be okay. And I also saw the fear leave Mia’s eyes as you were talking to her.”
“I have another confession.”
I take a deep breath. “I’m still listening.”
“I didn’t know if it was going to be okay. I had no clue. But I knew I couldn’t let her see my fears.”
“You kept her calm. You hid your fears from Mia and you offered her love and support when she needed it the most.” I outline her lips with my thumb. “You did do something and I’m very proud of you. It’s not easy staying calm in a situation like that, but you did.”
“Thank you.”
I lean in and kiss her. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
Mia
Everyone leaves, and Levi and I stay up admirin’ our son. Levi takes pictures and talks about how perfect our son is. I have to agree. Now that the visitors have all left, Levi and I have some alone time.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you today. I was on the road and must not have had any service.”
My husband feels guilty for not bein’ there. “You came as soon as you could.”
He holds my hand in his.
“It wasn’t soon enough. I should have been there sooner.” He leans in and kisses my knuckles.
I would have liked for him to have been there sooner, but he wasn’t. There isn’t anything we can do about that.
“And what would you have done? Panicked?” I smile to hide my laugh. My husband gets sick at the sight of his own blood, and I know he wouldn’t have been able to handle it, even if he had been there.
“No, I would have…” He thinks for a minute and turns pale white. “How much blood was there?”
“You were there, didn’t you see it?”
“No, I was so focused on you and our baby, I didn’t see any blood.”
I don’t want my husband to carry any guilt about not being there. He was there for our son’s birth; he just wasn’t there for the labor, which lasted only about thirty minutes.
“You were there for the most important part of the day, and that’s all I care about.”
Levi sits in the chair beside my hospital bed, and holds the baby securely in his arms. I didn’t notice it at first, but the more I watch my son, I can see some characteristics of Down syndrome in his facial features. I don’t mention it, I’ll keep it to myself. I said our son was perfect and I meant it.
I’m so relieved that he doesn’t have any of the other problems that we read about. He’s healthy, that’s all I care about. Even the doctor commented on how healthy he is. I feel that God has answered our prayers about if our son has Down syndrome, then please let him have its mild form. I can honestly picture our life normal, perfect, even with the syndrome. He is our blessing, our miracle.
When I was pregnant, I told myself that I’m not gonna let my son be defined by the syndrome. I tried to talk to Levi, but he was so focused on the negative aspects of it. He wouldn’t listen to anything I had to say. I’m not gonna let the syndrome claim my son. My son will live with Down syndrome, he won’t be the victim of it. I hope that Levi can deal with it and get past its stigma.
Levi looks adoringly at our son and says, “He has Down syndrome, doesn’t he?”
I didn’t think he had noticed. I run my fingers lightly over my son’s fuzzy black hair. “I think he does, yes.”
“I was hoping it was all a mistake. That maybe your labs got mixed up with someone else’s, but I love him.” He kisses him again. “I don’t want people to treat him differently because of it.”
My eyes burn as tears threaten to fall.
“They won’t.”
He looks up at me and says, “How do you know?”
“Because we won’t. We’ll raise him as if we would raise any child. We won’t treat him differently or use the syndrome as an excuse. We’ll push him to be the very best he can be.” I wipe away the tears. “There’ll be obstacles and we’ll get through them, he’ll get through them. People will see his potential and he’ll strive. We’ll surround him with people who love him and who will push him to do his best.”
“You’ve been sayin’ that all along, haven’t you?”
“I have, yes.”
“You’re brilliant.”
“I know.”
He sits on the edge of the bed and kisses me. “Thank you.”
The nurse comes in and helps me to breastfeed our son. He latches on quickly, and watches me.
Levi watches him. “He’s so alert. It’s like he knows we’re his parents.”
Chapter Ten (Country Life)
Savannah Mae
Abel Lee goes to work and I quickly shower and get ready to go to the hospital. I previously bought Mia a special gift for the baby. I didn’t want to give it to her for her baby shower. It’s special and I wanted the moment when I gave it to her to be just as special.
I needed Nelly’s help and she was more than willin’ to assist me. I didn’t even share this with Abel Lee. He’ll see it when they show it to him.
I stop by and get Sawyer Jackson on the way to the hospital. I’ve missed him and I want him to see the new baby. I stop by the store and add some finishing touches to the gift before I give it to her.
We walk into the hospital room and Nelly and Bud are already there. Nelly is holdin’ the baby and Bud is watchin’ over her shoulder. Mia is in bed and Levi is sittin’ beside her. The room has planters, flowers, balloons, and cards everywhere. Family and friends are already congratulatin’ them on their perfect baby.
“I hope it’s okay that we’re here.”
“Don’t be silly, family’s always welcomed.”
I’m not really family, but they treat me and Sawyer Jackson like we are.
“How’s he doin’?” I walk over to Nelly and peek over her to see the baby.
“He’s doin’ great.”
“You wanna see the baby, Sawyer Jackson?” Bud asks.
As Sawyer Jackson sits near Nelly and Bud, I walk over and kiss and hug Mia and Levi. “How’s the new parents doin’?”
“Great.”
Nelly laughs and we all look over to see what’s so funny. The baby stretches his arms over his head with his back arched.
Nelly pretends to be her grandson and says in a baby voice, “It’s exhaustin’ bein’ this beautiful.”
We all laugh. Sawyer Jackson watches the baby.
“Mommy, why’s the baby look so funny?” Sawyer Jackson asks.
My heart stops, the laughter quiets, and the room stills. I think he’s talkin’ about the Down syndrome features. I didn’t talk to him about it before we came. Maybe I should have. I want to die from embarrassment. I want to take him and run out of the room.
“What do you mean, Sawyer Jackson?” I don’t walk over to him. I can’t move. I stand frozen.
“He has little, teeny, tiny hands.” He shows me with his small hands just how small the baby’s hands are.
“He’s a baby, Sawyer Jackson. He’s supposed to have little, teeny, tiny hands,” Nelly says, laughing.
“I never saw hands that little before. How can he play with my toys?” He thinks for a moment. “He can’t pick nothin’ up.”
The entire room laughs. “Not yet, Sawyer Jackson. When he gets bigger, he’ll be able to play with you.” Bud tries to explain about babies to Sawyer Jackson.
I turn my attention back to Mia and Levi. “I brought you something.” I hand Mia the gift bag.
“Savannah Mae, you didn’t have to do that. After what you and your sister did yesterday…”
“I didn’t do anything,” I interrupt. My sister did it all. “Go ahead and open it.” I nod toward the bag Mia is holdin’.
She carefully removes the gift from the gift bag. Levi t
akes the gift bag from Mia, and she admires the gift.
“Savannah Mae, this is just beautiful.”
Levi sets the gift bag on the floor and watches as Mia opens the photo album that I got her. I filled the first few pages with baby pictures of Levi and Mia. Then I progressed the pictures to them as toddlers, as preteens, followed by couples pictures of Mia and Levi in high school. I included photos of his military days, their weddin’ day, and their pregnancy.
Mia’s parents were killed years ago, but Nelly had a box of mementos of Mia. She was supposed to give them to Mia, but never got around to it. The last few pages are left blank so Mia and Levi can add photos of their baby and them as a family.
“Savannah Mae, this is just beautiful,” she says again.
“Do you like it?”
“We love it.”
Levi stands to get a better look at it. “I haven’t seen these pictures in years. Where did you get them?”
“Nelly gave them to me. I hope it’s okay that I put them in here for you. I thought it would be a good start to your first family photo album.”
Mia reaches up to hug me before she winces in pain.
“Careful, Mia.” Levi watches her with concern.
“I just wanted to hug her.”
“I’ll come to you.” I bend down and she hugs me tightly. “Thank you for doin’ that. This is the best gift ever.”
Levi hugs me next. “Honestly, Savannah Mae. This is so awesome. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
The doctor comes in, wantin’ to speak to Mia and Levi alone.
“They can stay, we’re all family,” Levi says.
I’m not family. I’m dating Abel Lee, but that doesn’t make me family.
“They all know what’s goin’ on.”
Crap, this is about the lab work. I slowly walk over to where Sawyer Jackson is sittin’. Nelly and Bud stand to walk over to where Mia and Levi are. Nelly hands the baby to Mia.
“This is about the blood work from yesterday, right?” Levi asks.
“It is. I’m sorry, but the blood work came back revealing the your son has the extra 21st chromosome.”
I sit down beside Sawyer Jackson. I knew it was a possibility that the baby could have it. Wait, that’s a lie. I knew it was more than likely that he did have it. But suspectin’ it doesn’t make hearin’ the words that confirm it any easier to hear. I expect everyone in the room to start cryin’, but they don’t.
“How severe is it?” Levi asks.
“We’ll need to do more tests on him. Just from watching him and monitoring him, I think he has a mild form of it. Newborns who have the moderate form have difficulty eating, swallowing, and sometimes, even breathing.”
“He doesn’t suffer from any of those things.” Levi speaks clearly. Not in the shaky voice I was expectin’.
“We’ll run some more tests, and I’ll give you the results as soon as I get them.”
“Thank you.”
“In the meantime, there’s a book you can read…”
Mia interrupts. “We read them… all of them.”
“I figured. I can tell you’ve done your research. You know that kids with Down syndrome can grow up and live very productive lives.”
“We know.”
“Research has done wonders. There’s no cure, but there is help out there for you, and for him.”
“Thank you.”
I let the words sink in. They can have difficulty swallowin’. My sister asked for a turkey baster yesterday when Mia was in labor. She knew. My sister was prepared for that.
“Mommy, is everything okay with that baby?” Sawyer Jackson looks concerned.
I watch as the doctor leaves. “He’s fine.” It’s not a lie, he is fine. “Stay right here, I’m gonna talk to the adults for one minute.”
“Okay.”
I walk up to the bed where Mia is sayin’, “This changes nothin’. The doctor just confirmed what we already knew. We’ll continue to love him and treat him just as we would any other child.”
“Does that baby got a name?” Sawyer Jackson asks from across the room.
Everyone looks at each other. Mia and Levi didn’t know if they were havin’ a son or a daughter until yesterday.
Levi says, “No, Buddy, he doesn’t.”
“He gotta have a name.”
Levi laughs and walks over to Sawyer Jackson. He picks him up and carries him over to the bed. The door opens and I expect to see a nurse when Abel Lee walks in. I immediately smile.
“What’s everyone doing? It looks like a party.”
“That baby don’t got no name,” Sawyer Jackson says.
Abel Lee walks over and kisses Mia and then the baby, before he takes Sawyer Jackson from Levi. “That is indeed a problem.” He kisses his Momma before he carries Sawyer Jackson over and kisses me. “What are we going to do about that?”
“He needs a name,” Sawyer Jackson clarifies.
Pops looks around the room. “That he does. Do you guys have a name picked out for junior?”
“No, we haven’t even thought about names. Some parents we are.” Mia laughs. “We need a book with baby names.”
I speak up. “I have a name picked out; well, I actually have two names picked out. I can give you one of my names if you want.”
Mia places her hand over her heart. “You would do that for us?”
Mia knows this is important to me. When I had Sawyer Jackson, I wouldn’t tell anyone his name until he was born. I didn’t want someone to steal it and name their son it. “Just for you guys I would.”
“Wait a minute,” Levi says. “It isn’t Tom, Dick, or Harry, is it?”
I laugh. “No, it’s Harley James.” I think for a minute and say, “You might want to change the middle name to whatever Levi’s middle name is. I liked Harley James because it went so well with Sawyer Jackson.”
“What’s the other name you have picked out? Maybe we’ll want to use that one,” Levi says.
“Oh no you don’t. I’m savin’ the other one. Who knows, I may need it one day.”
Mia says with her hand still over her heart. “Savannah Mae, you’ll give us your baby name?”
You ought to be married to have a baby and I’m not. I don’t think I’ll be needin’ a name any time too soon. I can feel Abel Lee watchin’ me.
“Yes, I love you. If you like it, you can have it.”
Mia looks at Levi. “What do you think of the name Harley?”
He looks down at the dark-haired baby. He thinks for a minute as if he’s sayin’ it over and over in his head. “I like it. It’s country, it’s strong, and it goes well with Kennedy.”
“Grandma, Poppy, and Uncle Abel, what do you guys think?”
“I think he looks like a Harley,” Nelly says.
“Harley’s a mighty fine name,” Bud adds.
Mia looks up at Abel Lee. “Uncle Abel?”
“I think it’s your son and whatever you want to name him, you can. I do think Harley Lee is a mighty sexy name.”
Everyone laughs and the baby stirs. “You want to name a baby after you, you’ll have to have your own,” Mia jokes. “We could give him your middle name, Levi.”
“Harley Alan Kennedy. I like it.” He picks up the baby and repeats the name. The baby smiles randomly and it’s decided that will be the baby’s name.
Abel Lee
It’s been three months since Harley came into our lives. He’s perfect. He does have a mild form of Down syndrome, but Mia and Levi don’t view it as a handicap or a disability. They joined a support group and have done extensive online research. They instructed everyone to not treat him any differently than we would any other baby. We don’t. Not because they told us to, but because he’s no different than anyone else.
Momma recently read an article about a young woman with Down syndrome who graduated from a local college. It was impressive and exciting to read and shows that people with Down syndrome can face and overcome challenges; for
example, the young woman had to take a math class four times before she passed it. Momma framed the article and it now hangs in Harley’s bedroom. It adds hope and inspiration everytime we see it.
Some people with Down syndrome have sung in bands. For example, a man with Down syndrome sang in a band named after him: Bill. He wrote many of the lyrics. If Harley really does have a mild form of the syndrome, I can imagine him working his way through college as lead singer of Harley and the Heartbreakers.
He’s amazing. He coos, and smiles, and watches us intently when we talk to him. Harley even tries to mimic us with his lips, by forming the most perfect ‘o’ with his tiny mouth.
When Savannah Mae offered to give up her baby name in the hospital, I honestly didn’t get it. Mia informed me later what the big deal was. I guess some women spend years trying to find the perfect baby names and Savannah Mae was one of those women. I often wonder if she did give up a baby name because she didn’t expect to have any more children.
Mia is working only a couple days a week at Peaches Place. She and Savannah Mae started couponing to save money. Levi and I even had to sit and watch a few episodes of Extreme Couponing. It was hard to believe and too good to be true. After the third episode, Levi and I took the baby into another room. If we didn’t want to watch it, we didn’t think Harley would either.
Levi and Mia have adjusted well into the parenting role. They let Sawyer Jackson play with Harley, and they let Savannah Mae and I kiss on him as much as we want. Samantha Marie also has a special bond with him.
Samantha Marie passed her state boards, got a job with Community Ambulance, and started dating Mark Bowen. He was one of the guys who assisted in the birth of my nephew. I like him just for that reason. Hard to dislike someone when they helped bring a miracle into this world. I also think he’s good for Samantha Marie.
The workshop is almost done, as is the playground. Add a few park benches, a stone walkway, and some landscaping, and we’ll have a park-like setting. The old school was turned into the store to sell the handmade craft items. Rick, Johnny, Kevin, and Ethan have been bringing their already made items in to sell. The larger and more expensive items we’ll offer on-line or through a mail-order catalog.
Momma, Mia, and Savannah Mae went in and rearranged everything to make it more presentable. I guess you can’t just put things in a room and they’ll sell. The room has to have aesthetic appeal. They brought in lamps, lace tablecloths, rugs, curtains, and doilies, and I have no idea what else. I tried to go in and look, but they banned me from stepping foot into my own building. I’m not sure how that worked, but it did. I’ll have to wait until the grand opening and the building dedication, just like everyone else, to see it.
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