by Smith, C. P.
“I get along fine with her; she just doesn’t know how we do things, and I didn’t want her to make more work for you, that’s all.” I lifted an eyebrow at her.
“Mom, it’s just towels, she can fold them any way she wants to.”
“They take up too much space the way she folds them,” Mom explained. I looked at her then back at my mother-in-law, who was sitting on the couch looking pissed off at being told, “You’re not folding them right, Susie,” and threw up my hands. I was too exhausted carrying around all this weight; my feet were swollen, my back hurt all day and I was just plain tired of being pregnant, but it was Halloween, and I wanted to sit on the couch and watch the kids come to the door and get their candy. So out I came from my bedroom to find Susie and Mom sniping at each other over how to fold a towel.
And don’t get me started on mealtime… I hide in my room when it’s time to decide what’s for dinner and who’s cooking it. Thank God, there are two babies. Wars have started over who held baby next and for how long.
I sat down grabbed the bowl of candy and started digging through it. There better be my favorite candy in here, or there’d be THREE angry ladies in this house. The doorbell rang, and I heard a little girl’s sweet voice saying trick or treat. Whoops, I had the candy. I pushed off the couch and waddled my way to the door. When I arrived, I found a cute, blonde, blue-eyed girl with an angelic face. I leaned over and said, “You’re so pretty, are you a princess or a fairy?” Angelic child leaned in and said, “I’m a princess, are you dressed up like pregnant woman or are you pregnant?” Smiling, and thinking how a year earlier Jack had asked me to be a pregnant woman for Halloween and here I was, just that, I leaned in and said, “Pregnant with twins, you want to feel? They’re kicking.” Her eye’s got big, and then I took her hand and put it to my stomach where baby A was kicking. Her angelic face grew in awe, and she smiled. “Cool huh?” “Way cool,” she replied. I handed out her candy and waved goodbye as she made her way back to her mother. Turning to the couch, I’d taken two steps when a sharp pain hit my lower stomach and I felt liquid rush down my leg. I shouted out in pain and bent over as my mother and Susie rushed to me.
“My water just broke.”
“Sweet baby Jesus in a manger,” my mother replied.
“I’ll call Jack,” Susie shouted and then headed for her phone. I breathed through the contraction, still bent over, and when it finished; I stood up and walked down the hall with my mother holding onto me.
Once in the bedroom, I headed to the bathroom and stripped out of my maternity clothes and got in the shower. I’d had three more contractions while cleaning up, and the hot water helped relieve the pain. I was just getting out of the shower when Jack burst through the door looking anxious, so I smiled at him.
“Can you believe it? They’re coming on the night you asked me to marry you.”
“Jesus what are you doing in the shower.” Jack growled.
“My water broke, Jack, I wanted to get cleaned up.”
“Fuck,” was his reply, as he grabbed my hand and helped me to the bedroom. Mom was standing ready to dry me off and help with clothes, and Susie was getting my bag together.
“I’m giving you five minutes to get dressed then I’m carrying you outside and to the truck.”
“Whatever,” I mutter feeling more pressure than before. As I got my bra and panties on, another contraction hit me, and I reached for Jack. He grabbed my hand and whispered in my ear, “Breathe sweetness, I got you.”
“Jack, we need to go, I feel like I need to push.”
“Is that bad?” he asked as his face paled.
“It’s not bad if you’re in a birthing room with a doctor, at home with no one to help deliver, it’s not good.” I’d no sooner got that out when another contraction hit.
“Oh dear, the contractions are right on top of each other; we need to hurry,” Susie implored.
“Too late,” I snapped and sat down on the bed.
“I’ll carry you, let’s go. Get her bag Mom we’re leaving now.”
“Oh god, too late, Jack, I have to push, Mom call 911.”
“I’ll get you there, Baby, just hold on.” Jack bossed.
“Jack, honey, you’re not getting your way on this one, help me lie down.” Jack just stood there staring at me, working this problem out in his head.
“Jack I swear to god I’ll find your gun and shoot you if you don’t move and help me,” I hissed and then another contraction hit, and I screamed, “I hate you, I can’t believe you talked me into doing this again.” Deep breath in, let it out slow, “No, don’t touch me,” deep breath in, let it out, fuck this, panting now. “Now’s…oh fuck, now’s not the time to be touching me if you want to keep your balls intact.”
“Goddammit, Jenn,” Jack growled, then picked me up and laid me on the bed. I’d only got my bra and panties on, so Jack pulled them off and then covered me with a blanket.
“Everything’s always a goddamn drama with you,” he shouted.
“What?” I hissed.
“We met during a murder, drama. You get attacked, drama. You get kidnapped, drama. You get assaulted by the Mayor, drama. Can we just bring our babies into this world without drama?” He shouted louder.
“Are you seriously shouting at me while I’m in labor having your babies, because they decided to come quickly?”
“Yeah, no, yeah, goddammit, where’s the fucking ambulance?” He roared at the room and no one particular. I started laughing, and he looked at me like I’d lost my mind.
“Jack, baby, you need to breathe.”
“I’ll fuckin’ breathe, when the fuckin’ ambulance is here, taking my wife to the fuckin’ hospital to have my babies where she fuckin’ belongs and not a fuckin’ minute sooner... Fuck me why’s the room spinning?”
“Jack sit down, you’re breathing too fast and making yourself dizzy.” Jack looked at me then looked at the bed and then sat down, and put his head between his legs. I grabbed his hand and squeezed when another contraction hit me. The pressure to bear down was so great; I did, because not doing so went against nature. Panting, and “hee hee who’ing,” I cried out as Jack held my hand saying, “Just hold on, please Jenn, don’t push, the ambulance is coming.”
“Jack you gotta look and see if I’m crowning.” Jack looked at me, then looked at my belly, then looked back at me, and then something shifted. He went from scared husband to Sheriff and trained medical tech. I didn’t know if he’d ever delivered a baby before, but he was gonna find out quickly if he was up for the job.
“Mom, go open the door and wait for the ambulance, Valerie, get me the clips we use on the potato chips and a pair of scissors, towels, baby blanket and the nose sucker in the baby bag.” Then he turned to me and said, “Don’t you fuckin’ push unless I say so, you hear me? If you’re not dilated enough, you’ll rip your cervix.” I nodded at my take-charge husband and felt calmer already. Experienced or not, he seemed to have it under control.
Jack lifted the blanket and looked between my legs, I heard him say, “Shit,” and then,”
Don’t fuckin’ cough, sneeze, or breathe.” Then he bellowed, “I need that fuckin’ stuff right fuckin’ now.”
A contraction hit me, and I screamed, “Jack, I gotta push.” If I wasn’t clear on this already, not pushing was like telling your body not to breathe, it was a reflex, my body pushed, and I kept breathing trying to stop, but it wasn’t working, I screamed out in pain and frustration as Mom ran in the room and handed the stuff to Jack.
Jack lifted the blanket, and I screamed again, “I can’t Jack, I can’t hold off, oh, god.”
“Push, Baby, I got you, I got you, push.”
Mom grabbed my hand and helped me lean forward; she counted to ten while I pushed, then I took a deep breath and pushed till ten again. Jack shouted, “Stop pushing,” and then grabbed the nose sucker, and I heard him suction. I felt like I was splitting in two when he finally got up in the middle of the bed and with both han
ds grabbed the baby’s head and said, “Give me one long hard push Baby.”
I drew in a breath and pushed right through the pain, then pushed to bring my baby into this world and finally lay eyes on one of them.
Jack grunted, and I could feel him pulling on the head then turn the shoulders, and with a gush, I felt the baby swim out. I waited while Jack did whatever he was doing chanting, “Is it ok, is it ok?” I saw Jack clamp the umbilical cord with the potato chip clips and then heard the scissors snipping.
“Jack why isn’t it crying?” I’d no sooner asked that when I heard a smack and wail and then Jack finally looked up.
“Meet Keller, Baby, you gave me a son,” he choked out as tears ran down his face.
Mom was standing next to Jack smiling, as he handed her Keller, and she wrapped him in a blanket, then handed him to me.
Instant love so strong it overwhelms your heart hit me, and when I looked into those baby blues, I prayed they’d be like his father’s. Dark brown hair, tons of it for a newborn, and big, bigger than I thought for a twin, had to be six and half, maybe seven pounds. Tears ran down my face as I kissed his little head and breathed him in for the first time.
Susie rushed in screaming, “The ambulance is here,” then raced over to look at little Keller. I felt another contraction and cried out, “Take the baby,” as baby B decided it was time to make an entrance. Jack was scowling and ordered, “Jenn, the baby’s turned, don’t push.” I breathed through the contraction, trying to stop pushing, as an EMT rushed in the room. Jack briefed him on my condition and then moved aside and took my hand.
“Mrs. Gunnison, don’t push, the baby is breach, and we need to get you to the hospital.” Nodding my understanding, he stood and started an I.V. Another tech brought in a stretcher and transferred me onto it, then took me out to the waiting ambulance. Jack crawled in the back holding Keller, then my hand, as we rushed down the road to the hospital.
I had three more contractions on the way, breathing and cussing at Jack, who grinned while looking worried at the same time. We made it to the hospital in record time, where I was unloaded, taken to the ER and informed that since the baby was breach, they needed to perform a C-section immediately.
Rushed from the room with Jack at my side, and Keller handed off to the nursing staff, who placed bracelets on both Jack and my wrists for identification and security, we had to part company to get me ready for surgery and for Jack to change into scrubs.
“I love you, Jenn, I’ll be in there shortly.” Jack whispered to me.
“I love you too, Jack,” I whispered back, exhaustion finally hitting me. Another contraction came, and I whimpered. “Time to go, Mrs. Gunnison. Sheriff you can step in here to change, and we’ll be back in a moment to get you.” Jack leaned in and kissed my forehead, holding for a moment before moving back. He grabbed my hand and held it till he had to let go, as they wheeled me through the birthing room doors.
Two hours later…
“Doctor thinks they’re identical,” Jack told Bailey over the phone, grinning like the new Dad he was. I could hear Bailey laughing over the phone, and I smiled down at the two little boys in my arms. There was no doubt in my mind they were identical, and there was no doubt in my mind they looked just like Jack. God help me; I’ll have a long road ahead of me if they’re just as stubborn and bossy as their father.
“Ok, Bailey, love you Princess, see you soon.” Jack started calling Bailey, Princess; after he found out I was pregnant. I don’t know if knowing he was going to be a father kicked in his paternal nature, but as far as Jack was concerned, Bailey was his and I loved him even more for it.
Jack moved from the chair and came to the bed. He looked at his sons, Keller and Kaiden, then leaned down and kissed both their sleeping heads.
“I can’t believe you gave me two sons,” he said with a hard edge to his voice.
“Are you disappointed one wasn’t a daughter?”
“Hell no, I got a daughter already, now she has two brothers to kick Grady’s ass if he gets out of line,” he announced with conviction. Hearing that and confirming what I already knew in my heart, made tears well in my eyes.
“Thank you, Jack.”
“For what?”
“For loving me, for giving me a family again and mostly for loving Bailey like your own.” Jack studied my face, his own warm and his eyes bright; then he leaned over and kissed my forehead, my nose, and my lips.
“Thank you for giving me what I thought I’d never have.”
“A family?”
“A reason to breathe.”
The End
Thank you so much for reading, “A Reason To Breathe.”
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