by Nella Tyler
Just at that moment, one of the nurses we had spoken to turned the corner. “Mr. and Mrs. Morgan,” she said with a reassuring smile. “You’re very lucky; a private room just became available. I’ll wheel you over there.”
She took a hold of Lauren’s wheelchair and started pushing. I walked beside the nurse, trying to remember to stay calm. “Is Doctor Farrow here?” I asked.
“She’s making the rounds,” the nurse nodded. “She’ll be in to check on your wife in just a moment.”
“Great,” I nodded as she led us to a small, private room in the west wing of the hospital. It had large windows and a little cot already set up on the side of the room.
I helped Lauren into the bed and tried to make her feel as comfortable as possible. Moments later, the doctor walked in and I breathed a small sigh of relief.
“Hello there,” Doctor Farrow said enthusiastically. “How’s my favorite couple doing?”
“Nervous,” Lauren smiled as she gestured to me.
“Don’t you worry,” Doctor Farrow assured me as she checked on Lauren. “I’m going to make this as smooth and as easy as possible.”
“The contractions are coming quite close together, Doctor,” I said. “Does that mean we’re close?”
“Let me check Lauren’s cervix,” she replied as she slipped on some clean gloves and instructed Lauren to part her legs. “Hmm…you’re only about three centimeters dilated; we still have a way to go.”
“Isn’t that enough?” I asked.
“Not quite,” Doctor Farrow replied gently. “We’re going to have to be a little patient. I’ll be back to check on you in fifteen minutes.”
She left us to our private room and Lauren motioned for me to come closer to her. She gave me a half hug and placed a kiss on my check. “You really need to relax,” she said lightly. “This baby is going to be fine, just like with our first one.”
I nodded.
“Speaking of our first one, why don’t we check up on him?” Lauren suggested.
“Sure,” I nodded as I picked up my phone and dialed in my mother’s number.
She answered almost immediately. “Hello? Chase?”
“Hi, Mom,” I said. “We’re all checked in, we got a room at the hospital.”
“That’s great,” she replied. “How’s Lauren?”
“She’s doing well,” I said. “Better than I am, to be honest.”
“Nervous?”
“Very,” I sighed. “How’s the boy?”
“He’s been asking about the two of you every five minutes for the past hour,” Mom replied with a laugh. “He wants to know when we should leave for the hospital.”
“It’s going to be awhile, apparently,” I replied. “You guys stay put and relax. I’ll have Lauren’s Mom call you when Lauren goes into labor so that you can be here when the baby arrives.”
“Okay,” she agreed.
“Can you put Cole on?” I asked. “Lauren and I want to speak to him.”
“Sure,” Mom nodded as she transferred the call to Cole. I put my phone on speaker so that we could both hear.
“Mom?” Cole’s voice sounded as nervous as I felt. “Dad?”
“Hi, sweetheart,” Lauren spoke up immediately. “How are you? Are you having fun over at Grandma’s and Grandpa’s?”
“Grandpa let me help him with the car,” Cole replied.
I smiled. “That’s a real rite of passage, kid. Your Uncle Braden and I used to help him out with that car all the time when we were little.”
“Grandpa said he’d teach me to drive one day, too.”
Lauren laughed. “All in good time, my friend.”
“Mama, are you okay?” Cole’s little voice sounded more vulnerable when he was worried.
“Of course, baby,” Lauren assured him immediately. “I’m going to be just fine. You don’t have anything to worry about.”
“Grandma said that we couldn’t go to the hospital yet?”
“It’s too early,” I told him gently. “You’d have nothing to do but sit and wait. But we’ll let you know as soon as we can.”
“Don’t pick a name without me,” he said firmly, and Lauren and I exchanged a smile.
“We wouldn’t even think of it,” Lauren replied. “We’re going to wait for you.”
“Okay,” he said, sounding appeased.
“It’s late, honey,” Lauren said softly. “Why don’t you get to bed? Grandma will wake you when it’s time to meet your new baby sister.”
We said goodnight to Cole and then I held Lauren’s hand through the next wave of contractions. Every few minutes, a nurse came in and checked on her progress. It seemed we would have to wait a few more hours.
“Was it like this with Cole?” I asked.
“My labor wasn’t quite as long,” Lauren admitted. “But Doctor Farrow told me from the beginning that every pregnancy is different. This little one doesn’t seem to be in such a hurry to come out.”
“Well, I’m in a hurry to meet her,” I said feeling a spark of excitement at the thought of my daughter. “I can’t believe it’s finally time.”
“Me neither,” Lauren nodded. “I’m just thankful we got her room finished in time. I was so scared that the move would coincide with her birth and we wouldn’t have any place to put her.”
“It’s going to be a lot,” I nodded. “Adjusting to the new house and a new baby.”
“It’s going to be chaos,” she agreed. “But it’s the kind of chaos I thrive on.”
I leaned down and kissed her temple. “I don’t want you to worry about a thing okay? The gym will run itself. I don’t want you hurrying back to work because you feel you have to oversee things. I can do that for you.”
“How are you going to manage that between shifts at Camp Pendleton?” she asked with raised eyebrows.
“Easily,” I said. “I’ve arranged a flexible schedule out with Kelly and Grant for the three months that you’re going to be out on maternity leave. You won’t have to worry about a thing – just relax, recuperate, and trust in me.”
Lauren laughed. “You’ve been watching the Jungle Book with Cole again, haven’t you?”
“That movie is good,” I nodded.
Lauren closed her eyes as another contraction hit but this time she didn’t bounce back like she usually did. “Ow,” she moaned. “That one really hurt.”
“Let me get the doctor in here,” I told her as I pressed the button that would alert the nurses.
A moment later, Doctor Farrow walked in. “Hi, Lauren,” she said. “How are you doing?”
“The contractions are more painful,” she replied.
“Hmm,” Doctor Farrow said as she examined Lauren. “That’s because your little girl is ready to make her debut.”
“It’s time?” I almost gasped with expectation.
Doctor Farrow laughed. “It’s time,” she nodded. “Let’s get this show on the road.”
I had just enough time to pop my head into the hallway to alert Lauren’s mother that the baby was coming. Then I jumped back into the delivery room with my game face on. Lauren held fast to my hand as she pushed hard, her face growing red with exertion.
“Come on, Lauren,” I whispered in her ear. “We’re almost there.”
Twenty minutes later, the room was filled with the sounds of indignant newborn screaming and I honestly believed it was the best sound in the world.
“She’s here,” Doctor Farrow said, presenting me with a squalling, pink-faced infant. “Let’s get her cleaned up and then you can hold your new baby.”
I watched as the nurses cleaned up my brand-new daughter, swaddled her in a light-pink blanket, and handed her over to me as though she were a prize. I looked down at the little girl in my arms and I felt a tug of unconditional love wash over me.
This was what Lauren and I had fought so hard for. This was worth every decision and mistake and choice we had ever made in our lives. I bent down and kissed the baby on the forehead.
; Then I walked over to where Lauren lay, tired and happy, and placed the baby in her arms. She cradled the baby as she stared down at her in amazement. “Wow,” she breathed. “I can’t believe you’re finally here.”
“Does she seem familiar?” I asked.
Lauren laughed. “You know what? She does, actually; I feel like I know her already.”
“She was inside you for nine months,” I nodded.
It was the perfect moment and the only thing that was missing was Cole. Lauren seemed to have read my mind because she looked up at me with questioning eyes. “Your parents should be here with Cole by now, right?”
“They should,” I nodded. “I’ll go see.”
I walked into the room five minutes later with our son in tow. He was bouncing on his feet, excited and nervous to meet his new sister. He stopped short when he saw Lauren on bed. “Is she okay?” he whispered to me.
“She’s perfectly fine,” I assured him as I led him towards Lauren and hoisted him onto the bed beside her.
“Hi, handsome,” Lauren said planting a kiss on his cheek. “I missed you.”
“I missed you, too,” he replied, but he was looking only at the little, pink bundle in Lauren’s arms. “She’s so little.”
“You were this little once, too,” Lauren told him. “In fact, she looks exactly like you when you were born.”
“Really?” he asked with fascination.
“Yup,” Lauren assured him.
Cole looked up at me. “What are we going to name her?” he asked looking between the two of us.
“We had it narrowed down to three names, right?” I asked.
“Sarah, Emily, and Olivia,” he said immediately.
“That’s right,” I nodded as I glanced at Lauren. “You know what? Your Mom and I have been discussing it, and we both love all those names so much so we thought we’d let you decide.”
“Really?” Cole asked looking thrilled. “I get to choose her name?”
“Yup,” Lauren smiled. “We’ll go with whatever you decide.”
He leaned in and looked closely at his baby sister. “Her name is…Emily,” he said with flourish, and Lauren and I laughed.
“Emily,” I repeated. “Emily Powell-Morgan. That sounds like her.”
Cole leaned in and started cooing at the baby. With our children lying between us, I locked eyes with Lauren. Neither one of us needed to speak to communicate in that moment; our whole world was right there. It was the kind of moment that made you believe in miracles.
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RIDE
THE COMPLETE SERIES
By Nella Tyler
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2015 Nella Tyler
Chapter One
SUMMER
“It’s ten thousand dollars, Ben! Do you know how long we can live off of ten grand?”
“Yeah, the rest of us can all live great off of it while you’re getting your cavities searched in the county lock-up on a daily basis.”
I rolled my eyes at my friend. Ben is the worrier of our group. He’s older…twenty-six, I think, and he’s been on the streets longer than any of us. I have a lot of respect for him and the things that he’s been through, but this is one thing I’m not going to let him talk me out of. I came across a flyer for a surfing contest that’s happening in two weeks, and I plan on winning it. “I have a plan, Ben. I’m not going to get caught.” I bent down to pick up a can out of the gutter and dropped it into the bag Bennie carried. So far this morning, we’d almost filled a thirty gallon bag – not bad for a Tuesday.
“You don’t think the guy who owns the shop will be at the competition? I’m sure he has a brand name or something on those boards that make them recognizable in case they’re stolen. I’m sure if he doesn’t notice it gone right away, he will sometime in the next two weeks.” When I didn’t say anything, he continued, “Besides, Summer, babe…” I hate it when he calls me that. “There’s no guarantee you’ll win.”
“That back room is filled with boards. He probably won’t ever notice it missing, but just in case, we’ll sand anything off that identifies it. Don’t call me babe and have some faith. I’ll win.”
He sighed like the weight of the world was on his shoulders. “So let’s go over this ‘brilliant’ plan one more time. I don’t want to be responsible for screwing it up.”
“Okay, so Phoebe and I are going to go in the shop. While we’re browsing, she is gonna strike up a conversation with that old guy at the counter who pervs on her every time he sees her.”
“That ‘old guy’ is about thirty.”
“Yeah, like I said, the old guy. Now pay attention. I’m going to wait until he’s lost in her deep brown eyes and then I’ll ask to use the bathroom. He’ll let me because he’ll want to keep Phoebe’s attention as long as he can. While I’m in the back, I’ll grab one of the boards and shove it out the door to you. You’ll be waiting in the alley, by the way.”
“And, I just saunter away holding this brand new surfboard?”
Frustrated with him now, I said, “There is a whole beach less than one block over. Do you think anyone is going to notice a guy carrying a surfboard around here?”
“What about an alarm on the back door?”
“He’s a hippie; he’s too laid back for alarms.”
“You know this for a fact?”
“No, but I’m convinced he’s not the alarm type. He’s more inclined to leave it to fate and karma. I’ll look closer while I’m in there, though, I promise.”
“Summer…”
“Come on, Bennie, give me some credit. I’ll be fine.”
“You better be.”
“I will, now listen. Once you have the board, you keep walking until you get to the cave. Phoebe and I will hang out a while longer so he doesn’t get suspicious. It’ll work, I promise.”I wasn’t usually one for manipulation, but I really wanted him off my back. I kissed his cheek and smiled at him the way it made him blush. Bennie and I had a short fling when I first hooked up with this band of vagabonds. Once he found out I was only seventeen, we never sealed the deal, it was just a lot of kissing and heavy petting. Eventually, I realized I thought of him more like a big brother and the kissing and touching started to kind of gross me out. Bennie understood, or at least he said he did, but, he still acts like a kid with a crush. “Come on; let’s go see what Ace cooked us up for lunch.”
Bennie looked like he had more to say about my plan, but he kept it to himself, thankfully. I might only be four months away from my nineteenth birthday, but I’m no kid. I’ve been on the streets for almost five years. I crossed the country by myself when I was only fourteen. I’ve fought off more than one would-be attacker, and I’ve begged, borrowed, and stolen when I had to. I’ve moved from one encampment to the next. I’ve slept in parks and caves, on the beach and behind dumpsters. I’ve learned not to trust anyone completely…and no one easily. I’m not dead and I haven’t been in jail yet.
I’m also not stupid enough to think my luck will hold out forever. That’s what makes this surfing contest so important. Ten grand would be the jump start I needed. If I could get a real place to stay just for a little while and enough money to have my hair done in something besides the long dreadlocks I keep it in to make things easy…and a set of decent clothes to cover my tats, then maybe I could get a job and live like a “normal” person for a change.
I followed Bennie across the crowded beach and back towards the cove. La Jolla Cove sits between a couple of three-hundred-foot cliffs that are riddled with sea caves. The caves are popular with tourists and kayakers, but there are so many of them that we lucked out a few weeks ag
o when Ace found one that sits so far back from the little beach and cove that a visitor is rare, if not unheard of. There are six of us in our little ragtag band and we’ve made ourselves a pretty comfortable little hide-out there. We are all well aware of how that can change at any given moment, unfortunately. We had been camping down by the river before the police came and ran us off in the middle of the night. Any pathetic belongings we each possessed had to be left behind. We went back the next morning to get them, but it must have been some kind of community service project because the city had already sent in a crew to clean up the “mess.” When you’re homeless and you lose your stuff, it’s comparable to your house burning down, I think. It’s the stuff you can’t replace that really hurts…like the only photo I had left of my grandfather.
We left the beach and walked the rest of the way through the park. The park is our lifesaver. It has barbecue pits, picnic tables, public restrooms, and showers. I might not have pretty clothes or a socially acceptable hairstyle, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to stink and have hair covering my body like Sasquatch. Bennie lets me go to the dollar store once in a while and buy razors. The poor guy is probably hoping to have a chance to cop a feel again....
“Hey! You two almost missed lunch.” As we got closer, I could see that Ace had a couple of foot-long hot dogs coming off the grill.
“Where the hell did you get those?”
“Do you always have to cuss?”
“Sorry, Reverend,” I said with a roll of my eyes. “Where did you get them?”
He tossed his head in Hailey’s direction. She’s the newest member of our little group. My guess is she’s only about sixteen, but she claims to be my age. She only speaks when spoken to, and she has the most haunted pair of brown eyes that I’ve ever seen. “Hailey? Where did she get them?”
Ace shrugged. “I’m just the domestic help, I don’t ask questions.”
Ace used to be a hardcore heroin addict. He overdosed about three years ago and ended up spending two months in the hospital as a John Doe. He wasn’t unconscious; he just pretended that he didn’t know his own name or where he was from. They put him through rehab and he found religion and then they sent him to a halfway house. He once told me that he felt like he would suffocate if he spent another night inside of four walls. He honestly believes that the way we live from hand to mouth is the way God intended it. I think he just fried too many brain cells with the heroin. I left Bennie talking to Ace and went over to where Hailey sat at the picnic table.