I nodded.
He shrugged and took his place down by her feet. “All right, Ms. White, are you ready to do this thing?” he asked jovially, and I wondered if someone had to be mentally off to actually be glad he was in the room with a screaming woman about to extract a human from her body.
“Get it out!” she screamed again.
He smiled at me. “She’ll be back to normal real soon.” He winked and nodded to the nurse.
I stepped back toward Jessica’s head when he flipped the white sheet up over her knees.
“Ok, Ms. White, when the contraction starts, I want you to push as hard as you can,” he instructed.
Jessica panted, and then began screaming and pushing all at once.
“That’s great! Keep this up, and we will have a little one here in seconds.”
She stopped to catch her breath before her face morphed into the monster those men had been speaking of earlier, and she screamed and pushed again. We went through this several more times when I heard a cry that was too soft to be anything but a baby.
“Beautiful! You can relax now, Ms. White. He has arrived.”
The doctor had said “he.” I no longer cared about the messy scene going on down by her feet. I just wanted to see this little life that was now a part of mine.
The nurse wrapped him in a blanket and smiled at me. “You have a brother.” She handed the baby to Jessica who, although exhausted, smiled down at the little life in her hands.
“Hello, Sam,” she whispered.
I leaned down over her and studied his miniature features.
“Sam, meet your big sister, Sadie,” she said, handing the little bundle up to me.
I stiffened and stared at her like she was crazy.
“Oh, come on. He’s just a baby, hold him.”
I slid my arms under him and took him from my mother. His tiny, little fist fought its way out of the blanket, and he swung it around in the air and let out a small cry. I laughed. He was like a little miracle.
“We need to go clean him and let the pediatrician check him over. However, we will bring him back to eat very soon.” The nurse was standing in front of me with her arms held out.
“Okay,” I said through the lump in my throat. Reluctantly, I handed over this new little person I already loved and watched her take him away.
“Don’t worry, you were ugly, too, when you first came out, but after a few days you were the most beautiful baby I had ever seen.”
I glared at Jessica, who had laid her head back and closed her eyes.
“He’s beautiful now,” I countered. Already the little guy had me wanting to defend him.
She let out a laugh. “No, he looks like a prune. All new babies do.”
I frowned and tried to remind myself that Jessica was not normal, so I should not expect her to treat birth normally.
“Excuse us, but we need to patch some things up for your mom and move her to a room. Why don’t you go get something to eat and rest. This has all been very exciting for you, I am sure.” The nurse, who had been there through it all with us, smiled at me.
I left the room. I was in a daze at the aftermath when I stepped into the waiting room and was immediately surrounded.
* * *
Chapter Seventeen
“Are you okay?” Marcus was beside me touching my arm.