not easily.
“Maybe that’s a good idea,” he said, concerned, and lay down on their bed next to her. They both wanted it to be over now and for the baby to be delivered safely. She looked like a mountain lying beside him and he could see the baby kick frantically under her dress. “Settle down in there,” he spoke to her belly, and it stopped for a minute and then started again, and Eleanor laughed.
“I think the baby heard you.”
“Come out soon,” he said then, “we’re tired of waiting for you.” It stopped and started again, and then Eleanor had a contraction that was stronger than the others had been. The doctor had said that the internal exam that afternoon might get things started, but this was the first real pain she’d had. “Anything happening?” he asked Eleanor hopefully, and she shook her head.
“Probably not.” She went to take a shower, her back was hurting from the weight of the baby. She let the hot water pelt down on her belly and her back and it felt great. She stayed in the shower for a long time, and didn’t notice the water pouring down her legs in the shower, until she got out, and it continued, and she was standing in a pool of water with a look of surprise, when Alex walked in to check on her.
“You okay?”
She nodded, looking startled. “I think my water just broke.” The pool of water at her feet continued to spread, and she wrapped herself in a towel, and got back in the shower until it stopped, and she had several big contractions then, and could feel the weight of the baby bearing down with considerable force. “Something may be happening.” She looked at him with a broad smile. The moment had finally come. They were about to be parents, after ten and a half years of marriage. As she thought about it, she had a hard contraction, and had to sit down, and breathe through the pain. “I think I’ll lie down for a few minutes,” she said, and he looked panicked.
“No, no. Not here. We’re going to the hospital. You’re having a baby, and I am not going to deliver it.”
“Don’t be silly. First babies take a long time.”
“Great. This is your sixth. And even if miscarriages don’t count, the last one does. Let’s get you dressed and to the hospital.” She had two big pains then, and he brought her clothes in to her, and she was laughing at him.
“I promise, I won’t have it here.”
“I don’t believe you,” he said as she tried awkwardly to dress and the pains continued. She could hardly walk down the stairs by the time they left, with her bag in hand, and Alex hailed a cab and gave the driver the address of the hospital. They had called the doctor before they left the apartment, and he promised to meet them there.
By the time they got to the hospital, labor had begun in earnest. A nurse and the doctor helped Eleanor onto the exam table, and when the doctor checked her, they told her she was almost there.
“This baby is in a hurry to meet you.” He smiled as Eleanor groaned with another pain. “Would you like your husband to leave now?” he asked her.
“No!” Eleanor said through clenched teeth. “No…I want him to stay.” It was unusual but after their last bad experience, the doctor was willing to do what they preferred.
“I’ll stay,” Alex said quietly and took his wife’s hand in his. “We’re almost there.” Mother Nature and the baby took over then. It was one long push and howl from Eleanor as she clutched Alex’s hand, and the baby pushed its way into the world, crying loudly as it came out, and both parents watched in wonder as their baby girl was born. She almost did it herself, with very little help from Eleanor. It was all over ten minutes after they got to the hospital, and the baby weighed nine pounds, ten ounces. The moment she heard their voices, she stopped crying. She was beautiful and looked just like Eleanor, but with fair hair. She had perfect features and a little rosebud mouth. She looked at her parents with interest as they stared at her in wonder, the doctor cut the cord, and then the baby closed her eyes and went to sleep, as Alex kissed his wife.
“You are amazing and I love you.” It occurred to