Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 128260 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 641(@200wpm)___ 513(@250wpm)___ 428(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 128260 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 641(@200wpm)___ 513(@250wpm)___ 428(@300wpm)
“I mean…” I’d never seen a baby born. I wasn’t going to be much help when it came to the medical side of things. But there were women in that room, and I was a woman. Surely it would make them all feel more comfortable if a woman was assisting with something so intimate? “I’d be happy to. Yes. Just tell me what to do.”
“Uh, guys, it sounded kind of serious down there,” Leland interrupted.
We hurried out of Leland’s office and Carson took my hand as we all three rushed to the elevator. Josh put a key in and then pressed forty-five and we rode down a couple floors.
There was a guard just outside the elevator and he nodded when he saw Josh and Carson. “Hey, guys. It sounds pretty intense in there.”
“Intense situations are our specialty,” Josh said.
The guard laughed.
We walked down a hallway and heard yelling just beyond a door to the right.
Josh took out a key and opened the door, and we all three took in the scene in front of us.
_________
Carson
I had been in this room many times over the last couple months but I tried to imagine what Grace was thinking now as I took in Maria lying on her side on the bed, hugging a pillow for dear life, and moaning loudly. Yoselin was putting a wet cloth on her forehead and Gisella sitting on the side of the bed, rubbing her lower back.
The only other girls in the room were Deisy and Vanessa, both twelve. They were sitting huddled on the couch, watching a show on television, their eyes darting to Maria every few minutes. They were obviously scared. “Grace, do you mind sitting with them and calming their nerves?” She nodded, heading toward the girls.
All the women in the room were Venezuelan—the only ones we hadn’t been able to get back home before Christmas, due to some problems getting their paperwork. But everything was in order now for them to fly out on the twenty-seventh. It looked like there would be one extra passenger.
Josh laid the first-aid kit he had brought on the bed and went straight to the bathroom to wash up. I asked Yoselin how Maria was doing. Yoselin was the only one in the room who spoke English so she would need to translate.
“I’ve seen babies born, Mr. Carson. I think she’s close.”
“Okay. Josh is going to check in just a second.”
I looked up at Maria, eyes squeezed shut tight, moaning in pain. “Maria, we’re here to help you deliver your baby. Everything’s going to be fine.” I felt like a jackass saying that. How the hell did I know everything was going to be fine? I didn’t know a damn thing about delivering babies. Yoselin translated for me, her voice soft and reassuring. Maria didn’t respond, but hopefully she’d taken in the words, inadequate as they were.
I glanced over at Grace who was sitting on the couch with Deisy and Vanessa who were smiling up at her as she doled out sticks of gum from her purse. Apparently there was no language barrier when it came to kids and gum.
Josh came out of the bathroom and got to work examining Maria. I moved to the side, ready to assist Josh if necessary but not wanting to get in the way.
“She’s ten,” Josh said after a minute. “Baby is head down. Looks good. Let’s do this. Are you with me, Maria?”
Yoselin translated and Maria nodded, still grimacing.
Yoselin and Gisella both grabbed one of Maria’s legs and she started to push. I went to the bathroom and got another cool cloth and a bunch of towels.
I returned to the room, where Maria was now screaming during every push, the women counting in Spanish. I turned to Grace, and she was leaning back on the couch, a girl in each arm, their faces pressed into her chest.
Twenty minutes later, with one final scream, the sound of a baby’s cry filled the room, and Maria collapsed back on the pillow.
“It’s a boy,” Josh announced, tying off the umbilical cord and cutting it with a pair of small scissors. The baby gave a few more lusty yells and then was quiet, opening his eyes and looking around. “Welcome to this crazy world, little man,” Josh said as he wiped the baby gently.
I looked over at Grace and she was watching Josh, her brow furrowed slightly, looking as if she was working out a puzzle. She was probably trying to figure him out—he was a smartass and a ladies’ man most of the time, but he had different sides to him too, the side who put himself in harm’s way for the women we rescued, and the side that had just delivered Maria’s baby with skill and sensitivity. He would confuse the hell out of some woman someday. Someday. The word echoed in my head. Please let him get a someday that doesn’t include prison bars. Please let him get a someday that doesn’t include prison bars.