by Ali Vali
"Yes ma’am, he’s a wonderful little boy," said Rachel smiling at Serena.
"We would love to have you both," added Desi.
"Are you sure?" June asked tentatively.
"Positive. You can hear all about their formative years and Mona can tell you about mine and what a bonehead I am," said Harry.
"Well all right, but I’ll come with you Harry," said Bobbie.
"Come on folks I’ll show you to your rooms," said Mona after hearing Harry’s invitation. Harry got up off the sofa first and pulled Desi to her feet.
"Let’s go baby, I’ll get you upstairs before I go." Before Desi could protest, Harry had swept her back into her arms and headed toward the stairs followed by two smiling parents. After she had deposited Desi on their bed, Harry turned to June and asked her, "Keep an eye on her for me until I get back?"
"You bet Dr. Basantes. I’ll take good care of her from here on out."
Just like everyone that stepped into the master suite, June noticed the picture on the mantel and the happiness and love it depicted. "Have you always loved her like this?"
"No, I broke her heart and mine in the process to make daddy happy and keep Rachel safe," said Desi looking at her sister when she said it. As always the pain was just as intense for Rachel knowing what her sister had sacrificed for her.
"I’m sorry," said June without turning around from the picture she was looking at.
"I’m not. The pain and agony of losing Harry is what has made the getting her back so sweet. I found in her my champion and my safe haven. I would endure the pain a thousand times again if it always brings me back here," said Desi. Rachel let the tears flow down her face and mouthed the words, "Thank you."
"Could you do the same for me?" June asked of both of them. She finally turned around and faced her judgment for the sins she had inflicted on the two people that had mattered the most to her.
"What, forgive you?" asked Desi. Rachel nodded her head in agreement from beside her sister.
"Yes."
"Mother, you never have to ask that of me. I can’t speak for Rachel, but I will not condemn you for the choices you have made." Desi held her sister’s hand wanting Rachel to answer for herself.
"And neither can I. I think it is time that we bury Clyde once and for all, and the pain the bastard brought to all of us along with him," said Rachel. Both the sisters held up their hands to the woman across the room smiling when June ran to them and their offer of forgiveness.
"That doctor of yours is a smart cookie," said June. The three of them were sitting on the bed waiting for all their mates to get back from the hotel where June and Bobbie had been staying. None of them were fooled as to why Harry had left them alone.
"Not to mention tall, good looking and devastatingly sexy," added Desi. They all laughed together as they shared girl talk about the three women they lived with.
"Is she looking forward to becoming a parent so soon after getting you back honey?" asked June.
"Let’s hope so mom." June smiled at the title both the girls had started using about forty minutes into their talks.
"Aren’t you sure?" asked June again.
"I’m not talking in generalities here, I’m talking about right now because my water just broke," said Desi holding her midsection. The small contractions she had been having since waking up from her nap that afternoon had gotten worse throughout the evening but she didn’t want to ruin her little family reunion. With a little more force in her voice Desi told them, "Let’s go, it’s time."
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"I said it’s time to go."
The four men on the riverbank slid into the water and tried to stay as close to the shore as possible, not wanting to get carried away by the strong current. Tyrell figured if they stayed in the water until the skies started to lighten with dawn it would bring them past the area that the authorities had set as their exiting point. With any luck he would be able to lose the Simoneauxs in the night and go the next leg into the city alone.
Unlike the swamp they had just traveled through the river was muddy and cold, but surprisingly free of wildlife. As they traveled along with the current downstream the four men watched the traffic over the bridges they floated under and wondered what part of the state they were traveling through. The water was cold enough for the three Simoneauxs to forget their rashes for a while and just concentrate on getting back to the city where their problems began.
Only one of the three was considering the consequences of their actions so far and how much more time would be taken from his life once they were caught. Mike wanted nothing more than to just swim to the shore, sit and wait for the guards to find him in the light of morning. The only thing that was holding him back was the knowledge that either Tyrell or his brother Byron would kill him before letting him give their location away.
Without question the three family members followed Tyrell out of the water when he made his way into the trees lining the shore. The sky was still dark and like he had a sixth sense, Tyrell moved through the forest in search of only one thing. Two miles inland he found what he was looking for. The deserted gas station along the country road looked like it would be a while before the owners came to open the doors to any business that would happen to drive by, but off to one corner was what Tyrell was looking for, a payphone in perfectly working order.
The people of the inner city in a place like New Orleans had to plan for any contingency because of the shit that life handed them at times, and Tyrell was a master of the circuit. In every letter his sister sent him every week, scattered throughout the nuances of her life in the housing project were numbers instead of punctuation. The seemingly odd placed digits in her last letter were his ticket out of here. From his memory he dialed a number and followed it, when prompted. The stolen calling card number hopefully hadn’t been discovered yet and would put him through to his friend Dexter for a ride the rest of the way into the city.
"Somebody better be dead," said Dexter into the receiver in his bedroom in New Orleans.
"No brother not dead, but I do consider myself reborn," answered Tyrell. From the tree line his partners in crime watched and waited for him to finish his call, each formulating his argument for Tyrell to take them along. Once his plans were fixed, Tyrell had no intention of leaving them behind.
"Ty is that you?" Dexter sat up in bed and waited for the man to answer him. The two men had known each other for years and Tyrell had gotten him out of more trouble than Dexter could ever repay him for. The way that he tried was to take care of his sister while Tyrell waited either to escape Angola’s fences, or die within them.
"Yeah it’s me. Listen to me Dexter, I need a ride back into the city for me and three other guys I want to come along if only so they aren’t found anywhere around here and give my plans away. We’ll take them as far as maybe the downtown area then cut them loose." Tyrell finished his phone call by giving his friend as much information of their location as possible. Now all they had to do was wait where the Simoneauxs where hidden now and look for Dexter to make his appearance. If by ten the next night he could not find them he would call the phone Tyrell had used to try and locate them.
"Sit tight brother and I’ll be there by tonight. I’ll try and find some delivery truck that won’t spook anybody around there and we’ll use that."
"I’ll be waiting."
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"Where is he?"
"Desi honey, try taking some deep breaths. The orderly said he would be right back with the ice chips and I’m thinking he wasn’t lying to you," said Maria trying her best to sound soothing. Harry’s parents had helped get Desi downstairs after returning from a dinner date with Butch, calling Harry from the car on the way to the hospital. The contractions were still about fifteen minutes apart so Ellie had gone to take a nap in the doctor’s lounge until it was closer to show time for the
Basantes baby.
If Desi had been thinking of giving some smart reply to Maria’s comment it was bitten off by the next contraction that was two minutes sooner than it had been on their previous schedule. As the pain was at its peak Desi felt the warm solid body slide in behind her making it almost bearable. Harry rubbed her hands along Desi’s midsection and whispered encouraging words into her ear.
"Thank God you’re here baby, this hurts like a bitch. I’m thinking of maybe hiring Tony to do this for us the next time," said Desi as she sunk into Harry’s chest. Without having to be asked June, Rachel and Maria moved out into the waiting room with the rest of the entourage already out there. "Before this really begins I want to tell you that I love you and I think this is a really good thing we’re doing."
"That’s good to hear sweetheart, because unlike a bad puppy we can’t give this little sucker away." Harry brought her head around to face Desi wondering where the strange comment had come from.
"Oh, I don’t want to give it away, I’m just telling you that I will be cursing soon because of the pain and I didn’t want you to get the wrong impression. Now take your clothes off and get comfortable, it’s going to be a bumpy night."
Harry climbed down off the bed and changed into a set of scrubs that had been left at the end of the bed by one of the nurses. The birthing room they were in had a bank of windows that overlooked the city skyline from the Superdome side and Desi alternated her visual perusal between that and the tall familiar body in her underwear in front of her. When Harry put on the pants and pulled the drawstring closed Desi smiled at the fact that even in this situation Harry had a way of talking to her more base side. "I look at you like that and it makes me want to have more of your children Dr. Basantes."
"Let’s pop this one out Desi then we’ll talk about it. Did you have a nice talk with your mother?" The phone call from her father had centered on the fact they were in route to the hospital with Desi and not about what emotional shape they had found Desi in when they got home.
"Yeah, she seems to be a nice woman who I would like to get to know. She told me that Bobbie is thinking of retiring soon so it would make it easier for us to see each other more often. I have to tell you though, I’m still having a hard time wrapping my mind around the fact that she’s my mother and she’s still alive. I never even considered wishing to know her since I had come to terms that she was gone. The fact that I didn’t remember her left me without even the fantasy of what having her in my life could have meant to Rachel and me. You know what I mean?" Desi moved down a little on the bed to give Harry some room to move behind her so that she could hold her.
"Yep I can understand that. I never really asked you about her because you and Rachel seemed reluctant to talk about her. The fact you didn’t know much to even comment about never crossed my mind baby. I’m glad that she finally found the two of you before you all lost anymore time. What I’d like to know is how your father turned out such caring individuals like you and your sister when he was such a son of a bitch?" Harry massaged Desi’s shoulders in an attempt to have her as relaxed as possible before the next contraction. The fetal monitor was starting to spike signaling the next one and Harry brought Desi more fully against her chest in support.
Four hours later Ellie made the predication that it wouldn’t be too much longer before they could start pushing. As the contractions got more intense so did Desi’s grip on Harry’s legs along side her. Their doctor was sure that her friend Harry would walk out of the hospital with two perfect imprints of Desi’s hands in the form of bruises on her legs.
"You know when I let you go this morning I was figuring that you would give me at least a week’s reprieve before I saw you again Desiree," said Ellie as she pushed the sheet back into place covering Desi’s feet.
"You know Ellie, you could just kiss my ass the next time you’re down there checking things out," said Desi in a not too pleasant voice. The evil little part of her brain had been calling for drugs since the afternoon and she was about to give into it. Everything about the room including Harry was starting to get on Desi’s nerves and there seemed to be no end to the agony she was in. "Oh God not again," Desi managed between clenched teeth as another contraction ripped through her.
"Ok Desi I think we are ready to rock and roll baby," said Ellie from the foot of the bed. The nurses in the room put her legs up into the stirrups and Harry pushed Desi up a little to make it easier to push. "I want you to start taking big cleansing breaths for me Desi, Harry can help you out with that, can’t you doc?" asked Ellie. For her first pregnancy Desi was progressing nicely, but Ellie wanted to make sure everything was all right before the next step. This baby was still a few weeks early, which wasn’t unheard of, but Ellie would have preferred more time.
"Can’t I start pushing? I really think that would be a great idea don’t you?" The small blonde was ready to begin her life as a parent with the baby on the outside of her body, but knowing Harry’s streak of being a pleasure hound Desi was sure the kid was in there hanging onto her ribcage to stay in the nice warm cocoon they were swimming in.
"I think that’s a great idea honey. Ready?" Ellie looked up and locked eyes with Harry as a way of telling her everything was all right. Desi had her eyes closed tight as another contraction hit her and the urge to push became greater. "Push Desi come on."
There was no mirror to show her what was happening but Harry could see the head and shoulders out in the reflection of the windows in front of them. Desi had reclined back against her for a moment to take a slight break before the order came to push again from Ellie. Harry was amazed that once her partner had been allowed to push on a regular basis she had kept her comments to the occasional grunt and moan.
"One more Desi and that should do it. Let’s make it a big one," ordered Ellie. Holding Harry’s hands, a sweaty Desi pushed up in the stirrups and let lose a scream that was followed a moment later by the lustful cry of a baby.
"Dr. and Mrs. Basantes meet your son." Ellie held up the baby boy and placed him on Desi’s chest. The tired mother wrapped one arm around him as she brought Harry closer with the other. To Desi it was the beginning of another happy chapter in the fairytale she was living with Harry, and this big boy was a definite surprise. She had been convinced for the past four months that they were going to have a baby girl, but that didn’t mean that she nor Harry were any less pleased.
"He looks like you love," said Desi looking into the blue eyes of her lover. Harry was looking at the both of them through tears she was so happy. Baby Basantes had yet to open his eyes and despite his messy appearance his head was covered with fine black fuzz. Like his mother before him, the small creature stole Harry’s heart in an instant.
"But let’s hope that he acts like you baby. God Desi he’s just perfect, thank you." Harry looked on as Desi ran her index finger over the baby’s brow in an attempt to get him to calm down, or maybe to convince herself that he was real.
"Excuse me ma’am, I just need to borrow him a second. I promise I’ll bring him right back after he’s been weighed and cleaned up a little." The nurse took the little boy and walked out with him while Ellie finished up with Desi.
"You did a fantastic job here my friend, I do believe I have to put in one stitch and that’s it," said Ellie. Their friend and doctor was cleaning Desi off after the small woman had dispelled the afterbirth.
"Honey you want to go out and tell everyone the good news?" asked Desi. The warm body behind her just wrapped her up in a large hug and didn’t feel like it was moving any time soon.
"Yeah in a minute, I just want to tell you how much I love you and that this is the best thing anyone has ever gotten me. We have a son baby, can you believe it?"
"Let’s hope you like this feeling honey, because this won’t be the last one we have."
Harry ran out to the waiting room and told everyone the good news. When she swung the door open most of the group was taking naps after watching the hours pass by waiting for the h
appy outcome. The surgeon ordered everyone home knowing that they would be back early the next morning to meet the new addition. Desi was holding the baby when she got back to the room, and Harry had to smile when she saw her partner had unwrapped him and was taking inventory of fingers and toes. The best part of the sight was the look of pure bliss on Desi’s face as she looked at their son.
"Have you thought of a name yet?" Desi looked up at Harry and wiped the few tears that had escaped her eyes away.
"You won’t go for Harry Jr. will you?" answered Desi with another question.
"Come on baby you don’t want to do that to our kid do you?"
"I happen to like the name Harry baby, sue me. I have to admit I thought this little guy was a girl so I’m at a loss now. Looking at him though, I see the one person in this world that I love more than anything so that’s all I was hoping for." Desi held her hand out so that Harry would finish coming into the room and join her on the bed. When Harry sat down Desi handed over the baby so she could watch Harry’s face.
"Hey there little man, welcome to our family. I want to promise you and your mother that I will always take care of you and I will always love you." Harry brought the infant to her shoulder and hugged him. His hair was sticking out in all directions but Harry had never seen a more beautiful baby in her life. When she brought him down and held him so that they could both look at him, the baby finally opened his eyes as if to look for the person with the deep voice that had been talking to him for months. Under the dark hair were two beautiful green eyes that paid tribute to his mother Desi.
"How about we compromise and use Harry as a middle name?" asked Desi. Harry tore her eyes off the baby and looked at Desi with an amused look on her face. In the end she would agree to whatever the small blonde wanted and to make it easier on Desi, Harry just nodded her head. Desi looked at Harry again and it just came to her.
"Jackson Harry Basantes." Desi knew that Harry wouldn’t mind their son sharing the name of one of her childhood heroes. Ever since their first Halloween party they had attended, Desi had become partial to the male name that had been used by the very female Jackson Lafitte.
