by Teresa Trent
"Good," Aunt Maggie said as she led me across the gym towards the corner to sit in a folding chair until the bed arrived.
"Do we have any doctors here? We’ll even take a veterinarian," Maggie said.
An attractive well-dressed woman walked over. She looked familiar to me, but I couldn't place her. I had seen her somewhere. She ran her finger behind her ear pushing back a straight piece of black hair.
"I'm a midwife. Does that count? I’ve never delivered a foal, but I do have some experience with people. It’s been years, but I think I can remember what to do."
I reached out and squeezed her hand. "It counts," I said through a cleansing breath. Leo leaned into the teeming group of women around me.
"What do we need to do?" he asked.
"Okay," the woman said, "you need some scissors, towels and disinfectant. We’ll need something to wrap the baby in once he arrives."
People ran off in all directions to their appointed tasks. The room dividers were brought in and put around us. They were still partially open for the people that would be bringing in necessary supplies.
The door of the gym clanged behind us. My father removed his Stetson, shaking off the water. Behind him was Elaina, in a bright yellow rain slicker. As soon as he saw the crowd gathered around me he whooped, "Are you having the baby?"
Before I could answer a hard contraction hit me. He ran to my side.
"I just got finished going up and down the roads making sure everybody was safe. I’m here now darlin’."
"You're going to have to go out again," I gasped.
"No, I'm not. Everyone’s here."
"Yes, you are. I know who murdered Connor Holman."
"Really? Now Betsy? I think you have a hell of a lot more important things to think about at this moment."
"No, it's Lonnie Carello… He's… in the bayou…"
"What is she talking about?" My father scanned the group that had gathered in the corner next to the room dividers.
"It’s true, dude," said the bearded storm chaser. "He followed us here and shot at us and everything."
"Is everybody okay? Was anyone hit? "
"No one was hit. The van took a couple of bullets. We left Carello in the Bayou," Nate said.
"Out there in the storm? I’ll be damned."
"He was shooting at us. When we found Betsy, she kept saying he was the killer. I know it all sounds crazy, but it has something to do with the cow," Leo said, shaking his head in confusion.
A look of recognition came across my father's face. "The cow at the station?"
"Yes," I answered, out of breath. "Carello might be dying. He swerved off into the bayou." My father put his hat put back on. "Sometimes I hate this job. I'll go get this fool, but I’m depending on everybody here to take good care of my daughter. My grandchild is coming into the world, and we need to do it right."
Elaina came back from the mobile station Mrs. Thatcher had set up in the corner. "I tried to get Orley. He’s out with the crew rescuing old man Jennings."
Drummond Struthers seemed to appear out of nowhere. "Judd, you can’t go out there alone. Let me go with you."
"I can’t ask you to do that. It could be dangerous."
"Not as dangerous as it would be if you were alone. I know you have your hands full with this storm, and I parked the tow truck outside in case we would need it later."
"You’re a good man, Drum. Normally, I wouldn’t let you come with me, but tonight I’d appreciate the help." Drummond Struthers stepped back, kissed his wife goodbye and followed my dad. Baxter Digby busied himself trying to open a water bottle.
Zach and Tyler rushed across the gym wobbling along with the nurse's office cot. Once they had it in place behind the dividers, Zach took the hand of a woman I vaguely recognized. "Mom, I brought Mrs. Powell. She’s our school nurse. She can deliver your baby."
"Oh my." She put her hand to her throat. "I put on Band-aids and check for fevers. When you told me you wanted me to meet your mother, I had no idea you needed me to deliver her baby."
"It’s okay. Really," I said between breaths.
"I’ll be glad to assist in any way I can, but you’re pretty far out of my league."
"Great," said the midwife, turning to Mrs. Powell. "I’ll deliver and you assist."
I looked at my rescuer. Why was she so familiar? Where had I seen her?
She noticed me staring at her. "Tell me what you’re feeling, Betsy."
"I’m sorry. Have we met before?"
"I don’t know. Have you ever bought a house from my husband?"
"Your husband?"
"Yes. He’s right over…" She paused as she searched the gym. Finally, she pointed to Baxter Digby who was having a heated conversation with Sasha Holman. My guess was that Sasha had finally told Digby about Rocky’s upcoming article covering their affair. "…there." She scowled.
"Isn’t your husband running for city council?" The school nurse’s eyes now cast downward. She knew too. I could tell.
"That’s what he’s telling people," Mrs. Digby replied.
"Then he should be a natural," the nurse said, not realizing the slight.
I debated telling her about what I knew about her husband, but suspected she already knew.
"Sure," Mrs. Digby said. "I just wonder what the voters of the good town of Pecan Bayou would think about a guy who cheats on his wife? Does it shock you I said that? I mean I'm pretty sure the whole town knows about it. They haven’t exactly been discreet. Don't worry about me. I'll get him in the divorce settlement. He’ll be sorry he ever messed with me. By the way, it's nice to meet you. I'm Dana."
"I think he’s lost my vote," I said.
"Mine too," nodded Mrs. Powell.
"Never had mine to begin with," Maggie added.
Another contraction hit me hard. Aunt Maggie, seeing the fear in my eyes, placed her hand over mine. I had planned on having this baby in the hospital, with a doctor and a plethora of pain killers. I didn’t plan on having it in what was the equivalent of a town fair.
"This is my fault. If I hadn’t been so stupid about that cow, I could have parked myself at the hospital before the road washed out." Tears were running down my face.
"Betsy, look at me." Maggie stared at me, and I was pulled back to reality. My aunt’s eyes looked large in her thick glasses. Her warmth and steady touch calmed me. "It’s going to be all right. Women have been having babies for thousands of years. You’ll be fine."
She looked up at Leo who was now wearing out a patch of the beautiful new rubberized floor of the gym. "You’re going to survive too, Leo. Just land somewhere, okay?"
There was a knocking on the divider and Leo stuck his head out. Nate stepped forward. "We need to be on our way now, Leo. We’re going to try and head out on the other side of town. There’s funnel clouds still out there. Let us know if it’s a boy or a girl."
"Will do, and thanks for letting me ride along."
"And thanks for getting us in a shootout," said the storm chaser chick. "As if these testosterone-fueled guys didn’t have enough adrenalin rushes going on." Leo bid goodbye to the storm chasers and pulled the dividers back together. He came over to me and took my hand in his holding it securely and somehow making the pain go away, just for a second.
I was taking a breath between contractions. They were coming hard and fast now. I looked over at Dana Digby. "When I visited your husband’s office, I saw a photograph in the reception area with you standing next to him."
"Yeah, well treasure it. We won’t be taking too many group shots in the future. I’m filing for divorce."
Another contraction hit. Leo stood guard at the opening making sure we had privacy.
"Okay," Dana said, as she looked under the blanket that was hastily draped over my legs. "Looks like we’re having ourselves a baby."
The school nurse handed Dana a pair of rubber gloves which she quickly slipped onto her hands.
"The baby is starting to crown. Here comes a contraction
. Maggie, Mrs. Powell, lift her legs up, and Betsy put your chin down on your chest and focus all your energy on pushing the baby out."
Dana Digby started counting to ten while I pushed through the pain. At the end of the contraction, I regained my breath.
"You’re doing great. It won’t be long now."
"For a woman out of practice, you seem to know what you’re doing," I told her.
"Thanks, but it isn’t over yet. Baxter wanted me to stay at home with the children and really, so did I. Now, the kids are getting older and with everything thing else that’s been going on, I’d been thinking about getting back to work lately, anyway."
Her appearance had saved me, and I felt beholden to her.
A contraction hit me again and we resumed our efforts.
Dana looked down again. "Okay, now push."
I pushed as hard as I could, feeling the baby coming down the birth canal. I thought it would hurt more without pain killers, but instead I had the strength to get through without anything. I had just escaped a killer. This was as easy as pie.
A few minutes later a beautiful baby girl became the newest member of the town of Pecan Bayou. Mrs. Powell and Dana Digby did their best to clean her up and when she let out a healthy wail in protest, the chatter in the gymnasium stopped.
Mrs. Powell stepped out of our makeshift delivery room with the baby, wrapped in a towel. "It’s a girl!"
She handed the baby to Leo, who held her like a precious piece of porcelain.
He looked down at his precious daughter and then made his way over to me. His blue eyes rimmed with tears.
Once I was covered up, Aunt Maggie opened up the dividers. "Well, Mrs. Fitzpatrick. Aren’t you full of surprises? I thought we had a boy."
As if sensing her audience, the baby cried out once again, her voice loud and strong. Danny, Tyler, and Zach came running over and surrounded us.
"The baby is here! The baby is here!" Danny said, jumping up and down while holding Zach’s hands. I felt Leo’s strong grip on my shoulder.
"She’s beautiful. We made ourselves an incredible little human being."
"The direct result of true love," Aunt Maggie whispered through tears.
He bent down and kissed me on the forehead, then kissed his daughter. Our little girl stopped crying for just a moment as her large blue eyes stared at Leo.
"She's a beautiful baby," said Leo's mother. "I can't believe you delivered her through all of this."
As I pulled her close to me I noticed the color of her hair. It was a deep rich brown.
Leo reached down and ran his fingers through her silken hair. "You know, I have to say her hair is the same color as the cocoa pecan pie at Benny’s Barbecue. Do you think so?"
Benny and Celia stepped forward from the crowd, and then Benny slapped at his knee.
"I’ll be darned. It is the same color as my pie. You got yourself a sweet little miss there, Betsy. I told you it was special cocoa that made it so good."
He was right. It was the same color. If anybody was really noticing though, it was also the color of my own hair. As if she knew we were talking about her, the baby cried once again. I looked up at Dana Digby and took her hand. "I can't thank you enough for all you've done tonight."
"I’m just so glad I was here and able to help. Sometimes it feels good to be more than the wife of Baxter Digby."
"You are so much more," I told her.
"Betsy. Smile for the camera." A light flashed in my face as Rocky took my picture.
There are times in a woman’s life when she doesn’t want her picture taken. The first few minutes after giving birth ranks pretty high on the list. I knew I would be featured in a special storm issue of the Gazette. Lucky me. Rocky put his camera down and came over and took a close up of my daughter.
"I thought you’d be off getting pictures of my dad fishing out Carello" I said.
"Ah, I let Nicholas take that one. Wouldn’t look right for me to get all the big stories. It’s important for a parent to let his child shine now and again." Rocky looked down at the baby. "She’s a keeper. What are you calling her? I’ll need to put it in the paper."
I didn’t know what to tell him. I guess in the back of my mind all along I had thought it was another boy. It was so wonderful to be holding this little girl in my arms, I felt tears coming down.
"Oh, that’s all right darlin’. You can tell me later," Rocky said.
My voice was so full of emotion, I almost didn’t get my answer out. "Coco?"
"Coco," Leo said. He thought about it. "I like it. But I would like to add the middle name." He reached over and took Aunt Maggie’s hand. "Let’s call her Coco Margaret Fitzpatrick."
"Perfect," I whispered.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
"Ain't that sweet. You had your kid."
Lonnie Carello, drenched and panting, stood in the crowd. He ran his fingers through his wet black hair, slicking it back and making him look like a gangster. A plastic grocery bag stuffed full of cash dangled from his arm, and in his hand was a gun.
He had clearly slipped into the gym unnoticed during all the excitement. Two dark eyes set in a haggard face met mine.
"That's him. That's who killed Connor Holman," I said.
"Yeah well I’m old news, right sweetheart?" He turned and pointed the gun at the crowd.
"All I need is some keys, and I’ll leave you townsfolk alone. Who’s going to be smart here and hand me their keys? Give me a way out of here, and no one gets killed. What you say we start the hair lady here?" He grabbed the back of Ruby’s neck, pulling her in front of him.
"Where's my father?" I demanded.
"I guess that's for me to know and you to find out."
"Listen up mister." Baxter Digby, sensing his chance to gain the crowd’s approval, stepped forward, adjusting the sleeves of his blazer. He might have been threatening and controlling towards the women in his life, but I doubted he would fare so well taking on a guy like Carello. Nevertheless, he continued.
"You can see this is a gathering of the good people of Pecan Bayou. I don't know what your business is, but I think you need to go back out into the storm." He fished in his pocket. "Take my keys. It’s the silver Escalade by the light pole."
"That’s mighty kind of you, pardner." He grabbed the keys and gestured to Benny with his gun. "You, put some of that grub into a box for me."
Benny quickly complied shoving barbecue into a styrofoam container.
"When you’re finished with the car, I would appreciate it if you would leave it somewhere safe and call me," Baxter added.
"Are you kidding me?" Carello responded. "Do you want me to shoot you right now?" Baxter's hands went up to his most precious commodity, his face.
"Better yet, keep it," he said from behind his hands.
Lonnie Carello laughed as he backed up to the beverage table, pouring himself a cup of coffee while holding a steady gun on the crowd. Nothing like a caffeinated killer to get you through the night.
"Everybody sit down, mind your own business and nobody gets hurt. I'm only here to get a car and blow this town. After tonight, I'll just be a bad memory, like my time in this two stoplight town." He guzzled down his coffee, squeezed the styrofoam cup into a pulpy mess, and threw it on the floor.
The people in the shelter stood frozen in tableau. It was pretty hard to turn their backs on a confessed killer. Leo, in an attempt to protect his family, gathered Zach and Tyler closer to him.
Aunt Maggie screamed. "Danny! Danny’s gone." He had been standing off to the side next to the boys. When had he disappeared? Could he have gone out in the storm?
"He has to be here somewhere," Birdie said. "Danny?" She called out.
Much to Lonnie Carello’s delight, the town of Pecan Bayou was now following his directions. They were ignoring him. He grinned and crossed his arms as he watched the mayhem of the search.
Just as he was about to start walking for the door with Ruby, he was hit on the head. Ruby scooted out
of the way, bracelets clanking, as Rocky and Benny jumped on Carello, knocking him to the door.
Mayor Obermeyer stood behind the men with his precious artifact, the remnant of the first pecan tree planted in Pecan Bayou, now broken into two pieces.
"Oh my gosh, Mayor! The log is ruined." Ruby said.
"It’s just an old piece of wood. We’re safe, and somehow I think my great-great grandfather Tobias would have approved."
"Man, Rocky, looks like you’re going have to write about yourself in your own newspaper," Benny said, as he tied up Lonnie Carello’s hands with a crocheted shawl from one of the women in the crowd.
"Yeah, I like to report the news, but not necessarily be in it."
Baxter Digby stood safely within the crowd. He reached for his wife’s hand only to be pushed away.
"Okay, people," Maggie said. "The excitement is over. Now we have some of our people missing here. Let’s get out there and find them."
She turned towards me. "You keep that baby warm."
She leaned down and kissed my daughter. "Welcome to the world, Coco Pop. Now your great-auntie is going to round up the rest of your crazy family"
"Why don’t I come with you? Betsy has plenty of people to watch after her here," Leo offered.
Maggie smiled appreciatively. "Are you sure?"
"It’s just bad weather. After a couple of hours with the storm chasers, I think I can handle it."
Leo grabbed his coat and then took Tyler and Zach aside. "Look after your mother and your … sister."
The door to the gym slammed shut. Judd, whose glasses were now broken and hanging by a thread, came through the door with Danny, who was holding a drenched box that had, at one time, had a hand painted wrapper on it.
"Look who I found out in the storm," my father said, taking off his glasses and rubbing his eyes.
Maggie ran over and put her arms around a dripping Danny.
"I had to give the baby her gift. It was just at the day-hab," Danny said. Danny’s day-habilitation center was only a block away.
"I know, baby, but it was dangerous. You shouldn’t have done that without telling Mama. How did you get in?"
"The door." He looked her as if she was being silly. "It was swinging in the wind. I had to give the baby her gift," he repeated.
