She looked down and he felt the agony that was exuding from her. “And they will all have a wonderful life that might be swept out from under them.”
He chuckled and wrapped his arm around her, giving her a firm squeeze. “I suppose it’s that dramatic flair that makes you so good at what you do. I don’t think you have a thing to worry about. You seem to be waiting for the other shoe to drop. Things to go wrong. Heartache to happen. Just live and don’t worry about the future or what might happen. It’s as if you’re mourning something that hasn’t happened.”
“It feels real, Weston. You have no idea what it’s like to have a great life then all of a sudden find yourself living near poverty level. And then, just as suddenly, put back into your old life. It’s not a thing most people go through.”
“Agreed,” he said as he contemplated her feelings. “But you’re safe from that ever happening again. You’re no child who’s at the whim of your father. What you have is all yours, he made sure of that. And you’ll always be around to make sure your little sisters and brothers never have to go through what you did.”
She looked at him and a smile broke over her face. “You’re right. I never thought about it like that. I have enough money to take care of a ton of kids. They’d never know what it’s like to go from lobster one night to Ramen noodles the next. Not any of my siblings will go a day without knowing if they’ll eat that day or where the hell they’ll get the money to make rent and other bills.”
“See, you can see a silver lining when prompted,” he said as he laughed and kissed her cheek. “I can’t wait to get my hands on that baby, Aulora!”
Her heart lurched as she suddenly realized how much Weston wanted a baby. She’d been pretty selfish, she thought. All about herself the last couple of months.
“West, I’m kind of afraid this is going to make you get back on that baby bandwagon again. And I hate to say it but I’m still nowhere near ready for that kind of responsibility.”
His golden eyes sparkled as he looked at her and tweaked her nose. “Not to worry, peach. I’m ready only when you are.”
She smiled and ducked her head. She had no idea when she’d be ready for such a thing. She knew nothing about babies. It was a distant hope that Clara would allow her to learn some about them with her new sister. But it was a vague hope, as Clara was more than a bit picky and bossy. She was sure she’d be the same way about the baby.
When Dustin pulled up at the hospital, he parked and came around to let them out of the back. “Are you coming up too, Dustin?” Aulora asked him as they exited the car.
“Should I?” he asked her as he frowned. “I’m not family.”
“You’re as much a part of this family as anyone else. You’ve been Dad’s driver forever and then some. Come on. Park the car and come up. It wouldn’t be the same without you,” she told him then kissed his wrinkled cheek.
“I’ll park then come up. See you in the waiting room.”
Aulora was happy he’d decided to join them. Her father had many acquaintances but no real friends. She knew Dustin was more of a friend to her father than an employee.
Weston held her hand as they went up on the elevator to the fifth floor where all the expecting mothers were. It was then that she realized this must be hard for Weston.
“If this is too much for you, you don’t have to stay, West. I just thought about that.” She gave his hand a gentle squeeze.
“It’s right where I want to be. Right here, by your side.” With a kiss on her cheek, the doors opened and they stepped out of the elevator.
Her father had texted her the room number and they went straight to it. With a soft knock, they found her father stepping out to greet them. “Hi! Thank God you’re here, Aulora!”
“Oh?” she asked, more than a little surprised.
“Clara’s mother was on her way here but she fell down the steps of her home, breaking her hip. Her sister is in Switzerland and she has no other female to help her out. She’s a disaster!” Her father ran his hand over his face with angst.
“So, I should go inside?” Aulora asked him.
He nodded. “Please. She’s a moaning groaning wreck. I don’t have a clue what to do for her. I wasn’t in the room when you were born. I came up to the hospital later, after you were delivered. This is new to me and quite frankly, I hate it!”
Her body went tense. Weston, felt it go rigid and hugged her, tightly. “You can do it, peach. Get in there and help her. All you have to do is stay calm and rub her shoulders. Hold her hand through the pains. You know, be a friend to her. She sounds like she needs one.”
“But I have no idea what to do, either. Dad, I’m sorry…”
Weston pulled back and held her by her shoulders. “No! No, you will not get out of this by saying you’re sorry, you can’t. That is your stepmother. And she is about to have your baby sister. And you will straighten up and do what you need to do. You see, I’m a big brother and I know the responsibility that comes with that. So, buck up and do what you have to.”
“Damn!” her father said as she shook his head.
“I know, right?” Aulora said as she began to grin. “He’s a real ball buster, isn’t he? And he’s absolutely right. I need to get over my damn self. I’ll do this for my little sister. And Clara too. She’s not all bad.”
“She really wants us to be a real family, Aulora,” her father said. “I know she doesn’t always go about it right but she wants that more than anything else in this world.”
With a nod, Aulora said, “I know that. She’s a weird young woman, isn’t she?”
“Weird?” her father asked with a frown. “I wouldn’t say that. I’d say she’s a different kind of young woman. And she loves me, Aulora. And she loves you too. She’ll really appreciate your help today.”
“And you’ll learn a lot,” Weston added.
She saw it in his eyes, hope that she’d want a child sometime a lot sooner rather than later. “I’ll be inside. You two wait in the little room over there. Dustin will be up soon, Dad. I invited him.”
“Good. I didn’t think about that. I’m glad you did. Such a Godsend you are, Aulora. I don’t know what I’d do without you,” her father said then took her in his arms, hugging her tight. “I’m so sorry for the lost years. I was more than a fool.”
Aulora pulled back to look at him. “I can forgive you for that. But if you pull that shit on any on my siblings, I’ll make sure your life becomes a living hell. Got me?”
With a nod, he looked at Weston and said, “She’s a ball buster too, Weston. Seems you’ve taught her a thing or two.”
“Seems I have. Go get ‘em peach. I’ll keep your dad company.” With a kiss, Weston and her father walked away, leaving her to go inside and deal with a laboring mother for the first time in her life!
The grip Clara had on Aulora’s hand had numbed it. But Aulora let her hold it anyway. “Great job, Mom! You’re doing so great.”
Clara’s face was red when the contraction eased. Aulora grabbed the cloth from the bed rail and went to the little sink to rewet it. “How many more of these things did you say you wanted?” Aulora asked with a light laugh.
“None! She’s it! This hurts too bad!” Clara said as she tried to turn to one side.
“So, I should never do this, huh?” Aulora asked as she went back to hold the cool wet cloth to her stepmother’s forehead.
Clara’s eyes were watery. One tear fell down her cheek then she took Aulora’s hand in hers. “You have to have at least one, Aulora. I know this looks awful and believe me, it is. But you have to do this, at least once. Weston and you will be wonderful parents. I know you will. You have a deep love and that’ll help you to be great parents.”
“You think so?” she asked as she wasn’t sure of that herself.
With a nod, Clara’s face went red again with another contraction. Aulora found her hand being clenched in a death grip once again.
An hour and a half later, the time had come. Cla
ra was bearing down as Aulora rubbed her shoulders and coached her to push. The nurses stood by as the doctor waited for New Aulora to come on out.
“I wish my father would come in here,” Aulora mumbled.
Clara stopped pushing for a moment and tried to catch her breath. “Run and get him. He’ll come if you make him, Aulora.”
With a quick nod, she took off. Going as fast as she could, she slid around the corner and shouted, “Dad, come on. This is it. She’s not freaking out anymore and she wants you to see your daughter come into the world!”
His face was ashen as he sat perfectly still. Weston got up and pulled him up. “Come on, man! You need to see this. It’s awesome.”
He helped get Aulora’s father all the way to the room his wife was in. Weston earned a quick kiss to the cheek from Aulora before they both disappeared into the room.
Weston stood outside of it. His heart and mind a flurry of emotions. It had been so long ago but he could recall the exact feelings he’d had when his son was born. Terror, love, adoration, and most of all excitement.
He’d been so excited about the baby and their future. So many plans had been made. Weston Junior would be in little league. He’d be the best player on his team. He’d make tons of home runs and make him so proud. His son was going to be something! He’d just known it. How wrong he’d been.
With a heavy heart, Weston went to the bathroom. Tears had sprung up and he was in need of pulling himself together. It all came crashing down on him. He’d tried so hard to keep this about Aulora and not about him and what he’d lost.
But it was always there, waiting in the background of his soul. His loss was a part of him. It was such a part of him that at times he forgot it was there. Like you would a small freckle on your back that you seldom catch sight of. But it’s always there and you’re reminded of that, once in a while, when you see it in the mirror.
His son would always have a place in his heart. He’d moved on. But he could never forget the baby who never got a chance to play baseball, or even learn how to walk and talk. His life was cut short and Weston would never get to know that person.
The hole that was left when his son left this world, began to fill with longing. He longed to hold a baby in his arms again. He longed to hear the little cries they made. He longed to wake up and look into the face of his child.
But he’d never resort to making Aulora feel she had to hurry to give him what he so desperately desired, craved, needed. No, he’d hold on. Wait until she was ready.
But he prayed she’d not make him wait too much longer, though he had every reason to believe that she would, not out of selfishness, though. Out of fear of what might happen someday. And all because her father had made a terrible mistake. One that he might not ever be able to make up for.
Her first cries were so faint that Aulora had a hard time hearing them. “She’s here,” she whispered to her stepmother. “Your baby girl is finally here!”
“Thank God,” Clara moaned. “She certainly made me wait. Didn’t she?”
“Would you like to cut the cord, Daddy?” Aulora asked him as the nurse offered the scissors to her. It had been planned that she’d do it but Aulora suddenly felt that her father needed to do the deed.
“Should I?” he asked Clara who nodded. He took the scissors and let the nurse position them at the right place on the umbilical cord. He closed his eyes as he clamped them down on the rubbery thing. He shuddered with the act then handed the scissors back to the nurse. “That felt odd.”
“Yes, it does,” the nurse agreed.
Aulora watched the red, wiggly baby as she was wrapped in a blanket and handed to her father. “Here you go, Daddy,” the doctor said.
Aulora and Clara watched Charles as he went stiff. “I don’t know how to hold something that small.”
Aulora went to her father’s side. Unsure of how to do it herself. “Let me help you, Daddy. I want to see this little girl in your arms a hell of a lot.”
She caught Clara smiling as she took the baby from the doctor and helped her father hold her in his arms. They watched as he looked down at his new baby girl. “Hi there, honey.”
With his words, the baby stopped crying and snuggled into her father’s chest. “She knows your voice,” Aulora whispered. “How cool is that, Dad? She already knows you and she loves you.”
Tears began to flow down his cheeks and he looked at Aulora. “I’m so damn sorry. You’ll never know how sorry I am, Aulora.”
She nodded and ran her arm around him, leaning her head on his shoulder and looking at her new sister. “I forgive you. Don’t apologize for that again. It’s in the past. This family has a new future and it’s starting back over with this little princess right here.”
Clara’s loud sob had them both looking at her as she said, “This is just so beautiful!”
Aulora pushed at her father. “Take your baby and go introduce her to her mom.”
She kissed the baby’s head then gave Clara a nod. “I’ll leave you three to get better acquainted then I’m coming back in here to hold my baby sister for a very long time, okay?”
Clara gave her a nod and a smile. “You better. I love you, girl.”
Aulora smiled. “I love you too, Mom.”
As she left the hospital room her sister had just been born in, she caught sight of Weston, leaving the bathroom. He looked at her and came to her, holding out his arms. “I need a hug!”
She was more than surprised by his actions. Weston was the typical strong guy. He was always in control of his emotions. But there he was, practically shaking in her arms.
They swayed back and forth as she lent him some of her reserves of strength. She was unaware she had any but she found some. “Weston, it’s going to be okay.”
“I miss him, Aulora.”
The pain that filled her heart was almost more than she could bare. But her man needed her to be there for him and she’d be damned if she let her emotions get in the way of what he needed from her.
“I know you do, baby.” She ran her hand over the back of his head as he leaned on her shoulder, burying his face. “If you need to leave here, I’ll go with you. I know this is hard for you.”
Suddenly, he pulled his head back, looking at her with red-rimmed eyes. “No! No way! We’re staying. I’m meeting that baby! I just needed to share that with you. I miss him. I miss what could’ve been. But I want to be a part of your family, Aulora. I do.”
She smiled and tugged him back into her arms. “Okay, then we’ll stay. I get it now. And I think it’s healthy for you to stay and see her.”
Sniffling and pulling himself up, he gained control over himself, wiping his eyes and laughing a little. “What a girl I am.”
“Don’t say that,” she chastised him. “You have a valid reason for your actions.”
“Enough about me,” he said, pulling her into his arms. “Did you hold her yet?”
“I kind of did. I took her from the doctor and put her into Dad’s arms. I thought it would be best if they got a little time alone together. You and I can go in later and get to know the newest member of the pack.”
“That was thoughtful of you,” he said as he took her hand and led her to the elevator. “Let’s go to the cafeteria and get something to eat and you can tell me how the whole thing went. I want it all. And I want to know how you felt every minute of it.”
She laughed as they got onto the elevator. “I felt like there’s a ton of pain that goes along with having a baby. That said, there’s more joy than anything else. I found myself thinking that having a baby is a lot like anything else. Anything worth having takes blood, sweat, and tears for you to truly appreciate it.”
“That’s one way of thinking about it,” he said as they got off the elevator and found the cafeteria. He pulled a couple of ham sandwiches off a cold tray and grabbed a couple of bags of chips. She picked up two bottles of water and they went to the cashier to pay for their lunch.
Finding a seat, the
y sat and started eating their little lunch.
“You know Clara told me something while I was with her.”
“Oh yeah, I bet she did,” he said with a chuckle. “Women in labor can be real chatterboxes. So, what were her words of wisdom?”
“That you and I would make great parents.” She leveled her eyes on him and watched his body language tell her he wasn’t about to fall for what she’d said. Not yet anyway.
“And we will. Someday. When you’re ready.” He took a bite of his sandwich.
Aulora watched him. His response wasn’t what she’d thought it would be. She kind of thought he’d agree wholeheartedly and ask her if she was ready to get started on the baby-making. When he stopped talking and only ate, she began to wonder if he wasn’t quite ready for a baby.
Men were odd, she decided. One day they wanted one thing and the next it was like that didn’t really matter at all. She didn’t know when or how she’d ever figure Weston out.
If ever!
With their lunch finished and an hour had passed, they went back up to see if they could go in and see the baby. They found her father outside of the room, talking to the pediatrician. They waited until he was done and the other man had walked away. Charles leaned back against the wall and looked at Aulora with fear-filled eyes.
They approached him with much hesitation then Aulora asked, “Is there something wrong, Dad?”
When he nodded, she felt her knees go weak and was thankful for Weston’s strong arm that tightened around her to hold her up. “The baby has a heart murmur,” her father said with a long sigh following.
“Oh God!” Aulora said, stunned. “What does that mean, Dad?”
He shook his head. “Just that she’ll have to be specially monitored. One of her heart valves doesn’t seem to be closing tight enough. The pediatrician said it can get stronger with time. If she’s not better by the time she’s a year old, they’ll do surgery to fix the problem.”
“Oh, so it’s not like some terminal thing then?” Aulora asked, feeling more than a bit relieved.
Dirty Money Page 21
