“I’m ready to go. What’d you say? Are you feeling okay?” She went to him and rubbed his shoulders.
“I’m okay. Why do I feel like it’s going to be a long summer?” He got up slowly, moaning.
Alice laughed. She felt the same way.
When they arrived at Faye’s, everyone else was already there. April’s two boys ran to her, screaming with delight. Dave smiled as he took the fruit tray from Alice so she was free to hug her grandchildren.
“Granny! Aunt Dave!” they yelled.
The others came out to see what the commotion was about, the women circling around Dave, patting his belly and listening to his complaints, offering advice and leading him to a chair by the pool. Even Beth couldn’t help herself; this baby was going to be her children’s brother or sister. She couldn’t deny it.
John was talking on his cell phone in a corner, looking suspicious as he glanced over his shoulder. He was ready to face his wife if Gemma Kane made good her threats to contact her, but he wanted to break it off. He wanted to be with his wife and family this summer.
Bill felt like he was the only normal man at the party. It was clear John was preoccupied, and Dave was carrying a basketball under his shirt. But then his son Bill Jr. and John’s son Jason stepped forward and offered to help setting up chairs and carrying bags of ice. They were two nice young men.
The meal was Faye’s usual masterpiece, with picnic foods prepared to perfection. It was a warm summer day, and when everyone finished eating, the family sat around the pool, talking and catching up. There were topics off-limits: little Dougie and Lynn, Todd’s whereabouts. Faye got up, yawning, and went around the tables, picking up empty bottles and paper plates.
“Let me help you,” Dave said, stretching. He picked up his own trash and went to Alice for hers. Following Faye into the kitchen, the two worked together cleaning up, Dave making trips back and forth to retrieve plates while Faye loaded the dishwasher.
“How do you feel?” Faye asked. The words were out without thinking; her concern for him was real. She looked over at him as he puttered at her counter.
“Like I’m ready to explode, actually. Is that normal?” He’d picked up a paper napkin and was wiping the sweat off of his face.
“Ah, no! Not this early.” Faye walked over to him and put her hand on his forehead. They both laughed. “It’s force of habit for a mother to do this when her kid complains.”
Alice walked in, pleased that her daughter was having what appeared to be a positive moment with Dave.
“You okay?” she asked, approaching the sink.
“I think you might be having a baby sooner than you think,” Faye said.
This was not welcome news.
“It’s too early,” Alice said. “What’s wrong?”
Faye had her hands over Dave’s belly. “You can feel he’s having a contraction right now,” Faye said.
Suddenly, a splash of fluid seeped through his blue jeans, causing Faye and Alice to both jump back.
“Oh my God, either you just peed on me or your water broke,” Faye said. “I’m going to go get Beth.” She left while Alice pulled Dave over to the kitchen table to sit down.
“What a mess,” he said, looking over at the puddle on the floor. And then he grunted involuntarily, his face turning red.
“Oh, fuck,” Alice said, it slipping out. She didn’t want to upset him. “It looks like a little someone wants to come out.” They knew the sex of the baby, a girl, but kept it a secret up until now.
“Is there anything we can do to stop it?” Dave said, an edge of hysteria just visible.
“I don’t think so, not if you need to push already,” Alice said.
Beth came in with Faye close behind her.
“Oh boy,” Beth said. “I mean, oh girl. Are you having labor pains?” She bent down to look into Dave’s eyes. He was clearly frightened.
“I think so,” he said. “It feels like bad cramps. It’s my back that’s killing me.”
“Let’s get him to the hospital,” Beth said.
Dave grunted again, holding on to the chair. “We might not have time!”
“I’m calling 9-1-1,” Alice said.
“My husband should be in here to see his baby being born,” Beth said.
Ellie, Faye and Bill’s oldest girl, walked in just then.
“Is Aunt Dave having his baby?” she asked. She went right over to him. The girls were fond of Dave and had helped decorate the baby’s room at the cottage.
“Yes, it looks that way. Go tell Uncle John to get in here,” Beth said.
Ellie went out to get John while Alice explained the situation to the dispatcher on the phone. She agreed it was too far to the hospital and they should wait for the ambulance. John ran in as soon as Ellie told him.
“It’s too early,” he said, frightened.
“There’s nothing we can do about it,” Beth said. “Help me get him up. Faye, where do you want us to go in case this baby doesn’t wait for the squad?”
“Right on the family room couch,” she said.
“It’ll get ruined,” Beth replied. “We should do it on the floor.”
“I’m ready for a new one anyway. He’ll be too uncomfortable on the floor.”
Dave was beyond speech at this point, panting under the direction of Alice, who’d taken all the childbirth classes with him.
“I think the backache he was having all day was labor,” Alice said. “I should have taken him to the hospital then.”
“Why would you think it was labor? It’s too early,” Faye repeated. “Let’s get his jeans off.”
They’d covered Dave with an afghan and were helping him pull his wet jeans down before he got on the couch. Beth would say later that she fully expected to see a penis as the jeans came down and was taken aback when a vulva was staring back at her. Normal female genitalia. She looked up at John and mouthed, I hate you. He couldn’t help himself and started to laugh. Everyone looked his way.
“Why are you even in here?” Faye asked, and then remembered. They decided it would be common knowledge that the baby was his. “Oh, right, never mind.” And she laughed, too.
“I’m so glad you all think this is so amusing,” Dave said, and everyone patted him and murmured apologies.
“No, no, nothing like that,” they said in unison.
John reached over and squeezed his arm. “I got your back, bro,” he said, and then Dave laughed, but only momentarily because he grunted with the next contraction.
Everyone stopped and looked at his crotch as he spread his legs apart.
“It’s coming,” he grunted.
“Get me some gloves; do you have gloves?” Beth said.
Faye ran into the bathroom and got a box of vinyl exam gloves they had, and she pulled a pair out. They’d covered the couch with a plastic garbage bag and towels, and had pulled Dave’s shirt out of the way. Faye looked up, and Bill and all the kids were standing in the big window, watching, concerned.
“Someone close those blinds, please,” Faye said.
John waved at his kids and brother-in-law.
“Can I invite the girls in to see?” she asked Dave, who said yes before the next push. Faye went to the door and whispered that if any girls wanted to come in, they were welcome. John’s daughter, Amy, and the three Visiglio girls came, crowding around their Aunt Dave as she gave birth. Amy was choking back tears and forced her way to his side. She knew the baby was her little sister.
“I can’t stand it anymore!” Dave wailed.
“That means it’s almost over,” Alice answered. “Where’s that damn ambulance?”
Dave bore down one more time with all of his might, and the top of a head could be seen between his legs.
“There she is!” Beth said.
Everyone crowded in closer to look. Alice, the wife-to-be was standing at her fiancé Dave’s feet, watching as her husband-to-be gave birth to her granddaughter, while John was up at his head, consoling him like the
father should. Beth saw it and just shook her head in exasperation. This was her life. She remembered those first moments, meeting Alice at that shack of a cottage, thinking that she should run for her life from John. And it hit her that quickly. This was her life. She looked back down as the baby was slowly emerging from her mother/father’s body. Because Dave was really a guy. He might have a vagina and the parts to make a baby, but aside from that, he was a man. She didn’t feel threatened by his relationship with her husband. She was sorry John had turned out to be such an asshole, with his infidelity and his sneaky behavior. She wondered if he could change. She sure didn’t want to miss out on her life.
Dave pushed a final time, and a tiny baby came out of his body, caught in Beth’s hands. Everyone oh’d and ah’d at the little baby as they clamored to get closer. Beth wrapped her, little Margaret Marie, in a clean towel provided by Faye, who was on her knees next to Dave, sobbing her heart out.
Beth made eye contact with John, smiling, and mouthed congratulations. Dave lay back, exhausted. John had his arm around his shoulders, while Alice held both their hands. April hung back with her nieces, who were all in tears, happy for the little cries they heard, the baby alive and seemingly okay for the moment. In the distance, the scream of an ambulance drew closer. Bill stuck his head in the door, but didn’t venture any closer.
“Who does she look like?” he asked, the other males clamoring at his back. The females in the family huddled close together, laughing and smiling. They craned their heads to see the baby and shouted out in chorus, “She has red hair!”
<<<<>>>>
Also by Suzanne Jenkins
#1 Pam of Babylon Long Island housewife Pam Smith is called to the hospital after her husband Jack suffers a heart attack on the train from Manhattan. It is the beginning of a journey of self-discovery and sadness, growth and regrets, as she realizes a wife and mother’s worst nightmare.
#2 Don’t You Forget About Me Jack’s wife and two lovers discover secrets and lies, and each other. The family begins to sift through the evidence of a life of deceit, putting together the pieces left behind by Jack.
#3 Dream Lover A gritty, realistic portrait of the aftermath of deceit, more pieces of the puzzle come together as the women each attempt to go on living in the wake of despair. Jack’s lovers scatter as Cindy tries to move forward, Blythe discovers a way to live without him, and other make their way to the beach for an audience with Pam.
#4 Prayers for the Dying Pam makes startling revelations about herself, while Sandra hopes for a future with exciting expectations. Marie is in a most unlikely place, with the happiest news in the bleakest circumstances. Ashton’s story of a lifetime love affair with Jack is finally told, with his heartache revealed.
#5 Family Dynamics Heartbreak and devastation move toward triumph in the fifth installation of the Pam of Babylon series. Pam is at last able to overcome the pain of Jack’s rejection, and her own role in perpetuating his deviance, when she meets Dan and falls in love. Her children move on with their lives in ways Pam would have never believed. Sandra fulfills her dreams with Tom, and a gift from Marie helps to complete their life together. Ashton and Ted build a beautiful life, and new discoveries make it richer than they thought possible, but with a twist. But don’t be deceived; what you hope for is not what you may get.
#6 The Tao of Pam Pam is at a crossroad which will take her to the next phase of her life, if she chooses the right path. Brent and Lisa move on, dealing with their own life choices and Pam pays the cost. But does what she has to do to maintain a life of harmony.
#7 In Memoriam In Memoriam begins with the birth of a baby boy to Pam’s former boyfriend, Dan and daughter, Lisa as the journey of Pam of Babylon continues in this seventh volume. Still reeling from the death of her beloved son Brent, Pam endures life at the beach with remarkable strength. Sandra tries to balance several versions of her life while striving to be part of the Smith legacy. Lisa rises above circumstances that would destroy most, with determination. But don't be too impressed; history does have a way of repeating itself.
#8 Soulmates Pam faces new challenges with glamour and poise, while Sandra doesn't disappoint, and Lisa discovers new strengths. "Women's fiction with a touch of noir."
#9 Save the Date Pam and John plan their wedding, while love and healing grow around the couple. Lisa and Dan split up, and the day he leaves, she finds peace. Sandra and Dan make a commitment to each other, but for how long? John’s daughter, Violet makes major life changes and the grandmothers find adventure…and love. An old friend from Pam’s childhood returns with troublemaking in mind, but Karma is on Pam’s side, at last.
#10 I’ll Always Love You The women; Bernice, Nelda, Pam, Lisa, Violet, Cara and little Miranda rise up in power in this tale of triumph and love. But there are a few proverbial flies in the ointment. Can you guess whom?
#11 Coming Soon!
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The Detroit Detective Stories. Nestled below the skyline of Detroit you’ll find Greektown, a few short blocks of colorful bliss, warm people and Greek food. In spite of growing up immersed in the safety of her family and their rich culture, Jill Zannos doesn’t fit in. A Detroit homicide detective, she manages to keep one foot planted firmly in the traditions started by her grandparents, while the other navigates the most devastated neighborhoods in the city she can’t help but love. She is a no-nonsense workaholic with no girlfriends, an odd boyfriend who refuses to grow up, and an uncanny intuition, inherited from her mystic grandmother that acts as her secret weapon to crime-solving success. Her story winds around tales of her family and their secret-laden history, while she investigates the most despicable murder of her career.
The Greeks of Beaubien Street is a modern tale of a family grounded in old world, sometimes archaic, tradition as they seek acceptance in American society. They could be any nationality, but they are Greek.
The Princess of Greektown Jill investigates the messiest crime of her career, while her family suffers a loss that changes the way life will be lived in Greektown.
Christmas in Greektown As Christmastime approaches, the family prepares for another get-together in Greektown. Relationships blossom and some end during the hardest time of the year. But as Jill and others discover, when one door closes, another opens, often with more wonderful opportunities.
A Greektown Wedding After Christmas was over, the family could finally focus on other things, like love! The jam-packed fourth volume of the Greektown Stories Saga, A Greektown Wedding takes you on the emotional roller coaster the other books introduced you to as the Zannos's have another family dinner in Greektown, but this time with a wedding.
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The Burn District Series
Burn District: The Short Story Prequel Laura and Mike Davis and their four children build an idyllic life with friends and family nearby in the beautiful Brandywine River Valley. Dreams and goals come to an abrupt end soon after Hurricane Sandy hits the east coast. Discovered in wood soaked by seawater, a virus thought to have the potential to decimate the population becomes the excuse to relocate thousands of citizens from beach towns. Fire is the only known way to eradicate the virus.
Rumors spread that napalm is used to burn without evacuating the people. A neighbor warns Laura and Mike that their town is next as the destruction moves inland. Is it a drastic way to halt the spread of disease, or is there another catalyst?
Burn District: Yuma Book 1 The family flees to Steve Hayward’s ranch in the desert at the Mexican Border, outside of Yuma, Arizona and build an encampment there. The government no longer exists. Lies, looting and lack of power are now the norm of life in the United States. Believers and Rumors coexist, as life appears to reach normalcy. But it will be short-lived.
Watch for Burn District: Book 2
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Alice’s Summertime Adventure
We meet Alice Bradshaw when she is at a crossroad. She’s just beaten cancer and is suddenly unsure of what her next move should be. Looking back
on where she’s been and what the future may hold, she knows she needs to make a big change in her life. Then her car dies on the highway after an argument with her daughter. Dave, a stranger on a motorcycle, pulls alongside her and saves the day. He offers Alice a chance at adventure. She jumps on it, much to the dismay of her children. The adventure starts a chain of events that will have Alice and her children, as well as Dave, questioning every aspect of their lives. There will be a few casualties along the way, a lot of anger, life changes and a few shocking surprises. Alice’s Summertime Adventure is the story of an average American family as they struggle with dilemmas we all have, and making choices that aren’t for everyone.
Someone Like You
Life gets in the way as upstate NY sisters, Marley and Abigail cling to each other and their young children. But a babysitter introduces them both to Jay Malik, a medical student from India who becomes their lifeline to happiness, forgiveness and healing. "Another tear-jerker from Jenkins. Have the tissue ready."
The Savant of Chelsea
From Publisher’s Weekly April 2014 "This gripping novel from Jenkins delivers complex twists and turns from start to finish. Alexandra Donicka is a talented but unstable brain surgeon living in New York City. When her mother dies, Alexandra travels to New Orleans to face the tragedies and secrets of her youth. These include childhood abuse and the birth of a child, who was taken from Alexandra by her mother more than two decades ago. As Alexandra searches for her daughter, she must grapple with long-hidden emotions and discover her own humanity. Jenkins creates fully realized, believable characters and ably portrays mental illness in this dark tale that provides nonstop thrills and culminates in an explosive and unexpected finale."
Alice's Summertime Adventure Page 26
