Upstaged

by Aaron Paul Lazar

Max cantered back to the porch, shook himself, and returned to the warm kitchen.

  The sump pump kicked on down below us in the cellar, grinding away as it sucked up the rainwater and pumped it out to the backyard. It was coming down hard.

  I grabbed our coats from the mudroom and helped Freddie into hers. Noticing her waterproof moccasins, I hurried to the shelf where I kept my rubbers and yanked on my black Totes. “Ready?”

  “Never been readier, Dad.” She smiled briefly and took my arm .

  We walked down the slippery porch steps toward the van. Siegfried’s bedroom light shone from the carriage house. I waved to his silhouette, and he waved back. I doubted if he’d be able to get back to sleep, knowing how excited he would be about the new baby.

  Freddie lay in the back seat, and I lengthened the center lap belt to wrap around her hips.

  I patted her hand and ran around to the driver’s seat in the driving rain. “Let’s do this.”

  Chapter Sixty-Five

  T he rain pelted hard against the windows of Freddie's minivan. Fog coated the inside of the window and I strained to see the familiar curves of our driveway. Turning the wipers to a faster speed, I twisted the temperature knob to hot. The defroster started to clear a patch at the bottom of the windshield. Before we had reached the stop sign at Long Point Road, Freddie had another contraction.

  When she finished, I glanced at the clock, ready to time the next one.

  3:10 A.M.

  “How are you doing back there, hon?” I accelerated and rolled through the deserted intersection.

  “That one really hurt. I don’t remember it being like this with Johnny.”

  Praying nothing was wrong with the baby, I pressed down harder on the accelerator.

  “Dad? We forgot to call Camille.”

  Freddie and Camille had attended childbirth classes together. She’d offered to be Freddie’s coach and they’d worked hard together to master the techniques.

  “No problem. I’ll call her right now.” I reached into my pocket for my cell, but it wasn’t there. “Damn. I left my phone on the bureau.”

  “Don’t worry. I can call—” She went into another spasm.

  I looked at the clock on the dash. 3:13 A.M. Frowning, I concentrated on the wet roads.

  When she was done, she fumbled around in the back for a minute. “Oh, no . I left my purse on the kitchen counter. I don’t have my phone either.”

  “Don’t worry. We can call her when we get there. It won’t be long. Just hang in there, baby cakes. ”

  Heavy rain streamed across the windshield. Very few vehicles were on the road at three in the morning, and we were practically alone on the dark highway. By the time we passed the Avon exit, we’d been on the road twenty minutes and the contractions were coming every two and a half minutes.

  I forced myself to relax. “Do you want some music?”

  “Okay, Dad. Find something peaceful.”

  I leaned forward to turn on the radio and noticed the temperature gauge had pegged onto the hot side of the dial. Surprised, I tapped the gauge. The needle didn’t move. Steam erupted from the hood, hissing and billowing in a blinding cloud. I pulled over to the side of the road and got out. Hot water gushed onto the wet road.

  Freddie cried out when another contraction hit. “What’s going on, Dad?”

  “I think a radiator hose burst. Where’s your flashlight?”

  “In the glove compartment. Please hurry, Dad. They’re coming faster now.”

  “I will, honey.” I popped open the glove box and yanked out the flashlight. I flicked on the switch and a strong yellow beam emitted from the bulb.

  I released the hood latch and ran outside, opening the scalding hood carefully to let the steam puff out. When it had cleared, I played the light over the hoses and located the culprit with the split. Rather than a natural tear, the hose had been neatly sliced.

  I looked nervously up and down the road, sticking my head in the front door. “Do you still have that old tool box in here?”

  “It’s in the back. But, hurry, Dad! They’re coming every two minutes now. I think the doctor was nuts. This baby really wants out! I can feel him moving down.”

  “Just try to hold on a little longer.” I raced around to the back of the van and opened the door. Under the back seat was the old toolbox I’d given Freddie for emergencies. I rummaged around until my hand closed over the prize. Duct tape. A whole roll of silver duct tape.

  I grabbed a rag and ran around to the front again. The billowing steam had stopped. Balancing the flashlight on the metal chassis, I dried the sizzling, hot hose as well as possible and wrapped the tape around the fissure. It would hold for the time being.

  “Dad! Please. The baby’s coming. Daddy?”

  She hadn’t called me Daddy in a decade. “Just one more minute. I have to get some water for the radiator.” I frantically searched for a vessel to fill with water.

  A small stream bubbled in the ditch at the bottom of the embankment, but I found no coffee cups in the holders. No juice boxes left in the backseat. I felt underneath the seats in vain, searching for something to collect the water. The sweat dripped down my forehead and mingled with the rain on my face.

  With a start, I looked down at my Totes. I leaned against the van and tugged off my rubbers, then stumbled down the bank and submerged them in the frigid water. They filled quickly. After three more trips, I had filled the radiator with enough water to get us to the hospital. The temperature gauge dropped when I started the engine, and we sped through the dark night.

  Chapter Sixty-Six

  F reddie wailed again from the back seat. I’d just pulled up to the emergency department entrance, and the contractions were coming every minute.

  I yanked open the doors and yelled into the busy room. “The baby’s coming! Please help.”

  A nurse and attendant raced out with a gurney between them. The nurse poked her head in the van and pushed Freddie’s skirt up, assessing the situation. “Holy St. Peter. It’s crowning. Rodriguez, help me get her on the gurney. Watch out, mister, you’re in the way. Who’s her doctor?”

  I jumped out of their way. “Dr. Patel. He’s supposed to meet us here.”

  They maneuvered her onto the gurney, and she cried out again, louder this time.

  The nurse hollered to the desk nurse when we raced past. “Call Sanjay Patel, now! Tell him to get down here. No time to get her up to the fourth floor. This baby’s coming out.”

  A red-haired intern emerged from an exam room curtain and began to question the nurse and me as she ran alongside. “You the husband?”

  Surprised, I shook my head. “No. I’m her father.”

  “Does she want you in there?”

  Freddie screamed again. “Dad? Don’t leave me!”

  “Uh, yeah. I guess she does.”

  A young doctor caught up with Rodriguez and took his spot on the gurney.

  “Get that man a mask and some booties. He’s coming with us.”

  Rodriguez jerked open a cupboard and pulled out several blue paper items. “Hurry, man. Put these on.”

  I struggled to determine how to tie the strings around my face. By the time I had put on the mask, Freddie was already in the room. I hopped up and down on each foot, trying to fit the paper booties over my shoes as I skipped along the hallway.

  “Dad! Where are you?”

  I’d never heard Freddie scream so loud, or seen her in such a state. I hadn’t been allowed in the delivery room when she’d been born. There had been complications with Elsbeth, and they’d locked me out. Harold had been there with Freddie when Johnny was born.

  The entire scene scared the hell out of me. I raced to the head of the bed to hold her hand. She squeezed with the strength of two men when the next contraction came.

  Dr. Patel skidded around the corner of the door. “Mrs. Delano? Ah! There you are!”

  Freddie gritted her teeth. “I’ve got to go back to my maiden name. I can’t stand being c
alled by Harold’s name.” The scream went on forever.

  “Well, well, well. Just in time to catch the little—girl!” Dr. Patel said with a grin.

  The tiny child cried out in surprise when she emerged from her mother’s body. A fine, white powder covered her delicate skin. Dr. Patel acted as though this were the most mundane moment of his life when he clipped the cord and waited for the placenta to deliver. I felt dizzy when they removed a pan of bloody fluid from the table.

  A nurse laid the infant on Freddie's chest, covering her with a white blanket.

  The child's eyes and fists closed tightly and she cried vigorously.

  Freddie reached her hand around the tiny girl and stroked her soft, wet hair. Tears streamed down her face. “It's okay, little girl. Mama's here. It's okay, little darling.”

  I ran the back of my hand against the baby’s soft cheeks, smiling from ear to ear, and completely overwhelmed. The baby stopped crying and blinked against the bright light.

  “My baby granddaughter,” I said with a catch in my throat. “So tiny. So perfect. ”

  Freddie's expression changed. Her smile vanished. “Dr. Patel? Something’s happening. I’m not done.”

  The doctor looked bemused. “Of course you’re done, Mrs.—” He looked between Freddie’s legs. “Okay, everybody. Second baby on the way. Keep pushing, dear.”

  I stared in shock at my daughter as she began to struggle anew. A nurse whisked the little girl from her chest and placed her in a tiny bed. Within seven minutes, the second baby girl emerged.

  Dr. Patel said, “This one has beautiful red hair.” He placed her on Freddie.

  The baby’s damp, thick hair was indeed a copper-blond. I was torn, wanting to see both grandchildren.

  The nurses worked on the first little girl, putting some medicine in her eyes and taking a blood sample from her heel.

  Dr. Patel came to the head of the bed and touched Freddie’s arm. “Nice job, well done. I’m just surprised that this one didn’t show up on the ultrasound.”

  Freddie smiled weakly and finally let her head drop off to the side. She hated the idea of ultrasounds and had only one in the very beginning. Neither of us reminded the doctor of the repeated appointments she’d canceled at the end.

  She stroked the baby’s back, rubbing her hand in small circles to comfort her. Sighing happily, she glanced toward the firstborn twin, tears still streaming down her cheeks. “I’m okay, Dad. Go to her.”

  Freddie’s hair lay damp against her forehead. I brushed it away from her flushed cheeks and kissed her. “Great job, baby cakes.”

  I walked over to the little cart that held my oldest granddaughter. She shrieked and thrashed her arms when the nurse took footprints and attached a diminutive plastic bracelet labeled “Baby A.”

  “It’s okay, little girl. Opa’s here.”

  The nurses finished their tasks with Baby A and laid her in my arms. I carried her to Freddie, rocking her and trying to calm her. She looked up at me for a moment with her hazy, new vision and started to cry again.

  The nurse was about to remove the baby from Freddie’s chest to attend to the necessary rituals, when Freddie stopped her. “Can I hold both of them together for a minute, please?”

  She still wept with joy. The nurse smiled. “Okay. Five minutes, sweetie. Why don’t you sit up so you can hold them easier?”

  She lifted the back of the bed and stuffed a pillow behind Freddie’s head. I lowered the baby to Freddie’s waiting arms. Now reunited with her mother and twin sister, Baby A stopped crying and opened her eyes a slit.

  I watched my dear daughter with her two baby girls, and a second wave of emotion washed over me. I teared up.

  My family. My sweet girls .

  I wiped the moisture from my cheeks. “They are gorgeous, honey. Just like little angels.”

  I reached down to each little one and held their tiny hands in mine. They simultaneously opened their fists and wrapped four fingers around each of my index fingers. I was surprised at their strength and their instincts to grip and hold.

  Freddie smiled up at me, still beaming with joy. “Can you believe it, Dad? Twins! I had no idea.”

  The nurse came back for the second baby girl. “It’s a double blessing.”

  I leaned in close to the babies. “Welcome to the family, little girls.”

  Chapter Sixty-Seven

  B y 10 A.M., the whole family had arrived at the hospital. Mrs. Pierce took Johnny to the gift shop after he visited for a few minutes with his new sisters. Camille sat on the side of the bed next to Freddie, holding one baby. Freddie held the other.

  “I still can’t believe I missed it.” She made soft squeaking noises toward the little girl in her arms.

  Freddie frowned briefly. “I know. Me, too. I can’t believe we both left our phones at home. We worked so hard on all those exercises together, you know?”

  “I know, but even if you hadn’t forgotten the phones, I still wouldn’t have made it in time.”

  I sat in a chair in the corner, filling out the baby books Camille brought as a gift. Until Freddie chose names, I lightly penciled in “A” and “B” on the inside covers of the pink, padded books.

  The girls weighed in at four pounds thirteen ounces and five pounds five ounces. Both measured almost nineteen inches long. They each had a tiny bit of soft hair on their heads, one with brown and one with red. Freddie had already nursed them both three times, and had been receiving tips from the nurses as to how to manage the feeding schedules.

  While the two women conversed, I dozed in the chair the nurses had brought to me at 5:00 A.M. I tried to ignore the questions that bumped up against my very tired brain.

  Why had the maniac sliced the hose on Freddie’s van? Had he done the same to my car? Did he know enough about my family to know how important transportation was to us and that Freddie was about to deliver? I certainly hadn’t kept quiet about it. I’d probably told everyone I’d come in contact with over the past few weeks .

  Did the anger he harbored extend beyond Camille and me, to include those in my immediate family? The thought chilled my blood. I pushed the idea away. I couldn’t handle it. I had snoozed on and off for several hours, but my eyes felt gritty. I needed more sleep.

  The sound of Camille and Freddie’s conversation was soothing. They giggled and cooed and clucked to my granddaughters. I slept for about ten minutes, then opened my eyes, sat up straighter, and watched the two excited women with the babies.

  Freddie’s complexion was pale. Her hair lay stringy and damp on her shoulders, but her eyes glowed brightly.

  Camille helped her brush her hair and throw on a pretty yellow bathrobe when she discovered Adam Knapp was on his way over. Siegfried was on his way to Wal-Mart to buy another bassinet and car seat, and said he’d be up later.

  I still found it difficult to believe Freddie would need two of everything. Johnny still rode in a car seat, which meant she’d have three car seats lined up in a row when she carted the babies around town.

  The girls were so tiny. Baby “A” had a red mark on her left cheek from the delivery. Baby “B” had benefited from being delivered second, since her sister had prepared the way for her. The nurses had tightly wrapped both in thin pink blankets. Their nightgowns had mittens to cover their fingernails to prevent scratching. Two pink caps covered their downy soft hair.

  Twins . Wow .

  Adam walked hesitantly into the room, dressed in his police uniform, grinning when he saw Freddie. He held his hat in one hand and a bouquet of pink carnations in the other. Camille placed the second baby gently beside her mom and backed away from the bedside to give them time together.

  “Two babies, Freddie?”

  “Yeah. Two little girls, Adam. Who would’ve thought, huh? ”

  Adam moved closer and hesitantly patted the tops of their pink caps.

  “Amazing. What are you gonna call ‘em?”

  “I’ve been thinking about it all morning. I don’t wan
t them to have cutesy pie matching names, you know? Something pretty, but elegant. I want people to know they’re girls, but none of this unisex stuff.” She consulted a piece of scratch paper by the bedside. “I’ve been thinking of Vanessa Elsbeth and Celeste Madelaine. But I’m still working on it. I’m also fond of Meredith and Natalie.”

  Adam looked unsure of himself as he shuffled from foot to foot. His expression brightened when he admired the babies more closely. “Nice names. Y’know what? They look just like you . I can see your face in theirs.”

  Freddie beamed. Camille tugged my arm and dragged me out the door. I heard her responding to him, clearly relieved that someone other than dear old dad had confirmed the opinion that they resembled their mother instead of their father. We walked slowly toward the corridor and I heard her say, “Would you like to hold one, Adam?”

  Chapter Sixty-Eigh t

  “O kay folks, quiet down.” Camille clapped her hands, and the cast and crew settled into their seats.

  “Tonight is the first night of production week. We have only three practices left to get the costumes, props, mikes, and lights ironed out and to fix the last of the acting details.” She gazed affectionately at the students. “Don’t get me wrong. The show’s gonna be a smash. You are fabulous and there’s a good chance you’ll be nominated for an award again.”

  Randy emerged from the side door with his cape awry. Camille hopped down to arrange it for him, then turned back to the teens. “Thursday and Friday will be recorded. Saturday the judges will be here from the Stars of Tomorrow board.” She scanned the group of energized kids and smiled once more. “Okay, go ahead and get into your places.”

  The actors scurried backstage and the crew melted into the background in their black attire and headphones. Adam Knapp looked out from behind the curtain and gave me the thumbs up sign. I sat in the back of the theater, keeping watch. We’d double-checked the props and set. Doors were locked that needed to be locked. No one who shouldn’t be there could possibly get onto the set.

  Another officer patrolled the auditorium doors and corridors surrounding the set. By Thursday night, Joe Russell had promised to join us to lend an extra hand. Between the three officers, Siegfried, and me, there should be very little opportunity for anyone to upstage our production.