Lord, give me the strength to see this through. And please, let our baby be strong and healthy.
But what if he wasn’t? God had two ways of answering her prayer, for reasons at this time known only to Him—yes or no.
“You should be able to just make it to the birthday cake.” JoAnn pointed to the chocolate cake standing on an elegant cake stand. JoAnn’s. She didn’t have such fancy cut glassware on which to serve her kitchen creations.
Wow. The woman really was a whizz in the kitchen. Never in a million years would the cake have looked that mouth-watering had she iced it.
“I can’t wait.” Elizabeth turned and headed down the passage toward their bathroom. The quicker she showered, the quicker they could eat, the quicker they could get to that birthday cake. And she only had about five minutes before the next wave of pain struck.
The warmth of the shower eased the contraction that came earlier than expected. If only she could stay in the shower through her entire labor, but dinner was about to be served, and Brian still had to hop in.
She also needed to talk to Brian about the decision that tore her apart. If only she’d chatted to him on the beach, but she didn’t want to spoil their time together.
Dinner was everything, and more, that Elizabeth had expected it to be—the food, the company, the fun. The only downside, the pains that became more intense and more frequent, until eventually it became a joke around the table for everyone to breathe through the contractions with Elizabeth. Laughter filled the night, medicine to Elizabeth’s soul.
By the time JoAnn brought the cake through with two candle’s lit on top—a six and a one—the labor pains had been five minutes apart for over an hour.
JoAnn placed the cake on the table. “I wanted to put sixty-one candles on top, but was worried I wouldn’t be able to get them all lit in time.”
“Good thing you didn’t or the chocolate icing would’ve melted from the heat.” Elizabeth laughed then sucked in a breath, exhaling slowly. She and Brian would need to eat this cake pronto. They still had a half-hour’s drive to the hospital, although she’d probably still be in labor for several hours. At least, she hoped she would so that the baby could be born on her birthday.
She blew out the candles with her next breath and the chorus of ‘Happy Birthday to You’ filled the night. As she tucked into the slice JoAnn dished up for her, wetness soaked the seat’s cushion. She forked the cake into her mouth, barely chewing between bites.
“What’s the hurry, love?” Brian patted her hand. “Savor your birthday cake.”
“No time. And you’d best eat up, too. My water’s just broke.”
Brian’s eyes stretched. “For real this time?”
She nodded. “For real.”
Brian mimicked Elizabeth’s frenzied cake eating. As did Jordan and Shaun.
Closing his mouth around the last forkful, Brian pushed to his feet. “Sorry to eat and run. JoAnn, just leave everything. I’ll clean up when I get home. Hopefully it won’t be in a few days.”
“Nonsense, you get going. Errol and I will sort things out here and then lock up for you.”
“Thank you. The spare keys are hanging behind the front door.” His eyes flicked to the human shadows that had become such a part of their lives. “You boys ready?” He needn’t have asked. Jordan was already on his feet, and the camera had been rolling since they’d sung ‘Happy Birthday’.
“Whoa. Wait a minute, cowboy.” Elizabeth struggled out of her chair, and Brian hurried to help her up. “I need to change my clothes first.”
She grabbed the wet cushion before shuffling inside.
Brian followed.
“Honey, can you put my wet clothes into the washing machine, and soak the cushion in the bath,” Elizabeth said as she hopped in the shower again.
He obliged.
By the time he returned to the room, she had dried herself and dressed and was pressed up against the wall, working her way through another strong contraction.
“This baby has every intention of being born tonight.” She panted out the words.
Jordan offered to drive them to the hospital in his rental car which still stood in their driveway. “No offence, Brian, but it’ll be faster than your car. And you get to sit back and help Elizabeth through the pain.”
“Good idea.” Brian handed Elizabeth’s small suitcase to Jordan. After their false alarm trip to the hospital, she’d packed the case correctly the very next day.
In the back seat, Brian called the hospital to let them know they were on their way and inform them how far apart the contractions were. He cut the call and pocketed his phone.
The sudden sense of urgency to intercede for his wife had him clasping Elizabeth’s hand. “Can I pray for you?”
She nodded as she huffed and puffed, then inhaled and exhaled slowly as Brian reminded her how she was to breathe correctly.
He closed his eyes. “Father God, Creator of life. You give, and You take. Blessed be Your name. Thank you, Lord, this day has finally arrived. I pray for strength for us all for this night, but especially for my dear wife, Elizabeth. Lord, we know that You won’t give us more than we can endure, and so we pray tonight that You will help Elizabeth through this time of labor. Give Dr. Kerr wisdom during the delivery. And the hospital staff. Lord, it is our desire that our baby be healthy, with ten fingers and ten toes. Nevertheless, we bow to your will. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.”
“Amen,” Jordan said aloud.
Elizabeth wrapped her other hand over Brian’s. “Honey, there’s something important I must ask of you.”
Brian swallowed hard. “What is it, love?”
“I–if anything goes wrong—”
“We talked about this already, when you’d just fallen pregnant. Remember? I can’t lose you, Elizabeth.”
“Honey, I’ve lived a good life—a long life. But our child—”
Brian shook his head. “No. No. I–I can’t. I’m sorry.”
“You have to. If a situation arises during delivery where you need to choose between my life and the life of our child, you have to choose our baby. You and I, we’re not long for this earth. And I’ll be waiting for you in heaven if it comes down to that—you know that.” She leaned forward and stared into Brian’s eyes. “Promise me, my love.”
Swallowing hard, he breathed a heavy sigh. “All right. I promise.” He wrapped his arms around Elizabeth and squeezed. “But don’t you go dying on me. You hear.”
“I have every intention of not doing so. I’ve far too much to live for.”
Chapter 13
After admission, Elizabeth was settled into a bed in the labor ward, assessed, and hooked up to an electronic fetal monitor. The moment the ultrasound transducer was strapped over her abdomen to monitor the baby’s heart rate, those tiny heartbeats whooshed into the room like a freight train. The second detector strapped to the top of her abdomen recorded the frequency and strength of her contractions. The printer on the machine buzzed as it recorded the readings in squiggly lines. The fact that the nursing staff kept a close eye on her baby was comforting, but the first time the machine’s alarm sounded because one of the monitors had shifted when Elizabeth moved onto her side, she almost suffered a heart attack.
Brian sat in the chair beside her, while Jordan and Shaun—with his ever active camera—became wallflowers, giving Elizabeth and Brian as much privacy as the situation demanded and the small room would afford.
Brian combed his fingers through her hair. “Why don’t you try to get some sleep?”
She should. All this time, and she was only five centimeters dilated. Could be morning before their precious bundle was born. Then again, the dilation from five to ten centimeters could occur within a short space of time. There was just no way of telling.
“What’s the time?” she whispered before sucking in a breath and breathing through the contraction. Sleep? Was the notion even possible with the pains coming every two, three, or four minutes?
Brian glanced at his wristwatch. “Almost ten-thirty. Way past your bedtime.” He raised himself out of his chair to lean forward and kiss her forehead.
Elizabeth cupped his cheek and searched his eyes. “I don’t think there’ll be much sleeping tonight.”
“Good evening, everyone.” Dr. Kerr strode into the room owning it and headed straight for the fetal monitor. Dressed in blue scrubs, her blond hair tied up and mostly hidden beneath a matching cap, this was her playground.
Reality hit Elizabeth. This was it. Her obstetrician was here to deliver her baby.
Dr. Kerr lifted the printed strip then smiled. “So, Elizabeth and Brian, it’s finally all happening. How are those contractions?” Her gaze flitted to Jordan in the corner, and then back to her patient.
“Painful.” Elizabeth attempted a smile for her doctor.
“Frequent, too, I see. Baby’s heart rate looks good. No signs of distress.” She released the paper strip. “I see you’ve signed the consent form for general anesthetic should anything go wrong and we need to perform an emergency C-section, but what if we gave you an epidural…now.” She held up a hand. “I know, I know…we already discussed this at your last appointment, and that you want to do this birth totally naturally…but should there be any emergency—God forbid—you’ll be awake to witness your baby’s birth.” She lowered her hand and rested it on Elizabeth’s. “You’ve waited so long for this, I’d hate for you to miss a thing. And considering your age, things can go wrong in this delivery.” She shook her head. “Heck, things can go wrong in any delivery. Personally, as your obstetrician, I’d feel more comfortable if you had the epi. And, it’ll make the rest of your labor pain-free.”
Elizabeth looked up into Dr. Kerr’s hazel eyes, appearing more green than brown right now. “Will it hurt?”
“Just a small prick, that’s all. I promise.” Her mouth tipped up at the corners. “Labor on the other hand…”
Every pulse point in her body thumped. Was something going to go wrong? Was this why she’d felt so pressed to talk to Brian today and insisted he choose the baby’s life over hers if it came to that?
She turned her gaze to her husband. “What do you think?”
Brian sighed and took her hand in his, giving it a gentle squeeze. “I hate seeing you in so much pain…”
Elizabeth rolled her head on the pillow to look at her doctor. “All right. Let’s do it.”
“Good. Give me a moment to get an epidural cart set up and call an anesthesiologist.”
“It’ll be done right here?” Elizabeth hoped so. She didn’t want to be separated from Brian.
Dr. Kerr smiled. “Yes.”
Twenty minutes after the epidural had been performed, Elizabeth could no longer feel her toes. She couldn’t feel the labor pains either, and she drifted off into blissful sleep.
Commotion in the room woke her. At one side of the bed someone shook her. “Mrs. Dunham, wake up. You’re ten centimeters dilated. Time to take you to the delivery room to birth this baby.”
The bed jiggled from side to side as the brakes were released. Theatre-clad nurses on either side pushed the bed, and it started to roll. Elizabeth forced her eyes open.
“Wait. My husband.” She looked around for Brian as the nurses paused in the doorway. In front of the bed she spotted Shaun and his faithful camera and offered a weak smile.
“I’m right here, love.” Brian stepped up from behind.
“W–what time is it?”
“Ten past three.”
“In the morning?” Elizabeth released a yawn.
Brian chuckled. “In the middle of the night. You had a good sleep there. I’m glad.”
“We need to go,” one of the nurses urged.
Brian nodded and kissed Elizabeth on the head. “I’m right here with you, praying.” He smiled and Elizabeth could tell he was nervous. “Happy birthday, by the way.”
“Thanks.” The bed began to roll again, and Elizabeth sucked in a deep breath.
The delivery room was large and bright and busy as green-clad theatre staff bustled about. The bed was positioned in place, the monitor beside her still thumping out the baby’s heartbeat.
Dr. Kerr appeared at the side of the bed, theatre mask and rubber gloves on. She checked the fetal monitoring then moved to the bottom of the bed.
Elizabeth glanced around the room looking for Brian. “W–where’s my husband?”
Before anyone could answer, Brian, Jordan, and Shaun pushed through the theatre doors, arrayed in dark blue gowns and caps, their feet also covered in thin, blue theatre slippers.
She smiled at them. “You should all become doctors. You look so handsome in those outfits.”
“Elizabeth.” Dr. Kerr’s voice rushed toward her from the bottom of the bed, redirecting Elizabeth’s focus. “Because you can’t feel the contractions with the epidural, you’ll need to listen to my instructions when I tell you to push, or not to push and just breathe.”
Elizabeth nodded as two nurses took their places at the sides of the bed and lifted her feet onto their hips. Thankfully Shaun and his camera and Jordan, and even Brian for that matter, had all taken their places behind her.
“Use the nurses to bear down against,” Dr. Kerr instructed. “When I tell you to push, I need you to take a deep breath then hold it and push to the count of ten. Take a quick breath and then push again. We’ll try to get three pushes on each contraction. All right?”
“Okay.” Elizabeth’s heart beat faster, and she shot a prayer to heaven. Help me through this, Lord. Keep my baby safe.
“Right, Elizabeth, push.”
She obliged her doctor, releasing a long grunt as she pushed. Was she doing it right? She had no idea. If she hadn’t had the epidural, she would’ve been able to feel what she was doing. But she could feel nothing—it seemed like she was floundering in the dark—and she regretted having the pain-blocker.
After three pushes, her doctor instructed her to breathe. “That’s good, Elizabeth. You’re doing great.”
The fetal monitor beside the bed screamed.
“W–what’s wrong? What’s happening?” O Lord. Panic spread through Elizabeth’s body like an angry virus.
The nurse closest to the monitor turned to look at the machine. “Fetal heart rate’s plummeting, doctor. The baby’s going into distress.”
Dr. Kerr’s head snapped down as she assessed the situation. “Overt umbilical cord prolapse.” On high alert, her eyes flicked up to the theatre staff. “We need to get this baby out now! Prepare for an emergency C-section.” Her gaze shifted to Elizabeth and Brian and her eyes smiled. “Good thing we had that epidural done.”
Elizabeth reached for Brian’s hand. She squeezed.
“Doctor, if it comes to a choice…s–save the baby.” Brian swallowed, his request echoing around the room. “I–it’s Elizabeth’s wish.”
Dr. Kerr stared at Brian as a screen quickly separated Elizabeth from her doctor. “Nobody is dying here today, Brian. Not on my watch.”
Brian sucked in a breath. The minutes that followed seemed like hours, until a newborn’s cry pulled him back to the moment. Finally, at the crazy old age of sixty-five, he was a father. God certainly had a sense of humor. And He certainly did answer prayer…in His time.
The screen lowered on one side, and their obstetrician held the slippery, wet baby in her blood-smeared gloved hands for Brian and Elizabeth to see. “It’s a boy. And by the sound of that cry, strong and healthy. No signs of Down syndrome either.”
Elizabeth let out a cry. “Oh, my precious baby. Thank you, Jesus.”
Dr. Kerr handed the infant to a nurse. “We need to clean your baby, measure, and weigh him, as well as do the Apgar scoring. We’ll have him with you in a moment. In the meantime, let’s get you stitched up, shall we, Elizabeth?”
With baby wails filling their ears, Brian gazed down at Elizabeth, his vision blurred. He swiped the moisture from his cheeks, and then wiped the tears from his wife’s eyes.
They began to laugh.
Brian clapped his hands together and raised them to heaven. “I have a son! Thank you, Lord.”
Soon after the cries settled, a nurse laid their swaddled babe on his mommy’s chest.
Elizabeth lifted her head from the pillow to kiss his damp curls. “He has dark hair, like you had when you were younger.”
Fingers trembling, Brian stroked his son’s incredibly soft cheek, afraid he’d hurt the little one. His son. He tried to absorb the enormity of those two small words. He had a son. And he was healthy.
Lord, you are so good.
“So have you finally chosen a name for your little boy?” Dr. Kerr asked as she worked on Elizabeth.
Looking up at Brian, Elizabeth mouthed the name at the top of their list if it was a boy. A name that meant ‘the Lord has remembered’. She handed their baby to him.
Brian took the baby from her, afraid the bundle in his arms would break. Sharp glass would’ve been easier to handle, but he’d get used to this. Fast.
He kissed the tiny rosebud lips. With a wide smile, he focused on Shaun and his camera. He wanted the world to know. “His name will be Zac.”
“Zac…” Dr. Kerr nodded. “That’s a great name. Short for Isaac?”
“In our case, yes,” Brian said. “Isaac means laughter, and this little boy has certainly given us much to laugh about already. Praise be to God for this incredible gift.”
Chapter 14
All the way home from the hospital, Elizabeth glanced at five-day-old Zac strapped into his car seat in the back, fast asleep. They would have been home sooner had he not suffered a touch of jaundice.
She sighed. How had they ever lived without him, their little Tuesday child? So full of grace—God’s grace. She couldn’t wait to get home and be alone with him and his daddy.
Balloons, teddies, and flower arrangements filled the other side of the back seat. And the trunk. Did they even know that many people? They’d received gifts from all over the country. How Shaun and Jordan managed to get the footage edited for a longer spot on Jordan’s show by Wednesday night was beyond her, but it had to be the catalyst for the floral, soft toy, and balloon bazaar her hospital ward had become. Every day, more expressions of congratulations and well-wishes found their way into the private room. Elizabeth had selected her favorites of each to bring home, and requested the hospital donate what was left, and what might still arrive—teddies and balloons to children’s charities, flowers to those in hospital who could do with the cheering up. All she asked was that they kept the cards until they were able to collect them.
Love at First Laugh: Eight Romantic Novellas Filled with Love, Laughter, and Happily Ever After Page 78
