Ford
If this were back home, there’d be fucking champagne all around and cigars for the men. This would be followed by the announcements on Facebook, Twitter, and all the other social media channel people follow or belong to these days.
Not here.
I’m not quite sure how the news is going to spread here in this part of the world, but it’s not through social media. I anticipate hearing the beating of the drums to announce the news. But there aren’t any.
What a strange world we live in.
Priorities in this part of the world are different. I guess when all around you are issues relating to life and death, you tend to focus on things that are important.
I have noticed some traditional toys and few baby clothes delivered to the hut. There won’t be bubbles, wine, or other Western extravaganzas.
“Well,” Adelaide turns to me. “Mother and baby are doing well, so I think we better get back to the village.”
With a lump in my throat, I nod. For some reason, I don’t feel like leaving just yet. It doesn’t feel right to abandon this new life and his mother.
I mean, how do we know they’ll be okay? What if something was to go wrong the minute we left the village? How would anyone be able to contact us?
“I guess. If you’re sure.”
Adelaide takes a step toward me. “What’s the matter, big, tough guy? The sight of blood left you weak?”
Her nose wrinkles a tiny bit as she looks at me. I resist the urge to grab her and kiss that cute little button nose.
“Hardly. I’m just worried about them.” I thrust my chin in the direction of mother and son.
“Shani is fine. As is her gorgeous little son. And look who’s coming.”
I follow the direction her finger is pointing and notice the husband come through the door.
“Just in time to say hello to your son before he has another nap,” Adelaide greets him and leads him to his wife and son.
It’s with mixed emotions that I watch the happy family.
I’ve never felt this way before. Was I feeling happy, elated, and…a little jealous? Jealous of something I don’t have?
Fuck. This delivering baby shit has been messing with my mind.
With a shake of my head and a last look at the little bundle now in the arms of his father, I head out the door.
Outside, I wait for Adelaide.
“And don’t forget to let me know if anything goes wrong. Otherwise, I’ll see you next week,” I hear her say as she’s leaving the tiny mud hut.
“Ready?” I grumble and sit on the motorbike. I rev the engine to make a point. If we’ve got to go, let’s just fucking go.
She raises her eyebrows. “Why the sudden hurry?”
My reply is a grunt.
Adelaide smacks me playfully on the shoulder. “I can’t believe it. Looks like my big, tough security guy’s gone all soft on me.”
I roll my eyes. “Are we leaving, or are we leaving?”
“Hold your horses. I forgot my bag.”
What? How could she forget her fucking bag? Or was she just going back to sneak another look at the baby?
When she comes out again, I do see her carry her bag.
I watch her put it on the back of the bike before she turns to me again.
“You’re okay to ride? We’ve had a long night.” It may have been a late night, but I’m pumped. “I could keep going for days,” I say and mean it.
“You’re on a high then?”
I nod.
“You must love that part of your job.” It’s more a statement than a question.
“When that little baby boy made his appearance out of his mother’s body, it was pure fucking magic. I’ve never experienced anything like it.”
Adelaide looks at me. “Yep, helping bring a new life into the world is amazing. Luckily, both mother and son are doing well. It can be difficult if they aren’t doing so well, especially out here, where lack of food and proper treatment facilities can lead to lives being lost.”
For a little while, neither of us speaks.
“Well,” she breaks the silence first. “We better get back to whatever drama awaits back at the village.”
Without another word, I watch her climb behind me. Her arms wrap around my waist, again. I take a deep breath in and out.
Fucking amazing.
This whole trip has been awesome.
I steer the bike along the same track we used to come here. Only difference is now it’s broad daylight. But I pay little to no attention to the scenery.
Another day, another time, I’m sure I’d see it in a different light.
In my mind, all I can see is Adelaide. The images change from Adelaide bending over Shanti to her holding the baby and giving him to his mother.
Radiant, inspiring Adelaide. The more I think about it, the more I realize how amazing she is.
“I think there’s something wrong!” She’s yelling into my ear.
It takes me a few seconds to notice the bike’s spluttering. Just as I start to connect the dots, it stops altogether.
Fuck. I stare at the controls and realize the little arrow of the fuel gauge is pointing to empty.
“Do you know what’s wrong with it?” She leans into me, and I take my time with my answer.
Her body pressed against mine feels fucking awesome.
“No fuel.” I mumble eventually and feel her lean back.
Tempted as I am to pull her back onto me, I resist and get off.
“How can we be out of fuel?”
“Well, it’s like this. We’ve driven a long way, we didn’t refuel, and now we’ve run out.”
“I know how. What I mean—” she stops and runs her hand through her hair.
I, on the other hand, grab my bag from the back of the bike and survey our area.
There’s a nice, big tree set back from the road a little. It’s got a huge base. If we set up camp here, we’ll have some shelter.
“What are you doing?”
“Getting ready to set up camp,” I explain and get to work.
“You’re setting up camp? But I—we—” she stutters without finishing her sentence.
“What do you propose?”
She frowns and puts her hands on her hips. “I need to get back to the village. I’ve got patients and hospital rounds. I can’t stay here.”
To my horror, she starts to walk away.
“Hey, wait.” I go after her. “You can’t leave.”
Her chin sticks out at she stares at me. “Why not?”
“Look. It’s late afternoon. You won’t make it on foot on your own back to the village. It’s too dangerous. If we stay here, we’ll be safe, and we can get fuel in the morning and have you back before lunch.”
I watch her digest my words. She seems to be thinking about what I’ve said.
“You know better than me the type of dangers that lurk around the bushes in this area. If you set out on your own—”
“I know, I know. I’ll be a prime kidnapping candidate,” she interrupts and turns back to the motorbike.
I shake my head. “No, I was going to say you may end up being dinner for something or someone.”
Saying it out loud sends a shiver down my spine.
“Fine,” she mutters and trots back to the motorbike. “As long as you don’t mention Murphy’s law.”
“Here, help me with his,” I hand her the corner of a plastic tarp I brought with me. I choose to ignore the rest of her comment.
“What?” She looks a little flustered. “You have a tarp in your bag? What else are you hiding? Is this like the Mary Poppins bag?”
I laugh. “I always come prepared wherever I go. You never know when you might get stuck and need to camp out.”
It’s absolutely fucking true. I’m not lying. I’m always prepared for the worst.
When I grabbed my bag to tag along last night, I was prepared for the worst. Running out of fuel may not be the worst thing to happen, but being stranded in the middle of nowhere with no fuel is pretty darn close to being bad.
I mean, ideally, we get back home with enough fuel. And having an accident would be one of the worst things that could happen. So being stuck here with no fuel is somewhere in the middle.
“If we use this massive tree stump as the back of our shelter and the tarp above us, we’ll have a fairly decent camp for the night.”
Adelaide shakes her head. “I can’t believe you brought all this stuff in your bag. Did you bring food as well?”
I nod.
“Wow. You really have thought of everything.”
“No, not everything,” I turn toward her. “I didn’t bring music, candles, or champagne.”
She looks at me blankly. “Did I miss something?”
“After the time we’ve had, I feel we should be celebrating. It might be normal for you, but I don’t help bring a baby into this world every day, you know.”
She begins to understand, smiling.
“There are other ways we can celebrate.”
Our eyes lock and for a brief second, I’ve forgotten what I was going to do as I drown in her blue eyes, digesting the meaning of her words.