Chapter Thirty-Three
Ethan
“How many minutes?” Devon asked.
“Three,” I said. I was terrified. Her contractions were already only three minutes apart. Everything felt like it was happening so quickly.
After her water broke, I helped Devon get dressed. Then, I hurried to put clothes on and rushed to grab our hospital bag which was in the nursery. I made sure I had my keys, wallet, and phone, and concluded that everything else was not a priority. I wrapped a blanket over Devon’s shoulders and called Eddison, who arrived outside the building within six minutes. By the time the elevator hit the ground floor, he was pulling up to the curb.
Her contractions had started in the elevator. Her second one came as we got into the limo. Now they were getting closer and closer together, and I couldn’t recall a time where I had ever been so scared.
With shaking hands, I fished my phone out of my pocket and made all the necessary phone calls. I called my parents and Heather first and told them we would be at the hospital shortly. Then I called Liam, whose reaction promised that this whole thing freaked him out too. At first, he thought I was pulling a prank on him. After telling him I was serious and we would be at the hospital, I hung up. I knew he would come.
By the time we arrived at the hospital, Devon had broken out in a sweat. Her forehead was shiny, and her eyes were screwed shut with pain as I helped her to her feet. A nurse rushed to our aid and helped Devon into a wheelchair.
I followed the nurse through the sliding doors to the delivery ward where I checked us in with the head nurse. Then we were brought to a room where our doctor met us and measured Devon.
“She’s nine centimeters,” the doctor said as he looked up at me through his thick-framed glasses. “Sorry, sweetheart,” he said to Devon. “We’re past the point of drugs. You’re going to have to do this naturally.”
Devon clenched her teeth and nodded once.
I went to her side and grabbed her hand. “You’re doing great, Dev. You can do this. I know you can. You’re so strong.”
Her hair was soaking wet and plastered to her forehead. Her fists were clenched so hard that her knuckles were as white as the bedding she lay upon, and there was something in her eyes that told me she was as scared as I was.
I closed my hand over hers. “Dev, look at me.”
She met my eye and took a shaky breath.
“When this is all done, we’re going to be able to hold our son,” I said. Then I pressed my forehead to hers and tried to will calmness into her.
To my surprise, it worked. She sighed, and her fists became less tight. “I love you,” she said, and then she looked down at her belly. “And it’s time for you to get out, little man. Mommy and Daddy can’t wait to meet you.”
The doors to the room burst open at that exact moment, and Devon and I looked up to see a very frazzled Heather rushing to the bed. She threw her arms around me first before pulling away and jumping up and down. She clapped her hands together and beamed at Devon.
“It’s happening, you guys! I can’t believe it! This is so exciting! Dev, what do you need? Can I get you anything?”
Devon shook her head and gave Heather a tight-lipped smile.
“Ethan? You good? Need anything?” Heather asked, her eyes so wide, I could see the whites around her irises.
“No, I’m good. Thanks, though. Things are moving along pretty quickly here. He’ll be here pretty soon.”
“Really?” Heather asked. “I was expecting to have to wait a few hours.”
“Doesn’t look like it’ll be that long,” I said. “She’s already nine centimeters. No drugs allowed.”
Heather stared at Dev, who stared knowingly back. “I know,” Dev muttered through the pain. “Lucky me, right?”
My phone started ringing. I answered it when I saw it was my parents. My father spoke calmly to me and asked where I was. I told him I would be out to meet them shortly. I kissed Devon on the forehead and told her I’d be right back. I left Heather in my place and hurried out into the hall and around the corner to find my parents standing near the registration desk.
“Ethan!” my mother cried, rushing forward to hug me.
My father gave me a hug too. “The big day,” he said, patting my shoulders. “How you holding up, lad?”
“I’m scared out of my mind,” I confessed.
“Darling, go along and see Devon. She needs a motherly influence in there right now. I’m going to have a quick word with our son.”
My mother said nothing. She just smiled sweetly and hurried around the corner to Devon’s room. My father turned me to face him and looked me straight in the eye. “You have nothing to be scared of, son. Trust me. You’re going to have a healthy baby boy, and Devon is going to be fine.”
“It’s not that,” I said, peering down the hall.
My father squeezed my shoulder. “Don’t worry. You’re going to be a great dad, Ethan. I know it. I can feel it in my bones.”
His words eased my mind. “Thanks, Dad,” I said, gripping his shoulder in return.
“Come on,” he said, turning me around and steering me down the hall. “There’s a girl in there who needs you to be strong for her. Don’t let her get a hold of your arm hairs, whatever you do. There is no greater pain than that, I swear to God.”
“Except, you know, childbirth,” I said.
My father chuckled as we pushed through the door to Devon’s room.
Chaos ensued. Nurses were bustling around the bed, and Heather was coaxing Devon through her breathing exercises. The doctor was prepping everything and looked up to meet my eye.
“Hey there, Dad. You ready to meet your son?”
“Uh,” I said lamely, looking at Devon, whose face was screwed up tight as she endured another contraction. “Yes,” I said more sharply, springing forward to Devon’s side. “We’re ready. Right, Dev?”
She looked up at me and nodded through the pain. I held out my hand. She grabbed on tight.
“Everyone out,” Devon muttered, “except for you and Heather.”
I nodded. “Clear out, Mom and Dad. I’ll be out to get you soon.”
My parents wished Devon and me good luck and exited the room, leaving the three of us alone with an overwhelming amount of hospital staff.
Before I knew what was happening, Devon’s legs were being raised and the doctor was between them. “We’re ready to start pushing, love. On the count of three.”
When she started pushing, her grip on my hand tightened like a vise. I gritted my teeth and didn’t say a word. She needed me, and I was going to do whatever it took to help her through this. Heather was on her other side speaking words of encouragement as Devon bore down.
I hated seeing her in pain. It was ripping me apart inside. When she took a quick break from pushing, I brushed her hair off her forehead and held rubbed my thumb on the back of her hand.
“You’re doing so great, babe.”
She tried to answer me, but the doctor told her to start pushing again. Her hand tightened on mine once more, and we rode out the second round of pushing.
This routine continued for what felt like ages. When there was another burst of commotion, the doctor announced that he could see the head. This encouraged Devon to push harder. She could see the finish line. She was almost through it. I told her so, and she pushed, her teeth clenched and eyes closed, until all of a sudden, a single cry filled the room.
“Here he is!” the doctor cried.
My throat tightened, and a wave of emotion rolled over me. Devon’s head fell back on the pillow, and she closed her eyes as the doctor and nurses bustled around her to clean her up and cut the umbilical cord. Then the baby was swept away to be cleaned, checked, and bundled. Once they had a silver identification band on him, they brought him back to us.
A nurse with bright blond hair went to hand the baby to Devon. She looked up at me. “His daddy should hold him first,” she said, her lips curled into a smile. She was still sweaty and pale, but she looked beautiful.
The nurse came around to my side of the bed. She told me how to cradle him, and then she slipped him into my arms. He was wrapped in a pale blue swaddle. All that was showing was his tiny, pink little face. He had a perfect, round nose and lips that looked like Devon’s.
The tightness in my throat overcame me. I cried as I held my son. He was so perfect, and I was astounded to feel so full of love and joy. I had never loved anything as much as I loved this new little human.
I hadn’t had my fill of him yet, but I knew Devon should hold him, so I turned to her and lowered him into her arms. She held him to her like a natural and ran her finger over his nose. She kissed his tiny little forehead and cried openly on the hospital bed. Heather cried with her.
A nurse brought me a chair, and I sat beside the bed watching my son and his mother. There had truly never been a more wonderful sight.
The nurses brought my parents and Liam in shortly after, and we all celebrated the birth of our little boy.
“Do you have a name for him?” my father asked as he held the little blue bundle.
I looked at Devon.
“I kind of feel like he’s an Eric,” she said. “What do you think. Ethan?”
“Eric,” I said, liking how it felt on my tongue. “Yeah. Eric. The newest Garrison.”