Surrender: Keeping Her in the Dark Vol. 4 (28 page)

“That is enough.”

“Oh, calm down,” she said and she walked over to the bar to poor herself a drink.

“What are you doing here?” I said impatiently.

“I’m here to offer you a deal,” she took a seat on one of the couches and crossed her legs.

“I’m a business man. I make deals all day. I don’t need any deals. But thank you for thinking of me. Now if you’ll walk this way,” I gestured towards the door.

“I think you’ll want to hear this deal.” I let out a deep breath and put my hands in my pockets.

“Fine. Say what you want to say, and then leave.” She took a sip of her drink and swished the ice around in the glass.

“I would like to offer you sex.”

“You offered me sex before, and I turned you down. The answer is still no.”

“Well please hear me out,” she stood up. “Your wife is pregnant, probably tired all the time, not giving it up like she used to, and she’s gained weight.” I didn’t respond to any of that because none of it was her business.

“You’re probably lacking in the sex area of your life. So I’m offering myself to you for as long as you need.” She finally stopped talking.

“Well let me think about it.” I paused for about 10 seconds. “No, but thank you.”

“Well I wouldn’t be so fast to answer. I know what I said before is true and it’s going to get worse when the babies gets here.” I walked up to her and put my finger on her mouth.

“I can’t let you bad mouth my children or my wife. We are none of your concern. My wife did you a crazy ass favor, by risking her life to save yours….and now you come here, two times, offering yourself to me. I think that is rude and disrespectful. I don’t know what happened to you in your short little life to make you this way, but I suggest that you get some therapy. Now leave on your own, or I will pick you up and throw you out!” I pointed to the door.

She put her glass down on the side table. She stood in front of me for a moment and then left.

I looked at my watch and then went back to work.

I was laying on the couch taking a nap a few hours later when Norah came through the door.

“Liam! Liam! Liam,” she shouted.

“What? Are you alright?” I leaned up and wiped my face.

“You’re not going to believe this,” she looked excited.

She went on to tell me about some of the gifts she had received at her shower. She was so amazed by some of them and had no clue how to use the others.

“Look at this!” she was smiling and so happy. It was wonderful to see her this way. “I mean, can you believe it?” she asked.

“It’s a blanket,” I retorted.

“Not just a blanket. It’s a swaddling blanket. It’s made with holes and angles to help with swaddling. Isn’t that wonderful?” she gushed. She actually sounded happy.

I took her hand and made her put the blanket down. “No, we can’t. You have to help John get the stuff out of the car,” she said.

“I know and I will. But I need to tell you something first.”

“What?” I took a deep breath.

“Holly was here.”

“When?”

“While you were gone.”

“What did she want?”

“You know what she wanted.” Norah stood up and walked around the room. Then she just stopped and stood there with her back to me.

“I told her to get out. I told her I was none of her concern. I told her she needed to get some therapy.” I waited for her to say something but she didn’t. She turned to face me and she looked angry. She had her hand on her stomach and looked like she was about to rip my head off.

“Norah please. Don’t get upset. Nothing happened. I told her to leave and she left.” I stepped a little closer to her hoping she would say something but she still didn’t say anything.

“Please say something, darling,” I begged.

“I think I’m in labor,” she whispered. But I wasn’t sure I heard her.

“What?” I needed clarification.

“I think I’m in labor,” she griped her stomach tighter.

“Are you joking?” I asked. Then a large gush of water came from her skirt and went all over the floor. We both looked at it and then back at each other.

“No, I’m not,” she said.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Norah

“It’s too early!” Liam shouted as John pushed me down the hall of the hospital. Liam was holding my hand. “This can’t be happening now! They said 34 to 36 weeks. This is only 32 weeks! This is too early!” he wouldn’t let it go. Not at the house while we scrambled around getting my things together, not in the car on the drive here and not now in the hospital.

“Well you’ll have to tell your kids that when they get here. Because I ‘m pretty sure they are going to be arriving soon,” I said in between breaths.

I had taken one class about giving birth and that was it. I didn’t even pay attention that much because I wanted drugs. I didn’t need to get through it drug free or try to be a hero or something. I wanted as little pain as possible. I only paid attention to contraction times and when I could get drugs.

“Aren’t they coming too fast?” Liam asked. “It seems like the contractions are coming to fast for me,” he said.

“For you? Really? They’re coming a little too fast for you? Well the next time your pelvic area feels like it is going to spilt in two, let me know!” I shouted.

“You look beautiful,” he said.

“Shut up!” I yelled again.

We pulled up to the nurse’s station and three nurses came around. One started talking to Liam and one started talking to John. Thankfully one started talking to me too…the one in labor.

“How far apart are your contractions?” she asked.

“About 1 minute,” I grunted.

“Maybe less than that,” John said.

“It’s all too fast,” Liam added.

“Has your water broke?” she asked. I looked down at my wet crotch and the water running down my leg.

“What do you think?” I said through my teeth.

“It’s all over the house,” Liam said.

“And the car,” John added.

“How far along are you?” she asked.

“Thirty Two weeks,” we all said at the same time. Another nurse came from behind the counter and told Liam and John to stay there to answer some more questions while she took me into the delivery room.

“Don’t worry,” she held her hand up. “I’m just going to help her get changed and check her out to see how dilated she is right now.” She wheeled me away. I kept raising myself up because I really felt like a baby was coming out of me and I was going to sit on it.

She helped me get out of my wet clothes and into a dry medical gown. She also helped me with pulling my hair back. I made it to the delivery table and assumed the position.

“You’re only at about two centimeters,” she said. “It could be a while,” she walked over and started hooking me up to machines.

“How long?” Liam asked as he walked in the room.

“Well it usually takes an hour to dilate a centimeter, and she needs to be at ten before she can push.”

“Well when can she have drugs?” it was like he was reading my mind. I couldn’t talk because I was having another contraction.

“Somewhere between four and six. We don’t want to give them to her too soon, because they might wear off before she has to push.”

“Four and six!” I shouted. This part I did remember. I knew that was the answer, but a part of me, probably the part being split in two, was hoping she would answer different.

“Yes,” she said to me. “Now try to relax,” she said with a straight face.

“I have a watermelon, no sorry, make that two watermelons trying to get out of me. I think relaxing is out of the question.”

“You look beautiful,” Liam said again.

“Stop talking!” I shouted.

The pain just kept coming and so did the water. When you see someone’s water break on TV you don’t actually see anything. This was crazy. My water just kept coming and coming. I began to think I wasn’t even really pregnant, maybe I just had a lot of water in me.

“I can’t take it,” I said to Liam. He was sitting by my bed holding my hand. “I can’t do this.”

“Yes you can, little one. Yes you can.” He wiped my forehead and gave me some ice chips to suck on.

“I don’t think I’m ever having sex with you again,” I said as another contraction started.

“Well we can talk about that later,” he smiled.

A nurse came over and started to check me out again, while Liam talked to the one monitoring the machines.

“So when should we start to call people and let them know?” he asked. “We have a large family. I’m amazed we were able to get out of the house without anyone knowing,” he laughed.

“Well I guess it depends. Do you want them sitting in the waiting area for hours or back here while she’s in labor?” she shrugged.

“Ah, Mr. Hastings,” the nurse checking me out said. “You may want to call your family now,” she said. “She’s at eight centimeters.” I squeezed Liam’s hand. “I’ve never seen that before in all my life. Dilating six centimeters in thirty minutes. It just doesn’t happen,” she was kinda talking to herself.

“Call the doctor!” she shouted.

Liam jumped on the phone and called Rosa, who had instructions to call three other people, and they had instructions to call others and on and on. We had created the phone tree a while ago.

Dr. Goldrum walked in and went right between my legs.

“Well, well, well, Mrs. Hastings. Don’t waste anytime do we?” she was trying to be funny. I didn’t laugh. “Oh, yes, I think you’re just about ready. Ok, Norah, listen to me. You are going to feel lots of pressure, like you have to go to the bathroom. When you feel it, I want you to push,” she looked down at my crotch.

Liam was at my side holding my leg. I felt the pressure and I started pushing. I pushed for about twenty minutes and then I heard it. A baby cry.

“Is that?” I asked.

“You have a son!” she announced. Liam kissed me on my lips and we touched foreheads.

“We have a son,” I said. “Liam Thomas the 3rd.” I could see the tears in his eyes.

“I love you,” he said.

“I love you too,” but my reply was interrupted with more pain. I forgot I was having another baby.

“Ahhh…..dammit,” I actually cussed.

“That’s good, Norah. You’re doing great,” she said as I took a few breaths in between pushing. I could see out of the corner of my eye that the other nurses were standing around the first baby wiping him down.

“Ok, give me another big push!” she said and I did.

“That’s it, one more, big push!” I pushed and pushed and pushed.

“You have a little girl!” she shouted and handed the baby to another nurse who quickly took her to the table across the room.

“A little girl,” I said and grabbed Liam’s hand. “I have a daughter too,” I leaned back on the pillow while they cleaned me up. One of the nurses even wiped down my face and fixed my hair.

“Thank you,” I said. Dr. Goldrum walked over with a baby in her hands.

“He only weighs 5.5 lbs,” she handed him to Liam who leaned over and handed him to me. I kissed his forehead and then kissed Liam.

“Little Liam,” Liam said.

“Thomas,” I corrected.

“Thomas,” Liam agreed. He took him from me as they brought our daughter. She only weighed 5.8 lbs. herself. They looked just a like. Both had full heads of dark hair and the cutest little fingers I had ever seen.

“Catherine,” I whispered. “Catherine Elizabeth,” I looked at Liam. It was the name I picked when I was just a little girl. Catherine was original but Elizabeth was my middle name.

“Perfect,” he nodded. I smiled. I probably could have said ‘Eggplant Ceiling Fan’ and he would have agreed to it.

“Liam?” he looked back at me with little Thomas in his hands and Catherine in mine.

“We’re parents,” I said.

“Yes,” he said.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Liam

“Norah?” she turned to look at me. “Rosa is waiting for Catherine so she can give her a bath,” I walked into the room.

Norah was standing in her old bedroom holding Catherine and pointing out the window.

“I’m showing her the blackbird family in the big tree,” she said.

“You can see that tree better from the Great Room down the hall.”

“I know. But I was also rocking Catherine in the rocking chair.”

“We have two rocking chairs in the babies’ room.” She gave me a look that meant I didn’t need to pry anymore. So I just held up my hands.

“Should I tell Rosa to postpone the baths?”

“No. I’ll bring her along in a minute.”

I didn’t argue. Sometimes she liked spending time in her old room. She said it made her feel safe and comfortable. I didn’t argue. I knew this was about the babies.

She had one more week at home with them and then it was back to work. She had been home for three months.

I went back to work after two weeks. I needed a nap and knew I could sleep in my office.

The twins were up every two hours at night the first month. During the day they were either eating or pooping. I had to go back to work to clear my head. I was so exhausted and then I would look at their cute little faces and get all sucked in.

The second month they moved it up to sleeping for four hour stretches. I thought Norah was going to do the happy dance, but I think she was too tired.

By the beginning of this month she had trained them to sleep for six hours at a time. I didn’t know we were going to sleep train our kids. I thought that came naturally. I knew we would have to train them to use a toilet and eat their vegetables, but I didn’t know I would have to train them to sleep.

Sleep training wasn’t the only thing I didn’t know. But thankfully Norah had read about 40 books on the topic of babies and toddlers. And we had Rosa. Rosa had six children of her own and four grandkids. She didn’t mind getting up with them at night, or feeding them throughout the day or just holding one of them until they fell asleep.

Norah and I had been hands on. But Rosa was only too happy to help out whenever she could. She tried very hard not to get in the way or take over. She could look at Norah and see when she needed to leave her alone and let her figure it out. Other times, she knew when Norah needed help and she could step in.