Chapter 22
In the ambulance, Mason was sitting by Julia’s side holding her hand. He felt he probably needed this more than she did; he was trying to think positively, but he was overwhelmed with fear.
CC insisted on going to the hospital with them; of course he went by his own car and he would not go into the ward, either; but he also had his fears after Mary, and he wanted to be there for Mason in any case.
“Nowadays accidents happen very seldom,” Julia said wriggling. “It can’t happen to you twice, Mason.”
“No, of course not,” he agreed willingly. “You just do not forget to breathe during the spasms.”
“Ok; th – thank you.”
“I’d prefer ‘thickhead’ and objects flying at me.”
“Will you stay with me through all this?” Julia pleaded.
“Of course I will. Try to relax and get some rest.”
There was a tear on her temple, and Mason wiped it off tenderly.
“You’re the very best husband,” she said weakly closing her eyes.
“My love,” Mason articulated inaudibly.
The words felt strange on his lips. He’d been sure once he’d never feel this again.
*
Once they got to the hospital the nurse gaped at Julia. Probably she did not have patients in their wedding dresses too often.
There was a wheel-chair prepared for Julia. “I won’t sit into it,” Julia said recoiling.
“Ms Wainwright--”
“Mrs Capwell,” Mason corrected. “She doesn’t want the wheel-chair; is this understood?”
The nurse looked at Mason and decided against arguing. “You’ll have to walk then,” she said.
Julia hung on Mason’s arm. “I just cannot be sitting immobile right now,” she explained apologetically.
“It’s okay. You don’t have to do anything you do not want to.”
“Breathe,” the nurse said and showed how.
They got to the ward. Julia was helped out of her wedding dress into the hospital uniform, and so was Mason. Then Julia had to lie down. Immediately there was a needle stuck into her vein and a medicine dripping into her blood; on her belly they arranged some sensors and got them connected to a screen.
“What is this for?” Mason asked.
“So that we can observe the process and control it better.”
Julia shut her eyes. In between the dropper and the screen with all the cables, Mason did not even know where to find a place for himself.
“Dr Merrick!” he begged.
They took pity and made room for him. Julia was breathing evenly; what was the medicine, he wondered. Was it a pain killer? Or did it relax the spasms? Could they be trying to stop the process?
“Is she asleep?” he whispered to Dr. Merrick.
“No Mr Capwell; but she must use every minute she has to have a little rest now. It’s going to be okay; all the parameters are normal.”
Mason sat down and looked around helplessly.
TBC
EPILOGUE
After a short time, the contractions restarted, and Julia was writhing in her bed.
“Can I be walking, Bill?” she asked. “Please!”
Dr Merrick nodded. Cautiously, Julia sat up; Mason held out his hands to give her support.
“Is it all right, Doctor?” he asked.
“It’s the first part of labor,” Bill explained. “The contractions are necessary to get the cervix of the uterus to open enough to let the baby out.”
“And this pain--”
“It’s manageable,” Julia said.
“It’s necessary, too. We’ve tried to relieve it a bit, and Julia can feel dizzy--”
“I do,” Julia agreed.
“When the cervical dilatation is complete, Julia will have to work hard, pushing the baby out. Her conscious effort will be needed. That will be the hard part.”
Julia winced and got onto her feet. “Yeah, and now I’m just having fun.”
Mason liked her like this much more than a meek and subdued Julia he’d seen in the ambulance.
“You are,” Bill said cheerfully. “Of course you [i]are[/i] having fun, you can walk or squat or jump on the ball – whatsoever; in that room over there, please, Mr Capwell...”
And for some time Mason and Julia were left to their own devices. Julia groaned and swore and apologized; as to Mason, he couldn’t but wonder how good it felt to be a part of the process rather than be driving crazy outside.
In half an hour or so Dr Merrick examined Julia and told her to return to the bed and the sensors. The hard part was about to start now, the one Mason had feared most. He gave a short prayer as he followed Julia.
With the labor going on, though, Mason had no chance to panic. All the participants, including Julia, seemed to know very well what they were doing; Mason felt a part of a well-tuned orchestra, as he was saying later.
On the doctor’s or the nurse’s instruction, Julia was pushing, and then she was leaning back, gasping for breath. The nurse would look at the monitor often, telling Julia when to push and when to have a rest. Mason was wiping his wife’s damp brow; it seemed to him he was living through every moment of it with her, though of course the pain was all hers.
“Come on, Julia,” the nurse said. “The baby’s ready. We need your help now.”
Dr Merrick looked at the screen. “Harder, Julia,” he commanded.
Julia pushed again, with a scream. And then suddenly she felt an unexpected ease. The next thing they heard was the baby’s cry.
“That''s it! That''s it!” said Bill approvingly. “It''s a beautiful baby girl, Julia! Congratulations!”
“A baby girl?” Mason echoed.
Julia half-laughed, half-cried.
“Did you hear that?” Mason could not believe his ears, overwhelmed with emotion. “It’s a girl!”
He was holding Julia tight, and she was clinging to him, laughing, “It’s our baby, Mason, we have a daughter, it’s our daughter!!”
The baby kept complaining how cold it was outside, and how light, and how dry, and how lonely it felt outside mummy’s body.
“Do you want to hold your daughter, Mr Capwell?” the nurse said with a smile.
Mason’s eyes grew big. “Can I?”
“Of course you can.”
With awe and immense tenderness he held out his arms to hold the baby. The tiny wrinkled creature looked at him. “Oh – but she’s – beautiful,” he mastered and showed her to Julia.
She’d like to hold the baby herself, but she was as happy to see Mason hold her and connect with the baby.
“Please place her on Julia’s belly now,” Dr Merrick commanded, and Mason obeyed.
He then turned to him. “Thank you Doctor,” he said choking with tears.
Bill smiled, himself exhausted but quite happy. “Just look at them,” he said wiping his face.
Julia was cooing with the baby, telling her something in a soft, sweet tone. Everyone in the room was looking at them, smiling.
*
“How’s Julia?” an anxious CC rose to greet Mason.
Mason fell onto the bench. “Fine. Both are fine. Dad. We’ve got a daughter! You’ve got a granddaughter!”
CC smiled and reached out to hug Mason. “Congratulations, son!”
“Thanks, dad.”
Mason leant back and rolled his eyes. “I did not want to go; they made me. I’ll go in as soon as I can.”
“Shall I get you something?”
“Oh – yes, please. A glass of water. Thank you dad.”
CC walked away.
How good – how happy he was that Julia was safe now, and the baby was all right! A daughter – a daughter was very good. Probably he wouldn’t have to worry too much about how he’d love her as compared to how he loved Matt, and how the two would go on. Daughter and son were too different to compare, and now he knew for sure he’d love both to distraction.
From the bottom of his heart, Mason thanked God.
*
If Mary were not an angel, she’d be wiping her brow now, too.
Mason had been a bit of a handful, recently, she thought.
Of course it was her choice to become his guardian angel, and she never regretted it. That was what he needed more than most. And her love for him was still so great, in spite of her death, that she could not stay away from helping him out whenever she could.
What she saw looking down now was very rewarding. A happy Mason thanking God – Mary’d thought it’d never happen; he’d been so bitter after her death, she was afraid he’d do something irreparable, either to himself or their baby or to his life on the whole. With Heaven’s help, he survived.
Mary smiled tenderly and blew him a kiss. She knew he wouldn’t feel it – kisses of the kind are not tangible even when living girls wave them to you; but Mason raised his head and looked at the ceiling as if seeing through.
“Mary – thank you,” he whispered.
END
Olga Lissenkova
