G.I. BABY (15 page)

“Who’s he? Was he bothering you?”

“No, no. Keep walking, Renly. Where the hell did you park?”

They weren’t even five meters away when Craig found his tongue. “Andi!”
 

She kept walking.

“Andi, wait!”

Renly looked back.

“Keep walking! Don’t mind him.”

But Craig easily caught up with them as she was waddling like a duck.

“Andi, stop for a minute, will you?”

Renly stopped and turned around. “This asshole needs to be taught some manners.”

Oh great. Macho bullshit. Just what she needed.

Renly faced Craig. “You have a problem, man?”
 

She was forced to do the same and she almost staggered back at the naked fury in Craig’s eyes. But she braved it. “What do you want, Craig?” she snapped at him.

“Craig? So this is the asshole?” Renly interjected.

“I need to talk to you for a minute,” Craig said at the same time.

Oh shit.

Craig was looking at Renly with murder in his eyes. “The hell are you talking about?”

Without another word, Renly swung at Craig.

Though surprised, Craig easily evaded the attack.

With a roar, Renly slammed at Craig like a linebacker. They both went down on the pavement.

She screamed.

They slugged it out like it was UFC fight night. She began shaking in fear when Craig overpowered Renly and began beating him up with this savage look in his eyes.

“Craig, stop! You’ll kill him! Craig! Stop it! Help!”

Several men ran up to the Neanderthals on the ground.

Blood was oozing from Renly’s nose.

A bullet of pain shot straight to her womb.

“Oh God!” she cried out.

A bag of hot liquid seemed to explode between her legs, pooling at her feet.

Her water just broke.

——*****——

“Renly, help me!”
Andi screamed.

All eyes went back to her.

She slowly went down on her knees, supporting the underside of her belly with her palms as she felt her insides churn in the most excruciating pain she’d ever experienced. Oh God, there was an earthquake, tsunami and tornado happening inside her right now!

The elders had been telling the truth. This kind of pain was unlike any other out there.

Renly and Craig were beside her now.

“Is the baby coming?!” Renly sounded frantic.

“Yes, yes! Take me to the hospital…!”

“Shit shit shit! The bag! It’s in the car!”

“Forget the fucking bag! Take me to a hospital NOW!”

“C’mon, let’s use my truck.” Craig fished out his keys from his pocket and threw it at Renly. “You drive. Over there!”

Craig scooped her up in his arms like she weighed nothing. He practically ran toward a deep-blue late-model Chevrolet pick-up truck parked at the curb.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” Renly was muttering as he wrenched the back passenger door open. Craig carefully deposited her inside and climbed in with her. Renly was at the driver’s seat now, starting the engine. The car moved in reverse instead of forward. Renly cussed colorfully again.

“Calm down, man,” Craig told him.

“Shut up! This is all your fault!” Renly snarled, finally directing the truck on the road.

“How is this my fault?” Craig asked.

“Renly, concentrate on the road! I wanna get to the hospital in one fucking piece!” she shouted, the upheaval happening in her belly getting unbearable. Oh God, she will never get knocked up again no matter how hot the sperm donor!

“Okay, okay, okay…hang in there, Andi. We’re almost there…Oh God…” Renly was muttering like a nervous wreck.

“I can feel the baby coming!!!”
 

“No, please, not yet, Andi!” Renly floored the accelerator.

She took deep breaths, hoping to calm her baby who cannot seem to wait another minute to pop out of her womb and meet his biological father.

“Do something, asshole!” Renly shouted.

“You talking to me?” Craig asked.

“Who else? Don’t just sit there like a fucking zombie high on Xanax! Do something!”

“What shall I do?”

“I don’t fucking know! Rub her tummy, coo, sing, dance, anything to calm the baby and convince him not to make a fucking grand entrance in your fucking truck!”

“Renly, watch your language! I don’t want my baby to learn the F-bomb first, from you of all people! You promised to teach him nothing but good manners and right conduct!”

——*****——

Craig couldn’t believe what was happening.
It was surreal, this whole scenario. He should be shagging her by now, not staring at her huge belly full of a baby about to pop out any second now.

Jeeezus!

Andi was puffing her breath, gritting her teeth, her eyes in a panic. Sweat broke out on her forehead now despite the cold weather. His insides were churning painfully from watching her in serious pain.

“Renly, hurry! Oh god, I can’t hold it much longer!”

Desperate to make her feel better, he put his palms on both sides of her belly. She grasped his forearms, squeezing them in a death grip, as if drawing strength from him. His eyes widened in wonder as he felt the baby move inside her, as if it was tossing and turning.
 

Something inside him seemed to blossom, an alien feeling he had never felt before. It was so powerful but it did not make him feel threatened. It made him feel totally intimate with her in this very moment and it was nothing sexual.

“Oh God, honey, please, not in the truck. What will I write down as your place of birth? Silverado, Chevy?”

Craig couldn’t bite back a grin. He rubbed her belly gently, uttering in this soothing voice. “Shhh, calm down, little buddy. Mommy’s right. Wait for the doctor to catch you. I’m freaking out like you have no idea and I won’t know what to do if you pop out now. Please, wait a little longer. We’re almost there.”

They looked at each other.
 

She chuckled despite her pain.

He grinned back. “You got this, sugar pie.”

CHAPTER
10

CRAIG WATCHED ANXIOUSLY
as the nurses wheeled Andi in a stretcher straight to the delivery room.

They were prevented from entering the room.

“Can she handle it? Her belly seemed too big—”

“You should have thought of that before you shot that load inside her, asshole,” Renly told him sourly.

“Me?”

“Yes, you! We’re not done. After this, we’re squaring it off.”

“Now, wait a minute! What the fuck did you mean—“

The delivery room door opened. “Excuse me, gentlemen, who’s Renly?” asked the nurse.

“Me,” Renly answered, raising his hand.

“The patient’s asking for you. Come on, inside.”

After giving him a murderous look, Renly followed the nurse.

Craig started to follow, too, but the nurse stopped him.

“And who are you, mister?”

“I…Craig.”

“How are you related to the patient?”

“I’m her…friend.”

“Only an authorized person is allowed in the delivery room.”

He nodded and stepped back. They disappeared inside the delivery room.

He should leave now. He had no business staying. Andi was safe now with the doctor and nurses attending to her. She had her new lover by her side. She’d be taken care of.

But he didn’t leave. He didn’t know why. He walked towards a bench and sat there.

Not even five minutes and Renly walked out of the delivery room looking like he was going to throw up.

Craig stood up and met him halfway. “Is she alright?”

For once, Renly quit looking at him like he was Bin Laden’s resurrection. He actually rushed towards him, so relieved to see him still there. “Oh fuck, thank fuck, you’re still here, asshole!”

He ignored his language. “How is she? Has the baby come?”

“Not yet. Any second now. You go in there!”

“What? Me? Why…?”

Renly practically dragged him by the front of his shirt and pushed him towards the double doors of the delivery room. “She needs someone with her in there. I can’t last another second. I…I can’t stand watching her in pain…”

Renly was as tall as him and though on the slender side, he looked like he worked out a lot, too. So, this dude had a weak stomach for pain and he was asking him to enter a freaking delivery room. He was not afraid of pain. He’d inflicted it on many people but he had never seen a woman giving birth. “I don’t think—”

“Fuck, will you just go inside!”

Renly opened one door and pushed him inside the delivery room.

——*****——

Andi was lying on the bed,
her legs hooked on the stir-ups, the lady doctor looking between her legs, the nurses hovering around her. She was puffing air in and out of her lungs like a fish out of water then making this blood-curdling sounds he’d heard people being tortured make.

Craig went cold all over. He had seen all kinds of scary, gory shit, but THIS!

He literally felt his balls wilting in fear.

Jesus, take me back to Iraq, now!

Andi screamed which galvanized him to run to her side.

“Andi! I’m here.”

Her glassy eyes sought his and his heart turned over at the pain she must be suffering.

“Craig….”

He gently smoothed the wet hair from her forehead and held her hand, fighting the nausea rising to his head.

What the fuck have I gotten myself into?

“Okay, Andi, I can see the baby’s head crowning now. You need to push really hard, alright?”

“Okay…okay…” She puffed. “Here we go…” She gave a mighty push with these horrible sounds gurgling from her throat again, her little nails biting onto his wrist.

Craig felt like pissing in his pants now. He didn’t know if he can stand this all through the end.

“More Andi…another one,” the doctor was muttering like a buzz in his head.

“Never again! Oh God, never again!” Andi was looking at him like she would like to strangle him and gave it another go. “Awwwwwwwrrrr!!!”

“Head’s out! Push, Andi! Push!” urged the doctor.

Craig was seeing it all in slow-motion.

He averted his eyes from the action happening between her legs but he caught some he’d probably never forget.
 

God, help me! I will never take a pussy for granted again!

He didn’t know how much time had passed. The next thing he knew, he heard a little furious bellow echoing inside the room.

“It’s a boy!” the doctor announced happily.

The doctor placed a slimy, purplish blob on Andi’s chest which could only be the baby. The sight of it totally immobilized him. He stared as the nurse rubbed a towel over the baby and then wrapped it in a clean one. Andy carefully held the baby, cooing, tears rolling down her face.

He was having the strangest feelings. He was moved beyond words witnessing this momentous event in her life and yet overwhelming loss gripped his entire being. He felt like an outsider crashing this sacred moment. He couldn’t look away from the baby even knowing it was someone else’s child.

He turned away as he felt his eyes water. Shit!

Strange. He was surprised he was still capable of such fragile emotion.

“Craig…?”

Her soft voice called out to him.

He looked back at her.

Their eyes communed.

She hadn’t looked more beautiful than this moment, her hair in disarray, her face blotchy and puffy from her recent exertions, cradling her baby in her arms.

Just then the doors swung open and in came Renly and an older Asian-looking woman clad in hospital gowns.