My Stupid Girl (51 page)

“You okay?” I said loudly so everyone
looked over at her.

“It won’t stop.” She was completely
breathless from trying to breath in. She was in too much pain to take a good
breath. She was one of those wobbles that went back and forth; she couldn’t
stop moving from side to side. It looked like she was trying to run away from
the pain.

“Someone get her some ice or something,”
Jennika said from the other side of the hospital bed. “Johnny, go tell the
nurse.” 

“I want a diet soda!” Lucy said out of
nowhere, stopping on her right side, facing Jennika. Jennika didn’t take it
well. Maybe it was kind of like looking at Medusa.

“Diet Coke! Get her a Diet Coke!” Jennika
yelled at Johnny. 

“Ok, ok, a Coke. I’ll be right back!”
Johnny started running in circles not knowing what to do.

“A Diet Coke you nerd!” Evelyn said from
Isaiah’s lap, where she had placed herself. Of course, Isaiah looked terrified.
He had no problem talking about lady parts but if a girl came near him he
looked like he was going to be sick. 

“Diet, got it.” Johnny ran out of the room,
his chest leading the way while his head tried to catch up. His arms looked
like long pieces of ribbon trailing behind him.

“Johnny looks like he just saw a ghost.”
Rachel stood in the doorway, looking unnecessarily pretty. Lucy’s hospital bag
was slung over her shoulder. 

“Thanks, Rachel.” Evelyn jumped up and
grabbed the hospital bag, attempting to push Rachel out the door. Michelle who
was sitting quietly in the corner this whole time gave a little time out from
her somber persona to glare at our new visitor. But the pretty girl somehow
ground her feet into the tile floor, regardless of Evelyn’s pushing and
Michelle’s glaring. 

“Hold on.” She turned herself back around
and looked at Lucy. “How are you doing?”  She spoke with a monotone voice.

“Oh, I am fantastic, really enjoying this
weather. How are you?” Lucy responded with a snap.

“Your hair is all in your face and you’re
sweating.”

“Yeah, I’m kind of giving birth.” Lucy
looked like she was too overwhelmed to really respond to Rachel.

“I’m just saying that someone should put
your hair back in a French braid or something. I’ll bet being a little more
comfortable would make the whole pushing part easier.” She put her fingers up
in air quotes when she said the word pushing. Like that wasn’t something she
was really going to be doing, just pretending.

“Probably would.” Lucy tried to put her
fingers through her hair but was stopped almost immediately by snarls. She
sighed and let her hand drop, too tired to bother. Then she closed her eyes and
put her head on her pillow. Another contraction. 

“Breathe, sweetie.” I put my hand on her
head. She swatted if off. 

“She’s hot, David. Here, move.” Rachel
bumped me aside and climbed into the hospital bed. “Sit up Lucy,” she barked,
sounding a little too demanding for my taste but Lucy did as she was told.
Rachel reached inside of her big purse and brought out a hairbrush, a hair tie,
and some hair spray, all Mary Poppins' style. She got squared up behind Lucy
and tilted her head back gently, then gathered the hair into a ponytail.

She started brushing the ends, working her
way slowly and gently up to Lucy’s scalp. It only took a few minutes until
Lucy’s hair was completely straight and knot-free. Rachel then pulled out the
hair tie, divided the hair into three sections, and started braiding it. Lucy
had her eyes closed the entire time, her hand on her belly. Every now and then
I saw her eyes wince closed even tighter, but the contractions seemed to be
less when she was concentrating on something else.

I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.
Rachel being kind. Apparently no one else could, either. We all just stood (or
sat) there in silence, watching the two of them.

“There, does that feel better out of your
face?” Rachel asked as she climbed out of the bed. She sprayed a little hairspray
on the front and smoothed the stray hairs back so lose hairs wouldn’t come out
and tickle her.

“I didn’t realize how much it was bothering
me until it was gone,” Lucy responded, lying back in to the bed looking a
little revived.

Johnny raced in with a can of soda and put
it on the little table in front of Lucy. 

“Thank you, Johnny.” Lucy reached out her
hand out for him. “Sorry.” 

“Ahh, its okay. I’m used to getting yelled
at.” He looked over at Jennika and winked, which made her laugh.

“I think I need some of that stuff that
makes you not feel these contractions,” Lucy said quietly.

“I’ll tell the nurse on my way out.” Rachel
looked like she didn’t know if she should just leave or pat Lucy on the head
first, and wish her luck. 

Lucy’s nurse came walking at that moment,
leaving Rachel jobless. 

“How you doing, hon?” 

“I think I want the epidural,” Lucy said
quietly, so I had to strain to hear her. “I feel like I have to push and I’m in
so much pain.”

“Really?” The nurse’s eyebrows raised. She
reached for those blue gloves. “Put your feet up here.” Almost as soon as the
nurse checked she called for another nurse to come in. 

“This girl is at ten; she is one hundred
percent effaced. Call the doc and double-check her lines. She needs to start
pushing.”

“What?” Lucy said, looking completely
terrified. 

“Did you have a really big contraction that
made you want to kill yourself and everyone around you, one that was bigger
than the others?” The nurse asked, but she sounded like she already knew the
answer. 

“I did, I literally thought I was going to
die.”

“Well honey, that was you dilating about
three centimeters in a matter of a minute. That hurts; I’ve done it!” 

A doctor came bustling in and took her
place. One of the nurses following her in was putting a gown on her as she bent
down over Lucy. Another nurse turned on the light above Lucy and another
wheeled a warming table. As they all started settling into their roles, I kept
looking over at the warming table that one nurse was almost done getting ready.
The last step in the little preparation ballet that had taken less than a
minute was the blue terrycloth-looking things under Lucy, where the baby was
going to be coming out.

“So, what about the epidural?” Rachel
asked, sounding like a friend looking out for another friend. It sounded weird.

“Oh, hon, she’s too late for that. She
needs to start pushing.”

“This is it, Lucy.” Mrs. Peterson was next
to me, her eyes watering as she kissed her daughter on the head. 

“I’m scared,” Lucy whimpered to her mom,
but Mrs. Peterson just kissed her again. 

“That’s okay, babe. It’s going to be fine.
You just focus on what the doctor says. Push when she tells you to push, okay?
That’s your only job right now.” She smiled so kindly at her daughter I wanted
to curl up and pretend I was in pain to just to receive the love that was being
dished out. I looked around the room, taking in my surroundings. I saw Johnny
and Jennika both sitting together on a chair looking excited. Rachel hadn’t
moved, just put herself flat against the wall, trying to magically figure out
how to be a part of everything. Evelyn was drinking Lucy’s soda and Isaiah was
in the corner with a phone I didn’t recognize.

It was probably Evelyn’s. And he was most
likely changing her ring tone to something like “Satan is My Mistress” by
Metallica.

Lucy’s parents were on her right side, both
kissing her head. I had moved to her left. 

“Okay Lucy, are you ready?” her doctor
asked her, shifting into position.

“Yes,” Lucy answered nervously.

“Okay, I need to you push hard the next
time you feel a contraction.” On cue, Lucy held her breath and started pushing.

“Breathe, sweetie,” I whispered in her ear,
holding her hand. She started breathing. Kinda. 

“Good, good, that was very good. You have
to do that every time you have a contraction okay?” 

Lucy didn’t answer with words, just nodded.

The moments between contractions, no one
said anything; we just waited for Lucy. Then I would tell her to breathe and
she would push. That went on for about twenty minutes.

“Is anything happening down there?” Lucy
said through silent tears and gritted teeth.

“Yes, every push gets this little one
closer. I can almost see the head.” When she said that, everything in me wanted
to look. But I was afraid of freaking her parents out so I restrained myself. 

“Oh no, oh, oh.” Lucy started to have a big
contraction again and I could see that she was panicking. 

“Breathe Lu…”

“You need to stop telling me to breathe,
David. Obviously I’m breathing!”

“I’ve seen this movie.” Isaiah interrupted
the rebuke I was receiving. “This is the part where she starts spewing pea soup
across the room.” Everyone started laughing except for Lucy, which was
unfortunate because she would have thought it was funny if she wasn’t the one
who was acting demon-possessed. 

“Push!” The doctor encouraged her. “That’s
good, Lucy. Now listen. The baby is crowning, I can see the head, so the next
few pushes are going to do it.” 

I started bouncing up and down, excitement
rushing through me.

“The next time you push, I am going to ask
you to stop pushing so I can suck fluid out of the baby’s mouth. Then when I
tell you, you can push again. But not before, okay?” 

“Okay.” Lucy stuck her chin out,
determined. 

“Are you the father?” The doctor asked,
looking directly at me. I didn’t have time to think; I just answered.

“Yes.”

“Do you want to catch the baby?” 

“Are you serious?” I asked, blown away.

“Yes, get these gloves on.” She handed me
my own pair of blue gloves. They were pretty comfortable. After I got the
gloves on, the doctor got up, moved the chair aside, and we both stood, looking
at the top of a little person’s head. I was amazed at the beauty of what was
happening.

“Isaiah, Johnny, you guys have got to see
this.”

“Seriously, dude?” Johnny’s eyebrows left
his head. But they were both mesmerized. They walked over, hands in pockets.
Then their jaws dropped. 

“Whoa.” They both said, in unison.

“What’s wrong with you guys?!” Lucy
crinkled her nose but looked unfazed.

“That’s pretty cool. There’s like a head
right there!” Johnny said. Lucy started to groan again. At first I thought it
was because of what Johnny had said but I soon realized that she had started
pushing again.

“Just put your hand right here. Catch.” The
doctor said in my ear. I did what she told me. I watched the little head come
out and saw little eyes but then Lucy stopped pushing. 

“Sorry, I didn’t catch it.” I was worried I
had done something wrong.

“No, it's okay. When you see the whole head
come out, that’s when you grab it. And I want you to hold it while I clear the
baby’s mouth with this suction. Then you need to make sure you hold onto the
neck and grip the baby under the arms.”

“Got it.” I was glad I was someone who
could think under pressure because I was feeling some pressure. Right on cue,
Lucy started to push again, but she really pushed hard this time. The baby’s
whole little face popped out. I grabbed it and watched while the doctor put her
delicate hand on the baby’s cheek. The hair was soaking wet and standing
straight up like Albert Einstein’s. 

“Ok, Lucy, one more push.”

“You promise?” Lucy forced the words out. I
had just enough time to admire the fact that she was able to stop pushing while
she had a human being’s head stuck in between her pelvic bone. She gave another
push. This one wasn’t as hard and the little shoulders, torso, and legs came
out. 

It was the most beautiful baby girl I had
ever seen. I held her up and looked at her, amazed at what Lucy had just done. 

“Ohhhhhh.” Lucy’s mom started to bawl and
everyone started clapping. That startled the baby and made her cry. I placed
her on Lucy’s chest and the nurses started putting blankets on top of her and a
little pink hat. Lucy put her arms around her daughter and kissed her little
forehead.

“Wow,” she said, then looked up at me,
tears running down her face. 

“Congratulations Dad, she looks perfect,”
the doctor said to me, handing me a pair of scissors to cut the umbilical cord.
I cut the part they told me to, between two clamps. I was surprised how tough
the cord was.

When I was done, I moved closer to Lucy so
everyone in the room could come over and admire her. 

“Thanks.” I said, way late, dumbfounded by
what Lucy had just done, amazed by what I had done. I bent my face down to
Lucy’s forehead and kissed it. “You’re my hero, you know that?” I felt more
pride than I had ever felt in my life.

29. FATHERLY ADVICE

I sat in the corner of the delivery room, watching
my two girls sleep. Lucy was curled into a ball, a blanket pulled up to her
chin and her braided hair was starting to come out around her ears, making her
look a little like a lion with a tangled mane. Her round face was swollen and
her hands were puffy and red. She was a mess, but there was something so
powerful about her in that kind of place, in that kind of state.

I couldn’t keep my lovey-dovey eyes off of
her.

Lucy was the most beautiful person I had
ever met in my life. By some miracle I just had a daughter with her.

Sort of.

In a little hospital bed next to Lucy,
Lydia was sleeping. I walked over and peered in, staring down at the little pink
bundle. Lydia had a tiny face, little ears, and gigantic lips that took up the
whole bottom part of her face. Earlier, Lucy had tried to get Lydia to nurse
but the baby looked like she couldn’t get her lips out of the way to get food
going.