Summer Sunsets (30 page)

“
There you are,” she
whispers, reaching for my hand.

“
Told you I’d be
back.”

She gently squeezes my
hand. “I thought you’d found some pretty nurse to run off
with.”

I encircle her hand with
both of mine. “Well, there was this brunette….”

She glares at me. “Not
funny.” Her expression shifts, contorted by another contraction.
“Did they say how long it was going to be?”

“
No, not yet, but I’m
thinking Dr. Klein will be here at any moment. I’m sure he’ll want
to examine you himself.”

For a moment, she holds her
breath as the contraction takes hold, tensing every muscle in her
body. It’s only when the breath finally seeps through her clenched
teeth I know the contraction has finally passed. She turns her
attention back to me.

“
I don’t need a doctor to
tell what’s going on, Devin. I’m having a baby—your
baby.”

“
Even in pain you’re a
smartass,” I mutter, relieved she’s dealing with all this so well.
Then again, I’m not sure she’s got a choice.

“
You taught me everything I
know.” Her eyes close, hinting she feels another contraction, which
unnerves me because they’re so close together. Sweat plasters the
hair to her forehead, and she licks her lips as though she’s
thirsty. I wish I could take her pain away, but I know that’s not
in the cards.

And where is Dr. Klein? I
would feel a little bit better if I’d at least seen the man set
foot in the hospital.

The door opens, and I look
up, thinking that my wish has been granted. No, it’s actually Helen
and Warren, both wearing flustered expressions.

“
Skye? Are you all right,
baby?” Helen says, stepping to the bedside.

“
I’m in labor, Mom. Other
than that, I’m fine.” Her tone is sharp, but it’s not without
reason as I look at the monitor beside her bed. She’s at the high
point of the contraction, and even though Skye’s got a really high
pain tolerance, she’s not impervious to it.

“
Did the doctor say anything
about what’s going on?” Warren stands next to me, his worried gaze
fixed on Skye.

“
He hasn’t made it in yet,
but I think he’ll be here soon. He can’t afford not to, considering
how quickly Skye’s contractions are progressing.”

As if my words had magic,
the door opens, and this time Dr. Klein steps through, Skye’s chart
in hand. He looks from Skye to me, and I’m pretty sure he’s going
to want to examine her. “Perhaps we should step outside,” I
suggest, nodding toward the door.

“
All right.”

Warren and I step toward
the door, but Skye holds fast to her mom’s hand, her way of asking
Helen to remain with her. As the door closes, shutting both of us
into the hall again, I take a deep breath and let it out
slowly.

“
I’m sure she’ll be fine,
Devin.” Warren sets his hand on my shoulder.

“
I know. I just hate seeing
her in pain like this. I wish I could do something for her instead
of feeling so useless.”

“
I know,” he says, walking
over to the bench where I’d been sitting earlier. “I felt the same
way when Helen was in here. I think it’s easier to be the one in
the hospital than the one sitting and waiting for something to
happen.”

I sit beside Warren. “This
seems so unreal.”

“
Of course it does. You
thought you’d be ready for the birth of your child when the time
came, but the truth is, no matter how much time you had, it
wouldn’t be enough to prepare. It never is.”

I lean back. “I know. It’s
just tough. I mean, give me something I can fight, and I’ll do it
in a heartbeat, but this…this is hard in a different
way.”

“
It won’t be for much
longer.”

He’s right. I know deep
inside he is, but being able to convince myself of that is a bit
more difficult, so instead of dwelling on that, I shift the
conversation to something more manageable-–something I can protect
Skye from if necessary.

“
Did you know Skye’s father
was at the wedding? Did you see him?”

Warren’s frown deepens.
“Yes, I did.“

“
How’d he even know about
the wedding? I can’t see Skye having invited him.” I rake my
fingers through my hair.

“
I think Helen sent the
invitation.” He stares ahead without meeting my gaze.

“
Why would she do that?” I
glare at him, not sure how to take this latest twist.

Warren turns slowly and
looks at me with that calming demeanor he has, as though there
could be a massive earthquake and he’d never even panic like
everyone else. Sometimes that calm can be infuriating.

“
Devin, I know you see this
as a betrayal of sorts, but—”

“
Damn straight I do, and you
should, too. You know how hard it was for Skye to finally get past
the fact he’d uninvited his own daughter from his life.”

Warren holds up his hand.
“Here me out. It’s important. When Helen sent the invitation, she
was still reeling from the stroke. She kept worrying what would
happen to Skye if she passed away; she knows that Skye feels
isolated most of the time. In her mind, she was trying to restore
her relationship with her father.”

My back tenses, and I try
to loosen it, but this conversation damned sure isn’t helping. “But
what if he doesn’t deserve to have Skye anymore?”

Warren offers a sad smile.
“Skye more than anyone could tell you sometimes it’s not about what
we deserve.”

I stand, wanting to punch
something, not that it would ease this fury I can’t ditch, but at
least it would take the edge off. “So what happens when he hurts
her again? Did Helen even think of that?”

Warren, too, stands. “I
know you’re angry.”

“
Damned right I’m
angry.”

“
Which is one of the ways I
first knew you were the one for Skye. You’ve always tried to
protect her, Devin, but no matter what you do, you can’t protect
her from everything. No one can. Sometimes you just have to have
faith that everything will eventually work itself out the way it’s
supposed to. Ronald might hurt Skye again, and you’re right to be
concerned, but what if he doesn’t? What if he’s ready to try to do
the right thing? Have you considered what that might mean to
Skye?”

Frowning, I try grapple
with what this means, and suddenly it occurs to me Warren has more
to lose than I do because he’s not Skye’s father. I shake my head.
“Have you?”

He nods. “Yes—but I have
enough faith that Skye’s heart is big enough for the two men she
thinks of as fathers, and I’m okay with that.”

Before I can argue the
point further, the door opens and Dr. Klein sticks his head out.
“Mr. Abbott, your wife is asking for you.”

“
Thank you.” I turn to
Warren and nod for him to follow, and together we walk back into
the labor room, where Skye is lying in pretty much the same
position as when I’d left. “How is she?” I ask.

Klein scribbles a note in
the chart. She’s dilated to a 9, and I’m thinking that baby will be
out within an hour or two at most.“

I’m diligently working to
grasp what he’s saying even though in some respects it scares the
hell out of me. “Is the baby going to be okay, considering it’s
four weeks early?”

He looks at me. “As I was
telling Skye, there are risks. The lungs might not be completely
developed, for one thing. There’s also a risk of jaundice, but had
Skye gone into labor a week to two weeks earlier, things would have
been considerably worse.”

Skye groans as another
contraction hits, and I look at Klein. “Is there anything that can
ease her pain?”

He nods and glances at my
wife. “Yes. I’m ordering an epidural now to get her through the
last part of labor.”

Although he starts towards
the door, Skye suddenly gasps and yells, “I have to
push!”

“
Ms. Abbott?” Dr. Klein
abruptly turns and decides to take another peek. The ensuing frown
deepens the creases on his forehead, and he stands. “Scratch that
hour, Mr. Abbott. The baby is crowning.” He rushes to the door and
yells for a couple of nurses.

Warren nods toward the
hallway. “I’ll wait out there.” Helen, too, gets up so I can move
to Skye’s bedside. The sheen of sweat is thicker, and droplets run
down the sides of Skye’s face. Her breathing is erratic, and the
monitor beside her seems to be going crazy measuring the
contractions.

It’s no wonder Skye’s body
is tight with pain and fear. She latches onto my hand, and her wide
eyes look into mine, saying all kinds of things she doesn’t have
the energy to put into words.

“
I’m right here.” I settle
my other hand atop hers so it’s sandwiched between them, and she
closes her eyes as the nurses swarm around the room, prepping
everything for the birth. It all blurs around the edges except for
Skye.

“
I need to push!” Skye
screams again, her back suddenly rigid as she strains with the
pain. Her other hand clenches the mattress, and she’s taking this
shallow, raspy breaths which doesn’t seem to be doing her much
good.

Dr. Klein slides into place
so he can guide the baby out. Then he says, “All right, Skye. Wait
until the next contraction, and then I want Devin to help you sit
up so you can push as hard as possible, okay?”

She closes her eyes as the
last of the contraction passes and her body relaxes into the brief
reprieve she’s been granted, yet we all know it won’t be long. The
nurse on the other side of Skye is staring intently at the monitor,
waiting for the slightest rise signaling the next contraction, and
when she sees it, she nods to me.

“
Okay, babe, it’s time. Take
a deep breath and sit up to push.”

Skye’s dark eyes resurface,
and she nods. As she moves to sit up, I slip my arm around her and
help her move the rest of the way.

“
Now push, Skye,” Dr. Klein
orders.

Skye grips my hand so hard
her knuckles are white Her whole body clenches not only from the
contraction but also from the force she’s exerting, trying to push
the baby out. It seems to go on forever, and I hear my wife
groaning. It’s only when I think she can’t take any more I see the
contraction’s peak easing as I look at the monitor.

“
Good job, Skye. Part of the
baby’s head is out. Now I need you to lie back and rest until the
next contraction. Devin will let you know when it’s
coming.”

As I hear Klein’s words, I
gently set her back against the bed. More sweat. She can barely see
through it, so I wipe her forehead with one of the nearby
towels.

“
You okay?” I ask, feeling
miserable in her pain.

“
Been better,” she mumbles,
and I know if she weren’t in the middle of trying to get this baby
out, she’d be sleeping. She’s that exhausted.

About three pushes later
Klein says, “Okay, the baby’s out!”

Skye seems to immediately
go limp in my arms, I gently set her back against the bed, grateful
she’s looking at me because if not, it would almost seem she’d just
passed out. “You were awesome,” I whisper and kiss her
forehead.

“
You’re only saying that
because I gave you a daughter.”

“
A son,” I correct,
grinning.

“
No,” Klein, argues, “Skye
is correct. You have a daughter.” And in that moment, I hear our
baby’s first cry—a healthy squall which Klein responds, “and her
lungs are just fine.”

The color leaves my face as
I think about this, suddenly swept away by the realization I‘m a
father. It’s one thing to be told it’s going to happen and quite
another when the baby is being offered to you in a light pink
blanket.

“
Oh, God,” I whisper,
suddenly not sure I’m at all ready for this, and yet I reach out to
take her, amazed at her small size and beauty, with dark blue eyes
that peer at me.

Her skin is splotchy and
red. She’s only got a small tuft of light brown hair atop her head,
and she’s making sucking motions with her lips, yet I can’t help
but recognizing Skye in her, and I realize that for the second time
in my life, I’m in love as I’ve never been before, and that my
daughter is the second most beautiful person I’ve ever laid eyes
on.

“
She’s amazing,” I whisper
and turn so Skye can see her.

“
She’s perfect,” Skye
whispers, tears pooling in her eyes as she reaches for our
daughter. “So perfect.” Her voice is thick and painful, twisted
with many emotions, and it’s only when I think about it I know
doubt is the strongest, probably because she never thought God
would trust her with such a miracle again, but I think God sees
Skye as I do. How could He not?

I hand the baby to her and
watch as the little one immediately curls against Skye’s chest and
goes to sleep, content to be close to her mama. It’s not long
before Skye, too, drifts to dreams, and I have no doubt they
include a beautiful little girl she’s just met, especially when I
see the corners of her mouth tilt slightly upwards.