Faith (28 page)

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Authors: Michelle Larks

BOOK: Faith
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“Don't forget you can also tell when a contraction is about to happen from the monitor.” The nurse pointed at the machinery.
“You're right. I got so caught up about being in labor that I forgot about the equipment.”
“If you change your mind about a painkiller, let me know.” Nurse Murphy left the room, and Monet wondered where Marcus was. Did he plan to come upstairs and stay with her during labor, or had he called Liz?
 
 
Marcus put his insurance card back into his wallet and pondered if he should go up and see Monet or not. Despite his talk with Reverend Wilcox, he still didn't think Monet's baby was his offspring, and he didn't know how he would react when the baby was born. He decided to go outside and call Liz, Wade, Duane, Derek, and Aron. He walked out the glass door and pulled his cell phone out of his jacket pocket. He called Liz first and explained what happened.
“I'm glad you called me. Monet had called me earlier while I was in a meeting. I was on my way to Northwestern Memorial Hospital. I'll stay on the Drive since I'm near downtown, and I can hit the Dan Ryan from there. How is she doing?” Liz asked, as she signaled to move to the right lane.
“She's in a lot of pain. She fell down the stairs and hit her head. Liz, I thought I had lost her when I went inside the house and she was unconscious.” Marcus's stomach knotted at the thought.
“The Lord took care of the situation, Marcus. She'll be fine. I know that in my heart. So are you going to take my place in the labor room?” she asked.
“Oh no, I'm not up for that. I really don't want to be here. I made sure she made it to the hospital, and I was thinking about going home,” he explained.
“Marcus, please don't do that. Even if you can't go into the labor room with Monet, stay at the hospital. She'll feel so much better knowing that you're there,” Liz pleaded.
Marcus became quiet. Then he said, “I guess I can do that. Hurry up, Liz. I know she needs you.”
“I'll be there as soon as I can. Did you call Wade?”
Marcus said Wade was next on his list after he called Duane and Derek.
“Don't call Wade, I will. You call the twins and Mr. Reynolds, and I'll see you soon. Marcus, everything is going to be fine,” she said.
“Thanks, Liz. I'll try to hold down the fort until you get here.” Marcus told her good-bye, and then called Derek, but got his voice mail. When he called Duane, he said that he and his father would be at the hospital shortly. Marcus sighed with relief.
He had notified everyone he needed to, and now the waiting game would begin. He knew that Monet was strong enough to endure the labor by herself; he just hoped she would forgive him for not being there. He put an imaginary check mark on the growing list of things for which he needed to ask his wife's forgiveness.
He went back into the hospital and sat down in the waiting area. He prayed Monet was faring well and nothing unforeseen happened to her or her child.
Lord, talk care of them
, he prayed over and over.
Chapter 31
Monet's contractions had diminished, and she was hooked up to an IV with medication in it to strengthen her contractions. She dozed off, knowing that rest was needed for the hard labor that lay ahead. She dreamed of her mother, who was in the room with her, stroking her belly.
“Momma, you're here,” she said joyously.
“You didn't think I'd leave my baby alone to have her baby, now did you?” Gayvelle smiled, and her dimple appeared in her left cheek. She hugged Monet's shoulders.
“Momma, so many things have happened to me, and still I've been blessed. First of all, Marcus left me. He still lives in our house, but he cut himself off from me. I almost couldn't bear it, but I knew I had to stay strong for my baby girl. Momma, her name is Faith Imani.”
“I know, child,” Gayvelle said as she stood next to Monet's bed. “I've been with you every step of the way. You and Faith will be just fine. The Lord has blessed you, and He will continue to keep you in His protection. I hope you've been talking to Faith and telling her about her unusual inheritance. I should have done that when I was pregnant with you, and I didn't.” She sighed as she caressed her daughter's swollen midsection.
“Yes, Momma, I've been talking to her, singing to her, and trying to prepare her for what lies ahead. I love you, and I miss you so much. Thank for being here with me. Daddy's out of jail, and he's been staying with me. I love him, and he loves you and me. Did you know that?”
“Of course. Mothers know everything.” Gayvelle winked at her daughter. “We had to wait for him to realize that. Don't be frightened little one, I'll be watching over you,” she promised.
Monet whispered, “Momma.” Then a contraction with the force of a Mack truck forced her awake. Her expression became staid. She sensed that Marcus wasn't going to share the childbirth experience with her, and she felt a momentary pang of sadness. Then she realized that she wasn't alone, God and her momma were with her, and if her intuition was correct, Liz should be at the hospital any minute.
As if on cue, Liz burst into the room energetically and walked over to Monet's bedside. “How are you feeling, honey? Marcus told me what happened. I can't leave you for a minute,” she lovingly scolded. She was dressed in scrubs too.
“So what took you so long?” Monet mockingly rolled her eyes at her friend. “I thought I was going to have Faith by myself. What happened to all that support you talked about, girl?”
“You didn't tell me last night when I talked to you that you were having contractions, so I didn't know that my god baby was going to make her appearance today. How are you feeling? How far apart are your contractions, and have you been utilizing your breathing exercises?”
“Here comes another one.” Monet began panting until the contraction passed. Her hair was matted against her head.
“Don't forget to take a deep cleansing breath when the contraction is over,” Liz instructed, as she held tight to her friend's hand. Monet complied with her directive.
Dr. Riddell returned to the room. “How are we doing, Mother?”
“I think the contractions have sped up,” Monet informed the doctor, after she relaxed against the pillows.
“I'll check. You had dilated five centimeters when you arrived here. Let's see where you are now.”
Liz stepped away from the bed to give Monet and the doctor privacy. After the doctor finished the pelvic examination, she informed Monet, “You're almost nine centimeters. It won't be long now. Are you sure you don't want anything for the pain?”
Monet rocked back and forth as waves of pain rode her body. When she was able to talk, she told the doctor, “I'm good. I can do this without medication.”
“Okay, I'll be back in a minute. You're aware the birth takes place in this room, so I'll send Nurse Murphy in to finish preparing the room.” Monet nodded and Dr. Riddell left the room.
Liz walked back over to the bed. “Marcus is in the building. Do you want me to have him come up?”
“No, Lizzie, this is something I'll have to do on my own, along with you. I'm cool with it.”
Liz smoothed back Monet's hair. “Okay, sister, let's do this.” She looked at her watch and held Monet's hand. “We're almost there.”
Nurse Murphy bustled about the room preparing for the birth and placing instruments on a silver tray near the end of the bed for the doctor. Monet's bed had been converted into a birthing table. The nurse pushed a stool across the room and positioned it at the bottom of the bed.
When Dr. Riddle returned to the room, Monet felt pain like she'd never endured before, and she wanted to push badly. Liz urged her to find her focal point and concentrate on it like they'd been instructed to do in Lamaze classes.
Nurse Murphy eased the stirrups up, and she and Liz helped Monet slide down to the edge of the table. Everyone was covered with gowns and masks, so only their eyes were showing.
“Okay, Monet, you can start pushing during the next contraction. The baby's heartbeat is steady, and I'm getting a good reading from the monitor. Okay, a contraction is coming, Monet. Go ahead and push,” Dr. Riddell instructed, sitting on the stool.
“Another contraction is coming,” Liz shouted elatedly. “Push, Monet!” she urged, and then winced because her hand felt like it was inside a vise from Monet squeezing it.
Monet's gown was damp. She looked tired and drained like she'd gone through a wringer. Perspiration coated her forehead, it was dripping, and her hair was matted to her head. As she pushed, the muscles from her neck bulged. She leaned against the pillows tiredly. Dr Riddell encouraged her to push again because the baby's head was crowning. Monet took a deep breath, reached deep within herself, and pushed with all her might.
Duane, Derek, and Aron were in the second floor waiting room, avidly awaiting word from Liz about the baby's arrival. Duane told Derek that he was glad he made it to the hospital in time.
Marcus and Wade were still on the first floor in the waiting room. Wade had talked Marcus out of leaving the hospital. Marcus had gotten out of his seat and paced the floor for what seemed like a thousand times. Finally he sat down in the seat next to Wade and tapped his foot on the tiled floor.
Wade leaned over to Marcus and said, “You know she's going to be fine, don't you?” It was almost comical to Wade to see his friend behaving like a nervous father-to-be. Wade felt good that Marcus was worried about his wife.
“Why is it taking so long?” Marcus complained. “You don't think anything happened to Monet, do you?”
“No, I don't think anything has happened to Monet. Childbirth is hard work, and babies seem to have a mind of their own as to when they're ready to face the world. Some of them take their time.”
Marcus cut his eyes at Wade and his body quivered. His feet did another tap dance on the tiled floor.
“You know you could make this easy on yourself; we could go upstairs and see what's going on and not wait for Liz to call us. I don't think your folks are going to remember to come down here and give us the news. Liz will eventually. Still, it's going to take her awhile,” Wade said.
“I feel like I've been here forever,” Marcus commented. He drummed his fingers on the wooden arms on the chair.
“Why don't we go outside for a minute and get some air? Maybe by the time we return, there will be some news.”
Marcus stood up and stretched his body. “That sounds good to me.”
Wade rose from his seat and the two of them went outside.
“See how things worked out? You were so obstinate about how you wouldn't be at the hospital for the birth and here you are.” Wade ribbed his friend.
“Yeah, yeah.” Marcus held up his hands, shrugging off his friend's comment. He knew that Wade was going to have jokes.
They watched the cars pass by on Ninety-fifth Street. The temperature was mild, and the sun shone brightly from the azure sky. The wail from an oncoming ambulance could be heard in the distance, and soon the vehicle pulled up in front of the Emergency Room.
“You know that everything is going to work out just fine, don't you?” Wade asked, with a matter-of-fact tone in his voice.
“I don't know anything except I was suspended from active duty yesterday. I'm sure by now that you're aware of that. Then I go home this morning after turning in my gun to find Monet passed out on the stairs. So far this has been one of those days. Now, I'm here at the hospital waiting for the rapist's child to be born. What else could happen?” Marcus rubbed the area between his eyes.
“You've made it thus far by the grace of God. So count your blessings, Marc,” Wade advised. “Trouble doesn't last always. You'll look back on this day one day and see things differently,” he promised.
“It won't be anytime soon,” Marcus griped as he looked at his watch. “I guess we can go back inside.”
They went back inside the hospital, and Wade suggested they go to the gift shop to purchase balloons and flowers for Monet. They walked down the hallway and took a left and walked inside the store. Wade picked up two balloons, a blue and green one with hearts and a baby lamb that had
Bundle Of Joy
written on it, and the other one was pink with bottles on it, and it read,
It's A Baby Girl
.
“Don't you think you're a bit premature with the girl balloon?” Marcus pointed at the Mylar balloon. “We don't know what Monet had yet.”
“If Nay-Nay says that her baby is a girl, then I believe her,” Wade answered steadfastly. “She's usually right about these things. Do you remember how she told Liz and me what sex our babies were, and she was right on the money?” Wade pulled out his wallet and handed the cashier his credit card.
Marcus's eyes roamed around the shop until they landed on a Blessed Baby Basket. Inside the basket, nestled in wrapping paper, was a teddy bear, a receiving blanket, bibs, teething rings and lap pad. The items inside the basket were pink, blue and yellow, and the basket was encircled by a beautiful pink ribbon tied in a bow.
He knew Monet would love the basket, although she didn't need another item. The nursery was overflowing with gifts. He picked up the basket and swore he could smell the fresh scent of baby powder.
Wade smiled at Marcus as he held the basket clumsily in his hand. He knew God was melting his friend's heart, and that Marcus was returning to himself. “That looks nice. Are you thinking about buying that?”
Marcus put the basket in his other hand and paused indecisively. “I guess so.” He pulled out his credit card and told the cashier, “I'd like a dozen red roses to go along with the basket.”
Wade nodded his head. His cell phone vibrated in his jacket pocket. He pulled the phone out and looked at the screen. “I got a 411 from Liz. Monet has had the baby. Let's go upstairs and see what's going on,” he said.
Marcus took the basket from the cashier, and she told him the flowers would be delivered to Monet's room shortly. “Sir, what room should they be delivered to?”
“The patient's name is Monet Caldwell,” he said.
“Okay, I can look her room number up on the computer,” the cashier said as she began typing.
The men left the shop and weaved around bodies in the busy hospital as they walked toward the elevator.
“What are you going to do, Marcus?” Wade asked, as he held the balloons in his hand.
“Give me a few minutes, and then I'll be up,” Marcus answered. His brow furrowed as he tried to control his emotions.
Wade patted Marcus on the shoulder with his free hand. “Okay, but don't make me have to come looking for you.” The elevator door opened and Wade went inside.

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