3: Okay

And so, it was. Never ever, even if I wished for it. But why would I? I thought, as I looked at her delicate little self, fast asleep, cocooned in her doting mother’s embrace. So tiny, yet so perfect. I couldn’t tear my eyes off her. What an entry she’d made. Her cry echoing through the halls of the labor and delivery unit making me smile and tears of joy sprout from her exhausted mother’s eyes.

Her poor mother, my wife, was beat. After almost 24 hours of ineffective pushing and perspiration, when our baby girl began showing signs of distress, Dr. Shepherd didn’t like the way her heart was reacting– speeding up and slowing down; so, she decided to force matters. She talked us into something called a vacuum device, to pull our baby out. I had my doubts, it sounded quite medievel, but there was no time for questions or research. It worked like a miracle. The baby slid out in seconds, but she had what looked like a big bump on her head. The doctor assured me it was nothing. “It’ll be gone in a couple of days;” she said. Ruhi, though, was oblivious to this slight inconsistency. The little bundle in her arms had hijacked all her attention. I don’t think she was even aware she was bleeding. The blood gushed out of her like a river. The doc had to stitch her up. I doubt anyone realized how much she’d lost till they sat her up in the wheelchair to transport her to another room and she promptly passed out. They had to give her two pints!

Now, that I look at her, she’s still pale but at peace. Her eyes glow and she obliges me with a lovely smile as I click away proudly with my phone. I dispatch the pictures hither and thither with the label ‘beautiful new mom and baby’.  She wants to know if I sent them to my Dad. I hadn’t. He is a selfish obnoxious man and I wanted to keep him as far away from my family as possible. But my wife, though well aware of my feelings, possessed a sense of righteousness, that unfortunately I didn’t. Forgive and forget, she said, let bygones be bygones. But I didn’t want to argue with her. Not at this joyous time. So, I told her yes, I did, and she closed her eyes with a sigh of content.

I was too excited and restless to sleep. All I wanted to do was hold my baby girl in my arms. I wanted to adore her and imbibe her every little nuance into my being. But she was fast asleep, dreaming her precious baby dreams. Dare I interrupt? Not ever.

So, I left the room and wandered down to the nursing station. I thanked the nurses for all they had done. I meant it. Without their support Ruhi and I wouldn’t have lasted the ordeal for sure. They laughed and told me it’d been a piece of cake. The final product made it all worth the while. They congratulated me on becoming a new father and wished me luck because I needed it.

I realized some of the restlessness was hunger. My stomach was empty. I hadn’t had anything for dinner and lunch had been a boxed sandwich which the nurses had been nice enough to provide me because I didn’t want to leave Ruhi’s side. I took the stairs to the first floor. The cafeteria was closed but I’d seen a couple of vending machines on the way in.

tbc

PS: Will post part 2 tomorrow. Punch a like and please leave a comment.

PPS: If you like this story and would like to know Shaan and Ruhi’s back story check out Inconvenient Relations and Now and Forever. Buy links here.