Special Delivery

“Aunt Julie, did dad tell you my news?”

“What news?”
“I’m pregnant!”
Sure you are,” Julie said and laughed.
“No really, I am.”
“Yeah, right,” Julie replied, still laughing
“I am,” said Kate and pulled out a pregnancy strip showing positive.
Julie looked to the other family members in the room, who nodded that Kate was indeed pregnant.
Kate laughed and said, “I knew no one would believe me. That’s why I kept the strip.”
“Well, then congratulations,” said Julie as she proceeded to take her coat to add to the pile of other coats and hats on the bed. Julie’s husband, Joe, followed, saying little, his usual M.O. when dealing with Julie’s chaotic family.
Last minute preparations for the family Easter dinner continued. Once the pandemonium of getting fourteen adults and four young children seated and served was complete, Julie asked, “So, Kate, is there a wedding date set?”
“No, me and my sperm donor are just focusing on the baby right now. We can figure that out later.”
Kate’s brother broke in saying, “Yeah, you wouldn’t want to rush into something like marriage just because a baby is on the way.”
Kate giggled and said, “Right. Anyway she won’t mind even if the wedding happens after she is here.”
“She?” Julie asked. “Isn’t it too early to know that?”
“Well, yeah, it’s not official but I think it’s a girl. Even though sperm donor here is rooting for a boy. And I want her to use my last name, so that will probably be easier if it’s a girl.”
Bill, the ‘sperm donor’, had remained quiet. “I wonder how he feels about being called a sperm donor” thought Julie.
There were usually two or three conversations going on simultaneously at any gathering of Julie’s family, the result being that any kind of meaningful conversation between two people was an exercise in futility.
A few weeks later, Kate came to the city for some shopping and had lunch with Julie. “Didn’t you tell me once that you never wanted to have children? What changed?”
“Well tequila played a part,” laughed Kate. “Seriously, I’m not sure I can answer that. You know I always felt that my unplanned arrival had played a part in my folks getting divorced. Now, I’m not so sure. Maybe I’m just growing up a little.”
“I’m glad to hear that’s not an issue with you any longer. Any wedding plans yet?”
“No, that’s not gonna happen. When the ultra sound showed a girl, he took off. I guess the only way he wanted to be a dad is if it was a boy.”
“I’m sorry. Are you OK with that?”
“For the most part I am, although I would have liked to have her grow up with a dad.”
A few months later at a baby shower, Kate announced she had decided on the name Natalia, but would call her Talli. As Julie was leaving the shower, saying goodbye to Kate, she asked, “Who is going to be with you when she’s born?”
“My friend Pam has been going to Lamaze classes with me and will be my coach.”
“That’s good. I’d love to be there when she arrives.”
“Well, if you’re serious, I’d love to have you there.”
“Really? Kate, I’d love that!”
One evening in mid-December Julie got the call that Kate was on her way to the hospital. Julie’s excitement mounted as she counted off the fifty miles to Kate’s small town. She could think of nothing greater than to be present as a child arrived. She’d experienced this only once, during her training to become a Registered Nurse. Her own children had arrived while she was in a drug induced never-never land. She stopped at the desk in the hospital and was directed to Kate’s room. When she arrived, she was surprised to see Kate’s mom, her sister Teri and friend Pam in the room. It had been more than thirty years since she had been in a labor or delivery room At that time it was uncommon for anyone but the father to be allowed into either the labor or delivery room. The five women spent the next few hours chatting and joking between Kate’s contractions. Finally it was time to go to the delivery room. Kate’s mom said, “Teri and I will wait in the lobby.” Teri tended to panic a bit at the sight of even a very small amount of blood, and she wasn’t ready to watch her sister be in any more pain. As they were transferring Kate from the bed to the gurney, Julie had another surprise. “You guys can bring your coats and purse and put them on chairs in the delivery room.”
“Do we need to put gowns on?” Julie asked.
“No, you’re fine just as you are.” As Julie and Pam trialed behind the gurney, she said to Pam, “I had no idea protocols had changed this much. This would never have been allowed when I was having babies or even when I was in nursing school.”
As they began to transfer Kate from the gurney to the delivery table, she panicked a bit and shouted, “Wait! Just wait. Let me catch my breath.” As she got on the delivery table another contraction began. The nurse put her hands lightly on Kate’s hips, and said,
“We need to get you moved down a bit.”
“Stop it! Don’t just grab me. Tell me what you want.”
As the contractions increased in frequency and intensity, Kate seemed to panic even more.
“Remember your breathing, Kate,” said Pam.
“I am! I’m trying,” Kate cried.
“I know you are. Just focus on your breathing.”
The nurse began a manual exam to check the progress. As soon as she touched Kate, she yelled, “Stop it! What are you doing?”
“We need to see how you are progressing.”
“Tell me what you’re going to do, don’t just grab me!”
The doctor arrived and gave Kate an epidural. It didn’t appear to be helping a lot, and Kate continued to complain loudly if anyone touched her. When the doctor announced that the head was crowning, Julie moved to the foot of the table and stood close to the doctor. As Talli’s head appeared, her eyes opened even before the delivery was complete. The next hour passed quickly as Talli was weighed, measured, cleaned, dressed and taken to Kate.
The highway was nearly deserted in the pre-dawn hour when Julie drove home. She felt a little giddy from the experience, but over riding that was an indescribable sense of awe at what she’d witnessed. In her mind she replayed over and over what she’d seen as Talli opened her eyes. “I felt like I was seeing more than a baby. It was as if this was a very wise being who was remembering the many times she’d been here before and pondering what this time would bring. I will never forget that picture. I’ve got to tell Kate about it sometime, and let her know what a gift she gave by allowing me to be there.”

Writing contest...PS

If you don't have a Pay Pal account, you can also submit your entry fee using our website: www.vierdammen.com

Writing contest

My writers group, Vier Dammen, is sponsoring a writing contest. The topic is to be Omaha. We are looking for unique and engaging stories of fiction,essays or poetry that tell about an Omaha that many people don't know exists. We want to hear what makes it special, and what makes it special to YOU. Entry deadline is November 15,2010. First and second place prizes will be awarded in the poetry section and in the fiction/essay section. Please limit essays or fiction to 1500 words. Poetry can be of any length. One essay or piece of fiction per submission, poetry submissions may have 3-5 poems as one submission. Entry fee is $10.00 payable via Pay Pal. Contact lmteal@yahoo.com, using your own Pay Pal account to send your fee.
The dollar amount of prizes will be determined by the number of entries we receive.
Submit all entries to vierdammen@gmail.com. Please include your name, address, phone number, email address, date and word count in the header of your entry. Entries will not be returned.
Those who have been members of Vier Dammen prior to July, 2010 will not be eligible.