Chapter 2
Brandon spent three more hours in the waiting room, waiting for Fabienne to wake up. They finally came to tell him she was in her room, and he could see her. He had gotten her a private room, since she said she didn’t want to be disturbed by another mother and baby. He thought it was the least he could do for her, since she was producing a miracle for him, and had suffered for nine months.
She was still dozing when he walked softly into the room. Her hair had been brushed and pulled back away from her face, her perfect creamy skin was whiter than ever, and she had dark circles under her eyes, which suggested to him that she’d been through an ordeal. Her eyes fluttered open when he kissed her, and then closed again. She was still drowsy from the drugs they had given her after the delivery, and she let out a soft moan, as he took her hand in his and kissed it.
“Oh my darling, was it awful?”
“Yes,” she said, as she looked at him, still shocked by how hard it had been. Nothing had prepared her for the agonies of childbirth. “It was terrible,” she said, as tears slid slowly from her eyes and rolled into her hair. “No more babies after this.” He nodded and didn’t know what to say. He could see the toll it had taken on her.
“I’m so sorry. She’s beautiful, though. I saw her at the nursery window.” Fabienne had decided before the delivery not to nurse her, and said it would have ruined her figure forever. She thought the whole idea of nursing was disgusting. She said only peasants nursed their babies in France. He didn’t know if that was true or not, but many women in the States didn’t nurse either. It was considered old fashioned and a little primitive, and he didn’t expect her to do it. “Have you held her yet?” he asked gently and she shook her head.
“No, I don’t want to. She has caused me enough pain already,” she said, and he nodded, hoping she would forget it soon, and wouldn’t hold it against the baby. He was sure her maternal instincts would rapidly overcome the memory of the pain of delivery.
Brandon stayed with her for an hour, and left when a nurse came in to offer her a shot for the pain. She was having cramps and eager for relief. He stopped by the nursery window to see the baby again, but the nurses were busy with new arrivals, and there was no one to hold her up again for him. They had agreed on a girl’s name for her before she was born, Antonia Marceline Adams, named for both their mothers. As pretty as she was, even a few hours after her birth, he thought the name suited her.
* * *
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Fabienne looked more like herself the next day. She had brushed her own hair, put on lipstick in the familiar bright red, which stood out even more in her startlingly pale face. She had lost a fair amount of blood during the birth. She had brought one of her own lacy nightgowns with her, and she had artfully concealed the dark circles under her eyes. She looked like a movie star again, and not an ordinary woman who had been through hell.
They brought the baby in while he was there, made Brandon put on a gown so he could hold her, and he sat staring down at the perfect tiny face as she slept in his arms. Fabienne watched him holding Antonia, and she quickly rang for a nurse to take her back to the nursery. She said she wanted her sent back before she woke up and started to scream. Fabienne spent the rest of the visit talking about how quickly she wanted to lose the weight she had gained and get in shape again. She spent five days in the hospital, and Brandon never saw her hold the baby. Her stomach was still slightly swollen when they left the hospital, but she was wearing a short red swing dress, which showed off her fabulous legs, and high heels. She was the only woman he could imagine who was so glamorous and sexy five days after giving birth.
The baby nurse they’d hired was waiting for them at home, and took over immediately. They had turned their guest room into a nursery, with a single bed in it, and the nurse would sleep there for the next month, at the other end of the apartment from Fabienne and Brandon’s room, so they didn’t have to hear her when the baby woke in the night to be fed.
The morning they came home, Fabienne lay down on their bed and smiled at her husband, grateful that the horror of the delivery was behind her and she didn’t have to care for the baby. She couldn’t wait to go out with Brandon, she was free again. He stopped in to see the baby in the nursery, and Fabienne never did.
By the time the baby nurse left, Fabienne was exercising every day, and back at her acting lessons. The small amount of weight she had gained fell away easily. She had been too sick to eat much for nine months, and had gained a minimal amount of weight. She lined up a series of babysitters so she would be free every day, and Brandon could see that her maternal instincts had not kicked in yet, but he was still sure they would.