"Travis," she says. "You have to hurry."
I rush to my side, and I make it to the hospital in under six minutes, the drive a blur. I know that I honked so many times at one point I just kept my hand on it. I double-park, running in to get a wheelchair when I hear her yelling. "Travis!” She calls my name and I rush back to her. "I feel so much pressure."
"Jesus Christ," I say as the security guard helps me get her in the chair, the whole time she’s yelling about it burning.
He radios someone inside and then looks at me. "Someone will be waiting for you at the sixth floor."
I rush inside as she puts her head back and places her hands on her stomach, crying out in pain. "It hurts." I feel like I’m in a daze as I speed down the white hallway and find the elevator waiting for us with another security guard. I press six, and it takes us what feels like an eternity to get to the sixth floor, and two nurses are there waiting for us.
They wheel her into the room, asking her questions. "How far apart are the contractions? When did your water break? Did you lose a mucus plug?" And all I can do is stand here in shock as my fierce wife breaks down and cries in pain.
They get her on the bed, and when they cut the scrubs off her, all I see is blood, and I’m about to lose my shit when the doctor waltzes in like nothing. "She’s crowning," one of the nurses tells me and then smiles at me. "Come and help her." I walk to the side of the bed, afraid to touch anything or hurt her.
"Harlow," I say to her as another contraction rips through her.
"Breathe," I coach just like they taught me in the Lamaze class. "Look at me," I urge softly. "Breathe." She nods at me, and I can see her holding her breath and in fact not breathing.
"Okay, we need to get her an IV," the nurse says when the contraction finishes, and she looks at Harlow. "Let’s get you ready to meet your baby." She nods her head and has enough time to take off her top and bra before another contraction comes.
"Okay," the doctor says. "Next one, why don’t you try to push?”
"But I need drugs," Harlow announces, and the doctor laughs and then one look at Harlow, and he stops.
"It’s way too late for that," he explains, and she puts her head back and sobs.
I hold her hand and push her hair from her face, my stomach in my throat as I worry for both of them. "You can do this," I reassure her, and she just shakes her head.
"My mom," she cries. "I want my mom."
"What’s her name and number?" the nurse asks, walking around and grabbing the phone. We give her Olivia’s number, and then we hear her talking. "Hi, this is Lara. I’m a nurse for labor and delivery. We have Harlow, and she was wondering if you were close." She listens to Olivia. "We’ll send someone to get you." She puts the phone down and pages someone else, and I feel so helpless and out of sorts.
Two minutes later, Olivia comes into the room. "Mom," Harlow cries, and Olivia rushes to her bedside. "It’s going to be okay," she comforts, and then she looks at me. "Travis is here. You’re going to be fine."
"I want drugs," she says, moaning as a contraction is coming.
"Okay, I want you to push," the doctor says and starts to count. I hold her hand in mine as I count with her. She is a warrior, and four pushes later, the sound of crying fills the room. The doctor places the baby on Harlow’s chest, and all she can do is sob out. The tears run down my face and Olivia’s. "We have a boy," the doctor says, and all I can do is lean down to kiss Harlow’s head and look at our baby boy.
"It’s a boy," she says, kissing him. "He’s so beautiful."
"You’re beautiful," I say as this overwhelming feeling comes through me. It’s a feeling that fills every vein in your body. It’s a feeling that you will never forget. It’s a feeling of a love so pure that nothing could ever be compared to it. "Thank you," I say to her, kissing her lips. "For being mine."
Epilogue Two
Epilogue Two
Harlow
Six months later
"What is all this fussing about?" I walk into the room and see Leo’s feet and hands moving up and down as he cries. He stops crying for a second, and then when he sees me, he starts again. His eyes close as two big tears come out, and I have to laugh while I scoop him in my arms and kiss his chubby cheeks. "Now now," I soothe, rubbing his back as he sighs out in contentment, the tears now a thing of the past. "Did Daddy just put you down in the crib and expect for you to fall asleep on your own?" I ask while I walk over to the rocking chair. "The nerve of him," I say as I pull down my top and offer him my breast. He moves his mouth back and forth before finding my nipple and doing a huge deep sigh. "There you go."