“Zac…” He heard her.
“Where are you?” He
said, looking around the room. Then
he saw her, standing in the doorway of the bathroom, a puddle around her feet.
She was crying, “I think…I think my water broke.”
She said, tears rolling down her cheeks.
“Oh God, oh God…” It
was the only thing that came to his mind. “Stay
there.” He commanded, holding his
hand out. “I’m gonna go get
Mom.” And he ran.
He ran out the door and down the steps, yelling for Diana the whole way.
But no one answered. No one
came running. On the kitchen table,
a note from Mr. Jones told him his family had gone to Big Splash, and that he
had driven to town for some things and would more than likely be back before Zac
woke up. There was a plate full of
banana-nut muffins with Zac and Michelle’s name on it.
Panic stricken, he looked at the clock; it was 11:30 in the morning.
From upstairs, he heard Michelle call his name again.
Hurriedly, he ran back up the stairs, “What?
Are you alright?!” He
gasped.
“No—“she said, holding onto the doorway and sinking down to the
floor, “they’re really close together now.”
Zac’s eyes widened, “The babies?”
He asked, wanting nothing more than to run away.
“The contractions.” She
answered.
“WHAT!?” He exclaimed.
“How long have you been having them?”
He asked, his voice squeaking.
“I don’t really know—they didn’t get bad enough to wake me up
‘til about three.” She gasped,
shutting her eyes as another one passed.
“Michelle! That’s more than nine hours already! My
God, why didn’t you tell them?! Mr.
Jones isn’t even here!” He
cried.
She got her breath again and answered, “I didn’t want to bother
anyone. I took a shower and stuff. And
they weren’t that bad ‘til a while ago. My
Mom said she was in labor for like, thirty hours with me, so I figured--”
Zac shook his head, interrupting her, “You’re having twins—I
don’t know if it works the same!” He
was quickly losing his grip.
“I know, I guess it was stupid. Maybe
you better take me to the hospital.” She
said, trying to pull herself back up. “I
gotta clean this up…”
“Don’t clean up anything!” He
spat, coming to his senses as he watched her struggle. He rushed passed her and
grabbed a towel off the rod, “Here, can you stand all right?
If you can just…wipe your legs off and stuff, I can get the rest.”
He stepped back out into the bedroom.
“Have you got a clean night gown?”
He asked. She pointed to the
dresser. “I’m only fifteen,
Michelle, I can’t drive.” He
said as he pulled the soft garment from the drawer.
“I’ve seen you drive, Zac.” She
said, her eyebrows pulled together.
He turned to face her, “I’m gonna try to call Mom.”
He said, handing her the gown and turning around, “I
won’t watch, you don’t have to shut the door or anything.
I don’t want you getting stuck in there, that stupid door sticks
sometimes.” He mumbled, picking
up the phone off the side table. He
dialed every cell phone number he knew, and all of them went to voice mail or
rang somewhere in the house. “Shit!”
He spat, slamming the phone down. “Why
the hell would they all go off to some stupid public pool when we have a
perfectly usable one right there in the backyard!?”
Michelle slowly stepped up next to him, “Your Dad said everybody had
cabin fever—“
“Cabin fever my ass!” He
said, looking up at her, “That’s just stupid when you’re like 17 months
pregnant! And they probably locked
their phones up in the lockers!”
Suddenly, she placed her hand on his shoulder, squeezing to the point of
pain, “God…” she breathed.
“Here, sit down!” He
said, jumping up to allow her to sit on the bed.
“Is it another one? Christ,
it’s only been like a minute since the last one!”
She nodded and sat down, holding her stomach and breathing as best she
could. “I gotta try to find Mr.
Jones number, I know I’ve seen it around here somewhere.”
He said, helping her up into the bed.
She sat Indian-style, her head hanging down.
“Are you alright for a minute?”
He asked. Again she nodded.
“Okay, I’ll be right back, just yell if you need me.”
He said softly. He again ran
down the steps, stopping in the hallway to think.
For a moment, his mind was a blank, but then he remembered that Mr. Jones
had posted his number on the refrigerator.
Rushing in, he was relieved to see it still there, written in the man’s
neat handwriting. He picked up the
phone and dialed and was welcomed by Mr. Jones’ perfect British accent.
“Hello?” He said.
“Thank you, God.” Zac
said, then he went on, “I sure hope you’re close because Michelle is having
a baby!!! Right now!!”
“What? But she said she
was fine when I left!” Mr. Jones
exclaimed.
“She lied. She’s
upstairs right now, having contractions one after the other, like a minute or
two apart.”
“Holy hell!” Mr. Jones
cried.
“Her water broke.” Zac
said.
“This is not acceptable!” Mr.
Jones said, “I’m on my way, but you are going to have to do whatever you
have to do, Zachary.”
“I can’t do anything!” Zac
cried.
“Well, you’re just going to have to—I shall be there as soon as
humanly possible, but I can’t fly. Why
did your parents decide to move to the other side of the world, anyway?!”
Mr. Jones spat.
“To get away from all the freaks!”
Zac said, “Hurry, please!”
“I shall. Just tell her to
hold on and don’t call 911, no matter what happens.”
Mr. Jones said.
“Fuck that, if she’s in trouble, I’m not gonna let anything happen
to her.”
Zac said, glancing at the
stairway.
“Women give birth all the time in places more primitive than the Hanson
compound, please, just use your head, Zac.
It’s very important that you not panic.
She’ll be fine.” Mr.
Jones said, looking down at his watch, “And I’ll be there before you know
it, I’m getting in my car right now.”
“Fine. I’m gonna hang up
now, but I’m gonna call you if I need to.
Hurry the hell up, man.” Zac
huffed.
“I’m hurrying! You gather some clean towels and some warm water to
wash off the infants. Also, does
your mother have one of those little nasal syringes?
You know, for when your little sister had a stuffy nose as a baby?
If not, then a turkey baster will do…”
“What?
What do we need a turkey baster for?” Zac said, his mind spinning.
“To suction
out the baby’s mouth and nose so he or she can breathe.
Just see if you can find one. I
knew I was forgetting something.” The
man said to himself. “Alright,
I’m hanging up now. Don’t
worry, you’ll be fine and I’ll probably be there before anything ‘icky’
happens anyway. Good bye!”
Mr. Jones said, and he hung up.
For a moment, Zac just sat there with the phone up to his ear, wishing
he’d gone with his family, and yet thankful he hadn’t.
Somewhere in his mind, he vaguely remembered Isaac trying to get him up,
but he’d blown him off. With a
sigh, he hung up the phone. For a
moment he just stood there, but when he heard Michelle, obviously having another
contraction, he found himself rushing into the bathroom and pulling out every
towel his mother had. In the
kitchen, he had to open drawer after drawer, full of foreign looking objects
until he came upon what he believed was a turkey baster.
He ran upstairs, but before he went in to be with Michelle, he took a
detour into Zoë's room. He knew
there was a drawer there, not touched for years now, containing diaper pins and
other long neglected baby items. There
he found what he was looking for and he even recalled seeing his mother attack
the crying baby with it during bouts of snotty nosed colds and such.
When he went back into Taylor’s room, Michelle was still in the same
position, her long hair covering her face and her hands tightly grasping her own
knees. He lay the things he’d gathered on the floor at the end of the bed, and
then sat down at his brother’s desk, turning on the computer.
“What are you doing?” Michelle
asked, looking up. “We need to get to the hospital…”
“I’m gonna hit the net to see what we’re doing here.
Mr. Jones said…he said, that if the contractions are less
than three minutes apart, that we don’t have time to get to the hospital.
Especially since it’s like 45 minutes away.”
Zac said, feeling bad for lying to her.
“Oh God!” Michelle
cried, falling back onto the bed and covering her face with her hands.
“It’s gonna be alright! It’s not like they could give you anything
for the pain now anyway, really, that’s all the hospital is for.”
Zac tried to assure her, typing in the letters and watching
as numerous sites came up. He chose
the one that said “emergency child birth” and prayed silently that he’d be
able to handle what he had to do. “I’m gonna read this out loud, alright?
You help me to remember everything.”
He said, turning to face her. He
watched as she turned onto her side, pulling her knees up.
“I’ll try.” She said,
breathing heavily. “Oh god, it hurts!”
She moaned.
“I know it does.”
He said sympathetically. As he read out loud the things
they’d expect and need to do, another contraction came and went.
He was certain there was no way she could have heard him, but he
continued to read. “So,” He
said, standing up, “it says if you feel like you have to go to the bathroom
really bad, that that means it’s almost time but that you shouldn’t push
yet. Do you feel like you have to
use the bathroom?”
She pushed her sweaty hair away from her face and looked up at him, her
brow furrowed, “Like pee? Or
poop?” She asked, trying not to
cry.
“Um, poop, I think.” He
answered, feeling his face flush.
Slowly, she pulled herself up, “I don’t know…” she said, “it
just really really hurts right now.” She
said.
He stepped over to her, “Would it feel better if I put some pillows
behind your back?”
“I think so.” She said.
He pulled the pillows from the bed behind her and placed them against her
back, then he rushed across the hallway for Jessica and Avery’s as well.
“How’s that?”
He asked.
“It’s good.” She said,
leaning back.
“And you’re not having a contraction right now?”
He asked. She shook her
head. “Alright.
I’m gonna grab a watch and we’re gonna time it for real, so when Mr.
Jones gets here, he knows what’s up, okay?”
“Okay.” She said.
As he turned to leave, she grabbed his arm, “I’m really scared,
Zac.” She said.
“I know, me too.” He
said. “But, we’ll figure it
out.” And he went into his own
room and picked his watch up off the dresser.
He looked at the phone, and decided to try and call Isaac’s friend
Kelly. The two had become very
close since they’d been home for the longest time in seven years.
When the answering machine picked up, he nearly broke down into tears.
He hung up without leaving a message, again, hating his family for
leaving him alone with Michelle.
He stepped back into Taylor’s room and sat down on the floor, next to
the bed, “Okay, you tell me when the next one starts and then, as soon as
it’s over, I’ll hit the button, and we’ll time it until the one after that
starts. I mean, you don’t count
the time it takes to have the contraction, right?”
He said, looking at her.
“I don’t know about that stuff, this is the first time I ever had a
baby.” She said.
“Didn’t you like, read up on it or anything when you found out you
were pregnant?” Zac asked.
She looked away from him, “Zac, if Taylor hadn’t died, I think I
would have had an abortion. I
don’t need a baby.” She looked
back then, her brown eyes shining, “But, when he died, and then I realized I
was pregnant, I just felt like…like I sort of owed it to him to have the baby,
you know?” She said.
She looked down at her hands, “I feel bad for even thinking it.
But anyway, the point is, no I didn’t do any research on it.
I think I was sort of hoping it would just sort of go away.”
“It doesn’t work like that.” He
stated.
She smiled sadly, “No, it doesn’t, does it?”
He smiled back, “Well, not for nine months anyway.”
“Eight.” She said back.
“I only made it eight months.”
“Well, according to that,” he said, pointing over to the desk,
“that’s pretty good. Twins come
pretty often at only seven, so I think you did alright.”
She placed her hands on her sides, “God, I hope so.”
Then her face contorted, “Hit the button, here it comes!”
She gasped.
~~~~~
“Get those stupid cows out of the road!”
Mr. Jones yelled, cursing the Hansons once again for living out in the
middle of nowhere. He was grateful
he was already in line at the store. He’d
awakened that morning feeling the need to buy some sheets and other things he
thought he might need for the child birthing job he had ahead of him.
He’d had to drive all the way into the city though to find some of the
things he’d wanted. Luckily he
had gone back to the area they lived in before stopping for the everyday things.
He looked at his watch; Zac had called 18 minutes earlier.
He looked back up, glad to see the road ahead of him clearing, as an old
man shooed the errant animals off into the grass.
“Thank you!” He
called as he sped passed him and in his rear view mirror, he saw the old man
wave.
~~~~~
“Okay, so the good news is, it’s really a little closer to two
minutes than one.” Zac said,
sitting the watch down on the bedside table.
Still, that’s very close. The
thing said that means delivery is “imminent”.”
“What’s that mean?” Michelle
asked.
“Well, imminent means—“ Zac
started.
“I know what imminent means!” She
shouted. “I mean, what does it
mean to us?!” She panted.
“Well, I think the next step is to see if the baby’s head is crowning
or not. Like, if the top of the
head is visible or not.” He said.
She just stared at him for a moment, her eyes getting wider by the
second. Then, without warning, she
burst into tears, “No! Why did I
do that?! I didn’t even know
him!” She cried.
Standing, he walked toward her, wanting to comfort her, but as he got
closer, she backed away, “No, stay away!”
She said, pulling her legs together protectively. The mere thought of one
of Taylor’s brothers inspecting her below the waist was terrifying at that
moment. Particularly Zac, who had
no qualms about letting her know he disapproved of her relationship, or lack of
one with his older brother. And he
could also tease without mercy, and that alone was enough to keep her from
wanting to spread her legs wide open for him.
He put his hands out, “Okay, don’t freak on me.
I’m not gonna touch you, alright?”
He said, gently.
Her crying was slowly abating, but she still snuffed and wiped her nose.
“Why did I do that?” She
asked again, talking more to herself than to him.
“You did it out of love. It
may have been a different kind of love, but I know you guys feel like you know
us, even if you don’t.” He
said.
Before she could react to his words, she leaned forward again, “Oh god,
it hurts so much…” She said,
reaching around to her back.
“Does your back hurt?” He
asked, stepping closer. She nodded.
“Would it help if I rubbed it when you’re having contractions?”
“I don’t know…” She
said, tears and sweat running down her face, causing her hair to stick to her
forehead in wavy tendrils. Gently,
he pushed her hair out of her face and placed his hand on the small of her back.
He felt very weird, realizing it was the first time he’d really
physically touched her since she’d been there.
Her skin was hot and he could feel the muscles knotting together as her
body prepared itself to release the infants it had harbored for eight months.
He began to massage the area she’d had her own hands on, and she
visibly loosened. Her shoulders
dropped and her head went back, “God, that feels good.”
She said.
“Just let me know when you want me to stop.”
He said.
“I think it’s passed now, but could you keep doing that?”
She asked.
He smiled, “Of course. After
drumming for two hours at a time, or eight, if you count Taylor the Taskmaster
while we’re rehearsing, I think I can handle this.”
“He made you practice for eight hours?”
She said, her eyes closed and her head falling over onto her shoulder.
He’d moved his hands up to the base of her neck now, “Oh yeah.
If he thought we weren’t tight enough, he’d keep at it ‘til he was
about to pass out.” He smiled
thinking about it. “Luckily for
me and Ike, he usually would forget to eat when he was in that mode, and
suddenly, he’d just poop out.
Mom started making him keep bananas in his back pack--which
was fine unless he left them there for too long or sat on it or something.”
He laughed. “I’ll bet if
you took a whiff of some of those books over there, you can still smell it.”
She almost seemed asleep, but she spoke, “That’s so funny…I thought
I smelled bananas up here, but I figured it was just my imagination…”
“Well, it wasn’t.” He
said, rubbing her shoulders. He glanced out the window, praying he’d see Mr.
Jones’ car coming up the driveway, but it was just as empty as it had been
when he’d checked earlier. When
the phone rang, he nearly jumped out of his skin.
He practically leapt on it, “Hello?!”
Diana laughed, “Zac, you just made me drop my drink—“she started.
“Mom! You gotta come home,
right NOW!” He burst out.
“What’s going on?” She
said, getting concerned, “Is Michelle alright?”
She asked.
“No! She’s having the
baby!” He said, tears clouding
his eyes as he tried to keep his composure.
“Oh my…Zac, just hold on baby, we’ll be right there!
Dammit! I knew
we shouldn’t have left! Walk!”
He heard her call his father as she turned off the phone.
Zac rushed back over to the bed, “Mom’s coming!
I told you everything would be alright!” He gushed. She tried to smile
back at him, but a contraction started and she just squeezed his hand.
“Please God, let them get here in time…”
He said, looking up. Just
when he thought he’d lose all feeling in his hand, the contraction ended.
“That seemed sort of long. And
without a lot of time since the last one. They’re
getting closer together.” He said
ominously, wiping sweat off his own brow. Again,
he stood up and looked out the window, but this time he was rewarded with the
sight of Kirk’s red mustang barreling up the driveway, leaving a trail of dust
in it’s wake as Mr. Jones came as fast as he dared up the narrow path.
The car slid to a halt and the man grabbed some things out of the back
and ran towards the door. “He’s
here!” Zac shouted, as he ran
from the room to meet him.
As he jumped down the last three stairs, he heard the front door open,
“Where is she?!” Mr. Jones
asked when he saw the flushed boy standing in the doorway.
“Upstairs, in Taylor’s room! God,
I’m so glad you got here! It has
to be soon now!” He said,
grabbing the man’s arm and practically pulling him up the stairs.
When they got to the landing, he stopped him, “Zac, listen to me.
She’s probably way passed giving her any drugs or anything.
You’re going to have to be there for her.
Keep talking to her or whatever it takes to get her through this.
Keep her mind off whatever I’m doing down there, got it?”
Zac swallowed, thinking about ‘down there’ and what all that would
entail in this situation. “Ergh.”
He said, paling a little. “I’ll
do my best.”
They started back up, “I finally got a hold of my Mom and
they’re on their way.” He said
as they hit the top step.
“How long ago was that?” Mr.
Jones asked.
“Right as you were turning into our driveway, I’d say.”
Zac said.
Opening Taylor’s door, Mr. Jones turned toward him, “Well, that’s
nice, but I have a feeling, this is going to be entirely up to us.”
~~~~~
Isaac had never seen his mother move so fast in his life.
Maybe the time Taylor plowed through the sliding glass door,
he thought, but then he remembered, she’d actually sort of just stood there
for a little while, the sight of blood flowing across that angelic face nearly
throwing her into shock. Still,
she’d risen to the occasion and gone into motherly overdrive.
But today, she hadn’t even had that moment of shock, just the adrenalin
fueled rush to find all her children and get them in the van as quickly as
possible. Now that they were on the
highway finally, it was beginning to sink in.
If all went well, before this day was over, he’d be an uncle.
Twice.
~~~~~
Zac admired Mr. Jones ability to come in and take charge.
Where Michelle had been petrified of Zac coming anywhere
close to her nether regions, the man had talked to her and gotten her
comfortable with him, and had gotten she and Zac engaged in her pain management,
taking her mind off the fact that he would be touching her in very personal ways
and places. “You’re fully
dilated Michelle—it won’t be long now.”
He said, as he pushed the sheet up over her knees.
That was Zac’s cue to get her to look at him.
“I can’t believe this is happening.”
He said, smiling at her, even though her fingernails were drawing blood
from his hand. “I can’t imagine
what Taylor would be doing right now…” he chuckled.
“Probably, he’d be passed out on the floor and everyone would be
crowded around him, and you’d be left to your own devices.”
“I can see the head…” Mr.
Jones said. “Don’t push just
yet.” Another moment went by,
then Zac watched a smile on the man’s face, “Alright Michelle, this is it,
give us a good shove.” He said.
Zac helped her, supporting her back as she leaned forward, pushing with
all the energy she had left. He
knew she was in pain from the sounds she was making, yet he thought if it was
him, he’d be screaming his lungs out. The effort needed to give birth was
something Zac would have never imagined. He
watched and listened as she pushed and breathed and sweated, trying to release
the child within her. Finally, the
words they’d waited for, “I’ve got shoulders now—this is the hard part,
come on—just one more really good one. You
can do it.” Mr. Jones coached
her.
“It’s almost over, Michelle.”
Zac said in her ear. He felt
her lean forward again.
With another
push, and a plaintive rush of sound from her, he heard Mr. Jones,
“Excellent!” His face lit up,
“Michelle, you have a son, and Zac, you have a beautiful nephew!”
He looked up at both of them, “Now, take that towel, and I’m going to
hand him to you in just a moment…” He
said.
Zac looked at
Michelle as she smiled. “A boy.” Was
all she said.
“Yeah,”
He replied, his smile so big it threatened to take over his face.
She finally let go of his hand, and he reached into one of the bags Mr.
Jones had brought up and pulled a soft, white blanket from it.
He looked back to see Mr. Jones cleaning blood and some other gooey
looking substance off the baby and then he heard him cry.
While his mother had had four more children after him, he’d never been
present at any of their births. The
feeling he got, hearing that first sound from the tiny infant was unbelievable.
Mr. Jones smiled at him and motioned him over, “Hurry now, we’ve
still got one in there, ready to join his or her brother.”
Zac shook his head, and rushed over, kneeling down to take the crying boy
from him, “Look at him…” He
said.
“I did, and he’s perfectly lovely.”
Mr. Jones said. “Why
don’t you show him to his mother, and then look at the clock and write down
what time he was born, alright?” He
said.
Zac nodded, and stood, amazed at how light the child was.
As he knelt down beside Michelle, he pulled the blanket away
so that she could see all of him. “Oh,
baby…” She said, smiling
through her tears, “He’s perfect, isn’t he?”
She said, looking up at Zac.
He smiled, “He certainly is.” At
the sounds of their voices, the child ceased his crying and opened his eyes.
He was fully alert, not having been affected by any painkillers given to
his mother, and he looked at the people whose voices he recognized.
“Look at
that, he’s got Taylor’s lips!” She
said, gazing down at the tiny cupid’s bow shape of his mouth.
Zac laughed,
“And his big old head.” For a
moment, they were able to just marvel at the tiny boy, but soon, it was time for
the arrival of Taylor’s second child.
~~~~~
Diana slammed the door of the van and turned to her husband, “Hurry up,
Walk. Zac sounded freaked out and I
don’t even want to know what Michelle must be going through.”
She looked back at Isaac, “I can’t believe we aren’t
going to be there.” She said.
“I knew I should have stayed home.”
“Mom, who knew?” He
replied. “You and I both asked
her if she was alright, and she said she was.”
“I know, I know.” She
said, reaching for her cell phone. She
flipped it open and dialed their number. It
rang three times before Zac picked it up.
“Hello?” He said.
“Zac?!” She exclaimed,
“What’s going on!?”
“Mom…” He sounded
almost like he was going to cry. “I’m
holding him, god, he’s amazing.”
Isaac watched her face light up, “We’ve got a boy!”
She said so they could all hear.
“What’s the other one?” She
asked, excitedly.
“I don’t know yet, it’s just now where Mr. Jones can see the
head.” He said back.
“How is Michelle, Zac?” She
said, worried.
“She’s worn out. I
don’t know how she did it. And,
she’s gonna have to do it again. I
better go, but I’ll just lay the phone down, so you can hear, okay?”
Diana smiled as tears ran down her cheeks, “Okay, baby.”
She answered. Then
she looked over at Walker, “She hasn’t had the second one yet. So far,
we’ve got a grandson…” She
shook her head, looking out the window, not listening to the insanity around her
as the other children rejoiced at the thought of their new nephew, waiting at
home for them to come and welcome into the family.
~~~~~
“Push!!!” Mr. Jones
encouraged her. “Zac, you can lay him in the crib over there, he’ll be fine,
just make sure he’s covered up. Then
get back here and help her.”
Michelle was beyond exhausted. Zac
came up behind her again and placed his arm around her, “It’s almost over
now—this one should be the easy one. Relatively
speaking.” He said as she glared
at him. “Come on.”
He said, pulling her hair back for her.
Mr. Jones nodded to Zac and he pushed her forward so that she could do
her part. Her face turned into a
grimace, and she let out a moan that would stay with Zac forever.
If she hadn’t been so tired, it would have been a scream.
“Here it comes—“Mr. Jones said, “The head’s out.”
Zac felt her push again and he watched tears roll down her cheeks.
“You’re so close, Michelle, don’t give up now.”
He said to her. Again, she
leaned forward and he turned to see Mr. Jones gently pull a second child out of
its womb. He could see the cord and
all of the blood and other fluids that accompanied the birth of a child, rushing
out onto his brother’s bed. He
prayed that Michelle would be alright, as he felt her go limp in his arms.
“This one is a girl.” Mr.
Jones said, as he went about cleaning the child and cutting the cord and such.
He looked up at the two, “A very healthy girl.”
He said.
Zac smiled, and let Michelle lay back, breathless.
“It’s a girl.” He said
to her.
She smiled back and closed her eyes, “Isabella.”
She said.
“Oh, that’s a pretty name.” Zac
said back.
“Isabella Antonelli, that was my grandmother’s name.”
She said softly.
“Zac.” Mr. Jones said,
“You take her, let Michelle hold her, then you take the boy, and go out,
alright?
I’ve still got a bit to do here.”
He said.
Zac looked back at Michelle with a newfound respect, and a large dose of
sympathy. He knew there was the
afterbirth to deal with and probably some other things he was glad to forget
about. He’d not really read that
closely, choosing to concentrate on the ‘birthing’ part of the website and
let the rest go back out of his mind as quickly as he’d read it.
He stepped down to the end of the bed and watched as the baby fought
against everything Mr. Jones tried to do to her.
In moments, he heard her first cry as he had his nephew, and again, it
struck him deeply. He took the baby
from the man, and looked at her face. Unlike
the boy, her hair was dark like her mother.
She continued to cry, even when Zac handed her to Michelle.
“She’s gorgeous.” He
said.
Michelle looked up at him, “She is.”
She said. He then turned,
and went to the crib and picked up the little bundle there.
He held him close and then walked out of the room and into Zoë's.
There, he sat in the old rocker and looked again into the face of the
boy. His eyes were bright, the same
blue as all newborns, but Zac was certain they’d remain that way, taking on
the rich colour of his father’s.
The sun that shone in the curtains caught gold in his fine
hair and he watched Zac’s face as if he expected him to explain to him what
had just happened. As they gazed at
each other, Zac heard the front door and he knew his family was home, but he
didn’t feel like moving from the spot, so he just waited for them to come up.
~~~~~
Jessica and Avery were the first ones out, rushing passed Kirk’s car
which was parked right at the front door. “Zac!”
They both called as they ran into the foyer.
When he didn’t answer, they both raced up the stairs.
As they reached the hallway, he got their attention.
Stepping into Zoë's room, both of them were shocked to see their
brother lovingly holding a tiny baby. “Oh
my gosh, is this him?” Avery
said, kneeling down in front of him as Jessica leaned over her to see closer.
“Yeah.” He said, smiling
at them. “The girl is still in
there with Michelle and Mr. Jones. He’ll
be out in a little bit, and then I’m sure we can go in and see her.
She named her Isabella, isn’t that pretty?”
He said.
Jessica raised her eyebrows, amazed at Zac’s demeanor.
“We heard.” She said,
softly. “Mom was listening and
she told us.”
At that moment, Diana and Walker walked in, followed by Mackenzie and
Zoë.
“We really shouldn’t all be in here breathing on him.”
Diana said, stepping up close and looking down at the baby.
When she saw his face, tears ran anew down her cheeks.
He yawned just as Zac held him out to her, and her tears turned to
laughter. “Look, Walk…”
She said, not believing that she was actually holding Taylor’s child.
As she took in his features though, she knew beyond any shadow of a doubt
that he belonged to her second oldest. “He
looks just like him…” She said,
so softly it was barely audible.
Walker was speechless. He’d
been in shock since the day Michelle had walked into their house.
He’d felt like he’d been in a dream and that none of it
had happened. But now, here was
physical proof that everything that had started the previous autumn had been
very very real. He was looking at
his firstborn grandchild—the son of his own son.
The one that was technically, dead and buried.
He blinked back tears and smiled, holding his finger out to touch his
tiny hand. “Hi baby, welcome to
this crazy world…” He said, his
heart swelling as the child wrapped his small fingers around his large one.
~~~~~
Isaac stood in the living room, looking at a picture of his brother.
It was one of a set of pictures they’d had taken at a local
photographer’s studio. They could
have been of any middle class family, anywhere in America.
It could have been a senior picture, but technically, Taylor would only
have been a junior at that time. He was missing him so much. He
looked into his brother’s blue eyes and thought about their lives and how
things had turned out. Upstairs, he
could hear the voices of his family, quietly chittering over the new additions
to the family. He sighed, unable to
fathom where this year had found them. Never
in his wildest dreams a year ago would he have believed that he’d be standing
here, about to walk up the stairs and see two children, fathered by his 17 year
old brother, who was now undead and living in New York.
Shaking his head, he walked into the hallway, and up the stairs.
