29. Mai #2
Taylor had sensibly decided he should keep his eyes on his child, not his wife, at this point and reached out a tentative hand to touch his baby’s finger, which reflexively clasped his.
His eyes opened wider in amazement, and for a second, Mai imagined what it would be like if Ford was standing there.
They had always talked about having a kid, but they had been so young, despite their talk about big families, neither really knew if they wanted one or not. But now that she was in her thirties, if Ford wanted one, she would agree. Her mind ground to a halt. Where had that thought come from?
From the hopeful part of her that wanted Ford to forgive her.
Anyway, this wasn’t about her; this was about Clara, Taylor and their baby. She shoved thoughts of her potential family out of her head.
The midwife had wrapped up the baby tightly in a swaddle—Mai always thought it made them look like burritos—and was about to take the baby over to Clara when Mai stopped her.
“Do you mind if I do the honours?” Mai held her arms out for the baby, grinning when Taylor tracked every move of his child. “Come on, Taylor. Let’s get your baby across to your wife.” She led the way, Taylor following in her wake, averting his eyes from the surgery.
“Hey, Clara!” Mai exclaimed as she brought the baby into her friend’s view.
Sadie stood with her hands over her eyes. “Let me know when I can look.” She was taking her promise not to see the baby before Clara very seriously.
“I have a visitor for you.” Mai gently placed the baby onto Clara’s chest, then indicated for Taylor to sit back in his chair and put his hand onto the baby to support him, as it was too awkward for Clara, lying flat on her back, to do it.
“Hi,” Clara said as a tear trickled down her cheek. “You gave us a scare there, little man.” Her eyes rose to Mai. “Thanks. I don’t know what we would have done without you.”
“That’s no problem.” Mai grinned. She loved moments like these.
Clara’s eyes drifted down to the baby, then shot back to Mai in surprise. “What’s with the makeup?”
“I’m looking now. You’ve had your chance!” Sadie said, then uncovered her eyes, which immediately locked on the baby. “Oh my, he’s adorable, guys.”
Clara, though, wasn’t going to be deterred. “He is the most beautiful baby I’ve ever seen. But please tell me you’ve seen Mai’s makeup?”
And now Sadie and Clara were both staring at Mai. Taylor, however, was in his own world, gazing in adoration at his wife and baby.
“What’s with the rock chick look?” Clara asked.
Mai shrugged and muttered, “I had a photoshoot with the band.”
“What?!” Clara exclaimed so forcefully that Lily called over the drapes.
“Calm down over there, stop giving me a moving target.”
“Sorry,” Clara replied.
“Are you rejoining Midnight Thunder?” Sadie whispered so only the four of them could hear.
Well, not Taylor, as he didn’t spend all his time in operating theatres where babies were a frequent occurrence, so he wasn’t paying attention to anything but his baby.
Clara bent her head and kissed her baby’s black hair, which was so like his dad’s, before she murmured, “That would be cool!”
“No, I’m not rejoining Midnight Thunder,” Mai said.
“Oh, did you say Midnight Thunder?” Lily’s voice piped up from the other side of the drapes. “I love their music. Can we put some on?”
The scout nurse quickly replied that she had a speaker, and before they knew it, Ford’s voice filled the theatre.
“Rumours have started that I’ve, well, Sie, well, you know what I mean, has been found.
So we’re getting ahead of things. I’ve done a photoshoot with them.
Dressed in my old get-up, I even got a black wig.
We’re announcing that they always knew where I was and wanted me to be able to live a private life.
We figured if I looked like Sie, it would take the heat off my real life. ”
“Good call.” Sadie nodded. “It’s just a shock to see you in heavy makeup.” She leaned back and studied Mai’s face, which made her shift uncomfortably. “But it looks great on you.”
Mai smirked. “The eyeliner is a lot more wonky than it used to be, but it has been sixteen years since I did my makeup like this, so I was pretty proud of myself. Although I’d rather talk about more important things, like what’s your baby’s name?”
Clara gazed at Taylor. “We’ve got a couple of names.”
“Clara, you did the hard work. It’s your pick.” Taylor ran his finger softly down his baby’s cheek.
“Are you sure?” Clara questioned.
“Yeah.” He leaned forward and kissed her gently on the lips. “It’s entirely up to you.”
“Okay. Then this little guy is Hayes Anderson.” A broad smile crossed Clara’s face as she named her son.
“I love it.” Taylor kissed her again, then kissed their baby’s head.
“I really like it,” Mai said.
“Yeah. We’ve been going back and forth between that and Hugo.
But seeing him, his name’s Hayes. No question.
” Clara tried to gaze at her baby, but he was so close to her, as she lay flat on her back, that her expression was more cross-eyed than anything.
“I always warned patients that these first cuddles were awkward,” Clara laughed.
“But I’m only now seeing how awkward they really are! ”
“He’s right up your nose.” Sadie giggled. Then pulled her phone out of her pocket. “Any chance of a group photo?”
“Absolutely.” Clara used the hand that wasn’t holding Hayes to wipe at her eyes. “I don’t want our photo to be me crying.”
Mai looked at the happy group of friends and stepped back so they could take their photo.
Sadie grabbed her arm and tugged her forward. “Where are you going, Mai? We want your best rockstar face in this picture!”
“Oh no, you guys have been friends forever. You don’t want me in the picture.” She tried to step away again.
“Nope, you’re stuck with us now,” Clara declared. “And you literally just saved my baby's life, you’re getting in the photo.”
“Alright!” Mai laughed, leaning down.
“Here, Taylor, your arm’s longer. You take it.” Sadie handed her phone to Taylor.
He checked they were all in shot and took a photo, saying, “Smile!”
He showed it to Clara, who frowned. “No, take it again. I look rough.”
“You never look rough,” Taylor replied.
“So in love,” Sadie swooned, then winked. “Although I do agree with Clara. Take it again, Taylor. This time, everyone do their best pouts.”
Mai glanced over at Sadie, who had a ridiculous look on her face, then channelled Sie and pulled the face she always had in Midnight Thunder photos.
Clara examined the image. “Much better. Mai, if you make faces like that, everyone will know who you were in a previous life. I can’t believe we didn’t see it before.”
Sadie snatched the phone and peered at the screen. “Shit, yeah. With the makeup and the expression, you look just like…“ she trailed off.
“Me?” Mai said.
“Yeah. I’m still getting my brain around that one.” Sadie shook her head and turned to her phone, sending the picture through to her friends.
Mai’s phone buzzed in her pocket as the message arrived. It was such a nice thing to be part of a group again; she hadn’t felt part of anything since Midnight Thunder. Her mind strayed to Ford, sitting outside waiting for her.
Lily, popping her head over the drapes, interrupted her thoughts. “All done here. We’ll get you cleaned up and out to recovery.”
“Thanks, Lily,” Clara replied.
Lily stepped away from Clara and walked over to the desk, a slight limp noticeable in her step. The surgeon sat down with a huff and started typing up the operation report on the computer.
Mai smiled regretfully at Clara. “I’m going to take Hayes to the nursery, check his sugars and keep an eye on him overnight. He looks great, but being only thirty-four weeks, it would be safer for him to be monitored overnight.”
Tears sprang into Clara’s eyes, even as she nodded her agreement. “That’s alright. I understand. Taylor, can you go with Hayes?”
Taylor stared at his wife for a long time, clearly not wanting to leave her.
“I’ll stay with Clara. I came in from home anyway, I’ve got the time,” Sadie offered.
“And you won’t have to do bedtime?” Clara chuckled through her upset.
“That is a bonus.” Sadie shrugged and patted her friend’s shoulder affectionately.
As the drapes were pulled off Clara, Mai reached down and took Hayes.
“Give your mummy a kiss.” She positioned Hayes so he snuggled into Clara’s cheek.
Then lifted him up safely into her arms. “I’ll take care of him for you.
” She met her friend’s eyes, who nodded.
“Come on, Taylor. Let’s get your son settled. ”
“I’ll bring Clara up as soon as the recovery guys are happy,” Sadie said.
Taylor leaned over and touched his forehead to Clara’s, then kissed her. “We’re parents.”
Tears welled in Clara's eyes again. “I know. I’m scared shitless.”
“Me too,” Taylor agreed.
Mai stood watching them, grinning as she rocked their baby in her arms. A small part of her hoped that one day she would have this with the man she loved.