Ajay
ajay
. . .
I love my wife more than anything in this world, aside from Evelyn, but the machoman in me wishes like hell that I hadn’t picked her up because carrying a very pregnant woman through scorching hot sand while she’s holding onto my neck for dear life was not the best decision I’ve ever made.
Quinn, Nola and Evelyn are hot on our tails. Evelyn is screaming that she wants to be with her mom. Nola is trying to diffuse the situation by telling her that she’s coming along, but riding with her and Quinn, and Quinn is standing in the middle of the Pacific Coast Highway, blocking traffic so I have a clear path to my car. What a clusterfuck.
“I can walk,” Whiskey says. She’s right, she probably can, but thanks to the machoman syndrome I’m currently experiencing, there’s no way in hell I’m setting her down. Besides, my wife doesn’t have shoes on, and the pavement will burn her feet. I’m thankful Quinn suggested I put the water socks on, or I’d be in the same boat.
My heart breaks as I help Whiskey into the car because Evelyn is having no part in not going with her mother right now. “Go to her,” Whiskey says, nodding toward our daughter. I do, crouching down in front of her and wiping away her tears.
“Why can’t I go?”
“You can, but you’re going to ride with Miss Nola, okay?”
She shakes her head and points toward her mom. “I want to be with Mommy.”
“I know baby girl, but Daddy is going to drive really fast to get Mommy to the hospital.”
“What about me, Daddy?”
Cue the waterworks. My eyes blur with tears and I struggle with telling my sweet daughter no. My experience is lacking right now and as much as I want to tell her she can come with us, I’m afraid I’ll forget about her in the melee. Taking her hand in mine, I lean forward and kiss the tip of her nose. “Can you do me a favor?”
She nods, but it isn’t without a whimper.
“Mommy and I need you to be the big sister right now and go with Miss Nola and Quinn. They’re going to follow behind us so you’ll be at the hospital when your baby brother arrives. I promise you that you’ll be the first one to see him after Mommy and I do, okay?”
Evelyn nods again, and before I can say anything, she’s scooped up into the air by Quinn. He whispers something in her ear, and whatever he says puts a smile on her face. “Go.” He motions toward the car where my wife’s waiting.
As luck would have it, there’s traffic. It’s typical for any part of California but just this once, I wish there wasn’t. I honk and flash my lights, but no one cares. We’re all headed somewhere, with our own agendas.
Whiskey screams out and, once again, her feet are pressed against the glove box. This time though, I know it’s not because her back hurts. “Don’t push,” I tell her.
“I have to, he’s right there.”
“Whisk—” my voice is cut off by another scream. I’m trying to hold her hand and navigate through traffic at the same time, but it’s hard. “Please, Whiskey.”
“Ajay, he’s coming. I can feel him.”
“Fuck.” I’m left with no choice but to maneuver through the maze of cars in front of me until I’m on the shoulder of the freeway. I gun it, pushing the pedal as far as I can with my flashers on, hoping that people see me and praying that a police officer doesn’t. I ask Siri to find me the nearest hospital because we’re not making it back to Los Angeles where her doctor is. My navigation pops up, showing me I’m within a few miles of a hospital.
“That’s not the plan,” Whiskey says, in between her breathing.
“None of this was the plan, but we’ll have to make do for right now.” I ask Siri to my call my in-laws and as soon as Patricia picks up the phone, Whiskey screams out.
“Oh my God, Jamie. Where’s Ajay?”
“I’m here, driving her to the hospital. It looks like he’s coming a few weeks early.”
“We’re on our way.” I give my mother-in-law the name of the hospital that we’re going to just as I turn off and ask her to call Dhara and let her know. They were supposed to fly out next week in preparation.
I race toward the hospital and pull into the emergency room bay, parking off to the side. I’m likely to get towed, but right now I don’t care. My son is on his way into the world and I’m not going to miss it. As soon as the security guard comes out, probably to tell me that I can’t park here, I yell that I need a wheelchair and that wife is in labor and starting to push.
Once I have the door open, I lock gazes with Whiskey. She smiles and for some reason this puts me at ease. “I love you,” I tell her before, once again, pulling her into my arms. Just as I turn to head toward the door, the man is back with a chair.
“You can’t park there, sir.”
“Tow it or move it yourself.” I toss him the keys and push the chair containing my precious cargo into the hospital. “My wife’s in active labor,” I scream as loud as possible. People stop, and stare. When Whiskey screams out in pain, the staff starts moving. I’m told to follow a nurse who is barking orders. Two orderlies meet up with us, one is taking our information, while the other is making sure no one gets in our way.
We stop in the middle of the hallway and my wife is transferred to a bed. Now, the nurse is leading the way and the orderly is pushing her, giving me the chance to hold her hand. “I’m the best driver in the world,” I say to her. “Maybe I should give up being a drummer and go into Indy car racing or something.”
“Then you’d smell like gasoline all the time and you’d be covered from head to toe in those ugly uniforms so no. I love my drummer too much to let you switch careers.”
I’m tempted to crawl onto the bed with her, just so I can hold her. She’s squeezing my hand, as if it’s her lifeline. It hurts like hell, but I’m doing my damnedest to keep the grimace off my face.
We rush through another set of doors and we’re finally in the maternity ward. It’s quiet, or at least it was until Whiskey came barreling in. Another nurse greets us, leading us to her room. The orderly moves the bed with such ease, I feel like I should give him a tip or something.
“Hello, Jameson. I’m Rose.”
I have to bite back a laugh as I look around the room. There’s rose wallpaper in the room and the hospital we’re at is Rosewood Medical.
“Jamie,” she groans out. Rose puts Whiskey’s feet into the stirrups while others work around my wife. She’s set up on a monitor and our son’s heartbeat fills the room. It’s the coolest sound I’ve ever heard, aside from Evelyn calling me Daddy and Whiskey telling me she loves me.
“Your baby has a strong heartbeat. That’s good. It looks like you have a bit to go for dilation but unfortunately you’re too far along in active labor for us to give you anything.” Nurse Rose takes off her gloves and makes a note on a clipboard. “Who’s your regular OB?”
I try to fill her in as much as possible while Whiskey works through a contraction. The nurse tells me that they’ll take good care of her and will make the necessary phone call to the OB.
Once we’re alone, I pull a chair as close to the edge of the bed as I can get it. “Hey.”
“Hey,” she says, looking at me.
“You’re going to have a baby today.” I think I’m funny, but sometimes she doesn’t, and this might be one of those times. Whiskey starts crying and, in an instant, I’m right next to her, trying to console her.
“He’s early, Ajay. My mom and Dhara were supposed to be here.” Another contraction hits and this time I can practically feel the pain she’s in. “He’s coming, Ajay. I can feel him.”
“The nurse said?—”
“I don’t care what she said. He’s either coming now or something is wrong.”
I don’t hesitate to push the button that’s on the wall. Nurse Rose is back asking if everything’s okay.
“No,” I tell her. “Our son is coming now.”
She shakes her head and looks under the sheet covering Whiskey’s legs. As quickly as she came in, she’s back out and barking orders to the staff on the other side of the door. Everything happens quickly. Whiskey’s bed is raised and she’s now sitting up. A mobile cradle is brought in and more nurses enter the room.
Nurse Rose sits between Whiskey’s legs, her hand disappearing under the sheet. “Okay, Mom, I want you to push through the next contraction, and Dad, I want you to hold her hand and encourage her. This won’t be easy for either of you.”
We do as Rose says. Both Whiskey and I scream out. Her from the pain she’s in and me from the vice grip she has on my hand. Who knew my wife was this strong?
“Where’s the doctor?”
“She’s on her way, she’s just finishing up another delivery.”
“Oh.”
“Yep, full moon will do that to you.”
“What?” I ask, feeling slightly stupid.
From behind me, another answers. “It’s a full moon.”
“It’s daytime,” I point out.
“Moon is still full; you just can’t see it until the sun goes down.”
Well thanks for making me feel stupid.
The door swings open and woman wearing scrubs walks in. Right off, the staff is covering her in a gown and helping her put gloves on. “Such a beautiful day to have a baby. I’m Dr. Rosenbloom.”
I must be in the twilight zone.
“Anyone else named Rose in the room?” I ask. Two other nurses’ hands go up. “Freaky.”
“Hi Jamie, sorry we’re meeting like this,” the doctor says.
“Uh huh,” Whiskey mutters between pants.
“On your next contraction, I want you to bear down and push.”
Whiskey does and when she’s asked again, she gives it everything she can. Dr. Rosenbloom encourages my wife through every push. “Dad, you want to watch?”
Whiskey grabs my shirt. “Don’t you dare.”
“Why?” Obviously, this isn’t something we discussed.
“Because, right now your son is wrecking my vagina and I don’t—” Whiskey screams out again in pain. The next thing I know, our son is laying on top of her and Dr. Rosenbloom is showing me a pair of scissors.
“Would you like to cut his cord?”
I’d like to go back to the moment when she tells the room it’s a boy because I missed it, even though I already knew, I still want to hear the words. I take the scissors and cut. It’s not as easy as I thought, but I manage to get the job done. A nurse, not Rose, sets him on Whiskey’s chest as she reclines in her bed. Everything is happening so fast and, in a blur — I feel like I’m treading water in a riptide.
“Ajay, look at our son.”
I’m right next to my wife, looking into the eyes of the son we created, and I’m in love. My heart is bursting with so much love, pride and joy. “Whiskey, he’s perfect.”
“Does he have a name?” Nurse Rose asks.
We shake our heads. “Not yet.”
“You have time.”
They give us a few minutes before they ask for our son. They want to clean and weigh him but promise to give him back as soon as possible.
“You should see if Evelyn is out there.”
I don’t want to leave Whiskey’s side but know how important it is to Evelyn to meet her brother. As soon as I step out of the room, it dawns on me that I never called Quinn to tell him where we are. I reach for my phone, only to find my pocket empty. On my way to the nurse’s station, I hear my daughter say “Daddy,” and see Evelyn running toward me with Nola hot on her tail.
“How did you know?”
“We were right behind you,” she says. “Is he here?”
I nod. “The little guy was eager to meet his big sister,” I say looking down at Evelyn.
“Do you want me to tell everyone?”
“Who’s here?”
Nola smiles, “Everyone.”
I follow her down the hall to the waiting room and find the people who have become my family. Katelyn pulls me into her arms immediately, followed by Josie and Jenna. The guys pat me on the back and Liam opens a cigar box and tells everyone to take one. I’m overcome with emotion and taken back by their presence.
“Does he have a name?” Katelyn asks.
“Not yet. Whiskey wants Evelyn to be in the room when we name him… I just can’t believe you’re all here.”
“No other place we’d be,” Harrison says. “We’re going to take Evelyn home with us until Jamie’s parents get here. Quinn called to let us know and Katelyn called her mom; we arranged for their flight out.”
I open my mouth to say something, but there are no words. All I can do is nod and take Evelyn to see her mom.
Inside the room, Whiskey looks almost like herself again. She’s sitting up and holding our son. Evelyn clings to my leg until I pick her up and set her next to her mom, while telling Whiskey about everyone being in the waiting room.
“Hi, baby.”
“Hi, sissy,” Whiskey says, speaking for our son.
“He’s so cute but squishy.”
“He won’t be in a few days. Do you want to hold him?”
Evelyn nods and I help her adjust so she can cradle her brother. I try not to be jealous that Evelyn is holding him before me, but Whiskey sees something in my eyes. She reaches for me and I go around to the other side of the bed to kiss her. We talked about this, making sure Evelyn was included because it had just been the two of them for so long. Still, I want my moment.
Whiskey takes him from Evelyn and hands him to me. He feels light and that’s when I realize how fragile he is.
“Hi, Son,” I say as a flood of tears pour from my eyes. “I’m your dad.”
“Babe, we need to give him a name.”
I nod. We’ve had lists but nothing has stuck for one reason or another. I sit on the edge of the bed and put our son in the middle. The three of us stare at him, throwing out names that we like. It isn’t until Evelyn makes a suggestion that we pause, and everything feels right.
“It’s perfect. You should take him out and introduce him to everyone.”
“Are you sure? They can come in here one at a time. Also, your parents, Dhara and Fletcher aren’t here. Don’t you want to wait?”
Whiskey shakes her head and smiles. “They were there for all of us, I think they’ll understand. Besides, I need a few moments with Evelyn.”
I do as she suggests, taking our bundle of joy out to the waiting room. All eyes must’ve been waiting for me to appear because everyone is standing when I come into view. There are gasps from the women as they come toward me. I’m told he’s beautiful, sweet and perfect.
“What’s his name?” Katelyn asks.
I look down at my son and then back at my family. “His name is James Fletcher Ballard,” I say, fighting through the ache I feel in my throat. “He’s named after the most important men in our lives.” I chance a look at Harrison and Quinn, both smiling.
“Oh my,” Katelyn says, covering her mouth. “You know I’d be thrilled if Evelyn and James want to call me grandma, right?”
I nod, knowing how much Evelyn would love it as well. We spend a few more minutes with everyone until I’ve decided I’ve been away from Whiskey for too long. At Whiskey’s door, I push it open and walk in just as James opens his eyes. I hold him up and say, “Look Mama, my eyes are open.”
Whiskey extends her arms, eager for her son. Evelyn sits on one side, and me on the other, completely mesmerized by my family. All I can think about is how lucky I am, knowing full well how different my life could’ve been.