34. Cedrick
“Ican’t believe you don’t like strawberry jam on your toast. That’s the most insane thing I’ve ever heard.”
Ellie shrugs. “It can’t be that weird. I just prefer my toast simple, with a little butter. Maybe a sprinkle of cinnamon.”
“Mmm, but it’s so good,” I say, taking a bite and moaning.
She rolls her eyes but laughs.
“Do you want to go out today and look for more baby clothes?”
“You don’t think we have enough?”
“Hmm,” she says, tapping her finger on her chin. “Nope. I say we can never have enough. Plus, it’s not like we’re only buying newborn stuff. We’re preparing for all the growth spurts. I think we’ll be thankful we did this later on, when we’re exhausted and don’t even have time to go shopping.”
“Maybe. But don’t you think we’ll have an entire kingdom giving us baby clothes?”
She looks side to side, and her smile turns flat. “That’s what we have extra storage for?”
“Thank God we have a lot of estates. We might need one just for baby clothes.”
“So we can go?” she asks adorably. I can’t say no.
“Of course we can. We can donate what we don’t use.” She beams and hugs me, taking a big bite of her toast. Then she steals a bite of mine.
I study her face for the verdict.
“It’s okay.”
“Hey, that’s something.”
Suddenly, she stops.
“Realized you still hate it?”
“No, no.” Her hand goes to her lower back, and an expression of pain shoots across her face.
“Ellie?”
She looks up at me, confusion on her face. She resumes chewing, and swallows before replying.
“I think I just had a contraction.”
“Are you sure it’s not just Braxton-Hicks again?”
“No, no, this was different. The Braxton-Hicks didn’t hurt like this. It’s like a really bad period.”
“What do you want to do?”
“I think we can wait on going to the hospital. Let’s just see if it keeps happening.”
“Okay. We should time them, right?”
“Yeah, definitely. That one happened at about one thirty-two.”
I stand up and walk around the table. Once I reach her, I run a hand through her hair and place a kiss on the top of her head. “I’m so excited.”
“Me too,” she says, looking up at me and smiling.
“I’ll let my driver know to be on standby.”
“Good idea.”
“So, I guess no baby clothes shopping. You must be disappointed.”
She laughs and then clutches her back again. “Oof.”
“Another one?”
“No, I think I just pulled a muscle from laughing.”
She looks exquisite. Pregnancy has never looked better on anyone. I place a hand on her fully round belly and close my eyes.
“I just want to meet our baby.”
“Me too. I just want to know what we’re having.”
“You still set on a girl?”
“It’s just a feeling I have. I don’t know. It just doesn’t feel like a boy.”
“And you’d know. You’ve been getting to know her for a long time.”
Ellie and I decided to be surprised when it came to the gender. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but then it just got annoying when it came to buying baby clothes and decorating the nursery. We ended up just buying everything gender neutral.
“Let’s go for a walk outside,” Ellie states. “I don’t want to just sit inside and wait around.”
As soon as she stands up, a rush of liquid hits the floor at her feet.
“Okay, I’m definitely going into labor. My water just broke.”
I feel a wave of excitement, which is quickly followed by nervousness. I’m beyond thrilled that I’m about to become a father, but it’s still nerve-racking, considering I’m new to all of this. I just want to do everything right.
Six hours later, Ellie’s contractions are four minutes apart, and the pain appears to have increased by a lot.
“I think we should go to the hospital now,” she says, still breathless from the last contraction.
“I’ll call the driver to bring the car around. You stay here, and I’ll grab the baby bag.”
After texting the driver, I cross the hall and walk into the nursery, grabbing the bright yellow bag that we packed with everything we’d need for the hospital.
Before leaving, I look around the room, unable to contain my smile. By this time tomorrow, we could be all settled in with our newborn baby. Just the thought of it makes me feel giddy.
When I get back to the room, Ellie looks exhausted. The contractions have really been getting to her for the last hour.
My phone buzzes, and a quick look tells me that the driver is out front.
“Okay, let’s go. He’s waiting for us.”
I sling the bag over my shoulder and offer her my other arm to lean against as she walks. She takes it, and we make our way downstairs and into the car.
“Queen Amaranta Hospital,” I tell the driver.
“Oh fuck,” Ellie says, clutching her belly. “Another one.”
“I feel like that was three minutes that time.”
“Well then I guess it’s a good thing we’re going to the hospital,” she says through gritted teeth.
I hold her hand, rubbing my thumb across her skin in a soothing motion.
By the time we reach the hospital, her contractions are definitely three minutes apart. I help her out of the car and walk into the emergency room, where we’re quickly checked in and guided to a birthing suite.
A nurse walks in, a huge smile on her face.
“Hi, Cedrick and Ellie. How’s everything going?”
“Good, my water broke six hours ago, and my contractions have been progressing pretty quickly ever since. They’re three minutes apart as of fifteen minutes ago.”
“Okay, well let’s take a look!”
The nurse gets Ellie set up and starts assessing her.
“Good news! You’re already dilated to five centimeters! Is this your first child?”
“Yes, it is.”
“Well, it might take a while for you to get to ten since it’s your first, but you’re already halfway there! And don’t feel like you have to lie here the whole time. If you’d like to get up and walk around, that might actually help. Sometimes exercise can speed things up a bit.”
“Thank you,” I tell the nurse.
After giving us some more information, she leaves the room. Ellie grabs my arm and squeezes.
“Cedrick? I’m scared.”
“I know, baby. I’ll stay calm for the both of us. It’s okay to be scared.”
I lean down and press my lips into hers, hoping to offer her some kind of distraction. She takes the bait, leaning into me. I let the kiss progress until we’re both out of breath.
The look on her face when I pull away reminds me of the way she looked after we kissed at our first wedding. I remember that face perfectly, as if it were only yesterday. It was that face that gave me hope for the future.
Six more hours later, and Ellie is fully dilated and pushing. She has been for a while now, but things are finally moving a lot faster.
“Okay, it’s time,” one of her nurses says. “One more big push.”
“It’s time?” Ellie asks. She almost seems delirious, and I don’t blame her after twelve hours of contractions, with six of those being active labor.
“Yes! Now get ready. One more push and you’ll have your baby!”
Ellie squeezes my hand, harder than ever, as she grits her teeth and braces herself.
“Breathe,” I remind her.
She nods, and I watch as she takes two deep breaths before pushing.
“Aand she’s out!”
“She?”
“Yes! You have a healthy baby girl!”
Our baby begins wailing, and it’s truly the most beautiful sound I’ve ever heard. I know I probably won’t think that for much longer, but for now, it really is.
The nurse does a quick assessment of the baby, before swaddling her. She then walks over to us and gently places her in Ellie’s arms. I look at my daughter, something that I’ve never felt before developing in my chest.
“A girl,” Ellie whispers, sobbing as she looks at her.
“You were right all along.”
“I knew it! I always knew it.”
“She’s so beautiful,” I murmur.
“What will you be naming her?” someone asks.
Ellie looks at me, tears of happiness streaming down her face.
“We’ve decided on Genevieve.”
“Genevieve Vanecourt,” I whisper.
She smiles, and we both look back down at our baby.
“I love her so much already.”
“Me too.”
Our daughter stops crying for the first time and seems to notice that we’re there. She looks up at Ellie, who smiles down at her. I wish more than anything that I could capture this moment forever, but I refuse to pull out my phone at a time like this. My memory will just have to suffice.
Ellie’s gaze snaps back to mine.
“I love you so much, Cedrick. I wouldn’t want to do this with anyone else.”
“Me neither. I just can’t believe how lucky I am to have you. I never would’ve thought that the little girl I used to play with as a child would end up my wife.”
“I’m so glad she did.”
“Me too.” I lean down for a kiss.
As soon as our lips touch, Genevieve starts wailing again. I pull away and chuckle.
“And so it begins.”