Francessca: Rego I have to push!
(She say between clenched teeth)
Rego: No! (He shouts at her looking
panic stricken) Don’t do that.
Francessca: Are you crazy? (She
growls trying to force her body to obey) My body says “push”!
Rego: Jamie! She says she has to
push! (He wipes his brow on the shoulder of his shirt)
Jamie: Tell her not too yet. (He
shouts back leaning towards the computer monitor)
Rego: I did!
Jamie: Okay can you see the baby’s
head?
Rego: Like I know what the hell I’m
looking at! (He sounding confused and terrified at the same time)
Jamie: Take the phone camera and
show me. (He states calmly using his best doctor patient voice pleased when he
hears some of the panic fade from Rego’s voice)
Rego: Okay, Jamie says don’t push
yet he wants to see what’s going on first. (He picks up the cell phone pointing
the small camera towards the birth canal)
Francessca: Tell Jamie I can tell
him what’s going on I need to flipping push! (She grunts between breathes)
Rego: How’s that? (He says pointing
the camera and turning it slightly)
Jamie: Stop right there! Perfect,
okay there’s I don’t see the head yet. Prop the phone up so that the picture
stays just like that. (Rego grabs a towel rolling into a log and leans the
phone against it)
Rego: Is that okay?
Jamie: Great! Get the hand
sanitizer in the toolbox and rub it on your hand up to your elbows.
Rego: Done!
Jamie: Now Tell Francessca to take
deep breathes and push.
Rego: Okay sweetheart take deep
breathes and push!
Francessca: Finally! (She grunts
taking a deep breath and bearing down then stops panting)
Rego: One more time.
Francessca: I’m working on it. (She
growls bearing down again)
Jamie: STOP! (He screams loudly
jolting the both of them as he see’s the baby’s head breaching through the
opening)
Rego: STOP! Stop!
Francessca: Okay! (She pants laying
back for and taking deep breathes trying not do what her body demanded)
Jamie: Rego I need you to get in
there and cradle your hands around the baby’s head and guide it out while she
pushes.
Rego: Go ahead push. (Francessca
pushes with all she has left feeling the babies head come through the rest of
the body slide out with ease then a wailing cry. She looks over at Rego who’s
face beams with sheer wonderment and pride as he stares down at the baby
cradled in his arms. She smiling at the sight of Rego holding his child for the
first time. It fills her with happiness as she realizes she hadn’t stolen this
moment from him. Fate had stepped in and taken care of it for her she says a
little prayer thanks for a healthy child and fates fickle finger)
Rego: It’s a boy! (He looks up at
her his yes bright his smile wide then back at the child before reaching for
the receiver) It’s a boy Jamie!
Jamie: A boy! (The sound of cheers
making through the phone making both Francessca and Rego laugh) Mommy and baby
are doing well. Do you want me to give her the phone?
Jamie: Before you do that I need
you to cut the umbilical cord.
Rego: You want me to do what?
Jamie: Don’t worry I’ll take you
through it. Didn’t I get you this far?
Rego: Okay go ahead.
I need you to tie the cord in two
places about four inches from the navel I want you to take a clamp and press it
tight.
Rego: Got it.
Jaime: Now measure about four
inches and place the other clamp make sure they are both really tight.
Rego: Got it.
Jaime: Now I want you to take the
scissors and cut in between them.
Rego: Done.
Jamie: Now give the baby to
Francessca and tell her to start feeding him that will help her expel the
placenta.
Rego: Here you go Mommy. Jamie says
start feeding him right away.
Francessca: He there sweet heart
here you go. (She smiles down at him offering him her breast. Rego watches a
moment smiling to himself a strange melancholy cloud filled with rain droplets
of “What if? And “What could have
been?” Falling over him)
Jamie: Rego! (He bellows in to the
phone) Rego? (He screams again finally snapping Rego to attention)
Rego: Yeah here sorry. (He mumbles
adjusting the phone under his chin)
Jamie: Do you see the placenta?
Rego: Yes, (He says almost gagging)
Jamie: I need you to put it in the
zipper bag and seal it then put it in the toolkit okay?
Rego: Yeah gross but all right.
(Face distorted in disgust he reaches for the bag opening it and placing the
afterbirth inside then zipping it closed)
Jamie: Man you just hit a home run
for the team! (Rego places the bag inside the toolkit and tries not to gag)
Rego: I feel more like I just swam
the English Channel! (He says tossing a and towel over top of the bag)
Jamie: Thank you for taking such
good care of my family. I owe you one.
Rego: Yeah you do and I’m going to
hold you to it. (He smiles broadly proud of his self)
Jamie: If you look inside that
toolkit the nurse was good enough to pack you a container of baby wipes and
some clean scrubs.
Rego: Tell her I said thank you from
the bottom of my heart! (he says looking down at his ruined shirt and pants)
Jamie: I will. (I will he grins the
mental image of Rego making him laugh)
Rego: Here talk to your wife and
take a look at your son while I get cleaned up. (He says handing the cell phone
to Francessca and then begins to peel off his stained clothes listening to
Francessca and Jamie “Ooo” and “Ahh” over their son and feeling a mild pang of
jealousy this could have been his life)
Francessca: I told it was a boy! I
very beautiful boy! (She leans her head down kissing is forehead) Ha! In your
face! (She laughs, laughing harder when she hears him do the same)
Jamie: I admit it you win.
Francessca: I can’t wait for you to
really see him and hold him! (Her voice softening as she looks down lovingly on
her sleeping child)
Jamie: I can wait either I promise
we’ll have you out soon. (Sounding just a little disappointed to her ears
making her feel just a tinge guilty for her earlier thoughts. She looks down at
the flashing battery signal then speaks quickly into the phone)
Francessca: Your battery light is
flashing.
Jamie: Yeah, I never got around to
charging it last night.
Francessca: It’s okay honey it
worked when we needed it. I’ll see you as soon as we get out. I love you!
Jamie: I’ll be right here waiting I
love you too! (Rego throws the last of the debris into the plastic bag then sit
down on the floor beside Francessca and her sleeping son he closes his eyes and
leans his weary head against the cool steel of the elevator car and lets out a
long sigh)
Francessca: You okay? (She looks
over at his still grinning face his eyes closed)
Rego: That was the scariest most
wondrous thing I have ever done n my life!
Francessca; Well you done good! I’m
proud of you. (She teases causing him to chuckle and peer at her through his
one open eye)
Rego: Bet you never thought you
would hear yourself say that?
Francessca: I’ve been proud of you
before, just not recently. I’m glad you were here. I don’t know how we would
have gotten through without you.
Rego: Thank you. How is he?
Francessca: He’s fine, sleeping
away. (She smiles rocking the baby gently back and forth. Rego reaches over
pulling the blanket aside to look at him again)
Rego: He was a very determined
little fellow.
Francessca: He must like elevators.
(They both laugh then Francessca yawns)
Rego: How are you doing? (He says
leaning his head back against the wall)
Francessca: Tired, (She yawns
again) can’t wait to get out of here.
Rego: We should be out of here
soon. I’m sorry for all this.
Francessca: What are you sorry for?
You had nothing to do with the elevator breaking. (She adjust the baby in her
arms pulling the blanket tighter about him)
Rego: I’m sure this wasn’t the
birth that you had imagined.
Francessca: Not exactly.
Rego: You probably wanted to give
birth with the father of your child not some ex lover and certainly not me. (He
says with a laugh)
Francessca: Things happened just
the way they were supposed to. (She says gently making Rego’s eyes pop open his
voice rich with sincerity)
Rego: When I said I was sorry I
mean for everything that happened between you and I.
Francessca: That’s all over with
Rego it’s in the past. (She yawns again)
Rego: I know. I just want you to
know I really am sorry for everything I put you through.
Francessca: Thank you. (She smiles
up at him the baby gurgling in her arms)
Rego: Can I hold him again?
Francessca: Sure. (She says handing
him the baby) Watch his head.
Rego: He so tiny. (He say looking
down at him in awe)
Francessca: Give him a month or so.
(She yawns again stretching her arms above her head)
Rego: You know sitting here with
you like this holding him, I can’t help but wonder if things had been
different. (The melancholy feeling coming over him again)
Francessca: What do you mean? (She
frowns looking at him confused)
Rego: If I hadn’t been such and
idiot perhaps by this time it could have been you and I…(Their eye lock for a
moment she watches the brief moment of sadness pass over them as feeling of
guilt wash over her
Francessca: Rego there’s …(She
starts just as the elevator jolts and begins to ascend)
Rego: We’re moving! Do you feel that we’re getting out of here! (He
yelps cutting off what she’d been about to say the moment between them broken)
Bob: Okay we’re good lock’er down! (He
screams into the radio) Okay everyone stand back let the man get out and the
doctors in!
great timing I'm glad she didn't tell him.
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