Chapter 132
On the last night of their honeymoon, Claire and Jamie spent the night
in. Snuggling in the large bed of their
honeymoon suite in Athens, they ordered take-out food and a pay-per-view movie
that had been out for months in the States and kicked back to relax and enjoy
their last night in Greece.
After nearly two weeks abroad, Claire felt both refreshed and
exhausted. It had been amazing to fly
out of the country the morning after her wedding and leave all the stresses of
the last few months behind. Yet, even in
winter, there had been so much to do on the Greek islands that she’d wanted to
do it all, and by now, it was starting to catch up to her. Still, the honeymoon had been incredible.
Greece had been a compromise between Jamie and her for their honeymoon
destination. He hadn’t wanted to go
anywhere tropical, nixing the usual winter honeymoon spots, like Hawaii or the
Bahamas. “We live in Florida,” he’d
pointed out. “We’ve already got the
sand, sun, and surf.” While Tampa was
certainly not as beautiful as Maui, she’d been okay with that. Her only condition was that they not go too
far north, anywhere that would be cold.
It was winter, after all, and while Jamie loved snow and ice, Claire
hated it.
He’d been the one to suggest Greece, and she’d jumped at the idea. Neither of them had been, but they’d both
heard it was beautiful, a nice mix of sunny beaches and history and culture. Claire was much more keen to see the sites of
ancient Greece than lay on the beach, so even when they’d found out the country
did tend to get cold and rainy in the winter, she’d given Jamie the go-ahead to
plan their honeymoon there. And he had
done a fantastic job of it.
They’d spent the first few days in Athens, exploring the city and
visiting all the important landmarks.
Then they’d gone island-hopping, visiting the islands of Crete, Rhodes,
and Santorini, where they’d hiked, sailed, and seen the sights. They had returned to Athens for their last
two days, and despite everything they’d seen and done, Claire couldn’t believe
they would already be flying home tomorrow.
“What do you think the apartment will look like when we get back?” she
asked with a smile, as she lay with her head nestled against Jamie’s shoulder.
“Mm… probably a mess, with your crap junking it up,” he replied
teasingly.
She laughed. “Fine by me; the
place needs a little color and personality.”
“Hey, it has personality!” Jamie protested defensively.
“Oh, sure… the only thing a person could tell about you by walking
around the place is that you like the Cubs.
And the color blue.” She giggled,
picturing his apartment in her mind. It
really was a sea of blue, with blue carpeting in the bedroom, sea blue walls in
the living room, blue towels in the kitchen and bathroom, a blue plaid
comforter on his bed, a blue and beige couch…
The boy liked blue. He also liked
the Chicago Cubs. Framed posters and old
newspaper articles decorated his walls, along with pennants, a Cubs clock, a
foul ball he’d caught in the stands at a game once, and even a Sammy Sosa
bobble-head. She liked to tease him
about it, but really, she found it sort of endearing, cute in a little boy kind
of way.
“Hey, at least it doesn’t look like my dorm room, right?” he reminded
her. She giggled harder, remembering his
dorm. She’d only seen it a few times,
but she could still smell it, that odor of dirty laundry, stale beer, and
greasy food that only a guy’s dorm could have.
His room had been blue then too, but much messier, old food containers
from the dining center piled on top of his textbooks, dirty socks draped over
his desk lamp, and a giant bucket of sunflower seeds that always sat on the
floor in the middle of the room, right in line with the TV, almost like some
gross guy version of a centerpiece.
She’d found the dorm room disgusting and hilarious at the same time, and
even now, she couldn’t help but laugh when she thought about it.
“Yeah, well, that’s true,” she agreed.
“I’m glad you got over that sunflower seed fetish you had going on back
then.”
“Mmm, sunflower seeds… remind me to pick some up as soon as we get back
to Florida, okay? Seriously, on the way
home from the airport. Okay?”
She laughed and playfully jabbed him in the ribs, at which point he
grabbed her and started to tickle her.
Even if they hadn’t been rolling around in such a nice suite, any
outside observer could have identified them as honeymooners, from the way they
were behaving, Claire thought as she lay gasping for breath and holding her
stomach. Who cares, she thought,
relaxing back against Jamie. It’s our
last night to be carefree, and then tomorrow, back to reality.
As she imagined going home, she started thinking about what life would
be like when the reality of married life really did sink in. She didn’t expect any major upheavals; after
all, she’d lived with a man before, and she and Jamie had known each other for
what seemed like forever. But still,
they’d reached a milestone and had a future together ahead of them. She was already wondering what the next step
would be, now that they were in this new phase of their lives.
“Hey, Jamie?” she asked after a few minutes of silence, deciding she
couldn’t focus on the movie they were watching.
Her mind was too full of thoughts and plans and possibilities.
“Hey, Clairie?” he mimicked her.
She smiled. “I was just
thinking… were you serious when you said you definitely want to have
kids?” He’s said so on her birthday
last year, and several times since then, but she wanted to be sure. Now that they were married, thinking about
trying for children seemed like the next logical step.
He shifted in bed, rolling over so that they were face to face. “Of course,” he replied. “I’ve always wanted kids; you know that.”
She nodded, smiling. “I
know. I was just making sure.”
“Yeah? Well, why are you
asking? You think we should get started
on that right away?”
She pursed her lips in contemplation.
She didn’t want them to rush things; she had heard of couples who got
pregnant on their honeymoon and later regretted not taking the time to just
enjoy married life before they brought children into the mix. On the other hand, children were something
both she and Jamie wanted, and it wasn’t going to be as easy for them as it was
for the average couple. There was no
chance of her sleeping with Jamie and waking up pregnant the next morning; no,
for her, science would have to intervene before she could get pregnant.
And that was what worried her.
Conceiving through in-vitro fertilization was not a guarantee; with many
couples, it took several cycles before the woman actually got pregnant, and
even then, there was the chance she would miscarry and have to start all over
again. Claire was already almost
twenty-eight, and due to the side effects of her cancer treatments, her body
was like that of an older woman in many ways.
Though she knew that IVF had been successful in much older women, she
was scared that if she waited too long, her chances of a successful pregnancy
would diminish. Her life had proven to
her that there were no guarantees, and she was afraid of letting a precious
opportunity slip away without even realizing it.
And there was another factor to consider. She and Jamie had already gone through the
first phase of IVF, fertilizing her harvested eggs with his sperm and
cryogenically storing them until she was ready to use them. But that had been five years ago. She’d done a lot of research before she’d had
the procedure done, and she knew that the studies on the pregnancy rates using
frozen embryos only had data for embryos that had been stored less than five
years. There were no statistics for the
chances of achieving a successful pregnancy with an embryo that had been frozen
for over five years. She had just passed
that point, and that was another reason she was afraid of waiting too
long. She’d delayed treatment to have
the IVF, sinned against her church, and caused a rift between Nick and
her. After all of that, she didn’t want
to discover it had been for nothing.
“Claire?” Jamie asked. “What are
you thinking about?”
Realizing she’d gone quiet on him, Claire cleared her throat and
started telling her husband all of the things she’d been thinking. When she was finished, he paused for a few
seconds, looking at her, and then he leaned forward and planted a light kiss on
her forehead. “You’re right,” he
said. “We should definitely get started
on making some babies.”
She giggled at the way he said it, but, looking into his eyes, she
could tell he was being serious. A
thrill of nervous excitement passed through her, and she draped her arm around
his neck, pulling him closer to steal a kiss from his lips. “I love you,” she whispered.
He smiled, his dimples showing.
“I love you too.”
***
In Los Angeles, California, Nick was half a world away from Claire, but
thinking of the same thing: babies.
He’d been spending time with Kevin and Kristin, who was as big as barn
and still glowingly beautiful in her ninth month of pregnancy. She was due any day now, and as the middle of
February approached, he was expecting to get an ecstatic call from Kevin at any
time.
The call came early on the morning of February fourteenth, and as soon
as Nick had hung up with Kevin, he clicked on his phone again and dialed
AJ. “Looks like Kev and Kris are going
to have a Valentine’s baby,” he told his friend, unable to hold back his smile. He wasn’t the type to get all gooey over new
babies; in fact, the thought of being in a delivery room with a woman giving
birth downright scared him. But Kevin’s
excitement was infectious. Nick couldn’t
wait for the little squirt to be born, especially since no one even knew what
the sex was. Kristin had insisted on
having it be a surprise, and it was sure going to be.
AJ was excited for their older brother too, and so, later in the day,
they decided to go up to the hospital, figuring Kevin might need their moral
support. His family was all on the other
side of the country, and they imagined he would be a basket case, pacing the
halls, harassing the doctors and nurses, and bugging the hell out of poor
Kristin.
As it turned out, they weren’t too far off the mark.
They found Kevin in the hall, talking to a squat woman in scrubs that
were printed with pale pink and blue teddy bears, obviously a nurse. “But the contractions are getting closer
together, and the pain’s been worse.
She’s got to be close now, right?”
The nurse shook her head. “We
just checked, and she’s not nearly dilated enough yet. It will be at least a few more hours.” Kevin sighed, and she put a reassuring hand
on his arm. “Like I told you earlier,
first-time moms tend to be in labor a long time. Just hang in there, and tell her to do the
same. Hold her hand, encourage her to
breathe… it’ll all be over before you know it.”
Watching the nurse, Nick could tell she’d had a lot of experience with
nervous new dads. She was good at what
she did; her soothing voice had seemed to temporarily calm even Kevin, who
looked slightly less high-strung as he and AJ warily approached.
Kevin’s weary face brightened when he recognized them. “Hey!
You came!” he exclaimed, breaking into a grin as he hugged Nick and then
AJ, clubbing them on the backs. “Well,
Kris is well into labor now, but they’re saying she’s not dilated enough to
deliver yet; it’ll probably be a few more hours…” Repeating everything they’d just heard the
nurse tell him, Kevin babbled on and on as he led them slowly down the hall.
“Hold up,” said Nick, stopping suddenly as he realized they had reached
Kristin’s room. “Are you sure-? Well, I mean, is it okay-? Will Kris mind if-?”
“Nah, come on in. She’ll be
happy you came,” insisted Kevin, waving Nick and AJ into the room. When they didn’t budge right away, he rolled
his eyes and added, “Really, don’t worry.
She only screams during the contractions, and you’ve got another-“ He paused to check his watch, and just as
his eyes started to bug, an agonizing moan rose from inside the room.
The three men exchanged glances, and then Kevin bolted into the
room. They could hear him murmuring,
“Here, honey, squeeze my hand… breathe, now… just keep breathing…”
“Let’s find a waiting room,” AJ suggested, looking as uncomfortable as
Nick felt.
Nick nodded emphatically.
“Yes. Let’s.”
***
Several hours later, Nick and AJ sat just outside a private exit they’d
been shown by one of the nurses on staff.
AJ was smoking, as usual; Nick was just staring into space. They’d both been in to see Kristin, but only
for a few minutes at a time, until the pain of her contractions drove them both
out again. She was progressing through
her labor rapidly now, and Nick suspected this might be AJ’s last cigarette
break before the new Backstreet baby arrived.
AJ seemed to realize this as well, for he savored his cigarette, taking
long drags and blowing smoke out slowly.
The warm breeze wafted the bitter smoke towards Nick, and he coughed as
it made its way into his lungs, stifling him.
Eying Nick warily, AJ hesitated, then stamped out his cigarette.
“You didn’t have to do that,” rasped Nick, his voice hoarse from
coughing.
AJ snorted. “I think your lungs
have been through enough without adding second-hand smoke to the mix, kid. Trust me, I’ll live.” But while Nick fell into a peaceful silence
once again, AJ fidgeted. Finally,
seeming desperate for conversation, something to take his mind off of his
apparent nicotine craving, AJ asked out of the blue, “So... when’s Claire get
back from her honeymoon?”
Nick’s stomach clenched unpleasantly.
He and AJ had gotten through the whole day without talking about Claire
or Jamie or the wedding or any of that.
It had already come up once, when Nick first arrived in LA last week,
and he’d done a pretty good job at letting everyone know he didn’t really want
to discuss it again. But he supposed
after a whole afternoon of waiting around this hospital, he and AJ had just run
out of other things to talk about.
“She’s back,” he answered flatly.
“Got an email from her the other day.”
Claire had sent a mass email to all of her friends and family, letting
them know she and Jamie were home safely from Greece, sharing the highlights of
what they’d seen and done on their honeymoon, and thanking everyone again for
coming to the wedding. He hadn’t
replied, but maybe he would tonight, once the baby was born. That was news she’d probably want to hear.
“Ah,” AJ murmured, but he didn’t ask anything else after that. They fell into silence, each staring off at
the Los Angeles skyline on the horizon, until finally AJ said, “Well, we should
probably get back. She looked like she
was gonna pop that kid out any second.”
Nick laughed, nodding in agreement, and they both got up and went back
inside.
They were just in time. As they
reached Kristin’s room, they nearly bumped into a nurse who was backing out the
doorway, pulling the foot of Kristin’s bed.
“We’re heading to the delivery room!” Kevin announced when he spotted
Nick and AJ. Kristin, who was gripping
Kevin’s hand, just nodded, looking excited and terrified at the same time.
Nick and AJ exchanged glances again and said, almost at the same time,
“We’ll wait.”
They retreated back to their private waiting room while Kevin went with
Kristin to the delivery room. “So, it’s
almost time – boy or girl, Nicky, what do you think?” asked AJ, sinking down
into a chair.
Nick sat down beside him. “Odds
are, another boy. Look at Kev and Bri’s
family – it’s dominated by men.”
“Ah, see, I disagree,” AJ contended.
“I think because Baylee turned out to be a boy, the next Backstreet
baby’s bound to be a girl.”
The debated it back and forth for a good half an hour, until the heard
the pounding of footsteps outside the room.
The door to the small waiting room flung open, and Kevin appeared,
looking sort of clammy and out of breath.
“He’s here!” he gasped, staggering into the room. “Brayden Jerald Richardson is here!”
“He? Brayden?” Nick
repeated. “So it’s a boy?”
“It’s a boy, Captain Obvious,” said AJ, thwacking Nick on the back of
the head.
“It’s a boy!” Kevin nodded, his eyes bright with excitement.
“Boo-yah! Told you it’d be a
boy,” Nick remarked slyly to AJ, winking.
While AJ was rolling his eyes, Nick asked, “So Kev, how’d it go?”
“It was… it was… great!” exclaimed Kevin, rendered almost speechless at
first. Then he started to gush. “I can’t even describe it! The doctor was telling Kristin to push, and
she was pushing and squeezing my hand, and then, all of a sudden, there he
was! He let out this amazing cry when he
slid out into the doctor’s hands, and I just… wow… it was the coolest sound
I’ve ever heard. The most beautiful
sound in the world.”
Nick couldn’t help but smile at how happy Kevin looked. He was every bit the proud father, and Nick
couldn’t have been happier for him. He
knew Kevin had been waiting for this day for a long time. “That’s awesome,” he said sincerely. Realizing Kevin must be antsy, he added, “You
should probably get back to Kris, huh?”
“Yeah, they should be bringing her back to her room any minute. They were going to go wash the baby and then
bring him back to her for a little while.
You guys wanna come see him?
You’ve been waiting here all afternoon.”
“Sure!” Nick and AJ agreed, and they followed Kevin back to Kristin’s
room. Kristin had just been wheeled
back; she looked exhausted, but surprisingly serene. When a nurse showed up a few minutes later,
carrying a tiny bundle wrapped in blue, Kristin’s face lit up, and she opened
her arms. The nurse placed the baby
gently in them and backed away so the others could see. It was a perfect fit, a perfect image –
Kristin in her hospital gown, holding a newborn infant.
“You can come closer,” she said to Nick and AJ, speaking in a quiet
tone. As they crept up to her bed, she
shifted, holding the baby closer so that they could get a better look.
To Nick, Brayden Jerald looked something like a pink baby gorilla, with his
red, wrinkly skin and a head full of surprisingly thick, dark hair. He wasn’t “adorable,” or even “cute,” really,
but to Kevin, Nick knew he was probably beautiful. His own siblings had all looked like aliens
when they were born, at least the ones he remembered, and his mother had called
them all beautiful anyway. He’d thought
her crazy at the time, but though he hadn’t experienced parenthood yet himself,
he understood now why she would say that.
“Aww, he’s got Kevin’s hair,” cooed AJ, smiling with uncharacteristic
tenderness at the sleeping baby. “Hope
that doesn’t mean he’s gonna sprout caterpillars over his eyes too.” He and Nick and even Kristin looked over at
Kevin, but the new father didn’t bat an eye.
He was too busy gazing at his son; Nick wasn’t sure he’d even heard AJ.
“He’s perfect,” said Nick, deciding that was the right word to
use. Eight pounds, three ounces, with
ten little fingers, ten little toes, and a mommy and daddy who couldn’t their
loving eyes off him, Brayden Jerald Richardson could be nothing else but
that. Perfect.
***
AN: Thanks to Bianca for the name – “The Force,” girlie!!
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