March 22, 1989
At 6:12 pm, the final moment of the drudgery that had continued for Danijela for the past fourteen hours finally ended, with a final, hard push and the first whimper of a newborn baby.
"It's a boy!" Dr. Anisa Milanovac exclaimed to the young woman and her husband with a smile, as she lifted the child up and looked to the anxious-looking young man standing at Danijela's side, holding her hand. "Tata, you want to cut the cord?" she asked with a smile.
With a nod, he stepped forward, still nervous but joy swelling up in him with more speed and thoroughness than he could ever remember feeling before in his life, save for the day in like manner that his daughter had been born. Jasna was at the apartment with her grandfather, Josef watching her. Luka stepped forward to cut the cord between the two clamps that had been placed there following the baby's appearance.
Dr. Milanovac lifted the baby up and handed him to a nurse who cleaned him up, and they worked to get him presentable for the new parents. "2.9 kilos.. nice size boy.." the nurse, whose name was Irena, told them with a smile. Then she wrapped the baby in the receiving blanket and handed him over to Danijela. "Congratulations," she said, and then stepped away to allow the young parents a few moments alone with their new son before he would be brought to the nursery.
"He's perfect…" Danijela said with a smile as she looked up at her husband. Luka was too fixated on taking in every detail of the new life in front of him to return her gaze just now.. "Yeah…" He said with wonder as he committed to memory the exact way they looked right now… his beautiful wife laying there on the bed in the delivery room, her hair falling loose and fairly wild around her face, looking exhausted but glowing with pure joy at the little life within her arms… the baby boy who lay there, squirming just so slightly, his eyes squinted shut, a mess of dark hair sprawled out over his head.
"Marko…" Luka whispered as he looked at the child. Danijela looked to him and blinked. "Hmmm?" "Marko. I'd like to call him Marko, if that's okay." Danijela smiled, nodding. "After my father…" She spoke softly, her gaze drifting to the little boy asleep in her arms. "Yes." Luka nodded. Danijela's father had died before their wedding.
"Marko Allen Kovac." Danijela spoke the words together as if testing the sound of them. "I like it…" She smiled. "I love it. Welcome to the world, Marko Allen Kovac…" Luka reached to touch the baby's hand gently. Such joy flooded them both.