Chapter 7
"Wow, I can't imagine… wait, yes I can considering the fact that munchie here came about almost exactly the same way, and now that he knows about this multi-generational family tradition, Jamie says we're not allowed to get... um, tipsy anymore," Eddie covered for the little ears present as Joey was awake and seated in his bouncer while Kaylin continued to sleep in late upstairs after another night interrupted with an intermittently crying brother in the house. "At least not in front of a fireplace anywhere for a minimum of three more years or until he makes a higher pay grade," she kidded before sighing at the thought of what she would be missing.
"Edit, where are your manners?" Eva tutted as she prepared a tray of fruit and a carafe of hot spiced tea for breakfast before work and brought both to the table to share with Henry. "Not everything personal these days must be announced on social media."
"Huh, ain't that the truth," Henry gruffed in complete agreement with his grandparenting counterpart as he nodded and thanked her for the service. "That's exactly what's wrong with this generation."
"Oh, please, don't be a pair of prudes," Eddie chided to her elders. "It's been so long since we've had… well, first he was hurt, then I was on bedrest, and now we have to wait because... I mean I really miss it!" she practically hummed in place. "Maybe that's why Jamie took a cold shower and went off to work so early this morning," she concluded with a smirk at her husband's growing restlessness in the bedroom when it came to this matter. "There's really nothing wrong with a married couple being a little, what's the word?... frisky in their own house," she settled on even as she was also impatiently waiting for Dr. Geisner to give the all clear to do just that now that they were nearing the magical six-week postpartum mark. "I'm sure you and Daddy had some fun downstairs at home too, right?" she asked before deciding that had been a step too far given the Hungarian death stare reflected back. Eva had once again become touchy as of late with the subject of Armin Janko considering his release from Federal detention appeared imminent which no doubt meant they would come face-to-face back here at some point in the near future as he sought to reunite himself with his formerly estranged daughter and now two previously unseen grandchildren… a realization that had the older Janko woman actively searching for her own home as a retreat elsewhere in the city.
"Okay, well, maybe not... So, Betty was pregnant already at that time though, with Frank, right?" Eddie redirected and continued with the story that had come to intrigue her to the point where she forgot herself again in the excitement and added an unfortunate comment on the end that left her wincing with regret as soon as the words left her mouth when she recalled her mother's own past tragedy. "She went through so much already; please tell me she didn't have a miscarriage or anything too… oh, crap… sorry, Mom! I didn't mean to..."
"It is fine, Edit," her mother replied back evenly although the hurt was still plainly evident in her expression after all of these years. "Unless it happens to you, it is not understood, and one must get used to hearing questions like that in the beginning when a child is lost. Many times early on I was asked where your older brother or sister was by casual acquaintances who had not seen me after to realize what had happened. Young people of this age do not understand the time past when everything was not known or posted for the world to see."
"What your mother says is true," Henry nodded as he sat back and remembered. "Although I don't know if it was harder for Betty when someone assumed that Francis was her first, or when they asked where our other children were. Being Irish Catholic here in the 50's, we were definitely in the minority with just one. Eventually, she took to ignoring the question altogether rather than lying and bringing it up in confession every week, even if Father Campion understood what she was going through and gave her a pass on it in the beginning. I remember the very first time it happened though. We were in a new doctor's office down on Ovington Avenue waiting to hear if she was pregnant or not. She was sure by that point of course and said it was a waste of time and money to wait a week for the test and then another for the appointment, but I pushed her to have it done anyway because I thought it would give us both peace of mind and back then you couldn't just run down to the drugstore for a little pink box. The man came highly recommended, but was such a son of ah… duckie," he caught himself with a sheepish look towards his great-grandson. "I guess I should have thanked him though because he made her so mad it sort of snapped Betty back into momma bear mode again, and she stood up and gave him what for. We never went back there again," he chuckled.
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"Mr. and Mrs. Reagan, congratulations are in order, your test was positive," Dr. Wilton Snyder informed them rather clinically and without any further ado while he looked down and continued to review Betty's chart when they took a seat in his office nearly three weeks after her initial realization. "By these calculations, you appear to be approximately seven weeks along with a due date the last of November... I'm sorry, I assumed this was good news, yes?" he added as a glance up after an uncomfortable, silent pause showed his new patient to be sitting somewhat stone-faced as what she already knew to be true was confirmed while her husband gripped her hand in support. Given her state, Henry cursed himself for the fact that due to another high-profile case that he and his partner had been assigned, his wife had been compelled to come here alone earlier for the initial testing, and then today once again as he had been delayed and late to bang off shift at the precinct, forcing Betty to arrive by herself and complete all the intake information without him. Their name had been called almost immediately in clockwork fashion after he rushed through the door leaving no time for questions, and it was evident from her cold demeanor that something very upsetting had occurred before then.
"Yes, yes, it is," Henry answered for both as he rubbed her arm anxiously in an attempt to comfort her. "My wife is just a little overwhelmed," he explained without going into all the sorted details, but with growing concern over the fact that she had become increasingly rigid since walking into the office. "We weren't exactly ready for this."
"Oh, well, Mr. Reagan, I can assure you that first-time pregnancies can seem daunting, but the majority of men have managed to survive them for thousands of years, so no need to worry," Dr. Snyder offered with a snide laugh in joking fashion and more than a comfortable air of holier-than-thou indifference for Betty's feelings as her growing ire was flash-triggered at that dispassionate comment and she was quick strike back.
"'Tis not my first! I can speak on me own, and for a mother, there is always cause to worry!" she railed back as she finally found her voice which was strong and sharp for the first time in months.
"I must have the wrong information then," the doctor puzzled as he reviewed the notes and glanced back at her. "The nurse who took your history earlier indicated you have no other children."
"In the home! She dared ask me if I had another child at home as if it t'were the only outcome and I do not! Ye should have her inquire if there had been parturition or a prior birth instead! I have me nursing license too, and so ye know her questioning skills are as poor as they come!"
"Our son passed from leukemia last June," Henry quickly revealed to the confused man in front of him who had clearly not bargained on addressing such an emotionally charged and aggravated patient given the positive result which generally was the desired outcome in his field and made for a comfortable, happy appointment and another series of checks to cash. It didn't take a third-grade detective's skills now to deduce what was behind Betty's flashing eyes or where this conversation was about to go.
"I see... my condolences on your loss," Dr. Snyder responded evenly in what he considered an appropriate fashion before moving on to the matter at hand as in this more modern day and age women were increasingly expected to deliver their babies at the hospital instead of at home if they had means and his services were in great demand here in the city with a number of other affluent patients waiting to be seen. "Alright, Mrs. Reagan, since you seem to be informed and you've been through the process before, there's no need to go over what to expect unless you have any questions or concerns. The receptionist will set up monthly appointments…"
"I think not!" Betty asserted as she stood up, and for the first time, Henry saw a bit of the old guff and confidence return that had drawn him to her in the beginning like a moth to a flame. "I've seen what passes with doctors like you in the labor and delivery wards! 'Tis an inconvenience to do anything but lock the fathers out in the hall and drug the mothers to where they cannot be a bother or remember a thing. Well, I'll not have it, not this time! This baby will come to us at home if needed. Let's go, Henry, we're leaving. Since I am a lady, I'll thank you for the three minutes of time ye managed to spare for me, but I will find someone else who intends to respect my wishes on how and where I want this child brought into the world!"
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"Wow, way to go Grandma Betty!" Eddie cheered openly for the Reagan matriarch who was apparently ahead of her time. "Now I realize how lucky I was to have Dr. Geisner through my pregnancy. She never treated us like that, no matter how busy she was or how many questions we had about the baby and what was happening with the kidneys or his size. She even managed to keep Joey's little secret when we thought we knew better and tried to hide the fact that intern made a mistake and told us we were expecting a girl."
"Yes, and that cost me nearly an entire week of repainting, repapering and returning everything pink that was bought for your lány before my unokája came home to us from the hospital," Eva chided as she put her dishes away before returning to give her grandson a quick kiss on the cheek and leaving for work. "A nagymama még mindig szeret, az én kicsit," she reminded and spoke softly to him in Hungarian as was her way. "Grandma still loves you, my little one... I may be late tonight, Edit. Do not wait on the meal," she continued while gathering up her purse and brief as her heels clicked on the floor. "There is a two-bedroom brownstone parlor apartment near Prospect Park with stairs to a small garden space that has come into our agency's listings and seems to be within my taste and means. If it is so, I may wish to make an offer before it is put on the market."
"Oh, Mom, that's great, but we'll really miss having you here, won't we munchie?" Eddie declared with a disappointed frown at her mother's newfound determination to find a place of her own even though just a year ago those words would have been the last ones out of her mouth had the same situation arisen. "Are you sure? You know there's no rush, and you're welcome to stay as long as you want."
"Ah, but perhaps it is time before I come home one evening and find you and Jamison a kandalló előtt zömök," she added as Eddie's cheeks and ears blushed instantly red at the thought while her mother smiled at the intended reaction and took her leave out the front door with a quick goodbye and well wishes added for Henry.
"Do I have to ask what that meant?" he chuckled at his granddaughter-in-law's apparent level of embarrassment. "I take it 'kandalló' has something to do with the fireplace."
"Jamie would just die if he knew she said that!" Eddie huffed before laughing it off. "Not a word to him old man!" she wagged her finger at him.
"It's good to see that you and your mother have mended your fences," Henry observed as the relationship between the two Janko women had grown close once more over the course of the past months since Eva had moved in to help with Jamie's recovery and the baby's arrival. "It's important, especially now," he added and nodded towards the little one before advising her to continue that with the paternal component. "You both need to try to do that with Armin. Joey and Kaylin should know their other grandfather too. How do you think she'll handle it when he's released?"
"Well, she's determined to get her own place now as soon as possible so that she doesn't have to see him if he comes here, so I guess that sort of answers your question," Eddie sighed.
"Maybe she still has feelings for him," he offered knowingly.
"That's what she's scared of, I think," Eddie agreed with a sad nod. "Or maybe she's afraid he'll rip us all apart again... It has been nice," she added. "To have my mom back, I mean... I don't want to have to choose between them again. Speaking of which," she deflected nervously once more away from the impending showdown between her parents. "How did Betty deal with the rest of her pregnancy? Was she happier about it? Did she find another doctor that was nicer?"
"Oh, yes," Henry recalled as he sat back. "As the months passed, and she started to show… everything physically came easy to her, thank goodness, so she finally allowed herself to heal a bit and open her heart back up again. My Betty came back piece by piece with Francis inside of her, and he, although we didn't know if it was a boy or a girl of course… heh, as it turns out neither did you... but he gave her a reason to go on, and she decided she was going to be fully present for the birth of that baby, which was a bit ahead of her time… or rather behind it, maybe," he reasoned considering the transition in that era between home and hospital births. "With Peter, she had gone through what was done back then… the bit where they knocked the woman out, and the fathers waited outside in the hallway while they did God-knows-what to them behind closed doors until it was time to pass out the cigars. This time she searched around and found a woman named Mary Crawford, who was one of the few certified nurse midwives in the country. Mary had started a new obstetrical clinic at Columbia Presbyterian before founding a program to train others to do the same at the school of nursing up there. Wonderful woman… with a touch of wicked humor," he laughed at the memories. "She and Betty hit it off as friends and were as thick as thieves by the time the baby was ready to come. Now the birthing was still done in the hospital then, but in a regular room instead of the OR, and the midwives were more of a presence than the doctor unless something went wrong. Fathers still mostly waited in the hall and weren't expected to do a lot which was good, because there I was again stuck working a lead over in Flatbush while my partner's wife drove up there with her for an appointment, and my CO had to track me down and let me know Betty's water had broken and labor started. Back then there was no such thing as paternity leave, and I had it in my head to move up to second- and first-grade as soon as I could make enough collars, so we didn't have to worry about the money. She was more than a week overdue at that point, and as stubborn as he is, when Francis makes up his mind to do something, well, there's still no holding him back, even though he was no itty-bitty baby bean like your Joey…" he continued with a smile as the events of that momentous day flashed back.
Yup, going to hit pause right there on this chapter and save the details of baby Frank's arrival for next time along with some more tidbits about those early years like just where that hated middle name Xavier came from (hint: it all ties back to the house) and maybe even a small clue as to why after all that Frank decided to follow family tradition by inflicting his own firstborn with the dreaded moniker of Daniel Fitzgerald.
