After another hour of waiting, the hospital had grown eerily quiet since it was a couple of hours before sunrise on October 3. There was very little foot traffic in the hallway and only one other person in the waiting room with the three waiting for Cynthia to deliver. Deborah had dozed off with her head on Jacob's shoulder, and he, in turn, was resting his head on hers with his eyes closed. Roger sat reading the newspaper from the day before until finally, around daybreak, he fell asleep with his head against the wall.
At about 8 am, the three were awakened by the busy staff moving through the hallways again. Roger got up and went to the nurses' station and asked the nurse, "Has there been any word on Cynthia Parsons?"
The nurse replied, "No. She was still in labor when I last checked about 15 minutes ago."
"Seven hours? Is that normal?" Roger said in a concerned tone.
"Oh, yes. Some women can be in labor for a day or more," she replied.
He stood there looking dumbfounded.
"Don't worry, Mr. Parsons. She's going to be fine. You'll be a father soon. Focus on that," she said.
He walked back to the waiting room where Jacob and Deborah were talking to each other.
"We were just talking about breakfast, Roger. Is there a cafeteria in this place?" Jacob asked.
"Yes," he said as he looked at his watch, "they should be open for breakfast now."
"Good. Let's go get something to eat. I'm famished," Deborah said.
"Any word on Cynthia?" Jacob asked.
"She's still in labor," Roger replied with a worried expression and looked at his watch again.
"Roger, she'll be fine. Let's go get some frishtik," Deborah said.
"Frishtik?" he asked.
"Breakfast," she replied. She put her arm in Jacob's and the three of them walked to the cafeteria to eat.
They returned to the waiting room after about an hour and continued waiting. Dr. Jameson came out to the waiting room around 10 am to talk to the family.
"Hey Roger," Dr. Jameson said.
"How's Cindy?" Roger asked.
"She's doing fine. Her contractions are on schedule and getting closer together. The birth is imminent. There have been no complications up to this point and I don't expect any," he said.
Deborah sighed and said, "Oh good."
"Do you know how long, doctor?" Jacob asked.
"Hard to say, but it shouldn't be long now. It might be a little longer because she has had caudal anesthesia, but I'll keep you updated. I'm going to go check on another patient, then I'll go back to check on Cynthia," he replied.
"Thanks," Roger said. Dr. Jameson headed down the maternity hallway and out of view.
Roger began pacing again and rubbing his hands through his hair. Deborah and Jacob sat down holding hands.
Eventually, Deborah said, "I wish you'd sit down, Roger. Your pacing isn't going to make the baby come faster and you're making me dizzy."
"Let the boy do what he wants, Deborah. Whatever makes him feel better," Jacob said.
Roger stopped pacing and sat down. "I'm more excited than scared right now. I'm going to be a father."
"Yes you are, dear," Deborah said.
Minutes later, the three saw Dr. Jameson head back to the delivery room where Cynthia was. Roger wrung his hands while sitting forward in his chair. They continued waiting for a while and still no word.
Around noon, a nurse came out to the waiting room. "Mr. Parsons?" she asked looking at Roger.
"Yes?" he said while standing quickly at attention.
"Your wife just had your baby a few minutes ago," she said.
"Really?" he asked with tears welling in his eyes. Deborah put her hands on his shoulders.
"Yes. She's getting settled into her room now and the baby is being cleaned and dressed," the nurse said.
"Can I come see her?"
"Yes, but in a few more minutes. I'll come get you when she's ready."
"Is it a boy or a girl," Roger asked eagerly.
"Your wife wanted to tell you personally," the nurse replied. "I'll be back in a few minutes to take you to see her."
"Thank you," Roger replied. He continued standing with Deborah and Jacob, both of which were as equally excited to soon see Cynthia and their new grandchild. The three stood for about ten minutes talking about what sorts of things were still needed for the new baby until the nurse returned.
"Okay, Mr. Parsons, you can come see your wife now," the nurse said.
"These are my wife's parents. Can they come too?" Roger asked.
"Yes. She asked if they were here," the nurse replied.
All of them walked through the double doors down the hallway to Cynthia's room. When the nurse opened the door, Roger walked in first, but the view of his wife was being blocked by another nurse who was leaning over Cynthia. He moved around to see what was going on and he saw that the nurse was handing a small bundle to his smiling, tired-looking, but beautiful wife. Deborah and Jacob followed closely behind. Deborah walked up and saw Cynthia and the baby and patted her left hand on Roger's back and gripped her husband's left hand with her right. They all stood reverently watching the scene as the nurse who handed Cynthia the baby, smiled at the group and left with the other nurse.
Cynthia said, "Roger, come over here and meet your new daughter."
Tears welled up in Roger's eyes, and without a word, he took his place next to Cynthia with the baby between them. He put his right arm around Cynthia's shoulders and just stared down at his new baby girl who already had a full head of dark hair. Roger gently stroked her hair, and Deborah and Jacob hugged each other tighter.
Cynthia broke the silence, "Well, I don't want to go through that again anytime soon, but this certainly makes it worth it." Everyone laughed. Deborah and Jacob moved closer to see the baby.
"She's beautiful, Cynthia," Deborah said.
"Yes she is. She looks just like you and your mother," Jacob said.
"I agree," Roger replied. "Beautiful, just beautiful," he said, still smiling the giant Parsons smile. He kissed Cynthia on the top of the head.
Cynthia said, "Mom, Dad…Roger and I have discussed many names for our baby, names that would honor the grandparents in one way or another, whether a boy or a girl. Dad, since we had a girl, you'll have to wait until the next one, if we have a boy."
Jacob, with his arm still around Deborah, replied, "That's alright, honik. I can wait."
"Mom, Roger and I decided that the middle name for our girl should be his mother's first name. Roger left our baby's first name up to me," Cynthia said.
Deborah stood by silently waiting and smiling.
"Everyone, I'd like you all to meet Cady Joanne Parsons, the newest member of the Glass-Parsons family," Cynthia said.
Deborah replied, "Cady, as in Elizabeth Cady Stanton?"
Cynthia replied, "Yes. I thought it was a strong name that would represent one of the heroines in your life that influenced you to raise such a strong and independent daughter and who will hopefully do the same for hers."
Deborah began to tear up, "That's lovely, Cynthia. It's certainly a fitting tribute." Jacob hugged her tighter still.
Roger repeated, "Cady Joanne Parsons….I like the sound of that." He tried more arrangements on for size. "Cady Parsons…. Cady Jo Parsons…. Hmm…. Cady Jo? Also makes her sound like a true Texan, now that I think about it. She'll fit right in," Roger said with a smile.
They all lingered with Cynthia and Cady, taking in the miraculousness of the moment. They stayed together in Cynthia's room for some time, taking turns holding little Cady and musing about their future and hers.