JOURNEYS OF LIFE
PART FOURTEEN
by
BlackFury
July 1983
I laid back in the hospital bed and sighed. Our son, Micheal Paul Griffin, had been born the day before. I remembered when I went into labor, I called the precinct. David had been out on a call and his Captain told me he would personally make sure David got to the hospital in time. Four hours later, I was in the delivery room when David rushed in, gowned and ready. Suprisingly, it didn't take too long for Micheal Paul Griffin to make his entrance into this world.
Our littel boy had a fuzz of dark hair and the brightest blue eyes I had ever seen, he was so beautiful. Needless to say, David was over the moon with happiness. He called Marilyn and then Kermit to tell them then, he came into my room with a huge bouquet of roses, deep red ones and, after putting them in a vase, he kissed my forhead. "You okay, beautiful?" He asked me in a soft tone of voice. I remember smiling up at him, "Yeah, I'm ok, just a little tired. They don't call it labor for nothing, you know."
David had completed his first undercover assignment successfully, with several arrests and he was looking forward to his next one but, he told me it probably wouldn't happen for several months. I was secretly relived to hear that as I wanted him with me and our new son. David stayed as they brought Micheal in for me to feed him and, as I breast fed our son, I heard David playfully growl, "Hey, that's my playground!" He smiled at me and we talked quietly about what to do when we brought him home.
That momentous event happened three days later. I was suprised when, as I walked back into oyr apartment, to see both Marilyn and Kermit standing there! David was grinning like a chesire cat and, later, I found out why. Marilyn and Kermit had flown in two days ago and had been getting the apartment ready. It was then that I noticed that we were in a different apartment, in fact, it qualifed as a condo. Seems that was big brother Kermit's idea. He had bought and paid for it and had established a household trust to pay all of the bills automatically so that David and I could concentrate on our child.
The big suprise was when Kermit showed me a small room where I could continue my herbal studies and could also continue to make remedies. I was making a small living providing herbal concotions and medicines for people, especially those in Miami's Chinatown. Kermit told me that he wanted to be sure I could carry on my family's work and for that, I was very grateful.
David had been given a week off by his Captain and we spent every waking hour together as a family. He was reluctant to go back to work but, he did, with many promises to be careful, now that he had us both. I watched him leave that morning and prayed to the Tao to keep him safe from harm. I spent my days taking care of Micheal and continuing my apothecary work.
One thing I had done was apply for an apothecary license, which I had been granted not long after we had moved in Miami. It pleased me to think that I was, as Kermit had said, carrying on my family's work. I so wished that my Father was there to be proud of me but, I knew, somehow, that he was and, as I watched my sleeping son, I saw some of Peter in him and, it comforted me somehow.
I would need that comfort in the days ahead cause, we would face the greatest test of our marriage and I would have to face the real possibility of going on alone as a single mother. It is not a time I like remembering but out of it, would come one of the greatest joys of my life. The Tao certainly works in mysterious ways, as old Ping Hai used to tell me. It's weird, sometimes I feel as if he is somehow here, with me but, that's not possible, is it?
End Journal Entry