"Hey babe." Eddie sat on the side of the bed, gently shaking Janet awake. "Time to wake up." She rolled over and opened her eyes. "Morning gorgeous."
"Morning." He leaned down and kissed her softly.
"How did you sleep?"
"On and off." Janet was now seven months pregnant and was more tired than she usually was mainly because their daughter kept her up a lot at night moving around.
"Was she kicking?"
"Oh yeah."
"Coffee is on and I have to run." He leaned down and kissed her belly. "Bye little one. Be good for mom." She kicked and Eddie laughed.
"Great. You woke her up." Janet grumbled with a smile.
"Sorry."
"No you're not."
"No I'm not." With a grin, he kissed her again. "Have a good day and I will call you later."
"Love you."
"Love you too." After one more kiss, he went to leave but before he was out of the bedroom, he turned around once more and saw that Janet had rolled back over. "Don't go back to sleep." He warned.
"I won't." He laughed and left for work.
Ten minutes later, he was in his parent's driveway waiting for Max to come out. It usually took a few minutes for Max to come out because he was never on time. In fact some times, he even had time to have a cup of coffee with his mom. This morning, after waiting for about five minutes without any movement from inside the house, he shut off the truck and went inside to hurry his brother up.
"Hello? Mom? Max?" Eddie called softly, walking into the house. He finally found his mom sitting curled up on the steps. "Mom, what's going on?" She looked up at him with red, swollen eyes. "What's wrong?"
"He wouldn't wake up."
"Who wouldn't wake up?"
"Max. I went to wake him up and he wouldn't."
"He's probably just messing with you." He told her, heading up the steps to Max's room.
"He's not." Judee whispered as Eddie walked past her.
Eddie opened the door to his brother's room and found him on the bed. "Max. Come on buddy. Wake up." No movement. "Come on Max. Quit playing and get up." Again, no movement so he reached out and when he touched his brother, he was shocked at how cold he was. "Max…please…" Eddie knew his mother was right. His brother was gone.
"Come on Jasper. Time to come in. Mommy has to go to work." Janet called to the dog. As usual, Jasper responded immediately and came right inside the house but instead of stopping for his morning treat, he ran right past her into the living room and began to bark. Curious, Janet followed Jasper and was surprised when Eddie walked in. "What did you forget?" She asked as he bent down to pet Jasper, avoiding her eyes which meant something was wrong. "Look at me Eddie." When he did, his eyes were red and swollen. "Honey…" He took her hand and led her to the couch.
"Janet…" He began as his eyes filled with tears.
"What happened?" She whispered over the lump in her throat.
"Max…" He managed to get out before breaking apart and Janet instantly knew what could cause the heartbreak Eddie was showing.
"No." She managed to get out.
"He…wouldn't wake…up this…morning…I…joke…cold…so cold." He sobbed. Janet her crying, heartbroken husband into her arms as her own tears began to fall.
"And now, Max's brother Eddie would like to say a few words." Eddie squeezed Janet's hand and made his way to the front of the funeral home.
"On Monday I experienced the worst loss of my life when my amazing, wonderful, fun, lovable and devoted brother Max left this earth. We were told that he had a fatal heart attack and sadly, it didn't surprise any of us. Max has had a bad heart since he was born and over the years it has slowly gotten worse and we were told that a heart attack could happen at any time and it did on Monday but even knowing that, it doesn't make losing him any easier." Eddie took a deep breath and wiped a solitary tear away that fell from his eye. "I spent hours trying to figure out what I could tell you about Max and in the end, I had pages and pages of fun stories involving most of you in this room and I realized that as much fun as those stories are that's not what I need to or want to say. What needs to be said is I was lucky and honored to have Max for my brother. I couldn't have asked for a better brother."
"There are two main things that Max taught me that I want to share with you. The first of which is joy. Everything that Max experienced, he experienced it with pure joy and it didn't matter what it was; a simple game of checkers or a trip to Disney World; it didn't matter; everything he did or saw was done so with pure joy. It was the kind of joy a child experienced. A couple of years ago Janet and I took him to a Sox game for his birthday and had his name put his name with a birthday wish on the jumbo-tron and he was so excited when his name popped up that you would have thought that he won the lottery and next year, when we did it again his reaction was the same. It was priceless. Every baseball card I gave him, regardless if he already had two or three of the same card he was thrilled. Max taught me that I need to try and experience every bit of joy and happiness out of life that I can because obviously, life is short so we need as much happiness in it while we still can experience it."
"The second and most important thing Max showed me more than taught me was how to love. Sure, I knew how to love; I love my parents, my friends, my brother and my wife but compared to my brother, who loved all of the same people…wow. I had nothing on that kid. Everyone who was lucky enough to be loved by Max, knows exactly what I am talking about. When Max loved you he become utterly devoted to you and nothing you did would change that; believe me I know. When I was younger and dumber, like any teenager and young adult, hanging out with my kid brother wasn't the coolest thing to do and for years, I only hung out with him when mom threatened me but to him it didn't matter. He still loved me unconditionally and fiercely regardless of if he saw me once a month or once a week and he never held my stupidity against me; he simply loved me and because of him; because he showed me how it should be done, I can now love like he did. Thank you Max."
"One day at work, Max was sweeping up a broken window with a huge grin on his face. I asked him what he was smiling about and he told me he was smiling because he loved his job. When I asked him why he loved his job he answered because it made him feel important. I explained that he didn't need a job to be important but I am not sure he believed me. I just hope that he realized how very important he was to all of us." Eddie looked up at the ceiling. "I love you Max." He whispered.
"I want you to have this." Judee handed Eddie Max's baseball card album; one of Max's few treasured belongings. Mitch, Judee, Eddie and Janet were gathered at Eddie's childhood home after Max's wake had ended.
"You should keep it mom." Eddie told her softly.
"Max would want you to have it." She placed the album on his lap. "All of the cards; it was your and your brothers' special thing. He would want you to have it."
"Thanks." Eddie whispered. He opened the album and tears sprung to eyes when he saw the pictures Max had taped to the inside cover; there was a picture of him, Janet and Max at Fenway Park the previous year for his birthday and there was a picture of the two brothers taken at the 4th of July baseball game when Max got his one and only hit.
"Janet, this is for you." Mitch placed a seashell in her hand.
"It's beautiful." Janet told her.
"Max found this seashell the day of your wedding when he was exploring the beach before the ceremony. As you can see, it's in perfect shape and he kept it because it's pink, your favorite color and he said it will remind him how beautiful you looked."
"I'll treasure it always." She said, running her hands over the smooth, beautiful shell.
"And this is a gift for the baby from Max." Judee was holding a gift that was wrapped in pure Max style. "The day after Christmas, he insisted on going out and buying a present for his niece or nephew. " Judee smiled through her tears. "You know that boy, once something gets in his head, he can't let it go until the task is completed so we braved the return crowds and he bought this with his own money." Slowly, Janet reached out and took the gift. "I know that your shower is in a couple of weeks but I wanted to give it to you without a crowd of people watching."
"Do you want to open it?" Janet asked her husband.
"Sure." She handed it over and he slowly pulled the wrapping paper off to reveal a teddy bear; a girl bear they assumed because it was wearing a tutu.
"We went to Build –A-Bear and he made the bear all by himself with no input from me."
"But we didn't know she was a girl then." Eddie stated handing the bear to Janet.
"Lucky guess." Mitch answered with a small smile.
"I know that she'll love it." Janet said.
An hour later Eddie and Janet were home, sharing a bath. They had left shortly after Judee gave them what Max wanted them to have. It had been a long physically and mentally challenging week and everyone was exhausted. Before going to bed, the two decided to relax in the tub.
"Did you feel that?" Janet asked. Eddie had been running his hand over her pregnant belly when the baby kicked.
"How could I not? What's it feel like from your end?"
"It's hard to explain. It's liked getting kicked softly on the outside but it's a little stronger on the inside." Eddie didn't respond and his hand had grown still on her stomach. "Baby, are you still awake?"
"I can't stop thinking; our little girl is never going to know her Uncle Max." Janet turned awkwardly in the tub to face him.
"She will because we are going to tell her all about him."
"Promise?" He asked softly
"I promise. Our daughter will know all about her Uncle Max." Eddie nodded, biting his lip to keep his tears from falling.
"The water's getting cold. We should probably get out." The water wasn't that cold, but she went along with it. She sat forward and he climbed out of the tub. Once the towel was wrapped securely around his waist, he reached in and helped Janet to her feet since exiting a bathtub while seven months pregnant wasn't the easiest thing in the world for her. He helped her into her robe and then suddenly he hugged her tightly and before he released her so he could dress, he kissed her gently on top of her head.
By the time Janet had rinsed out the tub and went to the bedroom to put on her pajamas on, Eddie was nowhere to be seen but she knew where she would find him. After packing his lunch and letting Jasper out, she went to Max's bedroom where she found Eddie sitting on the bed holding their daughter's teddy bear that hadn't found its way to the crib yet. She went, in and sat on his lap, wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her forehead against his.
"Do you think he knew Janet?" Eddie asked tearfully.
"Knew what babe?"
"Did he know how important he was…to all of us?"
"I hope he did but one thing I know for sure is Max knew how very much he was loved by all of us and in the end, I think that was what is important."
"I really did love that kid."
"I know that and so did he."
"I miss him…so much."
"So do I. We all do." Janet gently kissed his tears away.
Eddie and Janet spent the next two months healing from their loss and preparing for their little girl, a mixture and sadness and happiness was their constant companion. Janet was so proud of Eddie. She knew that he wanted his old constant companion of liquid comfort but he stayed far away from alcohol and instead of drinking, he talked with Janet about his feelings and she did the same, which contributed to the healing process.
Janet's baby shower occurred three weeks after Max's death and for the first time, in three weeks, she was really smiling again. Her shower was perfect, everything she had ever dreamed it would be, with the exception of Max. The small banquet room at The Johnson Inn was filled with their friends and family and their daughter got everything she could possibly need and more. It took them a week to put everything away.
Once everything was put away the only thing that was left to do was wait for Baby Girl Latekka to make her entrance into the world. Janet had hers and the baby's bag packed two weeks before her due date. She was ready by that point but the baby had other plans. Her due date came and went; no baby. One week after her due date there was still no baby. At her one week post due date visit, her doctor told her that they would schedule an induction at the two week mark if she still hadn't delivered. She was relieved to know that the baby would finally be born but those seven days were miserable for her; in her opinion, she was huge, swollen and her back was constantly hurting. She could not wait for this baby to be born.
"Excuse me, Mr. Newman?" Janet stood her in boss' doorway. He looked up from his desk.
"What's wrong Janet?" He could tell by her face, she wasn't doing too well.
"If it's okay with you, I think I would like to start my maternity leave now." Janet's back pain had woken her up around three that morning and has steadily gotten worse to the point sitting in her chair at her desk was uncomfortable.
"Of course you can. I told you to start it a couple of weeks ago."
"Thanks. My desk is clean and there is nothing outstanding." She told her boss with a grimace.
"Should I call your husband?"
"No that's not necessary. " She assured him. "I am just having some back pain and spasms. I didn't sleep well last night and I am hoping to go home, take some Tylenol and try to get some rest hopefully feel better when I wake up."
"If you are sure?" Janet nodded. Mr. Newman came around the desk and gave her a hug. "Good luck and make sure you let us know when your little one is born."
"I will." She answered, returning his hug.
After saying her goodbyes to the staff, she finally left for six weeks. On the way home, she called Eddie and left him a voicemail that she wasn't feeling well and was on her way home for a nap. Once she got home she realized when she walked into the bedroom, that when she had taken on the sheets to wash them, she didn't replace them on the bed. She was in too much pain to even considering remaking the bed so she settled for the next best thing; Max's bed until Eddie got home and then he could remake their bed.
She was in bed for around an hour, when the pain in her back pain suddenly got worse and radiated to her stomach and that's when she realized that the pain she had been experiencing in her back, was actually labor. She was in labor and probably had been for hours. She went for her phone and found it wasn't on the night stand. She had left it in her purse which was in the living room. She tried to get up out of bed to go get her phone but the pain was too intense; she couldn't stand. She lay back down and was considering her options through the pain when her water broke. She knew she had to get to a phone but the pain wasn't stopping so she did the only thing she could; she rolled onto her side, cradled her belly and waited for Eddie to come home or the pain to subside, whichever came first.
"No baby yet?" Nick asked walking into the office at the end of the day. He had been going out to the sites while Eddie stayed close to the office in case he needed to bolt when Janet went into labor.
"Nope. Not yet. Janet called me a couple hours ago. Her back was hurting pretty bad so she left work early to get some rest and I haven't heard anything else so unless anything happens between now and Friday morning, she will be induced."
"Kind of weird huh, knowing the exact day your daughter will be born. It's not the same as a due date. With a due date it's still a guess when the baby will be born but with inducing you now that your daughter will be born on Friday."
"It's crazy and you are right. For sure, I am actually going to be a dad on Friday. I can't wait."
"You're already a father my friend."
"True, but I don't get to do anything; it's all Janet now."
"Enjoy while you can, because once she gets here it's not going to be all Janet anymore."
"I know and I can't wait." With a grin, Eddie closed his computer down. "I'm going to head on home. Janet needs some tender loving care and I am just the man to provide it."
"Please, save me the details."Nick said with a grin.
"Catch ya later." On his way home, he stopped at the store and picked up some of Janet's favorite comfort food; chocolate and peanut butter ice cream along with some cheese puffs hoping that it may make her feel a little better mentally.
"Dude, what's going on?" Eddie was surprised when he walked into the house that Jasper, their normally easy going dog was standing next to the door whining and barking. "Do you need to go outside?" He walked into the kitchen to put the ice cream away and expected Jasper to follow but he didn't. "Jasper, come on boy." He called from the kitchen but the dog didn't move; just barked. "Knock it off Jasper and come here." Another bark mixed with a growl. "Seriously, what is your problem?" He walked into the living room and Jasper took off towards the bedrooms. When Eddie didn't follow he began to bark. Curiously, Eddie followed Jasper who ended up in Max's bedroom and from the hallway he heard more barking. He walked towards the better and that's when he heard crying. With a bad feeling he pushed open the cracked door and saw his wife, lying on the bed, crying, sweating with a terrified look on her face.
"Eddie." She cried as he rushed over to her.
"What's wrong?"
"The baby…she is coming."
"We need to get you to the hospital."
"No time. She is coming…now."
"You don't know that."
"Yes I do. I need to push."
"No. Don't do that."
"I can feel her head; she is coming out."
"Should I…check?"
"Well I very well can't do it." She groaned in pain.
"Oh man. I…" He mumbled. "What do I do?"
"Take my underwear off and look."
"Look for what?"
"A head Eddie." She was snapping at him; she couldn't help it. "What do you think you would be looking for?"
"Of course." He was so flustered he didn't even realize Janet was snapping at him. "Lift up honey." He pushed her nightgown up over her hips and then pulled her underwear off. "Sorry." He told her when she cried out.
"It's not you. Please Eddie, hurry. She is coming." Eddie took at glance.
"Holy crap. I see it. I see her head. What do I do? Boil water. The television always says to boil water."
"For crying out loud Eddie. We aren't living in the Little House On The Parrie days. You don't need to boil water."
"Janet, I don't know what to do." She took a deep breath and tried to breathe through her contraction.
"Get some towels. Go to the baby's room and grab a blanket and the suction bulb." She instructed calmly.
"Suction bulb? What in the hell is a suction bulb?"
"The snot sucker. The blue snot sucker."
"Right."
"And call 911." Eddie ran out of the room, grabbed what Janet told him to and returned to Max's room in less than a minute.
"Okay. Now what."
"Call. Nine. One. One." She yelled.
"I can do that." He pulled his phone out of his pocket and dropped it because his hands were shaking so bad. He picked it up and did the same thing.
"Eddie…"
"Sorry." Third time was the charm. With the phone securely in his hand he made the call.
"911. What is your emergency?"
"My wife. She is having a baby."
"She is in labor?"
"No. The baby, she is coming now. I can see her head."
"What is your address sir?"
"2068 Emerson Rd." He saw Janet begin to push. "She's pushing."
"Okay sir. I need you to relax. Can you do that?"
"My baby is coming."
"Sir, I need you to relax."
"Okay. I'm good."
"It sounds like you are going to have to deliver your baby. I am going to walk you through what to do. You are going to need both hands so put the phone on speaker and set the phone down." Eddie did as the operator instructed.
"I'm ready."
"Okay, tell your wife to push."
"I can hear you." She snapped.
"Then why aren't you pushing?" Eddie countered. With a glare at him, Janet bore down and pushed and after three more pushes, their daughter had entered the world.
"She's not crying." Eddie yelled in a panic.
"You need to clean out her nose and mouth and then she will cry."
"The suction ball Eddie." An exhausted Janet told him.
"Yeah right. I forgot about that." He grabbed the suction bulb and cleaned her out and then waited anxiously for her to cry. "Janet…what if I did something wrong?" Before she could answer their daughter was wailing. "She's crying. She's okay." He yelled over her cries.
"Eddie can I see her?" Janet asked.
"Yes. Of course." He gently placed the baby on Janet's chest.
"Hi my little girl." Janet said to her daughter. "You are finally here."
"Hello? Paramedics here."
"Back here." Eddie called as he grabbed his phone and thanked the operator for all of his help. He knew he couldn't have done it without him. A few seconds later two men entered the bedroom.
"Looks like we are a little late."
"I did it." Eddie told them proudly.
"I can see that." The younger of the two men, walked over to Janet. "And how are you doing ma'am?"
"Wonderful."
"We need to cut the cord and then I would like to do a quick examine of the baby." He explained.
"Dad, would you like to cut the cord?" Eddie was asked.
"Yes I would."
Fifteen minutes later, Janet and baby were loaded on the stretcher on the way to the hospital. Eddie followed them to the ambulance. "I'll be right behind you." He told after kissing her and the baby.
"Make sure you clean up the room first." The paramedics laughed but Eddie knew she was dead serious. "And yourself."
"I will."
"But hurry."
"I will. I love you…both."
"We love you more."
He arrived at the hospital about forty five minutes later. He threw the all the bedding, towels and his clothes into the washing machine. He knew that that there was no hope of ever using them again but he didn't want to throw a bag of bloody items out in trash. He moved the mattress out into the garage until he could dispose of it and then finally showered. Before leaving he switched the laundry and fed the dog. Janet would be so proud. And his drive to the hospital was spent on the phone alerting family and friends about the birth and his role in it.
"Hey." Janet greeted when Eddie walked through the door to her hospital room.
"Hey girls." His eyes fell to the bundle in her arms.
"She's been waiting for her daddy." He walked over and took her from her mother and then made himself comfortable in the chair next to her bed.
"Are you okay?" He asked.
"I'm perfect. I should be able to go home tomorrow .When delivering my placenta the doctor told me how impressed he was with you. Maybe you should change careers." She joked.
"No way. Once was enough for me." He looked at his daughter. "Is she good?"
"She is perfect too. Seven pounds three ounces and nineteen inches long. Isn't she beautiful?"
"She really is which is good because I have to admit, I was worried when she was born covered with all of your insides." Eddie shivered in mock disgust and Janet smiled.
"You are awful."
"I'm kidding and she knows it. I thought she was beautiful the instant she was born and she is half of you so how could she not be beautiful?"
"Baby, I am so sorry that I was really mean to you."
"You couldn't help it. Delivering a baby is an automatic pass to be mean and speaking of delivering a baby, everyone told us that you would be in labor for hours with the first baby. How come she came so fast?"
"I was in labor for hours. The back pain that woke me up last night was the beginning. I asked the doctor and he said most woman have belly labor or a portion of both. I was primarily back labor until the very end. It didn't click with me until my water broke and the pain was so bad, I couldn't move. By the time you got home, the labor was constant because she was on her way."
"Does this mean that you are going to be a difficult child little missy?" Eddie asked his sleeping daughter.
"I have another idea for her name." Janet said and Eddie sighed. It took them forever to finally agree on a name that they both liked which was Kayla Rose. Rose was Grams and Lillian's middle name and Janet wanted the baby to have her grandmother's name but not Edith.
"Babe…"
"Just hear me out okay?" He nodded. "I want to name her after Max. I delivered her in his room; on his bed and I think it would be a wonderful way to honor him."
"I love that idea but Janet, she is a girl."
" Maxie. I want to name her Maxie with an i e Rose. I think that it's pretty feminine." Eddie thought about it for a couple of minutes.
"What do you think sweetheart?" He asked the baby. "Shall we call you Maxie Rose after your Uncle Max?" At that moment she opened her eyes and looked at him. "You like it huh? Well I guess Maxie it is." Eddie reached out and took Janet's hand. "Its perfect honey; just perfect."
"Max would love it."
"Yes he would." Holding onto Maxie tightly, he and Janet leaned towards each other and shared a slow, soft kiss.
