Chapter 6
As March begins Kit finds it hard to get around. The baby is due in the middle of April so time is running out fast to get everything put together. With the help of Sarah and Esther Jacobs, the boys build a nursery out of the sick room. The sick room is a small room upstairs with only one twin size bed, a sink and a closet in it. The boys remove the twin size bed and replace it with a handmade bassinette and rocking chair. Sarah and Esther decorate it with handmade quilts and other baby things they have made.
Kit walks to Tibby's at lunch and is greeted with warm smiles. Mush and Race help her sit down, her swollen abdomen making it hard to sit down on her own.
Race frown at her, "Why'd you walk down here, Kit?"
"Because me and my son are hungry, that's why." She places a hand on her belly and smiles, "besides, it gets lonely at home, wit' out all you'se dere."
Spot walks into Tibby's smiling and then he sees Kit, "I thought I told you to stay at home. You can't just go." he looks at Kit puzzled as she takes his hand and places it on her stomach. Spot jumps as he feels it move.
"He's kicking. Your son is hungry." Kit smiles.
Spot kneels down beside his wife with amazement, "dat's him? Kicking?" Spot stands quickly and orders her some food.
***
Race walks into the bunkroom and finds Kit holding her back as she reaches up to grab a dirty shirt off of a high shelf. He rushes forward and snatches the shirt down, scowling at Kit, "Are you trying to kill yourself?"
Kit just looks at him sheepishly, "I didn' t'ink it was dat high."
Race rolls his eyes at her, takes her hand and walks her over to a nearby bunk. "Sit" He watches her hold her back in pain as she struggles to sit down. "What's wroing?" He helps her sit down gently on the soft mattress.
"Nuttin' my back jus' hoits, along wit' my swollen feet and ceaseless headache."
Race smiles at her sympathetically and takes off the soft leather shoes encasing her small feet. He gently massages them as he talks to her, "Have you decided on a name?"
"Well, since it is goin' ta be a boy, we have decided on Anthony James. But if it was a mistake and da baby is really a goil, it will be Samantha Rose."
"Those are great names."
"Race, how would feel about bein' da Godfadder to our baby? Along wit' all da udda boys dat I grew up wit'. Ya know loik Jack, Blink, Mush, Skittery and Tip o' coise from Brooklyn. All da boys around mine and Spot's age."
Race almost explodes in happiness, "I would be honor'd Kit."
"Well, I'm glad. C'mon, help me up. I need ta start cookin' dinna."
***
Spot finally got a job at The Journal as a headline writer.
Spot and the boys are sitting in Tibby's the Wednesday of the second week in April, just talking and eating dinner before heading back to the lodging house. Kit, being heavily pregnant, hasn't felt up to the task of cooking the boys' dinner lately.
"So Mush, you gotta a new goil." Blink calls out from across the table.
Mush just blushes and Race slaps him on the back. Mush recovers and smirks at Blink, "What about you and da Mayor's daughta?"
Blink laughs and looks at Spot. "How's Kit doin' Spot?"
"Good I hope, da baby's due any day now and I'm jus' waitin'. Nervoisly."
The boy's head back to the lodging house and sign in, leaving their five cents in a coffee can on the counter.
Kit kisses Spot as he walks into the kitchen, "Hey" Her voice sounding tired and strained.
Spot becomes instantly worried, "What's wrong, Sweets?"
"Nothing, your son is just kicking a lot, dats all." Kit grabs his hand and squeezes it as another contraction passes. "A lot."
Spot leads her over to their bed and helps her lay down. "Alroight, you stay heah and I'm gonna go toilk to da boys, ok?"
Spot races upstairs the minute he sees Kit is laying down on the bed comfortably. He slides into the bunkroom and over to Jack, "Sumt'in is wroing with Kit. She says da baby is kicking a lot. She seems like she's in a lot of pain."
Race sprints in to action and sends Snitch to fetch Mrs. Jacobs, Skittery to fetch some clean towels and Blink to put some water on the stove to boil.
***
Mrs. Jacobs walks briskly into the lodging house, Sarah tagging along behind her, and rushes right into the room that Jess is in.
Kit squeezes Spot's hand in pain as another contraction passes. Oh it hurts so badly. She breathes deeply and feels the sweat forming on her brow.
Mrs. Jacobs smiles and leans down to Kit, "You're going to have the baby now, Katherine."
Kit just winces as a small contraction passes through her tired body. She eventually nods and Sarah ushers Spot out into the lobby and calls out for towels and hot water.
***
Spot is escorted into the lobby just as Blink and Skittery go into the room carrying towels and a bowl of hot water.
The two boys are shoved right back out seconds later. All the boys are now down stairs, Race is smoking a cigar outside and Jack is sitting in a corner reading the afternoon newspaper. Spot, on the other hand, is pacing back and forth in front of the door, constantly stopping to look at the clock on the wall. Spot hears a scream emitted from inside the room and is about to bust down the door when Jack touches his shoulder.
"She's fine, I'm sure of it" Jack pulls Spot away from the door and leads him into the cool night air.
((
Three hours and thirty minutes later most of the boys have gone to bed. Jack, Race and Spot still sit in the lobby, waiting and praying. The wail of a baby is heard and Spot jumps up from his seat behind the desk. A few minutes later, Esther Jacobs walks out of the bedroom with a bundle of white blankets in her arms and hands it to Spot.
Jack and Race walk over just as Spot sees the baby boy's face. "Spot, I would like you to meet your son, Anthony James." Spot wipes tears from his eyes as he looks into his son's sky blue pools of innocence.
Race smiles as one of Anthony's tiny hands wraps around his finger. "dis one's gotta good grip on him, Spot. Ya did well."
Jack smiles as he holds him. "He's so tiny. Is dat normahl?"
"Of coise it's normuhl Jack. He is a baby." Mush laughs softly and gently touches the baby's soft hair, "He's got Spot's eyes and Kit's hair."
When the boys head up to the bunkroom, Spot walks into the bedroom holding Anthony in his arms. "Hey Sweets, how ya feel?" He lays the baby boy in his mother's arms and pushes a lock of hair behind Jess's ear.
"Tired. Exhausted. Geez, I could sleep for a week." Spot smiles as she yawns. "He's a beutahfuhl li'l boy"
"Just loik his mudder." Spot kisses her forehead, takes the baby over to the bassinette at the end of the room, and lays it down. "I t'ink our whole family could use some rest." He walks back over and lies down next to Kit. "Sleep tight, Dollface" He waits for the playful smack from Kit but looks down to see her already curled up next to him, asleep, and this is how it would be for the rest of his life. He would sleep by the woman he loved while surrounded by his family.
As March begins Kit finds it hard to get around. The baby is due in the middle of April so time is running out fast to get everything put together. With the help of Sarah and Esther Jacobs, the boys build a nursery out of the sick room. The sick room is a small room upstairs with only one twin size bed, a sink and a closet in it. The boys remove the twin size bed and replace it with a handmade bassinette and rocking chair. Sarah and Esther decorate it with handmade quilts and other baby things they have made.
Kit walks to Tibby's at lunch and is greeted with warm smiles. Mush and Race help her sit down, her swollen abdomen making it hard to sit down on her own.
Race frown at her, "Why'd you walk down here, Kit?"
"Because me and my son are hungry, that's why." She places a hand on her belly and smiles, "besides, it gets lonely at home, wit' out all you'se dere."
Spot walks into Tibby's smiling and then he sees Kit, "I thought I told you to stay at home. You can't just go." he looks at Kit puzzled as she takes his hand and places it on her stomach. Spot jumps as he feels it move.
"He's kicking. Your son is hungry." Kit smiles.
Spot kneels down beside his wife with amazement, "dat's him? Kicking?" Spot stands quickly and orders her some food.
***
Race walks into the bunkroom and finds Kit holding her back as she reaches up to grab a dirty shirt off of a high shelf. He rushes forward and snatches the shirt down, scowling at Kit, "Are you trying to kill yourself?"
Kit just looks at him sheepishly, "I didn' t'ink it was dat high."
Race rolls his eyes at her, takes her hand and walks her over to a nearby bunk. "Sit" He watches her hold her back in pain as she struggles to sit down. "What's wroing?" He helps her sit down gently on the soft mattress.
"Nuttin' my back jus' hoits, along wit' my swollen feet and ceaseless headache."
Race smiles at her sympathetically and takes off the soft leather shoes encasing her small feet. He gently massages them as he talks to her, "Have you decided on a name?"
"Well, since it is goin' ta be a boy, we have decided on Anthony James. But if it was a mistake and da baby is really a goil, it will be Samantha Rose."
"Those are great names."
"Race, how would feel about bein' da Godfadder to our baby? Along wit' all da udda boys dat I grew up wit'. Ya know loik Jack, Blink, Mush, Skittery and Tip o' coise from Brooklyn. All da boys around mine and Spot's age."
Race almost explodes in happiness, "I would be honor'd Kit."
"Well, I'm glad. C'mon, help me up. I need ta start cookin' dinna."
***
Spot finally got a job at The Journal as a headline writer.
Spot and the boys are sitting in Tibby's the Wednesday of the second week in April, just talking and eating dinner before heading back to the lodging house. Kit, being heavily pregnant, hasn't felt up to the task of cooking the boys' dinner lately.
"So Mush, you gotta a new goil." Blink calls out from across the table.
Mush just blushes and Race slaps him on the back. Mush recovers and smirks at Blink, "What about you and da Mayor's daughta?"
Blink laughs and looks at Spot. "How's Kit doin' Spot?"
"Good I hope, da baby's due any day now and I'm jus' waitin'. Nervoisly."
The boy's head back to the lodging house and sign in, leaving their five cents in a coffee can on the counter.
Kit kisses Spot as he walks into the kitchen, "Hey" Her voice sounding tired and strained.
Spot becomes instantly worried, "What's wrong, Sweets?"
"Nothing, your son is just kicking a lot, dats all." Kit grabs his hand and squeezes it as another contraction passes. "A lot."
Spot leads her over to their bed and helps her lay down. "Alroight, you stay heah and I'm gonna go toilk to da boys, ok?"
Spot races upstairs the minute he sees Kit is laying down on the bed comfortably. He slides into the bunkroom and over to Jack, "Sumt'in is wroing with Kit. She says da baby is kicking a lot. She seems like she's in a lot of pain."
Race sprints in to action and sends Snitch to fetch Mrs. Jacobs, Skittery to fetch some clean towels and Blink to put some water on the stove to boil.
***
Mrs. Jacobs walks briskly into the lodging house, Sarah tagging along behind her, and rushes right into the room that Jess is in.
Kit squeezes Spot's hand in pain as another contraction passes. Oh it hurts so badly. She breathes deeply and feels the sweat forming on her brow.
Mrs. Jacobs smiles and leans down to Kit, "You're going to have the baby now, Katherine."
Kit just winces as a small contraction passes through her tired body. She eventually nods and Sarah ushers Spot out into the lobby and calls out for towels and hot water.
***
Spot is escorted into the lobby just as Blink and Skittery go into the room carrying towels and a bowl of hot water.
The two boys are shoved right back out seconds later. All the boys are now down stairs, Race is smoking a cigar outside and Jack is sitting in a corner reading the afternoon newspaper. Spot, on the other hand, is pacing back and forth in front of the door, constantly stopping to look at the clock on the wall. Spot hears a scream emitted from inside the room and is about to bust down the door when Jack touches his shoulder.
"She's fine, I'm sure of it" Jack pulls Spot away from the door and leads him into the cool night air.
((
Three hours and thirty minutes later most of the boys have gone to bed. Jack, Race and Spot still sit in the lobby, waiting and praying. The wail of a baby is heard and Spot jumps up from his seat behind the desk. A few minutes later, Esther Jacobs walks out of the bedroom with a bundle of white blankets in her arms and hands it to Spot.
Jack and Race walk over just as Spot sees the baby boy's face. "Spot, I would like you to meet your son, Anthony James." Spot wipes tears from his eyes as he looks into his son's sky blue pools of innocence.
Race smiles as one of Anthony's tiny hands wraps around his finger. "dis one's gotta good grip on him, Spot. Ya did well."
Jack smiles as he holds him. "He's so tiny. Is dat normahl?"
"Of coise it's normuhl Jack. He is a baby." Mush laughs softly and gently touches the baby's soft hair, "He's got Spot's eyes and Kit's hair."
When the boys head up to the bunkroom, Spot walks into the bedroom holding Anthony in his arms. "Hey Sweets, how ya feel?" He lays the baby boy in his mother's arms and pushes a lock of hair behind Jess's ear.
"Tired. Exhausted. Geez, I could sleep for a week." Spot smiles as she yawns. "He's a beutahfuhl li'l boy"
"Just loik his mudder." Spot kisses her forehead, takes the baby over to the bassinette at the end of the room, and lays it down. "I t'ink our whole family could use some rest." He walks back over and lies down next to Kit. "Sleep tight, Dollface" He waits for the playful smack from Kit but looks down to see her already curled up next to him, asleep, and this is how it would be for the rest of his life. He would sleep by the woman he loved while surrounded by his family.