Her doctor had been right.
Sandra had been trained as a nurse and could be clinical when it came to any other woman who was expecting, but when it came to her own condition she was anything but. It didn't help that Danny was worried because the farther along she got she was still ill, though it didn't seem to be as bad.
She couldn't convince Danny of that though. She talked to her doctor about it and he reminded her that first time fathers were generally more nervous than first time mothers. They didn't know what their wives were going through and often times couldn't help. She began to feel that it frustrated him more than he would admit because he didn't want to worry her with his worry.
She was on the telephone one evening with her mother in early March and she had just begun her fourth month. She hadn't started to show yet but she had started to get a little thick around the middle and Red would joke with her that she had gained some weight since she and Danny had gotten married.
"I know Danny worries honey, but that's because he loves you." Margaret O'Connell advised her daughter from Ohio. "How are you feeling?"
"I feel fine Mom. I'm not as sick as I was a month ago and I'm not as tired either." Sandra told her.
"That's good. You seem to like that doctor of yours."
She smiled. "I really do. He's got this calmness about him where he can explain a situation and not make you want to panic. Danny likes him too because he's so straightforward."
"It makes sense when you think about it because that husband of yours is a very straightforward young man. And your dad likes him." She commented.
"He said as much to me. They got along at Thanksgiving and he seemed to fit in with the rest of the family, too." Sandra smiled.
Her mother laughed. "That's because they know a keeper when they see one."
She smiled back. "It seems so odd that after waiting for so long to get married, everything seems to be moving so fast."
"And I know the baby came a little sooner than you had planned."
Sandra nodded. "So much for our grand plan of being alone for awhile."
"Are you having regrets about this?" Her mother sounded worried.
"Oh gosh no! This little one is coming much sooner than we had anticipated but it's not unwelcome." She felt the need to explain.
"Just remember that I'm just a telephone call away." She reminded her daughter.
"I wish you were closer though." Sandra sighed.
"I know honey, I do to. But you've got your husband and that's all that really matters."
"That's not quite what I meant." She frowned.
"I know what you meant Sandra and if it ever gets to be too much for you, I'll be on the next flight out to Hawaii. All right?"
Sandra nodded because she had a sudden urge to cry. "I miss you Mom." It came out in a whisper.
"I miss you too honey."
And then she did cry.
Her mother tried to calm her over the telephone but it didn't work; she cried even harder. She didn't hear Danny come in or feel him slip the receiver out of her hand. "She misses you somethin' fierce and I wish there were somethin' I could do to help." She heard him tell her mother. "I'll have her call you right back I promise." She heard before he set the receiver in the cradle and sat down next to her. She felt her hand in his gentle grasp and a kiss on her cheek. "Honey, why don't we just have your mama come out here for awhile. I know that would help you feel better."
Sandra looked at him and tried to smile. He took her glasses off before he got a handkerchief out of his pocket and dried her eyes. "Thank you." She whispered. "As much as I would like to have her here now, she's already said that she would come out when the baby got here to help me. I can't ask her to do that twice."
"Why not? She's your mama and you need her." He frowned.
She did smile then. "But Dad needs her too and she's already told him that she'd be back here for at least two weeks."
"And I seem to remember her tellin' you that she'd be here if you needed her; at any time." He added for emphasis.
"Danny, it costs money to fly and my parents aren't made of money."
"Who is honey? But havin' a son in law who is a military pilot, I could probably swing her a ride on a transport. If you wanted me too."
"You would do that for me?" She asked.
"I'd do anythin' for you Sandra; you should have figured that out by now." He grinned at her before he kissed her cheek again. "If you want your mama here, we'll get her here."
"But that would mean that she would have to leave Daddy alone and he'd miss her as much as I do." She smiled back at him.
"I think your daddy would understand." He said.
Sandra let out a shaky sigh. "As tempting as that is, there will come a point that I'm really going to need her and this isn't that point. I can talk to her every night and it's almost as good as having her here."
Danny didn't look convinced. "Are you sure about this?"
"I'm sure. I miss my parents a lot sometimes and now with the baby coming I miss them more."
He frowned again. "Why didn't you ever tell me that? We could have stayed with your folks longer than we did at Thanksgivin'."
"Danny, they understood that we didn't have a lot of time. And as far as us staying longer, you know that we couldn't have done that. We were lucky as it was that you got any leave at all because we had already planned on Christmas in Tennessee. And it isn't as though we didn't stop for a couple of days on our way home."
He nodded. "Your right honey. I just don't like to see you so unhappy."
She leaned over and kissed his cheek. "And I love you for trying to cheer me up, but I'm feeling better now." And she smiled at him. "I guess this is something we get to look forward to."
"As long as you don't make me sleep on the sofa, I can handle it." He grinned at her and squeezed her hand before he got up. "I'm goin' to get cleaned up for supper. Why don't you call your mama back and let her know you're all right. She sounded real worried before she hung up."
Sandra nodded before he walked down the hallway toward their bedroom and she leaned over to pick up the receiver from the side table. She dialed and waited for her mother to pick it up. "Hi Mom."