Chapter Six
By the time I reached that hospital, Tommy, Jamie, and Simon were all in the lobby waiting for us. They took us into Room 302, where Sadie lay on her bed, flipping through a magazine. Then she let out a pained groan and threw the Instyle at Simon, who ducked. The magazine hit the wall with a loud smack!
"Contractions." He said, sounding amused.
"ShitFuckDamnHell." Sadie yelled.
"That was nice." Jamie said with a nod of his head.
"Whew!" Sadie sighed, then smiled sweetly, "Hi, everybody."
We all greeted her with our very own greetings. She was congenial to all, including Tommy. Sadie and Tommy had dated briefly. Very briefly. They had gone to Italy together, but it was miserable for her because, in her exact words, "That man is was too obsessed with you. He just needs to bone you and get over it." Naturally, after she told me that I was in shock. For one, she used some very colorful language. But I was also very in love with Ryland at that point, though I did feel some satisfaction at that knowledge.
A nurse entered the room, check Sadie's many monitors, her dilation level, and left. A tray passer entered the room a second later, brought in Sadie's meal, and left just as quickly as the nurse. My sister ate little as the contractions grew with intensity. Then, it was time.
The doctor and the nurse came in and made us all get into scrubs. Sadie's dilation was checked and the doctor nodded to the nurse. They wheeled Sadie out of her room and to the delivery room. Sadie's feet were propped in stirrups and the birthing process began.
I stood on the left side with Tommy while Kat and Jamie stood on the right side. Simon was moving all around coaching and watching as Sadie pushed and groaned. I saw Simon remove a slim digital camera from his back pocket and had it ready to go. Sadie, on the other, hand wasn't very happy with anything. She began to scream at Simon, which was a typical thing in the delivery room.
"And, I swear, Simon, if you even think about taking pictures, I will cut off your balls in your sleep!" she was yelling.
I glanced over at Simon, who tucked the camera back into his pocket, obeying his wife's command. Smart choice.
Almost two hours later, the pair's baby girl was brought into the world. I watched at the shrieking little infant was carried over the cleaning station by the nurse and cleaned off. Simon went to her and took her right hand and kissed her on the lips gently. When they broke apart, I smiled down at Sadie, who was sagging in relief. I took her left hand and squeezed it gently.
"Congratulations." I murmured, "You did great."
"Thanks." She whispered, smiling weakly.
"Well, mom," the nurse addressed Sadie, "would you like to hold your baby girl?"
"No." Sadie replied with a small smile.
We all stopped and stared at her. Seeing all of our confused expressions, she continued:
"I want Jude to hold her." Her eyes met mine in silent communication.
Instantly, I understood and tears filled my eyes. After I miscarried, the doctor informed me that it was likely that I could never carry a baby to full term. Therefore, it would be nearly impossible to have a child on my own. Sadie had been there for me when I got the news. She held me in her arms as I cried, simply being there without needing to say anything.
The nurse made her way to me and placed the newborn in my arms. The baby's skin was still tinged red and her wide, bright green eyes stared up at me with complete, unconditional trust. My heart squeezed and the tears fell down my cheeks.
"Hi, there." I cooed, "Hi. I'm your Auntie Jude."
The baby blinked at me and yawned. In that instant, she stole my heart. I'm going to spoil you rotten . I thought with a smile. She made a few cute little baby noises and, with great reluctance, I handed the baby to Sadie, who began to baby talk instantly. Simon joined in and I literally stepped back and watched the happy couple.
Tommy came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. I smiled at him and leaned against him.
"Do you have a name yet?" Kat asked.
"Yup." Sadie replied, looking from Kat to Simon.
Simon smiled and answered, "Vanessa Josephine Vernetilli."
"Have you told Dad that yet?" I asked.
Sadie looked at me, slightly puzzled.
"You broke the tradition Sadie; dad's going to be sad…Vanessa isn't a Beatles' song." I told her, knowing our parents, in particular our dad, had named us both from a Beatles' song.
Sadie laughed softly. "Someone had to do it."