Ch. 18: A Family is Formed (Cal's POV)
April 1916
Cal couldn't believe again how time quickly goes by. It seemed like yesterday that he and Abby had gotten married and now their first child was due any day.
Cal couldn't help but love his beautiful wife. Abby was already beautiful, but it seemed that the pregnancy made her even more beautiful. Everyone commented how lovely Abby looked, although Abby would laugh and said she felt like a whale as her stomach kept growing. It was getting harder for her to move around the house, and she was glad she was in the final stages of her pregnancy.
Cal did his best to keep Abby comfortable; he made sure Nadine kept an eye on Abby, so she wouldn't overwork herself. In the mornings, Cal would help Abby get out of bed and he even helped her put on her slippers as it was getting hard for Abby to reach her feet. Abby loved how attentive Cal was being, but warned him to not go overboard. She still wanted some sense of independence.
The couple had gone through a lot of changes in a short time; after Ruth Dewitt-Bukator's visit and the revelation about what really happened on Titanic, the young couple had come to an agreement to be honest with each other. Abby promised to keep the story to herself, and she promised that she wouldn't tell Nathan that she knew the truth. She agreed to keep quiet since she didn't want to cause any more problems between the father and son. Cal and Nathan still butted heads on occasion; the older man still wasn't keen on letting go of his power. Cal, on the other hand, had grown into his new role taking over Hockley Steel. Cal had faced some resistance due to his past actions, but the workers were now beginning to admire and respect him. The workers finally could see that Cal was a changed man, and had become a very different person from his father.
The press immediately started writing about the couple as soon as Abby's pregnancy was noticeable. Abby did not really appreciate the intrusion, but luckily the reporters haven't been around lately as the attention started shifting more towards the Great War. Many Americans did not want to be dragged into the war, but the tide was shifting. Abby was just grateful that Cal was now considered too old for military service; Cal was still very youthful, but had started getting more gray hairs due to the stress of his job.
Abby thoroughly enjoyed doing all the preparations for the arrival of the baby. She turned the spare bedroom across from her and Cal's bedroom into a lovely nursery. Nadine happily agreed to help Abby with the baby, although Abby insisted she wanted to be the one mainly caring for her child. Abby prayed that she would have a safe delivery; her mother had nearly died giving birth to her brother, despite having a rather uncomplicated pregnancy. That was one of her worst fears; that she would die in childbirth and leave Cal all alone to raise their child.
It was a quiet night, and Cal had finally managed to get the crib set up in their bedroom. Cal had struggled piecing everything together, and finally had to call his manservant to help him. As Cal finally sat down on the bed next to her, Abby teasingly said to him, "Well, I'm glad that we finally got the crib set up in our room. It took you long enough."
Cal said, "It was not my fault! That infernal thing has way too many pieces." Abby joked and said, "You run a company; you are not a handyman. But I'm glad that you wanted to do fix the crib for the baby."
Cal smiled and said, "It was the least I could do; after all you are doing all the hard work." Abby said, "Yes; and don't you forget it. I'm happy that I'm having a child, but this child has done a number on my body. I can't wait till the baby is finally here!"
Cal noticed that Abby was rubbing her back and gently asked, "Darling, is your back bothering again?" Abby sighed and said, "Unfortunately yes. And my ankles feel swollen again. I could live without these symptoms of pregnancy." Cal gently turned towards Abby and softly began to massage her aching back and said, "I'm sorry you're feeling miserable. I wish I could take that pain away from you."
Abby was grateful for the massage and said, "At least I'm no longer having the morning sickness. That was awful!" Cal said, "God, yes. I hated seeing you so sick! I just don't like to see you suffer." Abby said, "Cal, this is only the beginning. I still have to go through the pain of giving birth." Cal said, "Abby, after our baby is born, do you want to have more children? We never got to really talk about when we wanted to start a family before all this happened."
Abby smiled and said, "For now, this child would be enough for me. But I'm not opposed to having more children; I would like to wait a while after this pregnancy. This one was quite the surprise, so I want to wait before expanding our family." Cal said, "I agree; we'll have to be careful since you did get pregnant so quickly." Abby laughed and said, "I know. But I don't regret this baby; I already love him or her very much."
Cal smiled and said, "If we have a girl, I hope she is as beautiful as you." Abby said, "I don't know why, but I feel that we are having a boy. I want him to look exactly like his father; with some of my looks thrown in." Cal laughed and said, "Boy or girl, I will be happy no matter what. All I want is a healthy child with you." Abby said, "I'm glad you feel that way. Nathan told me he really wants a grandson; he doesn't want a granddaughter yet. He feels that the firstborn should always be a boy. I told him that no matter what this child will be considered the first-born heir."
Cal said, "Ugh, I told my father not to bother you with that nonsense, but he keeps telling me that if this child is a girl, she better not be in line to be my successor in the company. I told him to shove it; if I end up with a daughter that has a knack for business and wants to join the company I'll let her. Times are changing, and I feel our company should go with the times."
Abby said, "What brought this on?" Cal said, "Actually it was Rose; Rose had wanted to go to university to expand her education, but I refused. I'm not going to do that to my daughter. I don't want my daughter to feel trapped, like Rose did."
Abby smiled and said, "Well, no matter what, this child is going to be loved. I'm glad you are not opposed to having a daughter. In the matters of education, I don't want to send our children off to boarding school. I rather have them at home; my mother sent me to finishing school in England, and although I loved it I missed home."
Cal said, "Well, there are plenty of great private schools here. I'm not opposed to sending our children to local schools. They deserve a quality education if they are going to attend Harvard one day." Abby laughed and said, "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. You just want our children to attend your alma mater." The couple laughed, and decided to turn in for the night.
Over the next several weeks, the house was finally ready to welcome the new baby. Abby was more than ready for the birth; she felt that her stomach had grown even bigger as she got closer to her due date. Cal had now begun taking shorter workdays so he could be at Abby's side once she went into labor. The doctor had told Abby that the pregnancy was coming along beautiful; he was more than confident that Abby was going to give birth to a healthy child. He warned her to take things easy, as he felt that she could give birth any day now.
The day that Abby finally went into labor started out normal. Cal had helped her get out of bed, and they ate breakfast together before he headed off to work. Abby had complained that her lower back was bothering her, but shrugged it off. Cal was concerned, but Abby did promise that she would keep an eye on the pain. Nadine promised that if anything changed, that she would notify Cal and the doctor.
Abby decided to sit in the living room and do some reading, but as she sat on the sofa the pain in her back slowly began to intensify. She was feeling odd; she just couldn't get comfortable. By the late afternoon, Nadine saw that the young woman appeared to be quite uncomfortable, and started to think that her mistress could be in the beginning stages of labor. Abby insisted that she was okay, but Nadine insisted that she should go lie down.
Abby decided not to argue, and began her way up the stairs to her bedroom. Suddenly Abby stopped in her tracks; her pains had intensified, and she felt her water break. Nadine had been discreetly following her mistress and heard Abby's gasp of pain, and immediately ran to her side. The young maid quickly helped Abby into bed, and rushed off to call the doctor and Cal.
Within the hour, both Cal and the doctor arrived. The doctor and his midwife immediately took over; Cal wanted to stay by Abby's side, but the midwife quickly told him no! The midwife was shocked as most men did not stay in the room while their wives gave birth. Abby was touched, but she didn't want Cal to see her in that much pain. She wished her mother was there; but then Cal asked if his mother could keep Abby company during the birth. The doctor and the midwife agreed, so Cal went to call Elizabeth.
Elizabeth Hockley quickly agreed to be Abby's support, and rushed off to her son's home. Elizabeth arrived to find a rather nervous Cal pacing in the living room. Elizabeth couldn't help but let out a small chuckle as she said, "Cal, calm down. Abby is going to be fine… I swear I did not expect you to be acting this way."
Cal said, "Very funny Mother; I'm glad that you are here. I wanted to stay with Abby, but the doctor and midwife kicked me out of the room." Elizabeth said, "Cal, you are already nervous. A nervous father is no help while their wife is giving birth. Usually the woman has her mother by her side, but Francine is in Boston. I'm so glad that you called me; I was not going to leave poor Abby all alone. Cal, I promise I will stay by Abby's side until that precious baby is finally born." Cal managed to give his mother a warm smile and said, "Thank you Mother; I know I'll feel better knowing that you are the one with Abby while she gives birth." Elizabeth gave her son a hug, and then made her way upstairs to be at her daughter-in-law's side.
Several hours passed, and Cal only grew anxious as he heard Abby's pained moans and screams as the labor progressed. He could only pray that his wife and child were okay, and was hoping to hear the baby's cries instead of his wife in extreme pain. Finally, he heard one final cry from Abby, and then heard a distinct baby's cry! He was overjoyed… their baby was finally here! He was about to head upstairs, when his mother came down to talk to him.
Cal said, "I heard the baby crying. How is Abby and the baby?" Elizabeth smiled and said, "Abby is exhausted, but doing beautifully. She gave birth to a beautiful baby boy! Cal, you have a son! Congratulations!" Cal couldn't help his smile as he said, "I have a son; I can't believe I'm now a father."
Elizabeth said, "It was a rough labor for Abby, so she might be sleeping. But go see your wife and son." Cal didn't need to be told twice, and immediately headed to his bedroom to see his wife and newborn son.
He knocked on the door, and was met by the doctor. The doctor smiled and said, "Come on in, Mr. Hockley. We just finished cleaning everything up, and the mother and baby are resting." Cal said, "So they are both fine." The midwife smiled and said, "Yes, Mr. Hockley. Abby did have a rather tiring delivery, but with some rest she'll be fine. Congratulations on your son; he's a strong, healthy boy."
Cal smiled when he heard his wife's tired voice say, "He's a Hockley; he's going to be strong and stubborn like his father." Cal quickly went to Abby's side, and the doctor said, "Well, Mr. and Mrs. Hockley, congratulations on your newborn son. I'll be back tomorrow to check on the mother and baby, but don't be afraid to call me if anything changes."
The couple nodded, while the doctor and midwife proceeded to leave the room. Abby smiled and said, "Cal, go see your son." Cal said, "Are you sure? Don't you want to hold him?" Abby laughed and said, "Cal, I already held him. I can't believe how precious he is; wait till you see him. There is no denying that he is a Hockley." Cal made his way to the crib, and finally got to see his son. The baby boy was fast asleep, but there was no denying that child was his. He did see that his son had inherited his mother's shade of brown hair, and was curious to see what other features the baby had inherited. Cal gently took the baby out of the crib; pleased that the baby didn't stir. Cal was overcome with love for his child; he still couldn't believe that he was now a father.
He then went back to the bed, where Abby had managed to make herself more comfortable. Cal said, "You were right, darling. He's adorable… god I can't believe that this is our son." Abby said, "I know… I wish he had inherited more from me… he inherited my shade of brown hair and my eyes. He's like a miniature you." Cal laughed and said, "Well then, hopefully when we have a daughter she will look like you."
Abby said, "He's barely been born, but I already adore this little boy. He needs a good name." Cal said, "Definitely. I've been giving it a lot of thought. The tradition in my family is that the first-born male's middle name is the same as his father's name, which is why my middle name is Nathan." Abby smiled and said, "I like that, but what about his first name?"
Suddenly the name came to Cal. Cal said, "Actually I'd like to name him Jackson Caledon Hockley. We can call him Jack for short." Abby gasped in surprise and said, "Are you sure? That means that your son's nickname would be same as the man who was your rival. I thought you hated Jack Dawson." Cal said, "Even though Jack and I were rivals, he was a good man. I think we could have been friends, if we hadn't been in love with the same woman. I don't know why, but I feel like I need to honor the man for loving Rose in a way I couldn't." Abby smiled and said, "You know, he does look like a Jack. The name suits him perfectly."
Jackson Caledon Hockley was born on April 25, 1916, and quickly become the light of the Hockley household. Cal knew that it was the right name for his son… it meant that he had not only forgiven Jack, but that he had fully made peace with his past. Abby was proud of Cal; she knew that Cal's past had weighed heavily on his soul, but with the birth of their son Cal was finally able to let go of all that pain and regret. The first weeks were rough for the young couple, but they quickly adjusted to being new parents. Cal was amazed seeing his wife as a mother; Abby quickly took to motherhood, and Cal loved seeing her interact with Baby Jack. Cal did his best to help his wife with the baby whenever he was home, which Abby greatly appreciated.
Abby also loved seeing Cal as a father; it brought out a softer, kinder side to him that she had never seen before. One evening Cal had offered to watch the baby while she did some work in the office. She returned to the bedroom, to find Cal and the baby sound asleep in the recliner. Abby smiled seeing the two together; it was a sweet moment seeing her husband and baby that way.
Cal hadn't been this happy in a long time; it felt like his life had finally gotten in order. He still felt that he didn't deserve to be this happy; he could only hope that his happiness would last for a long time.