Chapter Thirteen: 40 Weeks
Between cracking eggs, Beth called out, "Rio, what do you want to drink with your omelet?"
Instead of answering her, from inside of the closet where he was getting dressed, he yelled his own question to Marcus. "What'd she juice for you this morning, Pop?"
"I don't know. But it kind of tastes like horchata!""It's sweet potato, pear, and cinnamon," Beth informed him as Rio stepped out of the walk-in and approached the kitchen where she was cooking and Marcus was sitting at the counter, eating his own breakfast already. "I grilled some peaches and drizzled them with a raspberry vinaigrette for Marcus' lunch, so I didn't want something with too much sugar.""Nah, you got that covered with these Italian horn pastries," Rio teased, snatching a cornetto filled with apple butter and sprinkled with powdered sugar off of the counter and immediately biting into the treat."A boy only has his first day of third grade once, Rio!"
Smirking, he teased both Beth and his son, "let's hope, yeah?" Then, coming around the counter, Rio stood behind her while she started to whisk the eggs. "And that's a hard pass for me on the sweet potato juice, Ma."
"You know, it's sad when the child is more open minded and willing to try new things than the father."
He wrapped his arms low -
really low - around her middle. Luckily, the cabinets and range would prevent Marcus from seeing where his Dad was… holding her. "Oh, you know I'll try anythin' you want, Sweetheart."
Unimpressed, Beth replied dryly, "I'm talking about food."
Positioning his chin on her shoulder so he could whisper in her ear, Rio promised, "let me eat or drink it off of you, and I'll have a real open mind. It's all about the presentation, Baby." As Beth moved towards the stove to pour the eggs in the already greased and warmed pan, she didn't break Rio's grip. In fact, he just moved with her, but he did loosen his embrace enough so that she could easily cook. She nearly dropped the spatula, though, when he practically simpered, "but you know my favorite juice is yours. I'll just have a few sips of that every mornin', yeah?"
"So, Marcus," Beth spoke loudly, thoroughly putting at least a pause on Rio's seductions. "Are salami, oven-roasted tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil keeper fillings?"
Marcus almost always ate whatever Beth put in front of him, but he, of course, had his preferences. He was also, given his age, oddly good at reviewing food constructively. "It's good," he told her, looking up from his nearly empty plate with a bright smile on his face. "But I think pepperoni would be better."
"Pop just wants you to make him pizza for breakfast," Rio interpreted. Shrugging, Marcus didn't deny the charge. "It's a good thing he eats at his Moms more than he does here, though, 'cause I just bought him new clothes for school, and I'd like 'em to last at least a coupla months before he outgrows everythin' again."
While Beth loosened the edges of the eggs, she dropped her face down so that her hair could hide her blushing cheeks. Marcus wasn't the only one who was eating more, eating better, now that she and Rio were dating. When Beth had gotten dressed that morning, she had noticed that her favorite jeans had felt a little snug, opting to go with a casual dress instead. Although she had always enjoyed cooking, after Kensley moved out, Beth didn't have anyone to cook for, and it felt strange to make herself elaborate meals. With Rio and Marcus in her life now, not only did they cook with her, but they cared just as much about her eating and enjoying the food they made together as she did for them. If the fit of her pants was anything to judge by, even with the additional… physical activities she now participated in on the regular, the increased attention to her diet was obviously having an impact.
"Speakin' of clothes," Rio tugged at the side of her dress. "You a little overdressed, Ma. Pop's the one with a dress code, not you."
They might have been living together, but there was no need for Beth to overshare the romance right out of their relationship. So, she kept the reasoning behind her outfit to herself and simply demurred, "you look nice, too." Rio was sporting his usual getup: dark jeans, dark t-shirt, converse. "Pass me the fillings, please?"
As he responded, teasing her, Rio handed her the ingredients for the omelet one small bowl at a time. "You ain't nervous or somethin', are you, Darlin'? We're just signin' a form and lettin' the school put a face to your name."
With Beth now a relatively permanent fixture in Marcus' life, it was decided that she should be added to the approved pick-up list at Marcus' school. She and Rio used Labor Day - the fact that it was often referred to as Labor Day
Weekend and because Tia Jenn hosted a picnic - to extend their time with the eight year old, and then they used the excuse that, if they were already going into the school to fill out paperwork for Beth, then they should just take Marcus with them, getting to have Rio's son overnight before his first day of third grade. Marcus had been excited to turn what was supposed to be two nights and two days into four nights and three days, but Beth thought that might have had something to do with her cooking him breakfast and packing his lunch. She admittedly went a little overboard, showing her affection through food… as her favorite jeans and the fact that she wasn't wearing them could attest."Of course, I'm not nervous," Beth denied, folding the eggs in half to encase the salami, tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil. "You do remember that I am no stranger to schools, right? Because I have a daughter: Kensley, a twenty-two year old graduate of not just elementary school but also middle school, high school, and college.""You wear dresses, make fancy Italian pastries, and pack gourmet lunches on her first days of school, too?""Considering the fact that I usually dropped her off before heading into work, yes… until she asked me not to pack her lunch any longer," Beth replied both primly (in response to Rio's attitude) but also sadly as she recalled Kensley eventually becoming embarrassed by almost everything about her Mom but especially the meals she made her.
Through a mouthful of cornetto, Marcus reassured her, "don't worry, Beth, I'll never ask you to stop making me food!" Beth flashed the little boy a warm, grateful smile and then shooed Rio to the other side of the island, putting his plated omelet down in front of him once he had taken a seat on a stool beside his son. "Daddy, you should see what Beth made me for lunch!"
Grumbling, Rio said, "I'm hopin' she gives me a special lunch, too. It's my first day with a kid in the third grade, you know."
Ignoring his Dad, Marcus gushed, "there's chicken on sticks with tiki dipping sauce."
Beth translated, "greek lemon chicken, zucchini, and tomato kabobs with tzatziki."
"Bright green noodles," the little boy continued. It was actually spinach and pistachio pesto pasta, but Beth would allow him to enjoy his colorful food without realizing that he was eating yet even more vegetables. "The peaches she already told you about, and she made me these sticky, honey cookies. I get one of them in my lunch, and the rest she's sending home with me for Mommy's house. What are they called again, Beth?""Melomakaronas.""Yeah," Marcus giggled. "What she said.""You let his Moms know to be on the lookout for these cookies, so someone," Rio paused to tickle his son, "doesn't eat 'em all before he gets home later?""I texted Rhea," Beth assured him."Daddy?"
Eyeing the eight year old warily out of the corner of his eyes and with a forkful of food stalled before his mouth, Rio asked, "Pop?"
"How are you going to introduce Beth today to everyone at school?"
Rio and Beth exchanged confused glances. "By her name, yeah?"
But Marcus wasn't satisfied with that answer. "No, I mean, what as. Are you going to tell everyone that she's your girlfriend?""I guess?""Because everyone will want to know." The eight year old wasn't wrong about that. "And what am I supposed to call Beth when people ask me about her? She's not my girlfriend.""Damn right, kid. Don't you be poachin' my girl neither.""Daddy, be serious," Marcus chastised his father, making Beth bite her bottom lip so as not to laugh at the entire conversation."A'ight. No more teasin'," Rio agreed. Narrowing his eyes in suspicion, he prompted, "it sounds to me like you already got somethin' in mind that you wanna call Elizabeth.""Well, it would be easier if I could tell my teachers and all of my friends that she's my stepmom.""Right, right," Rio nodded along, making Beth gasp in shock. "That would be easier.""Better, too," Marcus added."So, whatcha say, Mama?" Before the question had completely left Rio's mouth, both he and his son spun around on their stools to give Beth the biggest, brownest puppy dog eyes ever."That… that is not a proposal!," Beth protested vehemently.
Chin in hand and elbow on the counter, smirking, Rio argued with her. "It kind of is."
"No, there is no 'kind of' when you propose. You either propose, or you don't propose.""Well, then, I'm proposin'." Rio started to stand, warning her, "what'll I gotta do to convince you I'm bein' serious, Sweetheart? Want me to get down on my knees?""It's just one, actually," Beth corrected him. But she didn't think Rio on his knees in front of her while his son watched was a very good idea, so she shut that down. "And of course not.""You need a ring?""Daddy has lots of rings, Beth. If you said yes, I know he'd let you wear one.""I don't need or want a ring. I just..." she started to explain what she was thinking and feeling at that moment… only for Rio to cut her off."Oh, if we get married, you'll definitely be wearin' my ring.""That will go both ways," Beth warned.
Rio was quick to counter, "that a yes, then?"
Tilting her head to the side as she observed him closely, Beth sought further confirmation. "This is really something you want?"
"I wouldn't have asked you otherwise, Darlin'.""Technically, you haven't yet," she primly pointed out.
Instead of responding, though, Rio looked at his son, nodded, and then winked. Apparently, taking that as his cue… and proving that the entire conversation was obviously something the two of them had planned together, Marcus climbed off of his stool, ran around the counter, and stopped only once he was standing directly in front of Beth. He looked up at her with imploring eyes and beseeched, "will you please marry my Daddy?"
"That's not fair!," Beth contended. "You know I can't say no to those dimples.""Then don't," Rio told her.
Like it was that simple.
Like he and Marcus were just asking her for an extra cookie.
Like they weren't suggesting all three of them permanently change their lives.
Like it was even really a question.
"It'll take a few days," Beth informed both Garza boys. "So, you'll have to settle for introducing me as your Dad's fiancée today at school.""You wanna plan somethin'?""What, no," Beth denied. "I just thought we'd elope. Do you?""Nah, Mami. As long as I got you and Pop's there, that's all I want. But you said you'd need some time…?," he reminded her."I don't need three days; the state of Michigan requires it between applying for a marriage license and actually getting married.""How you know that," Rio questioned her. Then, smirking, he asked, "wait, you weren't plannin' on poppin' the question to me, were you?"
Shaking her head in disbelief and negation, Beth said, "sometimes, I think you forget that I've been married before.
"You have?!" Now, it was Marcus' turn to be shocked."Yes, Honey," she answered the little boy. "A long time ago, I was married to Kensley's father.""Oh. Yeah. That makes sense," Marcus told her. Then, not even a second later, he asked, "did he die?""The world ain't that lucky, kid.""Rio, stop!," Beth admonished, though her words and her tone really lacked any heat. Directly addressing Marcus, she informed him, "no, Kensley's father is still alive. We got divorced when she was a little girl."
Completely disinterested in her former marriage and her ex-husband - and, really, who could blame him?, Marcus changed the topic. "Should we invite Kensley to the wedding, too?"
"I think…," Beth searched for something to say, "that it would be even more special if it was just the three of us - you, me, and your Dad. Because me marrying your Dad doesn't just make me your stepmom; it makes us a family.""Speakin' of family, why don't we have a party Friday night after the ceremony? We'll invite everyone. It'll be short notice, but we'll surprise announce us gettin' married to those who can make it, and those who come can surprise tell all the lameasses who stayed home."
Beth held out a hand for Rio to shake, playfully informing him, "I'll agree to your terms if this means I'll finally be able to cook for your family? You can consider it your wedding gift to me."
"Yeah, I'm gonna need somethin' a little more… personal from you for my present." Finally, the two of them clasped hands. It was less of a shake, though, and more of a sensual caress.
Breaking the moment, an excited Marcus asked, "do I get a present, too?"
"Yeah," Beth told him, bending over so she could look him directly in the eye. "You get another person in your life to tell you that it's time for you to brush your teeth, so you're not late for school.""You're silly, Beth," Marcus laughed before twirling around and practically launching himself towards the bathroom.
Once they were alone, Rio indicated that Beth should step around the counter. As soon as she was close enough, he shot his arm out and grabbed hold of her, tugging Beth onto his lap. "Your omelet got cold before you could eat it," she inanely pointed out.
Rio shrugged. "I'll warm it up later between rounds. I'm thinkin', after we drop Pop off at school, get you added to the pre-approved pick-up list, and hit up the county clerk's office, we come back here and fuck for three days straight. We ain't gonna be engaged long, so we gotta make the most of our time and have as much engagement sex as we can."
"And what about work?""Baby, we in charge, we work together, and it wouldn't be the first time we fucked at the office. Won't be the last neither. Consider it trainin'."
Aghast, Beth threatened, "that better not be some kind of joke about my new career!"
Rio threw his head back and laughed heartily. "Elizabeth, you a fuckin' trip, Ma. I was referrin' to the honeymoon."
"Rio, we can't take a vacation right now! I just bought into the business, we have events booked solid through the holidays, and I thought you said you wanted the food trucks up and running by the end of the month.""A'ight, fine. But if I'm not gettin' a honeymoon, there's something else I want from you instead," Rio negotiated. At her quirked, curious brow, Rio revealed, "you gonna take my name, become Elizabeth Garza?""My cursive capital G is extremely on point.""Well, that settles it, yeah," Rio said before threading one of his large, strong hands through her hair and tugging her mouth to his. Perhaps Beth's calligraphy skills settled the matter of her changing her name, but their kiss sealed the deal.
They were really getting married.
!
When Beth woke up on the morning of her forty week check-up, her due date, she just… knew. But she didn't say anything to Rio. In fact, she slipped out of bed as quietly as she could so as not to disturb him. Frankly, it was either a miracle she succeeded - given that her movements could more accurately be described as rolling and waddling rather than sitting up and walking - or evidence of just how exhausted Rio was after the move. It wasn't quite as important that he be well-rested to welcome their son or daughter into the world. After all, he wouldn't physically be laboring. But Beth was going to need his support and help more in the next few days than she had combined during the previous nine months of her pregnancy. If she could give him even a few extra hours of sleep, she would.
The first thing Beth did was put a load of laundry on to wash. The laundry room was far enough away and the appliances brand new, so she didn't need to worry that the sounds of the spin cycle would rouse Rio before his body told him that it was time to get up. It was amazing how, even before the baby arrived, it still seemed like the loads of laundry were never ending. Rio and Marcus, both quite active, were prone to making their fair share of dirty clothes, too, but because of moving into the new house the week before and Rio wanting to keep his new room a surprise, they had rearranged their schedule with Rhea, trading her their weekend for three of his spring break days. Yet, somehow, even without Marcus to help her in the kitchen and spill powdered sugar all down the front of his shirt or Marcus and Rio inevitably finding the biggest, messiest mud puddle while playing catch or practicing his kicks at the park, Beth still had more dirty laundry than ever.
She mentally made a note of when she started the load of towels before creeping - not out of stealth but out of caution - down the stairs and making her slow way towards the kitchen, sighing in contentment as soon as her hands touched the waterfall edge of her island countertop. It was her dream kitchen, and she had no doubt that it was one of the main reasons why Rio had selected the house for them. Big and bright with more storage than even she could fill - yet!, there was absolutely nothing that she would change about the space. It was both attractive and functional. Best of all, even before Rio added that second work kitchen to the basement, Beth could handle a lot of the catering right from home, getting to maximize her time as a mom and a professional.
At the moment, however, she wasn't concerned about cooking for other people. Instead, with the knowledge that their lunch date after her appointment that morning might be canceled and that breakfast could very well be the last meal she could eat for a couple of days, Beth set about making herself anything and everything she wanted… without making it obvious what she was doing. Until there was actionable progress… or Dr. Smythe blew her cover, Beth planned on keeping mum about the very, very early signs of labor that she was experiencing. Really, it was just mild back pain - a warning of the misery to come when her contractions increased in frequency and intensity once they moved around to the front of her body.
She didn't have time for yeast to work or for dough to prove and then rise, so none of her favorite breakfast pastries and sweets were an option. However, she had leftover brioche, and wasn't making French toast out of leftover brioche bread half the reason for either buying or making it in the first place? After throwing together a quick berry compote - they weren't local, but they were fresh - and whisking up a small batch of homemade whipped cream, it didn't take Beth long at all to batter and then fry herself a couple slices of French toast, dusting it with powdered sugar and adding her toppings.
Logically, she knew that she should add some protein to her breakfast, something that would give her more lasting energy, but after nine months of balanced meals, she just… didn't want anything else. She'd be good later, and she'd make herself a smoothie jam packed with practically every nutrient known to man, but for now, she'd just enjoy her French toast. She might even make herself a third piece, adding a little dark chocolate or maybe even nutella drizzle for added decadence.
In between bites, she took a look inside of her fridge, eyeing the meals she had made in advance - both for Rio while she was in the hospital and afterwards once they came home with the baby and neither of them wanted to take anymore time away from their family to cook something. Even just reheating would take too long. It was nice to see the reassuring sight of her hard work, but Beth was actually checking for any ingredients that needed to be used before they went bad. She noticed a few browning bananas (yes, she kept her bananas in the refrigerator, for she liked her fruit cold, not room temperature) in one of the crisper drawers. She could toss them into the freezer for later use, or she could throw together a quick loaf of banana bread.
The bread it was. Not because of work but because of who she was, Beth always had baking staples on hand: flour, sugar, vanilla; eggs, milk, oil. So, she didn't even check her recipe before lining a baking sheet and putting the bananas in at 200 degrees to force their ripening. Beth had a few go-to banana bread recipes: a classic, a more sophisticated dulce de leche offering with a coffee icing drizzle, and then Marcus' favorite with chocolate chips. Obviously, Beth elected to make the one her stepson loved. Everyone else would enjoy it, too, but it was just the smallest thing she could do to show him that, even when she was giving birth to his little brother or sister, she was still thinking about him as well, still (and always) loving him.
The bananas were cooling, so she could handle them when Beth's mental timer went off, and she made the crawling trip back upstairs to change the now clean but wet laundry to the dryer and put another load - one of delicates - in to wash. Beth made sure to hold onto the railing tightly with her right hand, while the left she held out at her side for balance. Though she didn't touch the wall, it was there should she need to steady herself. She was tempted to check in on Rio once she made it to the second floor, but he woke so easily, there was no way she'd be able to sneak out of their bedroom for a second time that morning. She didn't hear the shower running, which made her think that he was probably still asleep.
By the time Rio woke up, Beth had washed, dried, and put away what she could of three loads of laundry. The clothing and linens that went in the master closet and ensuite, respectively, were folded in a laundry basket outside of their bedroom. She also cleaned the downstairs powder room, washed up most of the dishes - she'd finish them after Rio ate breakfast, too, and scheduled someone to plow their driveway and shovel the walk while they were in the hospital. Even the banana bread was finished and cooling on the kitchen counter when Rio silently entered the room - a pair of track pants riding low on his hips and his upper body bare.
And it wasn't like Rio, even if he was tired, lazed away the morning in bed. It was barely 8:30 when he found her elbows deep in suds.
Rio was mid-scratch - his hand on his abdomen immediately drawing Beth's gaze - when he really took her and the state of the kitchen in, a scowl taking over his handsome features. "Yo, what the fuck's this?"
Inanely, Beth stated, "banana bread," like they both didn't know exactly what Rio was asking her. He wasn't concerned about what she had baked, though he would most definitely eat it; he was upset because it was obvious that she had been up for hours, that she had left him alone in their bed, and that she had been hard at work instead of taking it easy and relaxing. What Rio didn't understand was that, to Beth, it didn't matter how prepared she knew they were for the baby, because it felt like she'd never have enough time to accomplish everything that needed doing before bringing their son or daughter home from the hospital. Perhaps it was nesting, though if that was the case, Beth had an excellent argument against nesting only being something women did during pregnancy. More likely, it was just her personality.
"How long you been awake, Elizabeth?" Noting the station she had set up for the French toast ingredients, he must have changed his mind. "No, don't answer that. I don't wanna know. But why didn't you wake me up, too, Mami? I coulda helped you; I wanna help you. With everythin'."
"You were tired," she explained as if it was obvious, and to her, it was.
"I ain't the one who's nine months pregnant."
"I mean, you kind of are," Beth reasoned. "It's not just my pregnancy; it's ours. And you haven't just been working your normal hours all week; you've also been getting the house ready for all of us."
"You've been doin' that with me. Let me do this," he gestured around the kitchen, "with you."
"It really wasn't that much or that difficult. Banana bread is one of the easiest things to bake, and it's not like I made my own brioche. I just finished up the loaf we already had."
"But that's just this room," Rio argued. "What else have you been up to, Ma?"
"Just… this and that," Beth dismissed with a flick of her bubble coated fingers. Reaching for a nearby dish towel, she dried her hands, turned to fully face her husband, and then asked with a smile, "French toast?"
"You gonna let me be your sous chef?"
Teasing him, she said, "Marcus is a better cook, but I guess you'll do in a pinch."
"Oh, you got jokes this mornin', too, huh?"
"Not just this morning," Beth quipped while holding onto Rio's shoulders so she could pull herself briefly up on her tiptoes and place a soft, gentle kiss against his full, pouty bottom lip. "I have jokes for days."
As soon as she was flat on her feet again, Rio wrapped his arms around her waist and leaned down to take her mouth as his own. He hadn't showered yet, but he had brushed his teeth, and the minty freshness of his mouth blended well with the dark chocolate ganache she had ended up making for her third and final piece of French toast. But, then again, no matter when, or where, or what they were doing, Beth always thought that everything in life tasted better when she was tasting it along with Rio.
Breathless, she wrenched her mouth away from his and leaned her forehead against his shoulder while she regained her breath and her balance. Even nine months pregnant, Rio could make her dizzy with lust. If she wasn't so uncomfortable from the near constant back pain, then she might have suggested going back upstairs and working up an appetite before frying Rio his breakfast. "Get the berry compote and whipped cream out of the fridge, please?" Everything else was still sitting out on the counter next to the stovetop.
After his breakfast, Rio added some more layers and then went outside to clear the driveway, and Beth once more made the trek upstairs, this time to shower and get dressed for their doctor's appointment. She took her time, enjoyed the privacy, comfort, and luxury of her own bathroom while she still had it. She and every other mom appreciated that private hospital rooms now came with private bathrooms, but they were a far cry from her large and opulent ensuite. A shivering Rio kissed her again as they crossed paths when Beth was going into the bedroom to get dressed and he was taking her place in the shower. Due to the weather and the roads, they left early, taking the G-Class despite Rio's threats to risk her Subaru's seats instead in the hopes that she might need a new vehicle afterwards.
Beth's goal was, if Rio found out that she was having contractions while Dr. Smythe was also present, that her OB-GYN would then agree with her that it was too soon to head to the hospital, that until Beth went into active labor - either her water broke or her contractions were closer together and longer lasting, she could spend the early hours of her delivery in the privacy and peacefulness of her own home. She'd even promise to not work, or clean, or even be on her feet at all, though it would probably drive her to distraction, and she'd willingly take a nap with Rio if he would just relent on his insistence that, at the first sign that their baby was coming, he wanted Beth surrounded by doctors, nurses, and medical machines.
Unfortunately, Dr. Smythe took one look at Beth and frowned. There had been a few moments during the morning when Rio had paused in whatever he was doing to look at Beth in curiosity and wonder, but he never took it any further; he never asked her if it was time. Her physician, on the other hand, knew, which given that she would be the person delivering their child was probably a good thing, but Dr. Smythe's reaction certainly wasn't going to smooth the reveal for Rio. "Damn it, Beth! How long have you been in labor, and why didn't you call me or, better yet, cancel your appointment and have me meet you at the hospital instead?"
"Wait, what? The baby's comin'?!"
"Relax," Beth told her husband. And then she thought better of it and added, "both of you. I'm barely in labor. It could still be days before I'm even ready to push."
Before the last word could completely leave her lips, Beth felt a slight popping inside of her, and then amniotic fluid gushed out, soaking her legs, her feet. Almost instantaneously, there was an increased sense of pressure. "Oh no," Beth murmured. With wide, apologetic eyes, she found her husband's gaze equally wide but anxious as he stared at her tensing belly. "I'm so sorry! Your Mercedes! I didn't think this would happen yet. Now. Here."
"Elizabeth, I don't give a fuck about the car! We're about to meet our kid."
"Oh, it'll still be hours and… hours," Beth hissed through gritted teeth. For several moments, she had to breathe through the intense pain wrapping itself around her middle and seemingly taking over her entire body. All she could see, hear, even think about was her own discomfort. She knew they said that women forgot how bad labor truly was so that they would be willing to have more than one baby, and she had also gone twenty-three years between pregnancies, but if she was already this miserable, and her laboring was just beginning, she needed to brace herself.
By the time the contraction passed, Beth stood up straight and opened her eyes… only to find that, at some point, she had turned and bent over the exam table, holding on to its opposite side so tightly that she had shredded the paper cover. "You were saying," Dr. Smythe all but taunted her.
Beth shot the OB-GYN a dirty look and then explained, "I just wasn't ready for it. But I survived my first contraction in more than two decades. I've got this. The next one will be much… easier," she screamed as yet another intense burst of agony ripped through her. Beth would have fallen to her knees if it wasn't for Rio sliding in front of her and letting her lean completely against him. Beth panted, and she moaned, and she dug her fingers into Rio's arms and squeezed with every last ounce of her strength. Nothing worked, though, to dull the ache.
"Get her out of here right now," Dr. Smythe ordered Rio. "I'll call ahead and let the hospital know you're on your way and to have a delivery room ready and waiting for you, and I'll meet you there as soon as I can. You're not just having a baby today; you're probably going to be holding your son or daughter before lunch."
At some point, a nurse provided Rio with a wheelchair to help him get Beth down to the lobby, outside, and then up to their level of the parking garage where they were parked. In the back of Beth's mind, she knew it couldn't have been easy for Rio to maneuver her along the icy and snowy sidewalks, but her body was getting ready to push another living, breathing being out of a ten centimeter passage, so she was a little distracted. Her contractions were one on top of another, and all Beth could think about was, despite Rio's words that he didn't care about getting amniotic fluid on the passenger seat of his very expensive SUV, how would he react if she gave birth on it?!
!
The only thing similar between Beth's first pregnancy and delivery and her second was, when the pain stopped, she was holding a healthy baby girl.
"We have a daughter, Elizabeth," Rio murmured against her temple where he kept brushing kisses along her sweaty brow, cheek, neck. His voice was thick with wonder, awe, and emotion, and Beth was right there with him, quietly crying and laughing in her utter joy. "And she's fuckin' perfect… just like her Mama."
Their little girl, still covered in vernix caseosa, was curled up against Beth's chest, head buried in and already rooting for her breast. They hadn't even had the chance to take a good look at her, but she was already trying to feed. It made Beth smile even wider, giggle just a little bit harder, because their daughter obviously shared her father's fascination with that particular part of Beth's anatomy.
Just as the baby latched on, Dr. Smythe explained, "we'll let her eat for a few minutes, and then one of the nurses will take her away to get cleaned up some and measured while you deliver the placenta, okay? We'll hold for now on her first bath, but she's not having any issues breastfeeding, so we can wipe away the vernix."
The next couple of hours passed quickly. All Beth wanted to do was hold her baby or look at Rio while he held her, but it was hectic with people constantly coming in and out of her delivery room while nurses and her OB-GYN saw to both Beth and her newborn daughter. It was only once she was wheeled into the quiet of her postpartum room that Beth remembered that having the baby wasn't just about them. There was one very special and important person who needed to learn that he was now officially a big brother and join them at the hospital, so their family could be complete. Rio didn't even need her to say anything, though, because as soon as the door to their room closed behind the last nurse leaving, he had his cell phone out and made the only call he needed to in order to ask for Marcus and guarantee that everyone found out that they had a little girl.
"Whoa," Marcus breathed out as he skidded to an eager, electrified stop next to Beth's hospital bed. "It's so small!"
"Careful, Nieto," Rosa quietly called out to the eight year old. "You need to be gentle with Beth and the baby… just like we talked about on our way here."
"He's fine," Beth reassured both Marcus and Rosa. "Will you help him climb up here with me," she asked of Rio. While he was lifting and carefully positioning his - no their - son beside her, Beth expressed her gratitude towards her grandmother-in-law. "Thank you for picking him up from school and bringing him here."
"It was my pleasure," Rosa promised them. "I never turn down time with my grandchildren. And don't worry, I added your family to the Tía group chat, so they'll get all my updates and pictures as well."
"What about everyone else," Rio asked, smirking. "You know Carmen's gonna be pissed if she doesn't find out everythin' when her Moms does."
"I added her, too," Rosa rolled her eyes at her niece's antics. "The Tías are all responsible for telling their respective branches of the family. However, there won't be anything for them to tell until you and Beth, Mijo, actually give me some information!"
Before they said anything, Rio climbed on the bed as well, taking the side opposite of Marcus. Then, readjusting the baby so that everyone could get a proper look at her - and she was awake, too, so her big, brown eyes - eyes just like her Daddy's - were clearly on display, Beth introduced her daughter to her brother and her great-grandmother. "Marcus and Rosa, meet Reinelle Amor Garza."
"Oh, I'm going to cry," Rosa warned them through the tears that were already gathering in her eyes and in her voice.
"I know that Amor means love," Marcus stated, pleased that he recognized his sister's middle name. "But what does Reinelle mean?"
"It means a pure, wise queen, Pop."
Rosa chuckled. "You always did have a very high opinion of yourself, starting all the way back when you declared yourself king of the playground." Knowing about Rio's former life of crime, Beth was aware that wasn't the only thing he had considered himself king of, but she didn't say anything. She and Rio just exchanged knowing glances with each other, the both of them also thinking about how he had also ascribed royalty status to her as well on more than one occasion. "It's only right, I guess, that your daughter is a queen."
"Don't forget the pure part, Grandma," Rio reminded Rosa, earning himself a pinch from Beth… about which he didn't even complain, just grinned.
"She is twenty and three-fourths inches long, and she weighs eight pounds and five ounces," Beth announced.
"I think she looks like Daddy," Marcus stated, staring directly at his sister. In fact, he had lowered himself down so that he was hovered right over Reinelle. "But she has your chin, Beth. And your nose."
"And if you look at her hair closely in the light," she had a full head of it, too, so Beth didn't need to remove the baby's little cap so Marcus could see what she was showing him, "even though it's dark like your hair and your Dad's, I think there's a red tint to it as well, though it certainly doesn't have any curl." Instead, Reinelle's hair was poker straight and so thick for a baby that it was probably going to stick up all over the place when she wasn't wearing a beanie to keep it contained.
Hesitantly, Marcus reached a single finger out and ran it down the round plumpness of his little sister's cheek. "She's so soft," he gasped - both awed and seemingly surprised by the discovery.
"Just like you were, yeah" Rio told him. "And just like her Mama."
"Would you like to hold her," Beth offered.
What followed was the sweetest, most exquisite moment of Beth's life while she watched her son cradle her infant daughter in his arms so delicately, so wondrously, and it was like he never wanted to let her go. It wasn't until Marcus' little arms started to get tired and Reinelle started to fuss for her Mom, wanting to eat again, that he finally gave the baby back. After pictures were taken (and texted to the group chat) and kisses and hugs were exchanged all around, Rosa took Marcus with her, the two of them going back to Beth and Rio's new house for the night until she and the baby were released and sent home in the morning.
It wasn't five minutes after they left that Annie and Ruby arrived, and Beth and Rio, while Reinelle ate, related the same information that Rosa had already provided them with but also the story of her delivery. Until 8:00 that night, her hospital room door practically seemed like it was revolving, letting in one member of Rio's family after another. Even Lucy, Beth's assistant, stopped by to meet the baby. No one stayed long, but they all cooed appreciatively… and appropriately, Beth felt… over Reinelle and congratulated the new parents. Those who couldn't come to the hospital in person sent warm wishes via texts or phone calls. The only person who Beth didn't hear from was Kensley - her oldest child's missed presence the one sad facet of the otherwise incredible day.
When Beth fell asleep that night on the day that her youngest child, a second daughter, was born, the last thing she saw before her tired eyes slipped shut was the image of her shirtless husband holding their tiny, newborn baby to his chest while he rocked her to sleep.