Page 33 of Remember Me

“Dr. Woo.”

Dr. Who?

“I work with Dr. Harris, your regular doctor. She’s on vacation.”

What!? On Labor Day? The day of all days I’m in labor!

I manage one word: “Oh.” Which morphs into “ooh” when another agonizing contraction stabs my gut. Groaning, I contort my face as Finn’s alarmed voice fills my ears.

“Do something, doctor! My wife’s in pain!”

I glance up at my dressed-in-scrubs husband. His face is more pinched than mine. And he’s sweating.

Dr. Woo gently presses down on my swollen belly. “Chill, everyone. I’ve got this. Everything’s going to be fine.”

“What’s going on?” I mutter.

“Mrs. Hooker, because your water broke before your contractions, we’re going to give you an epidural.”

“An epidural?” That was so not part of the plan. Dr. Harris, Finn, and I all agreed I’d have the baby naturally.

“Yes. It’ll minimize any potential infections. As well as the pain you’re experiencing.”

The epidural kicks in quickly—no pain—but thankfully Finn never leaves my side. He’s my husband, lover, partner, coach, and the father of our child... that’s if the baby ever comes out.

“Push, baby, push!” he urges.

My legs bent and spread, I give it all I have. I push. I grunt, I cry. I shriek. Sweat beads cluster on my chest. Oh, the pain!Please, my baby, come.

Finn repeats his three desperate words.

I push and I push and I push. Why, oh God, won’t she come out? Every horror story I’ve read fills my head. That she’s breach... tangled in the umbilical cord... and the most horrifying of all... she’s stillborn. Tears spill from my eyes as I do everything I can to bring my baby into this world.

Then, suddenly, on my next push, I feel something different. Something pushing out of me like an alien. It hurts so much! I shriek in agony and in fear. Finn squeezes my hand.

“Skye, the baby’s head is coming out!” He gasps. “Now the shoulders.”

“Push again!” orders the doctor with an excited smile.

Why the hell is she smiling? This is no picnic! With a thundering grunt, I push again, looking up at Finn. Tears leak from his eyes. Why is he crying? It’s freaking me out.

“One more big push!” I hear the doctor say as I squeeze my eyes shut.

“Uggggh!!!” Then suddenly, my belly feels empty, and I hear a hungry, little cry. Then, the voice of a nurse.

“Congratulations, Mrs. Hooker. You have a healthy baby . . . ”

“Girl. It’s a girl.” The soft, bewildered voice of my husband.

What?I open my eyes. And watch as they clean her off. My tiny, mottled, peach-haired life form. My little beauty. Her sweet cries music to my ears as they swaddle her and lay her gently on my breast. Misty-eyed, I gaze down at her and feel the deepest of love, a powerful connection that can’t be put into words. One that transcends all others.

“She’s beautiful.” Finn’s voice is hardly above a whisper. “Our Maddie.”

We decided on names early on, for both a boy and a girl. We’re calling her Madeline Soleil. After my favorite storybook character and my late mother whose name meant sunshine. Maddie for short.

I nod, glancing back down at her. “Yes, my love, she is.”

He kisses her scalp. Then, he kisses my forehead.