17. Joe

Chapter 17

Joe

We were a little bit late to plant the summer crop because Waylan wanted to wait until the baby came. But neither of us could have anticipated the restlessness that took hold of me during those last few weeks of pregnancy.

I had done everything I could to prepare for the baby and then some. Waylan built a crib, a highchair, a sandbox, and made a beautiful set of blocks. I wanted to get everything finished so I could spend my last days resting, but then the last thing I wanted to do was rest.

One morning, I took over control of the seed spreader from Dylan. I craved hard work. Waylan urged me to take it easy, but I felt like I was losing my mind. I'd been careful for months and couldn't do it anymore. I missed running and shifting and soaking in hot baths.

I was ready for the baby to be out.

Abigail had come out that morning to check on me. She said I was still at least a few days away, but I couldn't imagine being this pregnant for three more days. The only thing that made me feel the least bit of comfort was movement…and thinking about something else.

Waylan supervised the boys in the field nearby, keeping a nervous eye on me. I'd been reassuring him all morning that I was fine, but a few hours later, my back was beginning to hurt.

I waved at Waylan and motioned to the seed spreader. "I'm gonna go inside and take a break. Someone else can finish this."

Waylan came in a few minutes later to check on me. He rubbed my back, brought me a glass of lemonade, and then went back out to finish planting with the boys. I watched the green leaves swaying in the breeze outside the window as they slowly lulled me to sleep.

A while later, I woke up to the sound of footsteps. Waylan was pacing in the next room, so I sat up, worried something had happened with one of the boys. As helpful as they were, they were still clumsy teenagers. "Waylan?"

He stopped pacing and came into the bedroom. His face was pale and a thin layer of sweat coated his brow. "What is it? What happened?" His eyes searched my face. "Are you feeling okay?"

"I'm fine. My back hurts, but that's nothing new. Why do you look like that?"

He sat down next to me and took my hand.

I braced myself. Somebody had died. It was the only explanation for why he was acting so weird.

"I called Abigail. She's on her way, but it's gonna be a couple hours, probably more with traffic."

I looked at my belly to make sure I was still pregnant. "Why would you call Abigail? She was just here this morning. She said I have a few more days."

Waylan shook his head. "The baby's coming. You're already in labor."

I laughed and rubbed the sweat from his forehead. "I think I would know if I was in la—" A sudden deep, wringing motion happened in my body, and I doubled over with pain.

Waylan rubbed my back. "Breathe."

Breathe. Right, breathe. Could this be it? I breathed like Abigail had shown me, and after a minute or so, the pain subsided.

I looked at Waylan in wonder. "How did you know?"

He raised his hands in disbelief. "I don't know. Your scent changed this morning, which I thought was odd, but we also ate so much watermelon last night, I thought maybe it was that. And then I had a feeling when I was out in the field, and I just knew."

Our level of connection continued to surprise me. "Okay. Let's get everything ready. And if you have a feeling about when the next contraction is coming, let me know."

I'd barely finished the sentence when the next one hit. I doubled over again, breathing and rocking as I tried not to break apart into a million pieces, which was what it felt like was happening.

Waylan came running back in the room with sheets, towels, and pillows. I rolled from one side of the bed to the other while he prepared the space. We worked together to prop pillows into different configurations so that each time a contraction hit, I had a different position to move into. It was a nice idea in theory, but in practice, nothing worked.

I was just in pain.

Then I heard voices outside. "Is she here?"

Waylan ran out and came back a minute later. "It's just the boys, wondering what's going on. I told them the baby's coming."

I smiled at Waylan. "God, that sounds nice!" I started to laugh with excitement, but then another contraction hit. They were really close together, making my nerves ratchet up a notch. "Can you call Abigail again?"

Waylan pulled out his phone and dialed her number, then ran outside and gave his phone to the boys. "She's still a ways away. The boys are gonna keep an eye on the phone for us. Breathe, omega, breathe."

I clutched the pillow and grimaced, giving in to what my body was telling me to do. "I have to start pushing."

Waylan sat beside me and pushed on my back. "Hold on a little longer. Abigail will be here soon. You can do it."

"No." I shook my head and tried to catch my breath. "Nope. I have to start pushing." Instinctively, I knew what to do. I got on my hands and knees and began to rock back and forth. My body was contracting to push the baby out. "Help me squat, Waylan."

I held his hands, and he helped me get into a squatting position. As scary as it was, I let my body take over and a huge wave moved through me.

I cried out in pain and fear and relief as it all happened in the span of a breath.

The boys on the porch fell silent and then one of them yelled, "Go, Joe!"

I laughed just before another huge wave came over me. I could tell the baby was almost out. I released a loud, guttural, animalistic cry as I felt the baby coming out.

Waylan was crouched down in front of me, holding my arms. "Good, Joe! There's the head. One more push."

I took a deep breath and gave the hardest push I could as the baby finally slid from my body onto the nest of towels and pillows below me.

An enormous relief washed over me as my lungs fully inflated for the first time in months.

I did it.

Waylan scooped up the baby and cleared her nose and mouth. "It's a girl!"

He rubbed her back as a bleating little cry came from her, followed by a ragged breath and a second, louder and more solid cry.

Tears sprang from my eyes at the sound as I reached out my arms for my baby girl.

Waylan gently laid her against my chest as the boys cheered and clapped outside.

Waylan took care of the immediate aftermath, cleaning the space and carrying me back to the bed before lying down next to us. "You did it, Cinnamon. You were amazing."

" We did it."

The baby shivered, and Waylan tucked a blanket around us. Her gray eyes opened wide and stared up at me. I put my pinky in her hand, and she closed her tiny fist around it.

"Hi, baby girl. Welcome to the world. We're your daddies."

I heard Abigail's car pull up a moment later, and she came rushing into the room. Waylan and I looked up at her from the bed, and I laughed. "So close."

She put some water on the stove and checked over me and the baby.

When I had a second bout of energy, I nudged Waylan. "Call Mateo and Este. And tell the boys they can come in to meet her."

Abigail finished cleaning up, and the boys came in to see us. Waylan stood by the door and pointed at the phone in his hand. "Mateo and Este say congratulations, and they want to know her name."

I looked down at her little wrinkled face and looked for the answer. Was she a coyote or a fox? Did she have The Quiet? Would she be a loner like me and Waylan? How were you supposed to pick out a name for someone you didn't yet know anything about?

I looked into her deep, gray eyes, and I felt like I did know her already. I smiled at Waylan. "What about Iris?"

Waylan smiled and spoke into the phone. "Iris. Her name is Iris."

Iris sighed and fell to sleep. She seemed to approve too.