“And question one?” I asked.
“You people waste no time…”
“Because we have no time to waste,” Mel and I said at the same time. “And please don’t make me have to ask again.”
I almost wanted to laugh at her attempt to be nice and use ‘please.’ It just made her sound even more annoyed.
“Mrs. Callahan, from what we can tell, you have preeclampsia. It’s not life threatening, yet. However, your blood pressure is very high. If this doesn’t change, there is a high possibility of you developing eclampsia, which can be hazardous to both your health, and that of your unborn child. You’re going to need to take it easy in the next coming weeks, alright?” Lifting up her dress and placing a blanket over her legs, Dr. Lewis placed some sort of gel on Mel’s stomach.
“Easy? As in bed rest easy?” she asked. The one way to make sure Mel didn’t relax was to tell her to do so.
“No, I don’t think it’s that serious yet, but I would honestly recommend taking some time off from work.”
“A Callahan that actually works?” the nurse whispered behind us, unaware that I could hear her and I was about two seconds away from strangling her with Mel’s IV. However, before I could comment, a small whoosh echoed through the room. It was like a tiny underwater drum.
“That is your baby’s heartbeat.”
Mel laughed, reaching for her stomach as the whooshing continued. It was strong and beautiful at the same time. It was like the music I could imagine God enjoying, and I couldn’t for the life of me tear my eyes away from the black and white picture on the monitor.
Smiling, Dr. Lewis stared at the screen, moving the wand over Mel’s stomach. “Would you like to know the sex?”
“Yes.”
“No.”
“No?” I stared down at her. We were finding out the sex, now.
“Your parents really wanted to find out with us. Evelyn cornered me in the car. Is she here?”
I had no idea. Everything had happened so quickly and my main concern was getting her here as quickly as possible.
“Can you check if the rest of the Callahan party has arrived?” Dr. Lewis instructed a nurse.
Brushing her brown hair back, I watched as Melody fought the urge to fall sleep. We were working on almost eighteen hours of no sleep. That couldn’t have helped her condition. She needed to rest more. “Can’t we just find out a second time with them in the room? I’m sure I can fake a surprised face.”
With her eyes half open, she shook her head.
“This is the least I can do for your mom. Plus, maybe she’ll calm down a little.”
“Apparently you don’t know my mother.”
“Are you bad-mouthing me, son?”
Speak of angels and they appear.
Walking over to us, with my father an inch behind her, she kissed Mel’s forehead.
“You gave us quite a scare, young lady,” my father told her.
Laughing, she grabbed hold of his hand. “Now Sedric, you and I both know you were itching to escape those political asshats.”
He could only grin before kissing her forehead.
“Is the baby alright?” Evelyn asked, mesmerized by the black and white screen.
“Can I tell you the sex now?” Dr. Lewis asked Mel directly.
She didn’t say anything, just took a deep breath, grabbed my hand and nodded.
“Well then, your son is going to be fine, as long as mommy here takes it easy.”
“A boy?” I whispered with a grin so wide my face felt as though it would break in half.
Nodding, she showed us the tiny boy, who was seemingly exposing himself to the world with pride.
“Just like his father.” Mel smiled.
I kissed her forehead, her nose, and her cheeks before kissing her lips. All I could think to say was, “Thank you.”
“Another young Master Callahan. I can’t wait to help with his nursery!” My mother, almost jumped out of her skin.
“I bet you I can get him to love golf early on,” added my father.
To which my mother could only shake her head. “Sedric, dear, you’re the only man in this family who thinks that’s a real sport!”
“Son, don’t listen to her. Now your father wasn’t any good, but with your mother’s genes, there’s hope for you,” he spoke to Mel’s stomach.
Mel simply looked at me.
“And you thought this was going to calm them down?”
TWENTY-THREE
“Actions are the first tragedy in life, words are the second. Words are perhaps the worst. Words are merciless...”
—Oscar Wilde
CORALINE
I used to hate hospitals. Everyone was either dying or dead. Yet, right now I felt like I was going to die from excitement. Or nervousness.