CHAPTER 6
It was cold in
Aunt Jenny put Cindy in the back bedroom that lay close
to the house next door. This cut down on
the wind and with the space heaters and blankets on the windows and bed, it had
a warm, almost surrealistic atmosphere.
Cindy was sweating and beginning to know the pain of childbirth. She knew months ago this child would be born
on Christmas. It seemed fitting, and she
had tried to prepare herself for it.
Aunt Jenny had sent for the doctor, but having delivered plenty of children
herself in the neighborhood, only wanted him for "consultin'
purposes." You'd have thought this child was gonna be hers, the way she
was carrying on, thought Cindy. Well, I
guess in a way, it will be.
Thomas was fit to be tied, as proud a future poppa as a
man could be. He paced, he sweated, and
got in Aunt Jenny's way one too many times. She sent him to the store for
groceries that could only be gotten on the other side of the town.
A soothing chorus of some songs seemed to constantly fill
her ears, although Jenny swore no records or radios were on. She had told Jesus she was gonna be Thomas'
wife when she was done having Jesus' child.
This seemed to give her greater comfort, and she was sure Jesus was
pleased with her decision. She hoped if
she and Thomas had any children it would feel as wonderful as bearing this
child had. She had never really talked
to Jesus in one on one conversation, but she had always felt they had talked
for hours the last few months and she knew well what He wanted and that He knew
well what she needed. No words seemed to
ever pass her lips, but the feelings were always there. She..Oh, goodness, what is this? She thought
in panic.
Cindy screamed. "THAT HURT!" Jenny just smiled and put another cold
washcloth on Cindy's head.
Lori screamed in pain. "WHAT WAS THAT!?" she
cried. Dex, who had been arguing with her doctor in the hall, came running to
Lori's side. "What's up? What's wrong? Is the baby all right? Are you
all right?" Dex asked anxiously. A
worried look furrowed his eyebrows.
"THAT IS SO PAINFUL!" Cried Lori again as another spasm hit.
The doctor was there as quickly as Dex and checked her
vital signs. Looking hard at Dex, he
said, "Looks like you may get your
wish after all, needing no help from me.
Apparently God has decided Lori is going into labor." With that, he left the room and proceeded to
the nurse's station.
Dex was bewildered, then ecstatic, then smiling just a
big a smile as the Cheshire Cat.
"Hear that, baby? You gonna
have a honey! No, that ain't right.
Honey, your going to have a baby!"
Dex looked down at Lori and seemed surprised at the look in her
eyes. It seemed they had a lot of
terror, anger, and a little bit of happiness. But his concentration on her
looks ended quickly when the next spasm hit. Dex had remained too close and
Lori was able to get a firm grip on the root of her problem, expressing in a
physical way her entire feelings at that moment.
"Man!" Cindy didn't think she could take another one
of those pains. Jenny called them
"normal" contractions and did her best to make her feel
comfortable. She had been layin' there
for two hours now and the pains kept coming faster and faster and hurt more and
more. She was beginning to wonder, since
this was Jesus' child, why He couldn't stop the pain and just let the child pop
out. And where is He anyhow? She
thought, gasping. This is the son of
Jesus. His daddy should be here. If doesn't show up soon, I'm gonna give Him a
piece of my mind. Talk to His
daddy. I'm sure Grandpa isn't going to
take to kindly to Him not being present.
Boy, is it warm in here. Think a
lot of different things when you havin' a baby.
" Honey, now you got to try to pace yourself. You got a long way to go yet," Jenny
said. "Just cause he's Jesus' child
don't make this birth any easier. You
gotta remember, baby, this child's gonna live in the world of man and has to
come into this world like any other child if he's gonna understand what it
means to be a man." After Jenny
spoke another stronger and more soothing song seemed to fill Cindy's ears.
"A few more hours!
You've got to be kidding."
Lori panted at the doctor. These
pains seemed unbearable and the doctor wasn't ready to give her any drugs until
the birth. Dex had since left the room.
The doctor had sent him to the waiting room to nurse his injuries.
"You must remember," the doctor said,
"birth takes time. It's not
infrequent for labor to last days."
"You mean I'm going through this hell for
days?" Lori said through clenched teeth.
"No, not you," the doctor said, quickly
avoiding Lori's outstretched hand, remembering Dex's recent injury. "You're just about ready. Give it a few more hours and everything will
be over."
Lori looked around.
Those lights are sure bright, she thought. I must be sweatin' like a pig. Bet that 'glow' everybody talks about ain't
so bright now. Damn this hurts. These bed sheets are warm. Why do hospitals always use white? Why is it so damn sterile in here? God, here comes another one of those
pains. Wish I could reach the doctor
like I reached Dex, make them understand what real pain is. Hee hee.
The contraction hit.
The doctor hadn't arrived yet, and this made Jenny
angry. Never did see her get mad,
thought Cindy. This is the most
irritated I've ever seen her. Cindy was
breathing very heavily now and Jenny was trying to get her into some sort of
rhythm. Thomas had come back and Jenny
had him boiling water on the wood stove.
Choppin' wood and boilin' water.
That boy had never worked so hard.
Wonder what he'd say if he new Aunt Jenny was just tossing the water out
back.
The smell in the room was gettin' powerful _ _ Cindy
sweating, Aunt Jenny sweating, Thomas
sweating and keeping the stove hot. It
smelled of old blankets, moldy wood, humid afternoons, and burning logs. Cindy felt like throwing up. She was keenly aware of all her senses_ _ the
feel of the wet sheets on her back, the look of panic in Thomas' eyes, the
taste of cool well water on her lips, the sound of the wind outside the house,
and most particularly the smells. That
and this pain.
It was almost time.
Cindy hadn't seen or heard from Jesus since the start of labor, some 10
hours ago. She was beginning to feel
quite alone. The music still in her head
was pleasing, but she wanted the Father.
Then, through an old door, past the blanket draped across
the entrance, He strode quietly in.
Cindy knew Him and smiled with as great a joy as she had ever
known. Aunt Jenny, in her hurry, didn't
look up from her chores, but felt a feeling of calm and joy, and love, and
security, as she had never known in her life.
Jenny turned toward the feeling. "Sir?" she
said.
The doctor just smiled and, placing a bag next to Cindy's
bed, sat beside her on the worn old blankets.
Placing a hand upon her forehead and then moving it gently down to her
stomach, Cindy felt the release of all pain and the serenity of complete
love. The music filled the air and the
smell became that of the most beautiful perfume. It seemed as if room was bathed in the most
perfect light and nothing could ever penetrate the complete comfort Cindy felt
in His embrace. Cindy was only slightly
aware that Aunt Jenny was in the corner, on her knees her face gazing softly at
Him. Thomas was beside Jenny, transfixed
by the miracle happening before him. And
then there was the baby.
She was totally unaware she had even delivered this
child, but yet knew it was hers and the pain of childbirth was over. She accepted her child from Him and then the
He held her in His arms as she held the baby.
Looking first into her eyes and then the child's. She knew what he said even though he had not
spoken. She nodded assent as if she were
having a normal conversation. Then He
rose and walked over to Aunt Jenny.
Placing His hand upon her face and raising her look to His, He thanked
her for all of her help in the same way in which He spoke to Cindy, through a
look that said all and expressed more than could be spoken.
Finally, He embraced Thomas. The look of wonderment on Thomas' face
probably brought more to the smile on His face than anything He had said to
Him. Jesus then took Thomas by the arm
to Cindy and the new child. He placed
His child in Thomas' arms and placed Thomas next to Cindy. A finer, more perfect marriage could not have
been had.
With a last look at all, the doctor then left, leaving
behind the light, the chorus, and the glow of His presence.
Dex was beginning to worry. If Lori's labor lasted too much longer, they
would miss the all-important deadline of midnight and their child would be born
on December 26th instead of Christmas.
Dex had tried to get the doctor to speed things along, but he had
refused time and again. Only fate had
begun Lori's delivery this morning. Dex
had brought her in one more time, hoping to get someone to induce labor. He hadn't told Lori. Instead, he had been acting like a concerned
father-to-be and she had gone along with everything. Now I really look good in her eyes since she
went into labor, while she was in the hospital being checked up, thought
Dex. He smiled as he thought about his
good fortune. Boy, what that baby will
bring in in donations if it is born on Christmas. What is taking so long? And what is that light?"
Dex had begun to notice a bright, almost too-perfect
light shining through the hospital windows.
As he started to get a better look, a nurse entered.
"Mr. Love?
Your wife is being wheeled into the delivery room. It shouldn't be too long now. Do you want to wait next to delivery so that
we can find you and tell you whether it's a boy or girl?"
Boy or girl? Geeez, Dex thought. I've worried so much about getting this child
delivered on time, I've forgotten that it could be a girl. Well, it seems that God is still with us tonight. Hopefully it will be a boy and we can finish
what we started.
"Mr. Love? You coming?" the nurse said as she
headed for the door.
"Yeah_ _ Yes I'm coming," Dex said as he
followed her down the hall.
The shot was wonderful, Lori thought. Let them do anything they want now. I'm beginning to feel no pain. You know, I bet I do look ridiculous on this
bed, in stirrups tied down like this. Oh
God, her comes another one! That bastard
doctor. Let him try to push, push, tied
down here like this.
"DAMN," Lori screamed. "JESUS, this is HARD!"
And with those sentiments on her lips, Lori's baby was
born. All wrinkled, all pink and red,
with all fingers and toes, and screaming like a banshee.
"A boy?" Dex asked.
"A boy," said the nurse.
Dex leaped as high as he could, shot a fist in the air,
and let out a whoop that startled even the nurse.
"Do you want to see your son?" the nurse
asked. "What is his name,
anyhow?"
"John," Dex said, "In honor of John the
Baptist." Dex knew, after all this,
that he could get Lori to agree to the name.
Hell, hadn't he got a boy child born on Christmas Day? Man, he could do anything.
Dex was looking in on John when he noticed the slight
disturbance all around him. The few
attendants in the nursery were looking out the window and looking in on Dex's
child. Funny, Dex thought, I do seem to
have the only child born in this hospital today. That does seem odd for a city of this
size.
Then Dex saw it. It was close to midnight, yet the sky
outside was as bright as day. That
perfect light again, Dex thought. He
walked down the hall to a window where he could get a better look.
It was coming from the sky, bathing an area around the
hospital. He could see where the light
ended just, about a mile from where he was standing, but the whole hospital
itself was bathed in its light. Dex
rushed downstairs and outside to get a better look. People were milling about him, trying for themselves
to understand this phenomena. Dex
realized that the hospital stood just inside a perfect circle of this perfect
light and the light seemed to be emanating from a far off star. Dex thought, Now this will definitely be a
benefit that I can use for my plans for my child. What a great day. He went in to see his wife,
his child, and plan their future.