1 Chapter 1
1: Come to Pass
Magdalena
Dr. Vargas came bustling into the delivery room. “And how are we doing?” he asked, a little too cheerfully.
Magdalena Small caught her breath and glared at him. “I don’t know how you’redoing,” she snapped, “but I’m ready to tear off Ben’s testicles and shove them down his throat if he ever comes near me again.”
“Oh…ah…Hah-ha,” Dr. Vargas laughed weakly. He didn’t seem to know if she was making a joke or being serious.
“I’m not joking.”
“I know, sweetheart.” Her husband stood beside her. He was a tall, dark-haired man who was so good-looking, the only surprise would have been if she hadn’t gotten pregnant. Ben took her hand and stroked it. “And I promise, I’ll never touch you again.”
She turned her glare on him, about to snarl that he’d better not be making fun of her, when another contraction hit her.
“All right, Mrs. Small, you can push now.”
She didn’t waste her breath saying it was about damn time. She began to push.
“The head is crowning. Ah, a caul. Let me just make a couple of openings so he can breathe. Your son is going to be very lucky.”
They’d had an ultrasound and knew this baby was a boy. They even had a name all picked out: Tyrell, after a character in one of Ben’s favorite books. She’d decided she could let him have this, since she’d named their other four children, good, solid names from the Bible.
“Stop pushing!” Vargas’s voice suddenly became sharp. “The cord’s wrapped around his throat.”
“Ben!” Magdalena gritted her teeth and then panted through the urge to push.
He slid an arm around her shoulders. “It’s okay, sweetheart.”
“Okay, I’ve got it.” Dr. Vargas exclaimed. He could be excited, the quack; he wasn’t trying to push a basketball through a keyhole. “Now, give me another push.”
And just like that, the intolerable pressure eased off as the baby slipped out of her and began wailing his head off.
“Let me just peel off the caul. And…here we go. Do you want us to preserve it for you?”
“No. Yes…” She wasn’t sure what he was talking about.
“I’ll take care of it, Doctor.” Who…? Oh, that must be one of the nurses.
“What a crop of curls! No wonder why you had such morning sickness.” Did he have to sound so happy about it? “Here’s your son, Mrs. Small. He’s a little small for a full term baby. In fact, I expected him to weigh more, considering your gestational diabetes, but he’s a ten on the Apgar scale.”
She angled up on her elbow, squinting to see him more clearly, but he was covered in vernix. And she was so tired, it felt as if her eyes were crossing. This had been her longest labor, in spite of the fact it was her fifth, and subsequent deliveries were supposed to go faster and easier.
This entire pregnancy had been difficult, from morning sickness that wasn’t restricted to mornings and lasted until almost eight months, to gestational diabetes, to the threat of pre-eclampsia. But it was worth it, having this latest edition to their family. It proved she was still a vital, desirable woman, although this was something she’d never reveal to anyone.
The baby boy had stopped crying and seemed to be watching her with his father’s beautiful blue eyes.
“Happy birthday, little boy,” she murmured around a huge yawn.
“You need to rest, Mrs. Small. You can see him after the nurse has taken him to be cleaned up.”
She didn’t hear anything more as she slipped into an exhausted doze.
* * * *
How much time had passed?
Magdalena was still tired. She dug her elbows into the mattress in an effort to raise herself in the bed, wincing as the roughness of the sheet abraded both elbows.
“Here, Mom. Let me help you.” Matthew, their oldest, elevated the head of the bed with the control, and then carefully helped her to a sitting position. He was only eleven, but he was more mature than any of the boys he went to school with, and she was so proud of him.
“Thanks, sweetie. The nurse should be bringing in your new baby brother soon.”
“We saw him in the nursery, but I can’t wait to see him up close. We men finally outnumber the girls in this family.” He gave her a saucy grin, and her heart turned over. Of course she loved all her children. She just loved Matthew a little bit more.
“Are you upset you couldn’t go trick or treating?” Truthfully she was glad they had missed it. Pagan holiday!
“No. We had the party at school, and Dad let me go around for a little while with Andy. Luke went with his friend Tommy. Dad took Sarah and Bethany.”
She really shouldn’t complain. Ben was a heathen, as she’d discovered soon after their marriage, but he didn’t interfere with their children’s religious upbringing, and so she overlooked it, prayed for him, and hoped he’d see the light.
