The Journey of St. Laurent, Chapter 22

Author’s note:

I’m not completely happy with the chapter, but it’s just been so long since I posted, I just had to get something up and get rolling again.

For those of you who haven’t read any of the Journey Of St. Laurent before: You are now reading an online serial pulp novel. If you didn’t start at the beginning, you may want to do so. Chapter 1:  Down By The Bay. This serial is the sequel to my first novel, Oasis.

For all those wondering, things are going well with the new baby. If we can just figure out how to sleep a little more at night, things will be fantastic.

Thanks to everybody who commented or emailed me to wish us well:  Kristy, DarcKnyt, Elizabeth Himes (Whom we apparently named the baby after), Vanessa (DarcsFalcon), Blaine (Hi, Bishop), Jessie, girl, Glenn, Jade, Aunt Karen,DarcZombie, Aunt Ramona, Becky Reynolds (I think my cousin Becky – not sure of the married name), Jordan Johnson, schulte, GTDOC, Bart, Lucien Black, R. Garrett Wilson, RobSmith, and anybody else that I’ve missed. My wife and I have felt very loved and blessed through all of this. You guys are great.

Chapter 22 – New Arrival

Before Jenna could respond, the muffled shouting was broken by a muffled slap followed shortly by the muffled whump of something heavy hitting the floor.

I cringed. Yes, this is working out great. I could only hope that whatever fight was going on out there stayed out there, and that nobody got seriously hurt.

After all, Jenna and I had a baby to deliver.

Jenna told me which CD she wanted and I found it. I didn’t recognize the artist’s name, but the cover had a shirtless burly tattooed guy folding his arms and scolding the camera.

Once the music played it occurred to me that while I never would have called this particular flavor of hip-hop ‘relaxing’, it immediately put Jenna more at ease. As a matter of fact, the constant heavy beats soon put her in an almost trance-like state.

After a moment, the door eased open and the little sister stuck her head in. “I’ve, uh, got some water.”

“Great, bring it in and close the door. What’s your name again?”

“Kayla.”

Jenna looked up and almost smiled. “Hey, Kay.”

“Go ahead and hand it to your sister.”

Jenna took the cup and took a tiny drink, then handed it back to Kayla.

“One of your jobs is to make sure she takes a sip every couple of minutes, okay?”

Kayla’s eyes didn’t look so sure, but she nodded anyway.

“Good. Also, I need you to find Jenna something else she can wear, something she could give birth in while wearing. Like a big giant tee shirt.”

Jenna sat on the edge of her bed and sucked in again through her nose.

Another contraction. I wish I had a watch.

I put one hand on her shoulder, the other on her belly, and started counting in my head. One, two, three…

Jenna let out a deep moan.

Kayla turned from the open drawer, knelt down, and held Jenna’s hand.

Jenna’s face relaxed at her sister’s touch.

Twenty three, twenty four- “Keep breathing. You’re doing great, Jenna”. Twenty seven, twenty eight…

She nodded rhythmically, although not in time with the music. This contraction was night and day different from the last one. Jenna didn’t sound pained this time. She didn’t look scared. She simply appeared to be focused.

I got to forty five before the contraction subsided. That’s a pretty good length. Could be getting close.

“Good job. You’re doing great.”

Kayla let go and finished finding the tee shirt.

I turned around while she helped the birthing mother change. About the time they finished, another contraction hit.

I spun around and offered Jenna my arms.

She grabbed my forearms, rested her forehead against my shoulder, and let out a deep, growling moan.

That couldn’t have been more than three, three and a half minutes since the start of the last one.

I counted off the length of the contraction again as best I could. Again, it was somewhere between forty five and fifty seconds.

As soon as the contraction subsided, she mumbled a complaint about the heat and wanted to sit.

I spread a towel on her bed.

She sat and Kayla handed her the water.

“Kayla, before the next contraction comes around, I want you to run and get two washcloths. Get them wet with cool water. Also, tell your mother things are going really well. Ask her to find a shoelace and boil it in a pan of water for ten minutes. And her sharpest knife. Clean and boil that, too. I’ll send you back out for those later. Got all that?”

She nodded. “What’s the shoelace-”

I raised a hand. “Washcloths, thing are going well, shoelace, knife. Hurry.”

She got back just in time to put a washcloth on Jenna’s head and hold her hand through the next contraction.

It was amazing, almost magical. Despite the thump-thumping of the music and the mess, by looking at Jenna, you’d have thought the bedroom was about the most serene place in the world. She was calm, relaxed, and totally focused.

Kayla instinctively knew everything her sister needed for comfort, a pillow here, a very light back rub there, water every couple of minutes, and a pile of comforting words I’d never have thought to say.

Jenna switched positions about every ten minutes. Kneeling, standing, sitting, squatting, standing. We must have restarted the CD at some point. The sun flew toward the horizon. At some point, the shirt irritated Jenna and she pulled it off, leaving her wearing only a sports bra. Little by little the contractions lengthened, strengthened, and got closer together.

About the fifth time she sat on her bed she shook her head. “I can’t do this anymore. I need a break. Just ten minutes.”

I looked into her eyes. “You’re doing perfectly.”

“You don’t get it. I’m so tired. Can we go back to the hospital?”

It didn’t feel right to argue with the laboring woman. “Um, sure. Let’s just let you have that rest first. Then we’ll see what we can do.”

She shook her head. “So tired.”

“That’s just because your body has been working hard, and doing a great job.”

She took in a deep breath. “I feel like I should squat, but I’m too tired.”

I remembered a picture from one of the birthing books I had read a couple of years ago. “That’s okay. If you want to try, I’ll support you.”

Jenna stared for a moment, then nodded. “Let’s do that.”

I squatted with my back against the closet door frame. Jenna backed up to me. She squatted/half sat on my knees and I hooked my arms under her armpits. It was anything but comfortable for me, but she seemed just fine.

As soon as we settled into the supported squat, another contraction hit. Soon another, then another.

“I want to push. Can I push?”

“Do whatever your body tells you to do. If that’s push, then push.”

She tilted her head to the side. “I think I’m having her.”

My legs wobbled in the awkward position. “Reach down and see if you can feel the baby.”

She dropped her right hand between her legs and took a sharp breath. “It’s the top of her head.”

A jolt of adrenaline hit my system. This is it. “Perfect. You’re almost done. Kayla, grab a towel and put it down here on the floor. Looks like you’re going to have to catch the baby.”

Kayla’s eyes widened to about the size of personal pan pizzas. “But I ain’t no-”

“Doesn’t matter. You’ll do great. Now get over here.”

She stepped over and shot a quick glance down, then blushed and turned away. “I’m not so sure I can.”

“I know you can. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. You’ve already been a huge help, and you’ll do great, just like your sister is doing.”

Another contraction swept over Jenna. She growled and hummed and eventually it faded.

I couldn’t see what had happened, but Kayla’s already enormous eyes seemed to pop from her head. And then she started to smile.

Jenna reached down again. “It’s her head.”

“Kayla, put a hand on the baby’s head near the neck. Once this next contraction hits, the rest of her will probably come out. And there’s going to be lots of other liquidy stuff that comes out too. Don’t worry about that.”

Another moment and then it hit. With a great whoosh the baby was out. Right behind her was a wave of amniotic fluid mixed with a bit of blood that splashed onto the floor and all over my legs.

Kayla beamed and held up the baby.

Jenna scooped the baby up to her chest.

My legs were on fire and shaking. “Let’s get you over to your bed.

Jenna smiled at the baby and shuffled across the room.

The baby let out a ear splitting wail.

It was one of the sweetest sounds I had ever heard. The loud cry meant good strong lungs.

Jenna sat and kissed the baby’s head. “We did it.”

Layla turned down the music.

The baby was covered with amniotic fluid, cheesy-looking vernix, and traces of blood. Her head was slightly cone shaped from being in the birth canal so long. Still, she was as beautiful as anything.

Someone pounded on the door.

I opened it just a crack. Sure enough, it was Nina and London.

“Baby’s here. Everything seems to be good. Get me that shoelace and the knife.”

Nina took off back down the hall.

London was pale, “Corbin. About the UFOs-”

“In a minute. Go see if you can get me a garbage bag or two.”

Jenna held the baby close, and the baby was calming down.

I smiled. No need to interrupt their bonding just yet. I scooted the towel on the floor around with my foot in an effort to clean up the mess.

Nina and London returned with the supplies, then we all just stared at the baby for a minute. There’s just something about a newborn baby that makes you feel all right. Even in a mesy room when the outside world is falling apart.

I sighed. Oh, well. The moment can’t last forever. I felt the chord. It wasn’t pulsing at all anymore.

It’s good to go. I cut the shoelace in half and used it to tie off a spot on the umbilical chord near the baby. Nobody else seemed interested, so I went ahead and cut the chord.

Jenna put a hand on her stomach. “It feels like another cont-” She winced. “Ooh.”

“These contractions are just tightening your uterus back to size. You’ll be pushing out the placenta soon.”I turned to Nina and London. “In fact, you two should go until we get done with this. There’ll be plenty of time to gawk and hold the baby later.”

London leaned in “You have to see what’s going on in DC-”

“I will.”

I ushered the two women out of the room, and turned around to see Jenna nursing the baby.

Another good sign.

She birthed the placenta about ten minutes later. I caught it along with another batch of blood and birth goop in the garbage bag.

After that, things got much simpler. I tore up one of the towels and explained that to Jenna that she’d be bleeding, albeit not much, for a while and she should use the pieces as pads until she was done.

All in all, mom and baby seemed to be doing really well, so it was time to let them rest for a while.

In the front room, everyone was focused on the television.

I handed the garbage bag to the teenage boy on the couch. “Here, go bury this in the back yard so it doesn’t stink up your trash.”

“Corbin.” London nodded and pointed to the TV.

I turned around saw what she had been in such a hurry to have me see.

As soon as I saw the image on the screen, the knot in my stomach hardened. Looks like the baby isn’t the only new arrival. This can’t be good.

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Keep reading! Chapter 23 is finally here!