“Mr. Mathews?”
I jumped up and looked around. When I saw the nurse standing there, I practically ran up to her. “Yes! That’s me!”
She chuckled. “I know. I checked your wife in. Are you ready to head into the delivery room?”
I instantly felt sick and turned back to look at Margie and Billy. They both smiled.
“Go on, Mathews. Don’t miss the chance to see your child being born,” Billy said.
I spun back around to face the nurse. “Yes, I’m more than ready.”
As we walked into the delivery room, I couldn’t help but notice how beautiful Emma looked. When our eyes met and she smiled, I had to remind myself to breathe.
I walked up to her and leaned down to gently kiss her on the lips. “You take my breath away. You’re so beautiful.”
The nurse walked up to the other side of Emma. I looked up at her, and she smiled at Emma and then at me. “Now, Emma, I want you to breathe through the contractions, okay? Just like what we went over.”
Emma nodded her head and took my hand in hers. “Okay. As long as I have my husband by my side, everything is good.”
Then, she squeezed my hand and began breathing quickly. “Oh my…oh…this one is…”
The nurse said, “Breathe, Emma. Breathe through the pain.”
Emma smiled and nodded her head. She looked at me and winked.
Three hours later, I was ready to hurt someone. Emma was in so much pain, and I felt helpless that I couldn’t do anything.
“Mrs. Mathews, just a few more pushes, and your baby will be here,” the doctor said.
“Damn it!” Emma called out as another contraction hit her.
When Kathy, the sweet nurse who had been here the whole time, started in with her breathing reminder again, I knew she was in trouble.
Emma snapped her head and gave her a look. “I swear to God, if you tell me one more time to breathe through the pain, I’m going to punch you!”
I tried not to, but I laughed. Then, I quickly said, “I’m so sorry, Kathy. She doesn’t mean what she is saying.”
Kathy smiled and said, “I know, Mr. Mathews. I take it all with a grain of salt.”
I nodded my head, and I was about to say something else when Emma grabbed my shirt.
“If you think for one minute that I’m going to let you do this to me again, you have another thing coming. Never. Again.”
I swallowed hard and looked at Kathy.
She mouthed, Grain of salt, to me and smiled.
I looked back down at Emma and said, “I’m so sorry, Em. If I could—”
Then, the doctor said, “Emma, push with the contraction. We just need one more good one.”
I helped Emma to sit up a bit as she pushed as hard as she could. She never once screamed out in pain. I was pretty sure that was because she was slowly and painfully breaking each of my fingers. She was on her way to breaking my hand.
Then, I heard our baby’s cries as Emma fell back onto the bed.
As the doctor held up our child, he said, “It’s a boy, Mr. and Mrs. Mathews.”
I couldn’t help the flood of tears falling from my eyes as I looked at our child for the first time.