After a minute or two, the nurse came out to where I was. If she had bad news, I didn’t want to hear it. I couldn’t face living without my Ella. I just couldn’t!
ELEANORA
It took me a while to open my eyes. They felt heavy and scratchy. I heard voices around me but I couldn’t respond. Then, I heard Joe’s voice.
“Ella, my darling, can you hear me? Open your eyes, sweetheart.”
I made a soft moan as I tried to move my head.
“Open your eyes, baby.”
My focus was out, but I could make out the outlines of his face. The inside of my mouth felt like I had a handful of cotton balls shoved in it. The nurse standing next to Joe put a straw to my mouth. It was the best tasting water I’d ever had.
My mind snapped into first gear. “My baby! Where’s my baby?” I panicked and tried to get up. A searing pain shot through my abdomen, causing me to regret the sudden bravery.
“Slow down, Ella. Everything is going to be okay.”
I didn’t like that at all. Why wasn’t it okay now? Was my baby dead? What the hell was going on?
Sensing my angst, Joe took my face into his hands. “It’s okay, my love; our baby boy is in an incubator. His lungs are a bit underdeveloped still but he’s fine. They want to keep him here for another two weeks, as a precaution, and then, we can take him home.”
Tears of relief streamed down my cheeks and into the nape of my neck, soaking the pillow under my head. Joe put his head on my chest as I sobbed. When I looked up into his green eyes, I saw the months of anxiety dissolve.
“I’m so proud of you, my love. You did great. Our son is beautiful, like his Mama. He has a thick head of hair! He’s so beautiful, Ella. I can’t wait for you to meet him. Thank you, my gorgeous; thank you for our miracle baby. I love you so much.”
My heart was full of joy. My family was finally complete. I cried a tear for my father. He would have loved and spoiled his grandson so. The nurses wheeled me to my hospital room where my mother and Bria were waiting for me. They were laughing, crying, nattering, telling me how beautiful my baby was.
“As soon as the general anesthetic wears off a little, I’ll take you to see your son, Mrs. Coli.” The nurse propped me up in bed and brought me a glass of orange juice. The surgeon came to check up on me a few minutes later.
“How are you feeling, Mrs. Coli? You gave us quite a scare, young lady.”
“Thank you, doctor. Is my baby going to be okay?”
“He’ll make a full recovery, Ella. Please don’t worry about him. If he’s as strong as his mother, he’ll be walking out of here in two weeks.” He smiled at me, clearly amused by his own joke. I smiled back. He was my new hero.
“I’ll leave you to rest. The nurse will give you pain medication when you need it. Please feel free to ask her when you’re ready. Congratulations, mama.”
JOE
Fabio and I were sitting in the visitor’s lounge just outside of Ella’s room. The happy, carefree summer of beach parties and clubbing, a lifetime ago. Fabio whipped a silver flask out of his jacket pocket.
“I like my coffee, but this calls for a snort of Scottish elixir. Here you go, bud; have at it.”
I smiled as I took in a big gulp of whiskey. The smooth liquid moved slowly to my belly, warming my every inch on its way down.
“You may have just saved my life. What a year! I’m exhausted, bud. I don’t think I could survive another year like this one. No more Italy, and no more babies!”
“That’s what you say now. Wait until Ella looks at you all googly-eyed and tells you she wants a ‘friend’ for your son. That’s when the shit will really hit the fan, buddy.”
“There’s only one thing for it, then.” I got up and walked to the door.
“Hey, where are you going?”
“I’m going to find a chastity belt! Where else?”
ELEANORA
Our little Dominick was perfect. After two weeks in the excellent care of nurses and doctors, and me sitting with him twenty-four seven, we could finally take him home. Joe had enlisted Fabio’s help in strapping in the baby car seat. It reportedly took them about an hour to figure it out, but they eventually got the hang of it.
My mother was an excellent night nurse. Between Joe, my mother, and me, little Dom was waited on, hand and foot. He was the most beautiful baby I’d ever seen. His olive skin, electric blue eyes, and jet black hair made my heart weak. He had his papa’s fingers and smile, the perfect combination of his parents.
Joe’s parents came to stay after Dom’s rather unexpected birth. The grandparents doted on their first grandbaby. He was small when he came home, but he grew at lightning speed. Bria and Fabio were thrilled to be his godparents. Bria spoiled him something rotten. I was deliriously happy.
JOE
Life couldn’t possibly get any better. My business was prospering, Ella was healthy, and Dom was running around the house getting himself into all sorts of mischief. No frog was safe when he hit the garden. Poor Ella constantly replaced flower beds with more football fodder. Dom was a whirlwind, ironic considering the tenuous start he’d had.
When she wasn’t dead on her feet from running around our little monkey, I managed to get lucky a few times a month.
