I laid out the quilt next, still folded in quarters to give her extra cushion. “Okay, we’re going to ease you down right in the center. You ready?”
She hesitated. “It’s Grandma’s quilt.”
“Doesn’t matter.”
“She made it with her own two hands.”
“Even better.”
“It’ll get ruined.”
She was right, but that didn’t matter right now. “Lilith, get on the blanket.”
She glared, but did as I told her, something I’d pay dearly for later, but as long as we got through this, she could yell at me all she wanted. “Mayhem, I’m going to need you to scoot in behind her and help support her back and shoulders.”
“Okay,” she said as she moved in and bracketed Lilith with her knees.
I popped off her shoes, removed her damp leggings, and draped a towel over her to keep her warm. “I’m just going to check you to see where we’re at.”
“I can’t hate this more,” she said on a pain-laced groan.
“It’s okay, just open for me. A little bit more. Okay, that’s good.”
She bowed up a second later, her jaw tight as she sucked in a breath and held it.
“Don’t hold your breath, Lil. When you hold your breath your body naturally pushes and we’re not ready just yet, okay? Just let it out.”
“I’ll breathe with you, okay?” Mayhem said doing just that and giving my sister a reassuring smile. “You’re doing great,” Mayhem said, taking her hand, my sister latching on and squeezing until Mayhem’s turned red with the force.
I lifted the towel and spotted my nephew’s dark hair, telling me we were a whole lot farther along than I thought. “How long were you out here, Lil?”
“Twenty minutes maybe,” she said on a gasp. “Why?”
“Just checking. He’s anxious to get here. I can see his head. I’m ready so when you feel the urge to push, I want you to take in a deep breath and bear down for ten seconds, okay?”
She glanced up at Mayhem and back at me. “This is not how I saw this going.”
“Same, Lil. Same. But we’ve got this. You and me, right?” She was becoming a mother right before my eyes, but when I looked at her, I still saw that young, resilient girl. “Always. Now come on. You’re strong, you’ve got this.”
Mayhem murmured to her, a smile on her lips despite the worry in her eyes. She asked Lilith about names, if they were going to baptize him, which parent they hoped he looked like—all the happy things, naturally steering Lilith away from all the ways this could go wrong.
When Lilith bowed up again, Mayhem immediately spoke into Lilith’s ear, a thread of calm in her voice, reminding her what she needed to do.
The woman took to every situation and stepped in doing what needed to be done with grace and dedication. No whining. No bitching. No hysterics.
Present, calming, and solid. Ready to dig in and work.
Just like my grandma.
My grandmother would have adored her.
“That’s good. His head is almost out. One more big breath and push.”
She followed Mayhem’s every quiet direction, the two of them in sync, pushing through the fear and pain.
“That’s it, his head is out.” I suctioned out his nose and mouth and dropped the bulb syringe on the pad in the sled before cupping his head gently. “Okay, listen to your body, it knows what to too. When you’re ready, give me another push.”
Sirens wailed in the distance.
Thank God.
Lilith bared down, his one shoulder sliding out.
“Good, now one more, Lil. Give it everything this time.”
Lights flashed through the trees.
Bearing down again, Lilith let out a sharp cry as he slid out with her final push, his slippery little body sliding right into my hands.
Lilith’s heavy breathing echoed in the barn, slowly, ever so slowly her breaths stretching out.
Silence.
I rubbed over him with a towel.
He didn’t cry.
Mayhem glanced up at me, a stricken look on her face as her eyes filled with tears.
My heart pounded in my ears as I turned him over on my arm and vigorously rubbed up and down his spine. “Come on, buddy.”
“He’s not crying,” Lilith said with a sob. “Why isn’t he crying?”
This would not happen to him.
No. No. No. Dammit, no!
“Come on, little guy,” I whispered.
The seconds ticked off in my head as I started focusing on the narrow window we had to get oxygen in him.
Thump, thump, thump…my heartbeat pounding edge of panic in my head.
He stiffened in my arms, his little chest expanding before he let out a furious, shaking wail.
Relief seared through me as I kept my eyes on his angry little face.
“That’s it,” I murmured as I clamped his umbilical cord and bundled him in a towel. I wiped him a few more times with the edge of the terrycloth as he screamed, the best damn sound I’d ever heard.
The ambulance rolled into the driveway right as I laid him in Lilith’s arms. “You did it, Mama.”
“Oh, he’s beautiful,” she whispered with tears streaming down her cheeks. She ran her fingertip along the inside of his palm, and he responded right away by curling his wrinkled fist around her, holding on tight. “We did it. Thank you.”
The EMTs rolled in with a gurney and in just a few minutes had Lilith and the baby on their way down the hill.
“You should go with her,” Mayhem said, watching them take Lilith to the ambulance.
“Are you sure?” The tears had dried and the paleness in her cheeks had been chased away by splotches of pink.
“She’s had a hard night. She needs you.”
“Thank you.” There was so much I wanted to say, but no time so I kissed her. Took one more taste of her to take with me and handed her my keys. “So you’re not stuck.”
She slipped them from my fingers and gave me a small shove. “Now, go.”
Lights cut across the windows just after midnight. I peeked out from behind the curtain and spotted Priest looking at his truck before glancing at the house and looking at his truck again.
I probably should
