Page 57 of Leave a Mark
Bev cleared her throat, meaningfully.
Okay, so no prenatal care.
“Just like Bev checked you before,” he added quickly. The girl’s eyes went wide. “It won’t hurt. I promise. You just might feel some pressure.”
Mrs. James McCormick made a sound of derision as he lowered to the stool. “You’d think she’d never had a man between her legs,” she muttered.
Lee shot back up. “Okay, that’s enough from you,” he said firmly. “Mrs. McCormick, I’m going to have to ask you to go to the waiting room.”
Mrs. James McCormick’s jaw dropped, and she took a step back as if she’d been struck. “That’s my grandchild in there. I’m feeding and housing this girl. I’m staying right here,” she said, her voice climbing with each word.
“We’ll let you know when the baby is safely delivered,” Lee responded, not bothering to hide his disdain. “Go. Now.”
“You listen to me—”
The monitor started beeping at that moment, signaling fetal distress. Lee’s eyes locked on the display and saw that Meredith was contracting again, but the baby wasn’t tolerating it as well this time.
“Ashley, call security. Have them escort Mrs. McCormick from the hospital—” Her gasp punctuated his words. Lee continued issuing orders. “Bev, Lynne, on the next contraction, help Meredith to push. We need to get this little one out.”
Ashley was on the phone before he’d finished, and Mrs. James McCormick was backing toward the door as the nurse started speaking.
“This is outrageous!” the woman roared, but she backed further out of the room.
“Ma’am, come with me please.” Lee knew this was Clifton from security. At the sound of his voice, Meredith’s water broke.
“Aw, yeah,” Lee muttered, smiling up at Meredith. “Babies don’t like stress. Take the stress away, and things right themselves.”
Another contraction started, and Lee watched the fetal heartbeat drop, but not enough to worry him. The nurses encouraged Meredith to push.
“It’s weird,” she moaned. “I can’t feel anything.”
“That’ll be the epidural,” Bev explained, helping Meredith to hinge forward and push.
On the next contraction, the baby’s head began to crown, but the fetal-monitor alarm went off again. At the same moment, Lee’s phone began to buzz in his pocket.
Wren.Lee smiled.
“Come on, Meredith, make it count,” he urged. “Your baby needs you to be strong.”
With the next push, the baby’s head was out, and Meredith was panting with exertion. Ashley suctioned the baby’s nose and mouth while Lee swept a finger around his neck. No cord.
His phone stopped buzzing.
“Okay, one more push, Meredith, and he’ll be born.”
Meredith was young. She was tired. And she was alone, but Lee could see that she was made of stronger stuff than she realized. She pushed once more, and the baby — a boy — slipped into his hands.
“Excellent. Just wonderful, Meredi—” The child’s hearty cry interrupted him, and Ashley wrapped him in a towel and carried him to his now weeping mother. Ashley was showing Meredith how to rub the baby to keep him warm and dry him at the same time when Lee felt a lone buzz from his phone — he guessed it was a voicemail — and his smile grew wider.
“What are you going to name him?” Lee asked as he cut the umbilical cord.
Meredith never took her eyes from her son. “Oscar,” she answered, beaming.
“I like it,” Lee said. “Strong name.”
Meredith just nodded, a look of wonder transforming her face.
After Lee delivered the placenta and stitched the small tear Oscar had given his mother, Lee divested his gloves and gown and cleaned up. He congratulated Meredith again before ducking into the hall and reaching for his phone.
